Matt Benham spoke live at the Matchbook Traders Conference today – a conference exclusively for sports traders who want to take their trading career to the next level
When asked about Brentford and linking it to statistics – he admitted that things currently didn’t look good from the outside as they were 20th and had recently made a few mistakes which had hit them quite hard.
When questioned on the hiring of Marinus Dijkhuizen he told the audience that the club had done bags of research and zoomed in on the manager they felt the wanted to hire. They pulled in all the necessary references. But he also admitted that the club had also received one bad reference.
This reference they ignored – a fatal mistake – as they were so sure that Dijkhuizen was their man.
He went on to describe his relationship with the media – and his disappointment in the press completely mis-interpreting his, and Brentford’s, use of stats.
He said that he always stated that the club would use a combination of statistical analysis AND human eye (traditional scouting methods) to identify and sign new players. However, the press sensationalised that statement to imply that Brentford’s only way of scouting new players was through statistical analysis.
Benham also went on to speak about how unlucky he felt Brentford had been this season with injuries and compared it to his Danish team FC Mitjylland who won the Danish League last season and recently knocked Southampton out of the Europe League – but had been riding on a large slice of luck.
“Ronald Koeman said the best team had lost over the two matches. he was probably right”
He went on to talk about his global league table – a model which matches the relevant strength of teams in certain countries against teams in other countries. When he signed Tim Sparv from a mid-table 2nd Division team in Germany – it was not that difficult a decision as the team he came from was stronger than most of the teams in the Danish Premier League.
Benham also discussed how certain factors may not be covered by straight stats. . How a player may be playing for strong team in one league  but may find it harder to adapt to a team in say the Championship
He also talked about how it is human nature to jump to conclusions about a player or a situation. Often based on pre-existing prejudices.
“When watching a player play, the ball comes to him and he doesn’t manage to control the ball .. and immediately you think he is shit”
You can watch the full Periscope Video Broadcast of Matthew Benham’s talk at Matchbook Traders Conference right here.
You can also read
Beesotted crew discuss the Matt Benham Traders interview in the Rotherham pre-match podcast
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I am more than a little disgruntled at the bees plite as I have been a life long bees fan
After success over the last 2/3 seasons with great football and success with promotion we appear to be back to square one
Lee Carsley has been appointed to a job that he does not want and we have no manager. Where has the plan gone?
We also have players bought by Marius who are not fit for purpose ie not ready for championship football and a bit light weight
I know we have a number of injuries but where is the system and style gone? We have gone from play off hopefuls to relegation candidates in such a small space of time. With the current style of play I am fearful that we can go down unless a new progressive manager is appointed.
Why is that it is not clear to those who run the club?
This is essentially my main concern. The board clearly made a difficult decision last February to dispense with MW’s services. At that point they would have started embarking on a search for a replacement who fitted their needs. Not unlike my profession this would have involved an application process, perhaps a “paper shift” and then an interview process involving a presentation to the board. In June the club announced Marinus’s appointment. A six month detailed selection process, as it should be for such a crucial role (although 6 months in football is too long I accept).
So when this appointment fails, the club immediately appoints someone from the backroom. Someone who has never managed (for whatever that now means at Brentford) a club and seems a reluctant candidate. I in no way doubt Lee’s ability as a coach.
It seems to me we have gone from one method of seeking a “manager”, to the complete opposite.
An analogy may be that British Airway goes through an in depth selection process for a new CEO and after four months decides it’s not working so lets a senior member of their cabin crew to have a go at it until the end of the year.
Are we serious about this posting or have we kind of thrown in the towel. Surely we should be approaching candidates who just missed out or getting Lee to hold the fort until the new selection process is complete.
Of course I wish Lee every success and would like both him and Matthew to chuck this back in my face by Christmas.
You Bees
Rotherham and Wolves? Good response guys
And again at Charlton. A result against QPR and I shall crawl back into my cynical box and shut up til May. #loving being wrong