That they watched the players too instead of just using stats? 🙄
Mahrez.... Form or class?
- Thread starter Rosco
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10 a month doesn't give you much. The full version is a good deal more than that. But these and other similar services are probably giving pretty much the same data, so you wouldn't need to sign up to all of them. It's really how you chose to analyse the data that really matters anyway.
Dated 2 Sep 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...er-City-Premier-League-s-BARGAIN-HUNTERS.html
[article]
Vardy arrived from Fleetwood for a non-league record fee of £1m in May 2012, Mahrez was signed for £350,000 from Le Havre in January 2014, and Okazaki came in late June from Mainz, before Pearson was sacked.
All three bear testament to Leicester’s scouting system and transfer process led by Steve Walsh, Pearson’s assistant who, notably, was kept on throughout a turbulent summer.
Last season Walsh, who is head of recruitment, could be seen sitting in the stands alongside Pearson and nearly every player arriving through the doors will have been watched in the flesh by him personally. He is the one responsible for giving the final word of approval on all targets.
Walsh was at Chelsea for 16 years and Jose Mourinho appointed him European scout. He worked with Andre Villas-Boas on the signings of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, before leaving for Newcastle under Sam Allardyce, forming a bond with Pearson, and moving to Leicester.
Walsh works closely with David Mills, the club’s chief scout, and will receive information on players from a team of employees in the field as well as through video analysis from Wyscout, a company that clips thousands of matches across the globe. Trusted agents also play a significant role in recommending clients who might match Leicester’s brief.
First, club management identify a desired position and style, and then a shortlist of options is drawn up based on the financial commitment likely in any deal.
Importantly, allied to all calls made throughout this process is an appreciation of the statistics; it is someone’s job to forensically crunch the numbers on any given player. Think minutes per chance created, distance covered and speed reached, balls won back, plus many more variables.
Responsible for much good work in this regard was Rob Mackenzie, employed as the club’s head of technical scouting until Tottenham Hotspur poached him in February this year. Assistant Ben Wrigglesworth was appointed in his place after a thorough application process, an impressive role at just 24 years old.
Japan international Okazaki joined this summer but Mackenzie had long done the analysis and Leicester first enacted a pursuit of his signature in summer 2014.
Bundesliga side Mainz are known as a selling club but always had the desire to wait until this window to cash in and a January move was rebuffed.
As well as his fine goalscoring record – 43 in 93 internationals – and commercial appeal in the Far East, the home of Thai owners Vichai and Aiyawatt
Srivaddhanaprabha, sources have disclosed to Sportsmail that his high work rate, contribution out of possession and versatility were key factors.
Okazaki, 29, operated as a striker for club and country, but played wide when at Stuttgart. He was also accustomed to pressing from the front, as Leicester like to do.
Mahrez, meanwhile, now looks an incredible bargain plucked from the obscurity of France’s second division. The 24-year-old has scored four Premier League goals to lead the charts this season and wreaked havoc on defences with his flair.
Walsh first went to watch Mahrez approximately 18 months before he signed, having identified the need for a wide player of speed and skill. Two other targets were shortlisted – one playing in Ligue 2, the other in Bundesliga 2, both now internationals – but Mahrez stood out.
Mackenzie’s team had to generate their own in-house statistics on the trio of targets as data was unavailable for those leagues. In Christmas 2013 they used a small sample of games to code the players’ actions using specialised software.
The stand-out stats for Mahrez were the amount of positive, attacking actions he attempted and succeeded executing.
His contract situation also appealed – he had six months left so Leicester’s hand in negotiations with Le Havre was strong – as did his intention to play for Algeria rather than France. The African nation had qualified for the World Cup in Brazil so Leicester knew his motivation levels would be high that second half of the season in a bid to make the squad.
Walsh and Mills went to see Mahrez a couple of times before Mackenzie travelled across the Channel for the final game before New Year against Auxerre. All three were buoyed by success stories of former Ligue 2 players such as Olivier Giroud, Lorent Koscielny, and Franck Ribery. A similar tale is shaping for Mahrez.
Vardy, 28, is getting better with age and is now worth far more than the sum Leicester paid three years ago. But it should be remembered what a gamble that kind of cash represented. Vardy, released by Sheffield Wednesday as a teenager, had never played league football, moving from Stocksbridge Park Steels in the eighth tier to Halifax Town as recently as 2012.
Pearson recollects knowing about Vardy from his Stocksbridge days – the former manager lived locally – but only when he was performing consistently for Fleetwood did Leicester properly take notice.
Walsh watched him several times at Fleetwood, including Wycombe away in the FA Cup. The club wanted a striker to press from the front and Vardy excelled.
Chairman Andy Pilley demanded £1m and a host of clubs including Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion inquired. Southampton were close but chose Billy Sharp that January instead.
In the end Peterbrough and Cardiff also had bids accepted but Leicester got his signature after Pearson, who would only get involved in transfers at the finale, invited Vardy to his home and impressed. Vardy initially struggled and doubted himself amid criticism but has come through and is a shining light of Leicester’s recruitment team. As part of ongoing statistical analysis it is recorded he sprints 500m per match, more than double the Premier League average.
‘That deal was a calculated risk that paid off but could have been a disaster,' said a source. 'Fans on social media got to him and he needed to be boosted up. The fee now looks cheap now because he’s been brilliant.’
Obviously not all signings have proved such success. The jury is still out on Andrej Kramaric following his £9m move, for example, but the sense is his quality will tell.
The point is Leicester’s structure works and breeds stability, even throughout personnel changes. Former director of football Terry Robinson performed an important role cutting Leicester’s expenditure after the Sven Goran Eriksson era, and negotiated personal terms with Mahrez before being sacked. Jon Rudkin took over from being academy head in November and completed the Okazaki transfer.
Ranieri’s opinions are now fed into the system and the signing of Atalanta defender Yohan Benalouane is his primarily. Gokhan Inler was on the radar for some time, while N’golo Kante is very much a product of scouting.
Whether these players are hits remains to be seen. What can be certain is that the homework has been done.
[/article]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...er-City-Premier-League-s-BARGAIN-HUNTERS.html
[article]
Vardy arrived from Fleetwood for a non-league record fee of £1m in May 2012, Mahrez was signed for £350,000 from Le Havre in January 2014, and Okazaki came in late June from Mainz, before Pearson was sacked.
All three bear testament to Leicester’s scouting system and transfer process led by Steve Walsh, Pearson’s assistant who, notably, was kept on throughout a turbulent summer.
Last season Walsh, who is head of recruitment, could be seen sitting in the stands alongside Pearson and nearly every player arriving through the doors will have been watched in the flesh by him personally. He is the one responsible for giving the final word of approval on all targets.
Walsh was at Chelsea for 16 years and Jose Mourinho appointed him European scout. He worked with Andre Villas-Boas on the signings of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, before leaving for Newcastle under Sam Allardyce, forming a bond with Pearson, and moving to Leicester.
Walsh works closely with David Mills, the club’s chief scout, and will receive information on players from a team of employees in the field as well as through video analysis from Wyscout, a company that clips thousands of matches across the globe. Trusted agents also play a significant role in recommending clients who might match Leicester’s brief.
First, club management identify a desired position and style, and then a shortlist of options is drawn up based on the financial commitment likely in any deal.
Importantly, allied to all calls made throughout this process is an appreciation of the statistics; it is someone’s job to forensically crunch the numbers on any given player. Think minutes per chance created, distance covered and speed reached, balls won back, plus many more variables.
Responsible for much good work in this regard was Rob Mackenzie, employed as the club’s head of technical scouting until Tottenham Hotspur poached him in February this year. Assistant Ben Wrigglesworth was appointed in his place after a thorough application process, an impressive role at just 24 years old.
Japan international Okazaki joined this summer but Mackenzie had long done the analysis and Leicester first enacted a pursuit of his signature in summer 2014.
Bundesliga side Mainz are known as a selling club but always had the desire to wait until this window to cash in and a January move was rebuffed.
As well as his fine goalscoring record – 43 in 93 internationals – and commercial appeal in the Far East, the home of Thai owners Vichai and Aiyawatt
Srivaddhanaprabha, sources have disclosed to Sportsmail that his high work rate, contribution out of possession and versatility were key factors.
Okazaki, 29, operated as a striker for club and country, but played wide when at Stuttgart. He was also accustomed to pressing from the front, as Leicester like to do.
Mahrez, meanwhile, now looks an incredible bargain plucked from the obscurity of France’s second division. The 24-year-old has scored four Premier League goals to lead the charts this season and wreaked havoc on defences with his flair.
Walsh first went to watch Mahrez approximately 18 months before he signed, having identified the need for a wide player of speed and skill. Two other targets were shortlisted – one playing in Ligue 2, the other in Bundesliga 2, both now internationals – but Mahrez stood out.
Mackenzie’s team had to generate their own in-house statistics on the trio of targets as data was unavailable for those leagues. In Christmas 2013 they used a small sample of games to code the players’ actions using specialised software.
The stand-out stats for Mahrez were the amount of positive, attacking actions he attempted and succeeded executing.
His contract situation also appealed – he had six months left so Leicester’s hand in negotiations with Le Havre was strong – as did his intention to play for Algeria rather than France. The African nation had qualified for the World Cup in Brazil so Leicester knew his motivation levels would be high that second half of the season in a bid to make the squad.
Walsh and Mills went to see Mahrez a couple of times before Mackenzie travelled across the Channel for the final game before New Year against Auxerre. All three were buoyed by success stories of former Ligue 2 players such as Olivier Giroud, Lorent Koscielny, and Franck Ribery. A similar tale is shaping for Mahrez.
Vardy, 28, is getting better with age and is now worth far more than the sum Leicester paid three years ago. But it should be remembered what a gamble that kind of cash represented. Vardy, released by Sheffield Wednesday as a teenager, had never played league football, moving from Stocksbridge Park Steels in the eighth tier to Halifax Town as recently as 2012.
Pearson recollects knowing about Vardy from his Stocksbridge days – the former manager lived locally – but only when he was performing consistently for Fleetwood did Leicester properly take notice.
Walsh watched him several times at Fleetwood, including Wycombe away in the FA Cup. The club wanted a striker to press from the front and Vardy excelled.
Chairman Andy Pilley demanded £1m and a host of clubs including Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion inquired. Southampton were close but chose Billy Sharp that January instead.
In the end Peterbrough and Cardiff also had bids accepted but Leicester got his signature after Pearson, who would only get involved in transfers at the finale, invited Vardy to his home and impressed. Vardy initially struggled and doubted himself amid criticism but has come through and is a shining light of Leicester’s recruitment team. As part of ongoing statistical analysis it is recorded he sprints 500m per match, more than double the Premier League average.
‘That deal was a calculated risk that paid off but could have been a disaster,' said a source. 'Fans on social media got to him and he needed to be boosted up. The fee now looks cheap now because he’s been brilliant.’
Obviously not all signings have proved such success. The jury is still out on Andrej Kramaric following his £9m move, for example, but the sense is his quality will tell.
The point is Leicester’s structure works and breeds stability, even throughout personnel changes. Former director of football Terry Robinson performed an important role cutting Leicester’s expenditure after the Sven Goran Eriksson era, and negotiated personal terms with Mahrez before being sacked. Jon Rudkin took over from being academy head in November and completed the Okazaki transfer.
Ranieri’s opinions are now fed into the system and the signing of Atalanta defender Yohan Benalouane is his primarily. Gokhan Inler was on the radar for some time, while N’golo Kante is very much a product of scouting.
Whether these players are hits remains to be seen. What can be certain is that the homework has been done.
[/article]
Oh well, in that case, yes, I'm a big fan of using as much available information as possible and also actually watching players before buying them.
In total agreement with you
I think Mahrez is a different story from Vardy. The latter is certainly in the season of his life. This is not to say that he is a "flash in the pan" – he fully deserves his success as he worked so hard to get there, but I would bet against him sustaining this form in the seasons to come.
On the contrary I don't see why Mahrez can't continue his success for many seasons. He's just a very good player, a real deal. At 24 he is exactly at the age when most players "break out." I didn't see him much before this season, but I remember thinking that this guy is very talented. He will move up to a bigger team and do well there.
On the contrary I don't see why Mahrez can't continue his success for many seasons. He's just a very good player, a real deal. At 24 he is exactly at the age when most players "break out." I didn't see him much before this season, but I remember thinking that this guy is very talented. He will move up to a bigger team and do well there.
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I've watched Leicester a few times this season, they are a very entertaining team to watch (but I missed his hat trick this past weekend). Mahrez has performed well in virtually every match, he's very eye-catching and he is technically very gifted, does very well retaining possession when under pressure, to say nothing of his other attributes. Whether he can sustain it is another question entirely but what an absolute bargain for £350,000.
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Yeah, this is in Kagawa territory (in terms of getting value for money).
FC Barcelona and Bayern are customers of wyscout? We are not...
No wonder we have been signing muck in the last few seasons.
No wonder we have been signing muck in the last few seasons.
Yeah, as soon as we get that £10 sub paid, we can start picking up those cut-price, little-known bargains like Suarez, Ribery, Alonso, Neymar, Mascherano, Alcantara, Vidal, Neuer, Benatia, Villa.
He'll go to arsenal probably
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