A bit more constructive than, "Stats can tell you anything." I'd recommend "Freakonomics" for further reading on not jumping to immediate conclusions - see Brendan's latest statistical claims - and the difference between a causality and a correlation - see Brendan's latest statistical claims on fewer wins against those above us representing a clear improvement. I doubt Brendan has ever read Bob's quote about the long ball, the short ball and the right ball. What I wondered was why FSG took advice from Mr. Beane on hiring Damian Comolli then sacked him a year later in a kneejerk one-season appraisal of his signings. A lot was made of Gareth Bale having always been on the Spurs losing side but nobody's suggesting Comolli was incompetent in signing Gareth Bale now. How much would FSG like £80m? I'd also take issue with the claim on "autocratic managers who had left school at 16 to become players and didnât hold with book-learning." Fergie's a well-read bloke, as is Ancelotti and Capello. They're not the only ones. Perhaps the authors are just too young to have first hand experience of the old days and see it through a cliched haze of lard, asbestos and rickets. please log in to view this image
