myrlas

Multitasking isn't for newbies.

Last time I watched a game alongside Code he released the most common, and most boring myth regarding Lucas before the match. "He just passes the ball sideways and backwards, and he gives it away far too easily." I begged to differ, and we agreed on having a closer look on Lucas during the match. (Wolves (h), boxing day last season) During half time Lucas had not given the ball away once, and the live stat well documented on a napkin showed that most of his passes actually went forward. Code left the building in anger(and drunkness) during half time. Lucas ended up completing 84 passes, with 75 of them being successful. 7 of the missed passes were forward attempts with pretty high risk/reward, one was a clearence and one was a cleared corner. Code most likely ignored it all.

Sky player ratings: Luke Young - 7 Lucas - 7 Kuyt - 8

Hodgson failure as manager is not about poor results. That is only a part of it.

Results from YNWA, TLW, ScouseNotEnglish, Anfield Red & Anfield Road. Hodgson to be Sacked? Yes:93.5%, No:4.0%, Undecided:2.5% (4,646 votes)

What sites are running the same poll?

.

Nah, what about the board meeting?

Time for some perspective Watch 100 headers from Lucas compared to 100 headers from Carra Lucas always tries to find a teammate Carra always tries to head the ball high and far away Lucas was shit as the rest of the team tonight, but I know who I would see in our team three years from now... It's not Paul, Poulsen or Carra

IMO no. It has the same feeling online that world at war had. Maps, weapons and perks aside, MW created a much more realistic atmosphere.

So he got a vote of confidence apparently? Good.

I heard yesterday that Malaga is recently bought by an Arab Sugar Daddy. That makes sense all of a sudden.

BBC Sport - Football - Damned lies, statistics and sabermetrics Much like Rafael Benitez's time as Liverpool manager the arrival of Damien Comolli at Anfield as the club's director of football strategy is likely to divide opinion both with fans and pundits - good or bad, genius or idiot? The position of director of football has become almost a dirty word within English football and it is hard to think of an example in the Premier League where it has not ended in tears. The 38-year-old Comolli, who has been recruited from St Etienne, is a prime example. His time as Tottenham's director of football ended acrimoniously when he was dismissed along with manager Juande Ramos after the club's dreadful start to the 2008-09 season. Across the Channel the picture is very different and most top European clubs have a director of football overseeing the club's strategy. "The English model hasn't worked because chairmen haven't matched the right types," European scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen, who has worked for German clubs Hannover 96 and Bayer Leverkusen, told BBC Sport. "Structurally, it always makes sense that the director of football arrives before the head coach or manager, so he can have a hand in appointing a person who shares his vision. Sabermetrics is a bit of a red herring in relation to football European scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen "It's key that the director of football has no coaching ambitions and that the training ground is the manager's domain - the areas of responsibility must be clearly defined as grey areas just create conflicts." When Norwegian Karlsen was working for Leverkusen, the Bundesliga club's transfer operation was so profitable that it funded the BayArena outfit's entire operation. Key to the success of Leverkusen, who reached the Champions League final in 2002, was then general manager Reiner Calmund, who was an ever present figure at the club as coaches came and went. Liverpool owner John W Henry wants some bang for his buck in the transfer market Leverkusen had 20 international scouts, five of them working full-time - one each in Brazil and Argentina - earning 50,000 euros (£44,000) a year. "The philosophy was to be self sufficient and to buy up-and-coming young exciting players, often from Brazil, which Leverkusen could develop and sell on," the 35-year-old Karlsen added. "Players like Dimitar Berbatov, Lucio, Juan, Ze Roberto and Emerson are good examples of this strategy." Some of the players Comolli brought to White Hart Lane - Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Jenas - provide a clue as to the Frenchman's modus operandi; buy young English talent to ensure maximum resale value if they are to be sold on. "Big wages and relatively high fees for players in their late 20s and early 30s does not fit with New England Sport Venture's vision," said writer Paul Tomkins, who recently met John W Henry for lunch after Liverpool's owner contacted him on Facebook, having read his books. "Sometimes you need to pick up a canny older player as a bargain, but the average age of Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky, plus the re-signed Fabio Aurelio, is 30," Tomkins continued. "So far, only Meireles of those five has impressed Liverpool fans this season. I hope it can get back to how the likes of Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Daniel Agger and Xabi Alonso, who were all bought when they were in their early 20s." Liverpool's takeover by NESV prompted a swathe of newspaper articles suggesting that the Boston Red Sox's owners wanted to introduce the principle of sabermetrics to the Premier League. Using statistical analysis to recruit players rather than rely on the subjective judgement of coaches and scouts, sabermetrics was an idea developed by baseball fan Bill James. French academy row - Football Focus investigates It was an idea put to the test with some success by the Oakland 'A's general manager Billy Beane and author Michael Lewis wrote the book "Moneyball" about the story, which is now being filmed, with Brad Pitt starring. In the past Comolli has talked of his friendship with Beane, who Henry tried to bring to the Red Sox before hiring James as a consultant, while Chelsea's performance director Mike Forde is a disciple of sabermetrics. Tomkins' latest book "Pay As You Play", which has been talked of as the football equivalent of "Moneyball", looks at the relationship between money and success in the Premier League. "The data shows that it wasn't purely money behind [sir] Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United, but that in some seasons - particularly the first few years, and at times when rivals posed a greater threat - it played a more pronounced role," wrote Tomkins and his co-authors Graeme Riley and Gary Fulcher. That conclusion suggests that as much as NESV want to obtain more 'bang for their buck' in the transfer market if Liverpool are to win the Premier League in the future plenty of greenbacks will be needed. That is the size of the task facing Comolli. Karlsen, however, remains sceptical about the application of statistical analysis to the business of talent identification. "Baseball consists of set pieces, so it's perfect for cricket," argued Karlsen. "But football has too many variables, cultures and styles. It's difficult to rate players merely on statistics. Sabermetrics is a bit of a red herring in relation to football." For Karlsen, who has described identifying talent as like "detective work", the key principles to transfers are timing, the ability to target cheaper and developing markets and to always have a resale value in mind. "In addition to possessing the trained eye, what's really important is to understand the relationship between value and quality so you can compare players from different countries or even continents and their respective attributes and measure up which player represent best value," he commented. The Norwegian pointed to his recommendation to German team Hannover to buy Hungarian international midfielder Szabolcs Huszti from French club Metz for £200,000, who was then sold to Russian team Zenit St Petersburg for £2.5m. "Huszti might not be a household name but this transfer illustrates that you can create value and a business model out of shrewd player transactions," said Karlsen, who worked under Graham Taylor at Watford between 1998 and 2000. "It's about knowing the world wide markets, prices and sniffing out an opportunity." Another top European scout, who works for a top-four Premier League club, has also questioned whether statistical analysis would ever be able to evaluate a player's character. "It's very important to consider a player's mentality. We have a very good spirit at our club, so you have to be very careful. If you bring two or three players with a bad attitude it could be disastrous," the scout, who did not want to be named, told BBC Sport. "You don't have to have been a player to excel as a scout, but when you've played it's almost as if you can smell a good player. That's why it is important to watch players over a long period." Key for this scout, who has been working for his club for eight years, was to build a long-term, trusting relationship with the manager and to be always watching and analysing. 606: DEBATE Seems split on here as to whether it's a good appointment brian "I love my life and football is my passion. I watch football all the time, even when I'm home, sometimes three games in an evening on televsion. My girlfriend hasn't watched a movie in six months," he added. Like Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, there is a little that Comolli does not know about the French market but Karlsen has suggested Liverpool's new football strategist should also elsewhere as he goes about the business of reshaping Anfield's transfer operation. "First and foremost Liverpool should devote a minimum 25% of their resources to exploiting their local area. There's nothing that excites a Liverpool fan more than when a local academy kid pulls on that red strip," Karlsen said. "He should also keep a close eye on the German market. It's undervalued if you compare the quality to the going rates, even compared to France. Holland, Spain and Italy are also expensive markets with great domestic competition for the best talent." There are just over 50 days to the opening of the January transfer window. No pressure then on Comolli.....

BBC should get faster sources ;)

He also spotted Kolo Toure, Eboue and Clichy for Arsenal. He's scouts players in the Wenger mould.

Was he really? damien comolli - Planet Spurs Forums Seems like spurs fans are having second thoughts now. Especially when Jol's true self comes up. The reason he was a gonner was most likely that it was unacceptable for Arry to woork under a model like that.

This kind of business isn't a fact until the papers are signed and .tv reveals the news. He's a man who wourks in football in the same "parts" that comolli do (spotting players). Wouldn't be surprised if he knew him, but that last thing is purely speculation from me.

My normal source speculates in him signing for us as sports director. I would be thrilled with us having someone in that role. And Comolli would make sense regarding NESV's noises about a strategy of finding value in the market. He's done alright in that department.

I don't want Hodgson to handle the january window. I want Hodgson out of the window by january.

If we replace Hodgson with Coyle I will shoot myself. Coyle has to be the most annoying thing in football since coloured boots. He stands like this 90% of the time

Lucas Reina Kyrgiakos

So much for looking for players with long term value, eh?

HAha. It was the same ref back in 05 when Mendes "scored"

Wouldn't exactly take that twitter rumour as gospel though. Dodgy source at best.

last from twitter @SiClancy #FrankRijkard has joined the Saudi team Al-Hilal according to Al-Dounnia Syrian channel #LFC