That's what I say, stare them straight in the eye and say “Oh look, a stats bore”, generally makes them shut up / cry / self harm depending on their levels of resilience.
Seems a bit harsh to be honest. Stats and the eye test both matter.
Some players absolutely pad the stats with ineffective passes and what not, but also they can be useful to pick up on aspects of a players game that can go unnoticed during the flow of a game.
The eye test can affirm the stats are ‘telling the truth’ instead of measuring useless metrics.
Many of the most successful recruitment teams across Europe have been heavily utilising advanced data systems to guide their transfers.
Of course advanced stats will never replace casual talk of the game at the pub etc, they’re much less tangible. But to dismiss someone who takes a bit of an interest in them as a ‘bore’ just feels like a dick thing to do. It’s like if I called you a dinosaur for not caring about xG…just let people enjoy the things they enjoy and get on with what you do.
