Colinjb

So, this has made 'sticky' status. Hope we havn't jumped to false conclusions.

Uranium. MWaaaaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Fingers crossed we are finally going to pop our transfer cherry this window!

Who is to say we are not after both? After the worries we had over Yoshida playing in a poor team before joining us and how he has become one of the first choice defenders in our squad I would suspect Forren can make the step up. Sounds like a straight alternative to Fonte for me.

Had that wonderful game against Liverpool, then just when he should have been a key man as we fought for survival he missed an unfortunate sitter and lost his mind against Arsenal. His career never really recovered from that, a pity. He could have been excellent yet something was missing.

Has to be Strachan. Unless Glen Hoddle fancies it of course. Or Ian Branfoot.

Why are people getting so worked up over this?

Ok, just as St Chalet splits the initial thread I open this up in General sports... http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?42355-Using-the-Football-manager-Database-as-a-scouting-tool&p=1582740#post1582740

It is an interesting topic for me. Many people within football do use the database (not the game's model of football, just the comparative statistics) as a tool and it is often used as a way of getting a snapshot of who unknown players are and whether they could be useful. The amount of time it takes to compile is astonishing, there is literally a world-wide network of people who contribute to it. But is it a reliable way of getting a quick view of a player's ability? Is it naive to trust the statistics present in what is essentially a game, or actually a great and thorough representation of up to 50,000 professional/semi professional football players for that year's model of the world of football? For me, looking at raw statistics, player stats (e.g. wow, he's got 15/20 for heading!) can be dangerous, as there is always margin for error in a model reliant on subjective judgement but it can still provide at least a clue as to what you are getting thanks to how rigorous the database is regulated. But for information such as 'he's a centre back,' then yes, no harm and a great quick 'look up' guide.... and certainly more reliable then Wikipedia. (Kenwyne Jones was a Derby County player according to that for a time.)

At least we now have confirmation that the persona you reflect on here is a complete fallacy. So, away from Turkish's madness. Vegard Forren. 24 years old (assuming that all electronic sources of information can be in any way trusted....) not as young as many of the players we have been chasing. Younger then Astori though and capped a few more times, albeit for a 'weaker' international nation. And another player (after Ramirez, Astori....) who Liverpool are also trailing. Do we use the same agents to source our players?

As this is a computer environment, the above post, and indeed all posts on here obviously are utterly meaningless too.

What a troll! You really are off form.

The database is a compilation of real life observations by real people. But anyway, yes, you are obviously feeling attention starved, going around in circles. Goodnight Turkish.

As his position in the computer game is based on what he does in real life. It does carry meaning. If we were basing a players ability on their character rating in Skyrim, I may agree with your logic.

Well, it would certainly at the very least imply that he can play at left back and has experience in the position! Yes, players positions can evolve as they grow. But as for a snapshot, at one point in time, it's a nice reflection and useful tool for research.

Obviously the way the game operates is a model of reality and will not be 100% accurate. And yes, the stats ranging from 0-20 will be to a certain degree subjective and based on the scouting ability/perception of the researcher. But the nature of someone recording a player's position in a database. What is the issue there? If they have played at centre back/left back for the club they support and watch week in week out, then why have an issue with it? Or are you saying it's just as likely that the Molde researcher is an idiot and confuses goalkeepers with strikers? Or is Turkish feeling a little attention starved?

If a fan of a club who happens to be a FM researcher says a player is a left back, why wouldn't you believe him?

Simply a sign of how media distribution is changing. Our Price, Game, Zavvi.... HMV have done well to hang on for so long. Browsing for records and films in places like HMV used to a be a real joy, but has now been utterly surpassed by browsing Youtube and then buying on Amazon, Play.com or iTunes. No need to even go into town.

Be fair now Jill, you just hate it when people quote posts and go 'like' or equivalent, don't you.

To the tune of 'Celery...' Lottery, Lottery! Sod you all we've got a striker who has won the lottery.... Lottttterrryyyyy..............

So, as well as being barely literate he also has no sense of humour?

My Coventry supporting mate (who wanted to see us beat Villa.... he got his wish) was surprised that Boruc was our first choice and felt that he really wasn't anything special, despite it being one of the best goalkeeping performances I've seen for us this season. He immediately flagged up the name Keiren Westwood as a better 'keeper. Ex Coventry and being kept out of the Sunderland team by Mignolet. As far as i'm concerned it's still our weakest position but at least we have someone who, for me, is the best of the three we have starting to look the part.

Very much this. Players who are more familiar with each other will be more consistent.

It's a good question, but injuries to Lallana and the absence of Guly yesterday restricted us tactically. Bradford succeeded against Villa by using set pieces and good wing play, we didn't set up like that for some reason. (Although Shaw on the overlap, and Puncheon/Clyne down the right did look promising, the lack of men committing into the box for crosses was highly disappointing for me though. We seemed to stand off their defence in those situations not apply pressure to them.) Adkins is showing to be very flexible tactically, we do not set up with just one system. How we played against Stoke was very different to how we played against Arsenal for instance. It seems he is willing to trust his players in positions that are not necessarily their best.... and sometimes circumstance can force you to play your players out of position.

He was out of position yesterday, I actually think Guly would have been better in the wide left position and was surprised Adkins went for a 4-4-2 (Rickie deep laying centre forward.) Gaston is easily our most talented player, but like all players he needs to be played to his strengths. He is not a winger, he is a central play maker. He shouldn't be judged on yesterday alone, he still got involved and did ok but wasn't near his peak. Surround him with better players and I believe he would look even better still. I don't think it's an accident that he looks better when playing in the same side as Adam Lallana, one of the few players in the team to have similar ability with the ball at his feet.