Andre Villas-Boas has spoken about the difficulties managers face as a result of the increased use of data analysis, recalling “massive, massive arguments” over the potential signing of Wolves favorite Joao Moutinho when he was Tottenham manager.
The Portuguese wanted to sign compatriot Moutinho from Porto in the summer of 2012, six years before he joined Wolves, but the midfielder was only sixth on the list compiled by then sporting director Franco Baldini using data and statistical analysis.
Spurs pursued other targets, including Mousa Dembele, and only returned for Moutinho at the end of the summer transfer window, missing out by a minute.
Villas-Boas understands the quandary that managers will now face as more clubs use data and artificial intelligence to identify targets.
“The most evident case I had when I was at Tottenham and I wanted to sign Joao Moutinho and he was sitting sixth on the list compiled by data people,” he said while speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
“The first on the list was Dembele, who we eventually signed, and we almost signed Moutinho as well, but we lost it against the clock on the final day of the transfer window.”
“But it drained me emotionally to the point where, here was a guy who, from the coach’s perspective, was not showing all that he represented, which is a player who knows your leadership, a player who knows your style, adaptability to your style.”
“This can be quantified, but it must be done from the perspective of a coach rather than a single viewpoint.”
“This was the issue in the beginning, and we had massive, massive arguments with Moutinho about it.”
“We signed Dembele but were unable to sign Moutinho, which was unfortunate because we were planning to build a very strong midfield.”
“This is precisely where you have to have that balance to understand, what is your coaching philosophy and how it should be integrated into the data that has been provided to you.”
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