Sterling issue!

[Stonigut]

We were fighting a losing battle on Sterling. First off he is 17 yo, every thing he has obtained has been through England. The guys entrusted with his development at Liverpool would never allow him to comfortably or easily choose Jamaica, it was not going to happen and right now Sterling s in a place where 100% of his trust is with liverpool management, that was truly some pipe dreams, youth not even do anything yet!!

Best we can hope for is that Mcanuff wants to play, he is the missing link for ja midfield.

[USAF]

I see them refering to McAnuff as a winger - he could help, but the 'Boyz need a creative mid, who can control the tempo for the team and supply the strikers with defense splitting passes.

[Stonigut]

Winger or not, this guy has the best assist totals by far of any Jamaican player over the past three years, he has 13 goals and 30 assists, I bet his assist total in the last three years far exceeds that of the entire Jamaican midfield roster that played today, for the last three years of assists they had in club ball combined.

[Gamma]

the thing about the assist is that whoever gets the ball scores ..... just a minor point of order

[TheDread]

I see them refering to McAnuff as a winger - he could help, but the 'Boyz need a creative mid, who can control the tempo for the team and supply the strikers with defense splitting passes.

McAnuff can play as a central mid or a winger. He would be a worthwhile addition to the team if he is committed.

[USAF]

Thanks to you & Stonigut for the info. If he can play that creative mid position combined with his leadership quality and experience, that would fill that gap in your team.

[Stonigut]

Then it is no mistake when the same name keeps popping up on the assist total.

You know what is really strange, actually bizarre, most if not all Jamaican football fanatics literally worship at the altar of the skilled midfielder, the fundamental thing is we have no way of measuring their production in Jamaica except that they look good on the ball.

Assists is the best way to judge an attacking midfielder so like Mcanuff he consistently delivers 10 plus assists every season, senior delivered 8 in Rspl last season, but we have no clue how much hue produced. The job of the attacking midfielder is to create, altering time and space fundamentals on the field thus producing an advantage for the attackers. But since we don't measure the thing that the midfielder is best judged on we Thus don't produce anyone who Consistently creates opportunities for others. Thus we are at a comparative disadvantage in this area thus the numerous calls by all for this thing that we cannot produce. Where are our productive Jamaican midfielders that produce assists at a club level looks like it does not exist.

[Gamma]

what i meant is that the creative midfielder's stats are skewed if he delivers goal scoring opportunities that are fluffed.

[Islandman]

Well said, the only thing I disagree with you on is that it is strange or bizarre.

As a people we don't have the inclination to use data to measure or analyze anything unless it is very straightforward like 9.58 in a 100m or a century in cricket. To do so would mean we may have to consider changing our opinion when the facts do not support it. We nuh inna dat.

Take the economy and our political leaders for example.....

[Stonigut]

True true, but what is simpler than an assist except a goal.

[Mosiah]

How do you measure/judge the attacking midfielder whose would-be assists are not realised because the striker dash whey di goal dem?

I saw Jermaine Hue hand Dino Williams 4 goals in the space of 30 minutes in the first half against Cuba only to see the striker not convert any of them. To be fair, him never dash whey all a dem because the goalie made some good saves.

Hue has been doing that for over a decade for HV. In a true sense, an attacking midfielder is only as good as the strikers he plays with.

[Mosiah]

Oh, just saw this after I wrote my post below.

[Gamma]

yuh watch di DVD yet?!!

[Islandman]

Yes but that is true of any true team sport activity to some extent, no? The bowler is limited by the ability of fielders to take the catches, volleyball player can only spike well if he gets set well, point guard is as good as the shooters he distributes to, etc.

Point is, data gathering should be used to assist in rating talent, but it doesn't replace the need for scouting , etc. That's how you find the hidden gems.