Les Reed and Sanchez Have Read "Moneyball"

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/ ... 38,00.html

Les Reed seems to be a follower of "Moneyball" (figuratively) and Sanchez apparently sought him out because of it.

Good article on Reed's football education.

 

Nobody cares about Les Reed? That article makes him out to be a statistics guy, kind of like Theo Epstein is for the Boston Red Sox. At least he's got intellect. Hopefully he can put 2 and 2 together for Fulham.

 

Sorry to see you feel left out, we love you still Lyle! I have already said in various other post that I think Reed is a good backroom boy and think the LS have made a good choice in bringing him in.

 

Thanks man. Reed seems like a well-rounded football guy. Although the coach at Southampton thinks Fulham's offer for Chris Baird to be "ridiculous".

http://www.football.co.uk/fulham/saints ... 7287.shtml

 

I think the offer for Baird was ridiculous too. 2.5 million is way too much for a defender the caliber of Baird. I am not saying I do not want him I just would not pay that amount.

 

With a limited budget, "Moneyball" principles are exactly the kind of thing that this club needs.

 

Yes. Les and Sanchez need get the most for their money. Very hard thing to do though.

 

Thanks for the article Lyle. Really enjoyed it. While browsing the Guardian website I came across this article which I found very interesting also.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,2002869,00.html

As a big fan of the "moneyball" concept and someone who is very intrigued by the modern advances in coaching and scouting, it is refreshing that a club I follow is finally using some of these methods.

The Sanchez/Reed duo seem to compare favorable with the Beane/Depodesta team in Moneyball. Sanchez, like Beane, was a professional player who tasted success at the highest level and knows what it takes to win as a player. They have the instincts that only a professional player has. Reed on the other hand, like Beane's sidekick in the book Depodesta, doesn't have any playing experience at the high levels of the game, but have made up for it with their use of facts and willingness to adapt to new advancements. Combine the two toghether, the instinct with the facts, and you have what makes up Oakland's success and hopefully to come, Fulham's.

At first I didn't rate Sanchez too high, I was acutally a bit disappointed in the choice. But the more I read about the man and Les Reed, the more I'm starting to warm up to him. Aaron Hughes is just the player that an Oakland would buy, low-risk high-reward. Ala a Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, etc, etc that Oakland seems to cheaply acquire and thrive off of every season.

 

Excellent article. Glad you liked the Les Reed read. I had the same reaction as you, it made me respect Reed and Sanchez a little bit more (I wasn't a big fan of Sanchez's hiring either). I still wonder how bright Sanchez really is though. He seems to not know what he's talking about when he speaks. Maybe his after game media talks say nothing about him though.

It's going to be an interesting season. I'm looking forward to the struggle.

... oh, and I'm a big fan of Aidy Boothroyd. Him and Billy Davies. Smart guys.

And I didn't realize Warnock at Sheffield U was trying to wind the other team up with his media talks. I just thought he was ignorant.