Statistics: lies or plain figures?

Today many young managers have begun to place their faith in statistics which are put up in front of them by nameless faces; people that know how to crunch numbers but have no knowledge or interest in the glorious game of football may be misleading people who have a lot at stake.

It is embarrassing to listen to guys like Steve McLaren spew out facts as well as figures that are supposed to convince ordinary football lovers about why things are not going right with the England team. Are these facts meant to paper over obvious errors made by McLaren and his compatriots? Could be - think about facts relating to the performance of players such as Lampard and Downing against lowly Andorra. If you had put your faith in figures thrown up by the statistics you would have ended up believing that these two had copped out in the game. These figures would have had you believing that Lampard and Downing were the poorer performers on the night. However, Downing put in more crosses than any other player.

Stats, no doubt, have their place. But no true football lover is going to go by them, and it is time that football managers understood that sometimes these stats can make a bad player look good and a good player look bad. The eyes tell their own story – and usually see the game for what it really is. Stats can mislead you if you are not careful.