From memory, Warnock said that Virgil van Dijk was so positionally intelligent he never needed to sprint. That kind of detail was lost on the analysis guy, which is why the eye test, especially when used by someone with years of experience, still holds value. However, managers like Warnock are unlikely to share stories about times they ignored the data and ended up with a poor signing, or when they missed out on a player who had been flagged through a data-led approach. There is often an element of ego and self-preservation among the old-school managers.
I’m no expert, but for me, there are five key factors that are equally important in helping a player succeed at the next level: data, suitability for the system, the eye test, personality and temperament, and athleticism or injury record. One of Klopp’s greatest strengths was his ability to recognise the value in all these areas. He embraced working with people in with specialist knowledge, trusted their insights, and used that to form a complete picture of each player. Once the power dynamics were right, the approach worked incredibly well for most of his time at the club. Towards the end of his tenure, things started to go awry when the backroom team was leaving. Keeping some players for too long and signings like Nunez or Minamino suggest that even the very best can place too much faith in what they see, or blind loyalty, rather than balancing it with the full picture and having the opportunity to be challenged on key decisions.
