JoeP

11 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

Neil Pointon did score 2 in 1 season directly from corners in 92/93 I'm guessing that was the year in question as we finished 3rd highest scorers in the league that season.

I wonder if Hearts used Statbomb to sign Pointon from us...

4 hours ago, nzlatic said:

Are you sure? I have it on good authority that the physio room has been taken over so it can house the statsbomb supercomputer. When we need a player, Darren Royle goes in the room, puts the headset on and speaks into the microphone... "computer, we need a striker". After a few minutes of clicks and whirrs, the console lights up and a ticker tape comes out with 3 recommendations on it, selected purely because of their stats. DR then chooses the name, feeds it back into the computer and clicks the button for 3 year contract. The computer then faxes the club in question with contract.

 

Who needs scouts?

I really want to believe that this is miles from what happens in reality....

13 hours ago, mcfluff1985 said:

 

Maybe you're looking at it in the wrong way. Maybe think that if we hadn't used StatsBomb our signings would have been much worse...

Ha!

15 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

 

Don't stats reduce the margin of error?  For some players, not all.  I'm not a big advocate of stats for the fan - I couldn't care less about XG, possession, successful passes etc.. as the are not contextualised but for those with the knowledge to interpret them properly they simply have to be useful.  As long as they don't take over.

I mean possibly, but as I say it doesn't seem to have worked for us so far.

I might be way off, but our squad from last season seemed to consist of some decent individuals that didn't work as a team.  To me that seems like stats might have been overused (Player X has Attribute X, so MUST be good in position X!).

As I've said elsewhere, I think we're lacking characters, not players with decent stats.  Could statbomb be used to pick the right personalities?  I don't know (and neither does anyone else!), but it seems to be a slightly unnecessary step that takes the human aspect out of it.

Let Mellon recruit like he's always done.  Surely that's why we appointed him - to recruit the way he has done in the past in the way that's got him promotion.  If he wants to use Statbomb, fine - but he should be sacked and sacked again if it doesn't work, when he's had success doing it without this sort of stuff in the past.

21 minutes ago, Ackey said:

Or maybe we're just ill-equipped to use them? 

 

If we're putting in technology in place of people - mistake. If we're putting in people and ignoring technology - mistake. We need someone who can understand the blending of the two and lead the organisation as a whole through that modernisation and tweak things to get the best of the people supported by technology, or the best of the technology to eventually replace people. You can't just shout "STATSBOMB" in to an empty room and get a team, equally to ignore what technology can do and claim to be better without it will leave you behind.

 

Horses became cars. People became computers. We still have people and horses, we just don't use them the way we did before, nor in the same volume. 

Yep, fair comments.

But, I can see how something like Statsbomb can be used by someone like Arsenal who have massive resources, create a whole recruitment team to use it and then sign a dozen players in the hope one turns into a multi-million pound super-star, but we don't have that margin of error.  Everyone we sign has to pretty much be spot on.

It might be useful for us one day, but I think simplicity should be the name of the game for us at the moment.  It hasn't worked well for us so far and there's some urgency for us to get back into the EFL, so keep it simple.  Let Mellon sign the players the way he used to during his 5 promotions that get us nearer to "what good looks like" (rather than what the stats say good looks like) and embrace the new technology when the situation might allow us to have a margin of error.

10 hours ago, nzlatic said:

Isn’t it used in addition to, rather than instead of, traditional scouting methods?

The improvement it's made to our recruitment is negligible at best.  If you have to work that hard to get it to work for you, I doubt it's worth the time and effort.

I see there's talk of VAR being scrapped.  Maybe some of these new-fangled technologies aren't as good as we're told.

Fair play to the club, although I'm not sure there's masses to add after Darren's interview...

8 minutes ago, AndyB2 said:

You control nothing. I also control nothing. 
 

it’s an observation on a message board and a trend I find to be of interest. It’s not even about Latics. 
 

I will post what I like big boy.
 

Ok? Great 

And I'll reply what I like. 

"Big Boy!"

43 minutes ago, AndyB2 said:

It’s not impossible.

 

Wigan are an exception

 

leicester briefly disrupted the top of the prem but for the vast majority of seasons over the last 20 years have been somewhere close to their natural level. 
 

It’s also no coincidence that in the context of greater Manchester we see alty and Stockport making good progress where as over in north Manchester….

Burnley?

You seem to be trying too hard to find reasons why we can't be successful.  Lets deal with what we can control first.

14 minutes ago, PartTimeLatic said:

It's a great business update on how the club is doing everything it can to become stable and increase revenues to be sustainable well beyond the Rothwells etc but there wasn't a huge amount said about the season just gone outside of "well we're all disappointed". Would have liked him to directly address the Mellon interview at the very least, even it was to acknowledge his frustrations but reassure fans that there's going to be work done on the squad over the summer.

 

Basically, a very good big picture interview. But didn't do much to address the here and now on the playing front.

Nah, no need.  Mellon's said his bit.  Whether Darren agrees with what he said or not, it's not worth stoking it up again publicly...

32 minutes ago, Lags said:

 

Today's figure, 9th May (as per ticket office) about 2800 Sold.

That ain't bad numbers, all things considered...

On a tenuously related matter, Coventry seem to have had the complete stuffing knocked out of them following their Wembley FA Cup semi-final injustice. 

Maybe they've taken the baton off us and will face 30 years of decline, while we'll power (upwards) through leagues..

Lump on...

10 hours ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

 

There will be plenty interested in him. Fleetwood, Accrington, Salford and possibly Tranmere will all potentially have an eye on him and need someone of his calibre. He'll be gone.

 

Not sure on Madden. I can see there being interest for him as well. He played 130+ games for Fleetwood so will be a natural gravity. Reading the comments from County fans on X suggests he still has plenty in the tank to offer.

I wonder how much word gets around about how we play and how a lot of strikers with a decent reputation have come here and failed. Unless I'm after a pay-day, I wouldn't give us a seconds thought if I was Madden.  It's career suicide...

22 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

Putting aside that it is a bit naughty to be extending when people may have had to stretch themselves to beat the 'deadline' it just gave off the wrong vibe for me.

 

No acknowledgement of the mistakes that have been made, no explanation for why they are sticking with this manager, no semblance of how they plan to fix it.

I can't see many not buying based on that.  I don't think that level of detail is required in relation to this. Maybe it would be nice to hear it at some point... and probably not from Frank, but someone who's making the "Football decisions".

1 hour ago, deyres42 said:

Not quite the rallying call many have been calling for, more of a guilt trip.

How would you have phrased it, then?

2 hours ago, oafcmetty said:

Basically if we stick together as the soviet union we'll defeat the nazis, I think?

Ah.  I thought at the time it was about wolves being fucking dangerous.

Especially if you're a duck.

18 minutes ago, oafcmetty said:

That's the wrong allegory.

Can't remember the message of the story behind it, but yes.  The classical soundtrack was essential listening if you grew up the 80s, though..

15 minutes ago, Lags said:

 

No one needs an emoji to express they disagree with AndyB on his opinion here. 

AndyB, chin up brother in the end if we all stick together and support Frank and the club we will pull back. 

Not surprised the club wheeled out the one big gun we currently have to try drum up the ST push. It tells us we are below the figures the club hope to sell. 

Do they not always extend it eventually?

2 hours ago, AndyB2 said:

Call me negative but I don’t see a way back for the club.

 

the Rothwells don’t have the cash to get us out of this league with any level of certainty. Lots of things will need to come together for it to happen and I expect to be here in 4 years time. May be shorter if the stars align, but that’s a long shot.

 

from there we won’t establish ourselves as anything better than lower half l2 and will probably drop down again. 
 

I think this is our level now and anything above that will be fleeting appearance when we are punching above our weight briefly. 
 

in short, top half NL is our baseline. 

And this is why we should bring back downvotes...

12 hours ago, League one forever said:

I disagree. 
 

And there’s nothing wrong with it to a certain extent. Lots of very successful managers can be classed as divisive. My way or do one- mourinho. I want him to drive out the mentality weak or the can’t be arsed crew.
 

Just don’t do it publicly- especially in our circumstances at this moment in time. It was and is wrong in my view. 
 

If we had 6/7 players left in contract who he rated and he blasted the rest who were leaving or he wasn’t renewing then no problem. 
 

I don't have a problem with MM's interview (some of his team selection and subs, however..).  It needed saying.  He's tried the "keep it behind closed doors" approach (as did our friend Unsworth (apart from with Vaughan - who was a strange choice to make an example of)) and the players haven't responded either way.  Will the in-contract players want to play for him next season?  Probably not, but I doubt they would regardless.  I don't think it'll stop players signing for us, if they're people who will buy into what MM's trying to do.

There's bad apples in the changing room, I have no doubt - why should MM protect them?

There's still questions around MM, but it's a good sign that he's shifting people out who might think being here is an easy pay-day.  As I say - it's more crucial to get better people in, rather than better players...

...and Josh Stones - who probably ticks both boxes!

1 minute ago, mick26 said:

True but the Hendon goal was the straw that broke the camel's back for him with me.

In think he'd be good enough with enough match practice. 

For every Hendon, there's a Chesterfield under Unsworth. He's capable of some worldie saves. 

Dorking were willing to pay cash for him last season - and I trust their judgement on recruitment ahead of ours!

9 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

You know that if we do then his dodgy knees will fall apart by the end of August...

And he'll start playing like Joss Stone, rather than Josh Stones, if he signs permanently. 

2 hours ago, mick26 said:

hopefully doesn't bring Norman back in!

We could do a lot worse...

5 hours ago, TheBigDog said:

He was decent in the games I saw him play

Played for us 32 times, apparently! I vaguely remember him now I've looked him up and seen we loaned him from Arsenal.  Shaved head, hard looking lad.

I think I've genuinely blocked most of the Abdallah period out of my head....

2 hours ago, Dave_Og said:

Harrison Clarke didn't feature in the game but has played 55 games for Ipswich this season and last.  He started there as a youth player

Another one who's time at Latics was instantly forgettable for me, I'm afraid..