Developing players and selling players is about the only effective football model. His message says nothing about investing in first team recruitment and this encourages me greatly.
"I am sure that our football can be raised to a new level using my experience in creating an innovative business, using the most modern technologies and artificial intelligence capabilities."
This particular line, to my mind, deserves its own thread. The model he seems to want to follow is Brentford's - turning us into Moneyball 2.0 using the power of AI.
AI is going to transform every aspect of life as we know it - for better and worse - and it's a fascinating move to put Wycombe in the vanguard of the AI revolution in football.
What might it involve? Scouting, sure. Training regimes, personalised to the individual (this is where Dan Rice may come in?) Analysis of opposition tactics and how to counter them. Performance analytics in real-time far greater than anything the GPS tracking bras give us at the moment.
That's just the very basics I could think of in 30 seconds. There's so much of football that can be improved - or at least changed - through AI. Some of it will be quite dystopian (not to get all Philip K Dick over it but you could imagine a world when 8yos are subjected to AI genetic tests to work out which have the most potential for development).
And if anyone can do it, a tech bro can.
All of a sudden, the Champions League in a few years time doesn't seem so inconceivable...
I’ll wait until AI can reliably draw the right number of fingers on hands before I believe it will be able to tell whether children can be developed into elite footballers.
Fabulous merchandise opportunity for the club, it'll be a glorious sight to behold to see the massed hordes of the Chairboys' faithful sporting some of these titfers.
So many things could go wrong with the plan, there are probably far more Bury's than Man City's, but not that many people cared when Rob bought the majority share, and to be fair to lots of them - so far that has worked out well. On balance if you'd have somehow guaranteed then that he'd keep the place going for five years, we'd have success and then he'd sell us to a billionaire keen on starting an academy it would have got almost universal support and he'd have got 100% and the ground.
Once the trust gave up the quarter then the notion that he'd sell on to whoever he liked whenever he liked and we wouldn't even know in advance was sealed.
We could go boom and bust easily but as we have no say in any of it people can be forgiven for enjoying the journey. Many of us have either carried or help fill the begging buckets and probably assumed we'd see them again sooner.
By all means ask the questions if we ever get the chance and don't give the guy an easy free ride if he hasn't got our needs front and centre and this is all either misguided or solely for advancing his country, but without any kind of buy back clause he isn't going anywhere soon and at least he actually has some money unlike half of the chumps trying to buy lower league clubs for their own reasons.
If I were Rob and still involved as Chairman, i’d be bending ML ear to open a training centre in New Orleans as well specifically looking at North and South American talents.
Assuming boring things like Visas could be sorted. Wonder if Pete is actually still looking for a job in football…
Pete will have known about all this long before he decided to move on. Suspect Rob and Missy will be enjoying their retirement unburdened by Football club expenses in weeks not months but who knows.
Work permits are an issue but the idea of having twin training grounds and multi club setups is as much about sharing knowledge, I suspect some Kazakh kids will get short trips over here but then be sold on to other clubs in other countries rather than sign for us. Might not be terribly difficult to get in their national team if that helps.
Blackburn's crowds were appalling before Jack Walker came along - half of Burnley's who were usually below them in the league back then and Blackburns a much bigger town. Having said that their crowds seem to be slipping back to terrible but they had a few good years to put it mildly and the attendances rose accordingly.
How do work permits even work? Man City couldn't get one for Douglas Luiz, for example, yet he must have got one once he went to Villa. What's the difference?
Pretty sure work permits work on how far up the coefficients the country from where the player is coming from. Eg, probably easier to get a Spanish, Italian, French lad here than it is a Latvian, Maltese, American Samoan.
I'm sure Kones was probably made harder by the fact he was originally seeking Asylum wasn't he ?
I see a lot of comments describing the Couhig’s tenure as a success and whilst I appreciate their obvious efforts I have the following criticisms which also beg associated questions regarding the takeover:
Despite intention to run the club sustainably, debt had greatly increased: does the takeover clear the club of debt, do creditors remain the same or is debt moved to new creditors? Is there any new debt being added to the books?
Trust stake in the club diminished by 60% over the previous tenure: does the Trusts still hold a 10% stake and under what terms can the Trust be called upon to part-match new investment in the club? In short - can we be blown out of the water if the new owner pumps in £20m and we cannot magic up £2m in short order?
Will any new investment be through the club or will new academy schemes be separate ventures? If separate, how will player registration rules be conformed to?
Ground improvements and maintenance were left undone despite rent relief: have there been any assurances regarding the upkeep of the ground or an intention to pay a meaningful rent for the playing and commercial facilities?
I feel sure that all of these questions must have been addressed prior to the sale of the club. Were the Trust privy to these discussions and if so are they planning on informing the membership? Have the Trust developed a relationship with the new owner at all yet or has this been entirely between the Couhigs and Mr Lomtadze?
I suppose these are rhetoric questions since I don’t expect any posters to be privy to this information, but I do hope that the new owner and/or the Trust are planning on filling the information void at some point soon and at least acknowledging the void in the meantime.
Not even the slightest bit of a clue if I am honest. I’m sure it’s more than a little complicated.
however, my mind says that in the US particularly there will be/are many UK residents working over there who’s kids are there which might make that an easier thing to sort. Or relatives of people that have moved to the US (children, grandchildren etc) that might make it easier from there than Kazakhstan.
I’d hate to bring up the B word, but I am sure Brexit could make it harder. Or easier. Depending on who is making up the rules that week.
In the laws of the game, it would be considered an Indirect freekick however just like foul throws, its rarely enforced and that then makes it very difficult to enforce
Comments
Developing players and selling players is about the only effective football model. His message says nothing about investing in first team recruitment and this encourages me greatly.
"I am sure that our football can be raised to a new level using my experience in creating an innovative business, using the most modern technologies and artificial intelligence capabilities."
This particular line, to my mind, deserves its own thread. The model he seems to want to follow is Brentford's - turning us into Moneyball 2.0 using the power of AI.
AI is going to transform every aspect of life as we know it - for better and worse - and it's a fascinating move to put Wycombe in the vanguard of the AI revolution in football.
What might it involve? Scouting, sure. Training regimes, personalised to the individual (this is where Dan Rice may come in?) Analysis of opposition tactics and how to counter them. Performance analytics in real-time far greater than anything the GPS tracking bras give us at the moment.
That's just the very basics I could think of in 30 seconds. There's so much of football that can be improved - or at least changed - through AI. Some of it will be quite dystopian (not to get all Philip K Dick over it but you could imagine a world when 8yos are subjected to AI genetic tests to work out which have the most potential for development).
And if anyone can do it, a tech bro can.
All of a sudden, the Champions League in a few years time doesn't seem so inconceivable...
I’ll wait until AI can reliably draw the right number of fingers on hands before I believe it will be able to tell whether children can be developed into elite footballers.
Fabulous merchandise opportunity for the club, it'll be a glorious sight to behold to see the massed hordes of the Chairboys' faithful sporting some of these titfers.
And they look very New Orleans, so Rob will be pleased.
Prioritizing an academy is much more encouraging than talking about building a 40,000 seater premier league ready stadium.
From little acorns do mighty oaks grow.
Indeed. Though when Steve Cooper is announced as the new manager next week, because he won the U17 World Cup, I'll feel a bit nervous.
From acorn to mighty oak to living room furniture and our chair metropolis journey is complete.
Thanks Vincey.
Unfortunately mine didn't. I was about to apply for lessons in Georgian lingo from you.
All of a sudden it seems I'm the least crazy person on the gasroom.
Predict we will be Bury in 5 years
So many things could go wrong with the plan, there are probably far more Bury's than Man City's, but not that many people cared when Rob bought the majority share, and to be fair to lots of them - so far that has worked out well. On balance if you'd have somehow guaranteed then that he'd keep the place going for five years, we'd have success and then he'd sell us to a billionaire keen on starting an academy it would have got almost universal support and he'd have got 100% and the ground.
Once the trust gave up the quarter then the notion that he'd sell on to whoever he liked whenever he liked and we wouldn't even know in advance was sealed.
We could go boom and bust easily but as we have no say in any of it people can be forgiven for enjoying the journey. Many of us have either carried or help fill the begging buckets and probably assumed we'd see them again sooner.
By all means ask the questions if we ever get the chance and don't give the guy an easy free ride if he hasn't got our needs front and centre and this is all either misguided or solely for advancing his country, but without any kind of buy back clause he isn't going anywhere soon and at least he actually has some money unlike half of the chumps trying to buy lower league clubs for their own reasons.
If I were Rob and still involved as Chairman, i’d be bending ML ear to open a training centre in New Orleans as well specifically looking at North and South American talents.
Assuming boring things like Visas could be sorted. Wonder if Pete is actually still looking for a job in football…
Pete will have known about all this long before he decided to move on. Suspect Rob and Missy will be enjoying their retirement unburdened by Football club expenses in weeks not months but who knows.
Work permits are an issue but the idea of having twin training grounds and multi club setups is as much about sharing knowledge, I suspect some Kazakh kids will get short trips over here but then be sold on to other clubs in other countries rather than sign for us. Might not be terribly difficult to get in their national team if that helps.
Blackburn's crowds were appalling before Jack Walker came along - half of Burnley's who were usually below them in the league back then and Blackburns a much bigger town. Having said that their crowds seem to be slipping back to terrible but they had a few good years to put it mildly and the attendances rose accordingly.
How do work permits even work? Man City couldn't get one for Douglas Luiz, for example, yet he must have got one once he went to Villa. What's the difference?
Wasn't it a struggle to get hold of one for Kone too?
Yes it was a struggle. It took two years for a club to be in a position to sign him.
Pretty sure work permits work on how far up the coefficients the country from where the player is coming from. Eg, probably easier to get a Spanish, Italian, French lad here than it is a Latvian, Maltese, American Samoan.
I'm sure Kones was probably made harder by the fact he was originally seeking Asylum wasn't he ?
I see a lot of comments describing the Couhig’s tenure as a success and whilst I appreciate their obvious efforts I have the following criticisms which also beg associated questions regarding the takeover:
Despite intention to run the club sustainably, debt had greatly increased: does the takeover clear the club of debt, do creditors remain the same or is debt moved to new creditors? Is there any new debt being added to the books?
Trust stake in the club diminished by 60% over the previous tenure: does the Trusts still hold a 10% stake and under what terms can the Trust be called upon to part-match new investment in the club? In short - can we be blown out of the water if the new owner pumps in £20m and we cannot magic up £2m in short order?
Will any new investment be through the club or will new academy schemes be separate ventures? If separate, how will player registration rules be conformed to?
Ground improvements and maintenance were left undone despite rent relief: have there been any assurances regarding the upkeep of the ground or an intention to pay a meaningful rent for the playing and commercial facilities?
I feel sure that all of these questions must have been addressed prior to the sale of the club. Were the Trust privy to these discussions and if so are they planning on informing the membership? Have the Trust developed a relationship with the new owner at all yet or has this been entirely between the Couhigs and Mr Lomtadze?
I suppose these are rhetoric questions since I don’t expect any posters to be privy to this information, but I do hope that the new owner and/or the Trust are planning on filling the information void at some point soon and at least acknowledging the void in the meantime.
At least the N Korean didn’t cut bits of my body off in public (just metaphorically).
Yes she did use me, but never has being used so pleasurable.
I have been posting optimistically about the takeover without diving too deep..... some very thought provoking points made here
Listen Matt, I know Bakhtiyar is only 12 years old, but he starts against Lincoln next Saturday. UNDERSTAND?
(A scene from 2027's The Lomtadze Good Friday)
Not even the slightest bit of a clue if I am honest. I’m sure it’s more than a little complicated.
however, my mind says that in the US particularly there will be/are many UK residents working over there who’s kids are there which might make that an easier thing to sort. Or relatives of people that have moved to the US (children, grandchildren etc) that might make it easier from there than Kazakhstan.
I’d hate to bring up the B word, but I am sure Brexit could make it harder. Or easier. Depending on who is making up the rules that week.
I thought that getting work permits for football players was largely based on in them playing for their national team?
The issue for Richard Kone was his immigration status I thought. Wasn't he waiting to be declared a refugee?
Try this
https://www.danielgeey.com/done-deal-blog/changes-to-english-footballs-work-permit-rules
I’m not sure you’ve quite grasped what AI is and does.
Hugely illuminating, thanks.
In the laws of the game, it would be considered an Indirect freekick however just like foul throws, its rarely enforced and that then makes it very difficult to enforce
In short: Football Learnings of Buckinghamshire for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Not even another bloody Borat joke. It really is what he intends to do.