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Paul Mitchell - Head of Recruitment and Analysis

Additionally if he wasn't able to remember in his head a reasonably sized list of most of the good players he'd identified along with their best attributes then I don't think I want somebody with such limited brain power at our club.... Of course it's also pretty likely that he managed to hit the 'print' button a few times towards the end of his tenure there and take some work home with him.
 
I work in software and I tell you code theft is almost impossible to find and prove unless you are a bit thick.

Edit: Patent infringement is the real battleground.

I think that it is fanciful to suggest that Mitchell does any coding. The application will be bought in from one of the big performance analysis companies.
 
it wasn't just the software, he had like 5 -6 guys in a room who viewed videoclips all day long noting down stuff...this is the part that codes can't do yet, and won't be too difficult for mitchell to reassemble. i am not sure what the program does but surely its statistics and modelling, not quantum theory!
 
I think that it is fanciful to suggest that Mitchell does any coding. The application will be bought in from one of the big performance analysis companies.

I think they buy the data, which probably has some analysis tools (sabermetrics/the stuff like the Comolli video).

But Mitchells' particular talent is supposed to be writing algorithms to use that data to predict future trends/trajectories. The Billy Beane stuff
 
I think they buy the data, which probably has some analysis tools (sabermetrics/the stuff like the Comolli video).

But Mitchells' particular talent is supposed to be writing algorithms to use that data to predict future trends/trajectories. The Billy Beane stuff

I'm not disputing this fact (as I have no idea myself) but where did you get this from?

Didn't you make an assumption before that the 'black box' was some sort of algorithm processor when in actual fact it was just the name of the video analysis room at Southampton?
 
I'm not disputing this fact (as I have no idea myself) but where did you get this from?

Didn't you make an assumption before that the 'black box' was some sort of algorithm processor when in actual fact it was just the name of the video analysis room at Southampton?

There was a 30 odd minute Southampton video going around about him and what he does (I can't find it now, perhaps Soton deleted it, but others here will have watched it). The black box is both an algorithim and the physical room where the computers are set up.

Also his background isn't in 'sheepskin coat' scouting - he's always been a data analyst.

Use of big data is a major growth area in football (and every walk of life) and bringing in Mitchells was an attempt to try and catch-up on that (to complement Levy using his favourite agent and Baldini having a traditional eye for talent)
 
I think that it is fanciful to suggest that Mitchell does any coding. The application will be bought in from one of the big performance analysis companies.
I'm not suggesting he wrote it but assuming there is some custom code written that does analysis then that is as easy to swipe as copy and paste. Having not seen anything at all I dare say he has something that parses the raw data, from what ever source, to his own slant. His skill is probably in the interpretation of the results.
 
Here's a video about him (from about 6.20 for 4 mins):

And an article: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11582234.display/

It looks like he has quite a technical/analytical role, so I guess he'd come in beneath/supporting Baldini and Broomfield, rather than a replacement for either.

It also seems his science is applied to internal talent as well, so presumably there'd be overlap with McDermott and the academy too.
It's worth watching this video again to remind us of the 5 teenagers doing the video editing / analysis and a look at the Black Box room
 
It's worth watching this video again to remind us of the 5 teenagers doing the video editing / analysis and a look at the Black Box room

Five more or less unpaid teenagers no doubt, potentially making millions for the club.
 
I work in software and I tell you code theft is almost impossible to find and prove unless you are a bit thick.

Edit: Patent infringement is the real battleground.

This is also football we are talking about.
If fraud, theft and underhandedness equaled jail, most of us would get a game
Most clubs do it I'm sure, and know they all need to tolerate it to a certain extent as they are all in it together.

SCBC will still have the data, just depends if it now fits what Koeman wants and then you have agree a deal to sign a player and then hope he actually performs. We are talking humans after all.

Some data sets and algorithms are a useful tool, but performance data does not equal success, only sound decision making and execution does
 
I think they buy the data, which probably has some analysis tools (sabermetrics/the stuff like the Comolli video).

But Mitchells' particular talent is supposed to be writing algorithms to use that data to predict future trends/trajectories. The Billy Beane stuff

I am sure that he is proficient in using the tools and may have some novel ideas on how to manipulate the data but he is almost certainly not doing any development. No big company would leave that to one man or else you would be left with a Turkey when they upped and left.
 
Plus it's not like you build the tool then just let it run, will need constant refining and updating to reflect new data sets and other stats etc that become important depending on the requirements of the squad etc
 
I think they buy the data, which probably has some analysis tools (sabermetrics/the stuff like the Comolli video).

But Mitchells' particular talent is supposed to be writing algorithms to use that data to predict future trends/trajectories. The Billy Beane stuff

There was a 30 odd minute Southampton video going around about him and what he does (I can't find it now, perhaps Soton deleted it, but others here will have watched it). The black box is both an algorithim and the physical room where the computers are set up.

Also his background isn't in 'sheepskin coat' scouting - he's always been a data analyst.

Use of big data is a major growth area in football (and every walk of life) and bringing in Mitchells was an attempt to try and catch-up on that (to complement Levy using his favourite agent and Baldini having a traditional eye for talent)

Here's a video about him (from about 6.20 for 4 mins):

And an article: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11582234.display/

It looks like he has quite a technical/analytical role, so I guess he'd come in beneath/supporting Baldini and Broomfield, rather than a replacement for either.

It also seems his science is applied to internal talent as well, so presumably there'd be overlap with McDermott and the academy too.

I've watched the film a few times now and I cannot find the bit where he talks about him writing the algorithms.
 
GB and this Algorithym nonsense.

The Black Box is the fudging name of a room with an interactive TV screen they use to present their findings to the powers that be - pull up tables and charts and link to video clips and so on, it's a glorified fudging presentation room - not footballs answer to HAL for Christ sakes
 
GB and this Algorithym nonsense.

The Black Box is the fudgeing name of a room with an interactive TV screen they use to present their findings to the powers that be - pull up tables and charts and link to video clips and so on, it's a glorified fudgeing presentation room - not footballs answer to HAL for Christ sakes

I think that we need to move the last page or so to classics because it will be brought up again in a few months
 
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