Pod interview with Tony Khan

[toshes mate]

Data has to be specific or precise to have any meaning at all to a human being e.g. You think TK is wonderful and I don't.  Now we could set up a computer program to determine who out of the two of us is right or wrong.  To do so we would sit down and determine what makes a human being wonderful.  We could spend a lifetime arguing about the things that make a human being wonderful and not reach agreement, but we want to be friendly and get the computer program to run, and so we agree upon a compromise set of factors suitable for it.  We also manage to agree on each factor as it relates to TK.  We enter the data into the computer.  We run the program and it says 'you are right' and 'I am wrong'.   What has the computer told us?  (It isn't a trick question).     

I don't think he's wonderful at all though.  This is why the internet is so insane these days. You try to suggest that all these extreme views are a bit much and you're automatically cast onto the other extreme.  I just said a few times that I feel he's broadly on the right lines and doesn't deserve all the nonsense thrown his way.

As for football, it's probably not that different to anything that's quantitatively measured.  So if you're looking at share performance you can see what variables might predict future performance and then back test this with data to the point where, to a degree, you can predict future performance.  so you do the same here.  What data is important in winning football matches?   Then break down from there.  It's work in progress but far from impossible, particularly now when the data is so much more advanced.

It was a make believe scenario.  My apologies for not being clearer about that. 
The simple answer to my question was that, based upon our scores, the score for TK being wonderful added up to more points than the score for him not being wonderful.  There are trickier answers to the question e.g. you are a better negotiator for TK than I am against him and so on.  The point is the data put in by us is the data that will be pushed out to us.  The computer simply adds up and makes calculations based on the input.

Good data is good data and bad data is bad data.  Computers simply manipulate what is fed to them as in garbage in, garbage out.   

No but your regression model should cover that.  So Ferguson sold Jaap Stam because his tackling numbers were declining.  That was a mistake because tackling wasn't a good variable and didn't impact on winning matches.  However, these days there's so much data that you can build models which do correlate well with winning matches.   So if you have a model whose data accurately explains winning football matches then you're golden. 

There are literally hundreds of thousands of peer reviewed papers on methods to accurately access outcomes of all sporting events, not just football.  It is with the betting companies to have by far the best of predictive models to produce the odds that are essential to leaving them quids in.   Those systems that attempt to 'manage outcomes' from past events (and all data is history since otherwise it is just made up via prediction or intuition) none of them achieve anything better than the respectability of the betting companies and most of them fall well below. 

The problem is that game outcomes contain a random factor and computers don't do randomness any better than human's do.  Effectively luck has always played a role in game outcomes and it is the control of that luck (reduction may be a better word) that is behind what coaches, players, and owners of football clubs try to achieve.  The argument is that if you place enough strength on a football pitch to reduce the chances of conceding a goal and, at the same time, increase your number of chances to score, you should win more than you lose.  That has always been true.  What do data and computers do to change that?  In the case of game management they can do very little.  If a computer picked a side often enough (i.e hundreds of games) then we would know better what they are capable of, but would anybody seriously risk that? 

An effective team is one that works.  What makes it work? Nobody truly knows since hardly anybody can keep producing success over seriously long periods of time. So we can only guess at the factors that play the important factors in success to input in a computer algorithm which may then simply regress to a mean and fail.  Data can provide more efficiency in reducing errors made in recruitment of suitable players, but it cannot eliminate the error factor entirely without solving the success issue, because there are also random factors in player recruitment - form, suspensions and injuries for example - which are almost impossible to manage effectively.  You can attempt to reduce their likelihood but you cannot eliminate them.

Computers can help with reducing the disadvantages in any business mostly by handling stuff faster and better than long hand methods but they have no way of dealing with the randomness of our reality which can hit us all truly hard with just one of its infinitely variable outcomes.     

[I Ronic]

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sours ear.

or a sow's ear

No but probably a nice little bus pass holder though.

[I Ronic]

In the past, if company A fancies buying company B it would look for an info it could find maybe look over company B's books given the chance. Now that would all be accessed via computers and.various analysts will crunch the data. That's all he's trying to do. To rule out as many negatives as possible. It's not 100% maybe somewhere round 50%. If he can get his %'s up then the Club succeeds. Whilst we have one of the richest men in the World holding the reins I'm happy to let him get on with it and try and make it work.

No problem with the use of analytics. Problem is with the man with a past history of failure doing so, and not doing it particularly well. Amongst other things.

Again we have the difference between us Brits and our cousins across the pond. Failure to them is all part of their journey to success. We do it differently here. We're great at the begining then keep failing afterwards.

[YankeeJim]

Having read (painfully) these past 9 pages I've learned many things.
TK must have inspected Mawson's knee himself.
Most of us were happy when Seri was signed because Barca wanted him, don't ya know but his failure to impress was TK's fault.
TK can't take credit for Mitro, Odoi, Chambers, Bryan, Ayite, Babel or Johansen but is responsible for Noratveit, Fonte, Fosu-Mensah, Christi, Anguissa and Schurrle.

He IS responsible for all of these. He is in charge of the recruitment team and they pretty much failed. However, the medical team and the scouting department share the responsibility.

"Hey boss, I checked that knee and Mawson will be back at full strength in six weeks". "Hey boss, this kid Seri is a natural". "Anguissa has more potential than anyone in the world." "Noratveit will plug that defensive hole we have." yada yada yada

What I've really learned is that scapegoating is the real Fulham sport. Behind the ball we had Ali-Mac, Khan senior and now Khan junior. With the ball we have an endless list. Zamora, Baird, Ream, etc.

Anyway, automatic promotion this coming season. Parker will be a successful manager and Anguissa will come good. You heard it here first!

[Woolly Mammoth]

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sours ear.

or a sow's ear

No but probably a nice little bus pass holder though.

and also for viagra

[Woolly Mammoth]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

Khan Junior is not very good at his job at all, and after listening to him talk or should I say stutter um and argh like somebody stuck at the front of the queue at a pound-shop, to find his credit card keeps getting rejected. All the questions were checked before he would answer them, that in itself was a farce, he got an easy ride in the name of propaganda, but he failed once again in that department as well.
I am even more convinced he is completely out of his depth. He is a total passenger and a liability, and it is at Fulhams expense.

[Nero]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

Khan Junior is not very good at his job at all, and after listening to him talk or should I say stutter um and argh like somebody stuck at the front of the queue at a pound-shop, to find his credit card keeps getting rejected. All the questions were checked before he would answer them, that in itself was a farce, he got an easy ride in the name of propaganda, but he failed once again in that department as well.
I am even more convinced he is completely out of his depth. He is a total passenger and a liability, and it is at Fulhams expense.

OK TK may not be good at his job so as Manager would you a) not go to the meetings to decide what players you sign and leave it to TK  b) go to the meeting and have some input into the player that are being signed

[Woolly Mammoth]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

Khan Junior is not very good at his job at all, and after listening to him talk or should I say stutter um and argh like somebody stuck at the front of the queue at a pound-shop, to find his credit card keeps getting rejected. All the questions were checked before he would answer them, that in itself was a farce, he got an easy ride in the name of propaganda, but he failed once again in that department as well.
I am even more convinced he is completely out of his depth. He is a total passenger and a liability, and it is at Fulhams expense.

OK TK may not be good at his job so as Manager would you a) not go to the meetings to decide what players you sign and leave it to TK  b) go to the meeting and have some input into the player that are being signed

Neither, I would go for C).  Tell him if he genuinely has the best interest of the club at heart. To do us all a massive favour and stay away from the meetings and leave it to the Professionals and to stop embarrassing himself and the club.
If he refused, I would go to his father and say, you have employed me to do my best for Fulham FC and get them promoted, and to give me the best chance of carrying out your wishes and instructions, keep your son away from a job that is for real men, not owners sons.

[Nero]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

Khan Junior is not very good at his job at all, and after listening to him talk or should I say stutter um and argh like somebody stuck at the front of the queue at a pound-shop, to find his credit card keeps getting rejected. All the questions were checked before he would answer them, that in itself was a farce, he got an easy ride in the name of propaganda, but he failed once again in that department as well.
I am even more convinced he is completely out of his depth. He is a total passenger and a liability, and it is at Fulhams expense.

OK TK may not be good at his job so as Manager would you a) not go to the meetings to decide what players you sign and leave it to TK  b) go to the meeting and have some input into the player that are being signed

Neither, I would go for C).  Tell him if he genuinely has the best interest of the club at heart. To do us all a massive favour and stay away from the meetings and leave it to the Professionals and to stop embarrassing himself and the club.

but he is a professional statistician, if the past manager couldn't be bothered to turn up and have a say in signings you can hardly blame TK for signing dross if hes not getting input from the manager, a bit like when the wife asks you to buy her  a present it a dame sight easier if shes their dropping you hints about what she likes and doesn't. If the manager isnt there saying yes he will fit into my tactical style mistakes are bold t be made and TK gets the blame due the Manager being disinterested

[wormbridge]

There are literally hundreds of thousands of peer reviewed papers on methods to accurately access outcomes of all sporting events, not just football.  It is with the betting companies to have by far the best of predictive models to produce the odds that are essential to leaving them quids in.   Those systems that attempt to 'manage outcomes' from past events (and all data is history since otherwise it is just made up via prediction or intuition) none of them achieve anything better than the respectability of the betting companies and most of them fall well below. 

Indeed, and there's a huge amount of 'talent' crossover between betting companies and football analytics.  They're playing the same game here, attempting to get the best read on what makes for winning football.  I do recommend the book I linked to earlier, it covers all of this in a lot of depth.  However, the peer reviewed stuff wouldn't work for football: the real advances have come in the last couple of years and the good stuff is only available to those prepared to pay hefty consultancy fees.  Anything good in the public tends to get gobbled up quite quickly and integrated into proprietary models.

The problem is that game outcomes contain a random factor and computers don't do randomness any better than human's do.  Effectively luck has always played a role in game outcomes and it is the control of that luck (reduction may be a better word) that is behind what coaches, players, and owners of football clubs try to achieve.  The argument is that if you place enough strength on a football pitch to reduce the chances of conceding a goal and, at the same time, increase your number of chances to score, you should win more than you lose.  That has always been true.  What do data and computers do to change that?  In the case of game management they can do very little.  If a computer picked a side often enough (i.e hundreds of games) then we would know better what they are capable of, but would anybody seriously risk that? 

Not sure what point you're making here, but yes, randomness is a *huge* part of football (this is also covered in literature on the subject), much moreso than a lot of fans like to think (it's all about who wants it more isn't it?).  So yes of course, the better team you play the less prone to randomness you are.  The league table does lie, teams don't always get what they deserve, etc.  Probably one reason Khan's quite optimistic is that he would believe that the team played at the very low end of expected variance, so if you play that season out 100 times there's a decent chance we escape relegation more often than not.  But I know a lot of people will disagree.  In any case, the bookies you have just lauded have us as second favourites to go up so they seem to agree that we have something here.   Anyway, no, of course a computer won't pick a team - they don't even do that in baseball which has more or less been solved.  You need the human side, and nobody has denied that at any point.

An effective team is one that works.  What makes it work? Nobody truly knows since hardly anybody can keep producing success over seriously long periods of time. So we can only guess at the factors that play the important factors in success to input in a computer algorithm which may then simply regress to a mean and fail.  Data can provide more efficiency in reducing errors made in recruitment of suitable players, but it cannot eliminate the error factor entirely without solving the success issue, because there are also random factors in player recruitment - form, suspensions and injuries for example - which are almost impossible to manage effectively.  You can attempt to reduce their likelihood but you cannot eliminate them.

No, I don't know that anyone would disagree with anything here.    But I think you're over-egging this.  The data team can find players it thinks are good and the scouting team have a go too, and from that you emerge with players you're interested in.  If you don't have data then you're reliant on agents or on the biases of human opinion, if you don't have scouts then you can miss other vital stuff.  It's an important cross-check and this is one reason I stand up for Khan's methods.    Other sports have repeatedly shown that embracing data is important, and really there's no reason not to use as much info as you can, is there?   Again, the application of this is another story: there's no point in using data to find hidden gems if you then pay £30m for them.  But needs must I suppose, and if Matt Targett was almost a £20m left back then Seri's worth what he cost.  And as you point out, these things don't always work out, but that doesn't mean it was the wrong decision to purchase him at all - in baseball they tend to evaluate trades based on what knowledge was available at the time it was made.  So here as best as anyone could tell, Seri was - and still probably is - a good quality premier league player..

[Penfold]

Having read (painfully) these past 9 pages I've learned many things.
TK must have inspected Mawson's knee himself.
Most of us were happy when Seri was signed because Barca wanted him, don't ya know but his failure to impress was TK's fault.
TK can't take credit for Mitro, Odoi, Chambers, Bryan, Ayite, Babel or Johansen but is responsible for Noratveit, Fonte, Fosu-Mensah, Christi, Anguissa and Schurrle.

He IS responsible for all of these. He is in charge of the recruitment team and they pretty much failed. However, the medical team and the scouting department share the responsibility.

"Hey boss, I checked that knee and Mawson will be back at full strength in six weeks". "Hey boss, this kid Seri is a natural". "Anguissa has more potential than anyone in the world." "Noratveit will plug that defensive hole we have." yada yada yada

What I've really learned is that scapegoating is the real Fulham sport. Behind the ball we had Ali-Mac, Khan senior and now Khan junior. With the ball we have an endless list. Zamora, Baird, Ream, etc.

Anyway, automatic promotion this coming season. Parker will be a successful manager and Anguissa will come good. You heard it here first!

I love this Barca wanted him. If they'd really wanted him, they'd have got him. Yes they showed interest but never followed it up. Same with Chelsea.

[wormbridge]

Having read (painfully) these past 9 pages I've learned many things.
TK must have inspected Mawson's knee himself.
Most of us were happy when Seri was signed because Barca wanted him, don't ya know but his failure to impress was TK's fault.
TK can't take credit for Mitro, Odoi, Chambers, Bryan, Ayite, Babel or Johansen but is responsible for Noratveit, Fonte, Fosu-Mensah, Christi, Anguissa and Schurrle.

He IS responsible for all of these. He is in charge of the recruitment team and they pretty much failed. However, the medical team and the scouting department share the responsibility.

"Hey boss, I checked that knee and Mawson will be back at full strength in six weeks". "Hey boss, this kid Seri is a natural". "Anguissa has more potential than anyone in the world." "Noratveit will plug that defensive hole we have." yada yada yada

What I've really learned is that scapegoating is the real Fulham sport. Behind the ball we had Ali-Mac, Khan senior and now Khan junior. With the ball we have an endless list. Zamora, Baird, Ream, etc.

Anyway, automatic promotion this coming season. Parker will be a successful manager and Anguissa will come good. You heard it here first!

I love this Barca wanted him. If they'd really wanted him, they'd have got him. Yes they showed interest but never followed it up. Same with Chelsea.

Yes, the incomparable and exceedingly wise Tony Gale made exactly this point.

But again, why the absolutes? For all we know they were interested then ultimately decided he wasn't good enough. I don't see how this has anything to do with anything. Clearly he is the kind of player who might have been of interest but equally it might just have been an agent planted story. It's not evidence of anything either way.

[Woolly Mammoth]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

Khan Junior is not very good at his job at all, and after listening to him talk or should I say stutter um and argh like somebody stuck at the front of the queue at a pound-shop, to find his credit card keeps getting rejected. All the questions were checked before he would answer them, that in itself was a farce, he got an easy ride in the name of propaganda, but he failed once again in that department as well.
I am even more convinced he is completely out of his depth. He is a total passenger and a liability, and it is at Fulhams expense.

OK TK may not be good at his job so as Manager would you a) not go to the meetings to decide what players you sign and leave it to TK  b) go to the meeting and have some input into the player that are being signed

Neither, I would go for C).  Tell him if he genuinely has the best interest of the club at heart. To do us all a massive favour and stay away from the meetings and leave it to the Professionals and to stop embarrassing himself and the club.

but he is a professional statistician, if the past manager couldn't be bothered to turn up and have a say in signings you can hardly blame TK for signing dross if hes not getting input from the manager, a bit like when the wife asks you to buy her  a present it a dame sight easier if shes their dropping you hints about what she likes and doesn't. If the manager isnt there saying yes he will fit into my tactical style mistakes are bold t be made and TK gets the blame due the Manager being disinterested

The owners son quite rightly gets the blame as he is interfering in something he is not qualified to have a say. You say he is a professional statistician. But that does not qualify him to know what is a good player for Fulham, anymore than me. I am a professional Close Protection Officer, but that does not qualify me to interfere with a professional football manager/ coach. The fact is I am not even convinced he is very good at analysing stats, when you consider his poor mediocre record, let alone his negotiating and social skills, because after listening to him speaking in that podcast, and despite the advantages he has had in his fortunate education he has no doubt had, he does not come across as somebody who has the charm to sell a Life Belt to a drowning man. But as has already been said many times, he is the owners son, and because of that the blame should be shared by the man who sanctioned him to do a job he is nowhere near capable

[Statto]

but he is a professional statistician

A professional statistician... Yeah, in the same way that if I decided to quit my job tomorrow and try to sell people cakes I'd baked, I'd immediately become a "professional baker"

Of course I'd know F.A. about baking. I'd have no qualifications or experience in relation to baking. But I could still tell people I was a professional baker

[Nero]

The point I making is if the previous Manager couldn't be bothered to turn up for scouting meeting then you cant blame TK as a non football man if he brought a few dudes, the person with the football knowledge who couldn't be bothered is more to blame. Lets see how he gets on with a Manager that feels it's important to have a say about the players coming into his squad and how they will fit in so we don't end up with a player disregarded as soon as he joins as the manager hasn't taken a shine to him. Like it or not Stats are playing a bigger part in football nowdays if not Optima wouldn't be in business

[ALG01]

I believe Tony Khan has the ability to source money from Fulham's owner better than other DoF. The ability to source money is Best Prediictor of DoF success. Even if Shahid Khan wasn't the owner, I have little doubt about Tony Khan's ability to source money probable from his family.

So let me try a question. assume TK's dad was broke, i.e. has no vast cash reserve... would TK be a good DoF based on his track record?

Maybe, if Fulham's owner was broke, we would have to employ the cheapest DoF in world football, which is Tony Khan. More seriously of course, Tony Khan is DoF because of his access to his dads money so what. Privellege goes to rich sons that is not a secret, I doubt David Cameron and Boris Johnson would have been Prime Ministers, if their rich parents sent them to the poshiest school in the world (i.e Eton College).

I am, truly struggling to follow any of your logic from the initial comments on the first page where you said TK would get a job elsewhere because he works for free. I had said that TK would not get a job anywhere else in football as DoF because he is not good enough and is only at Fulham because of his dad. IMO and many others, he is very poor at his job and we the supporters, who are powerless to stop this negligence being carried forward, and cough up to support the beloved team, are totally frustrated watching the same errors over and over since the Khan's took over. This would not be acceptable anywhere else.

I am not sure why you are incapable of just saying you agree that TK is clearly the wrong man for the job based on the evidence. And if you do not agree point me to the contrary evidence.

I believe that Tony Khan is the right man for the job, cause he is incredibly strong at obtaining funding and investor relations (the main investor was at his conception); we don't need a new DOF but we do need a better advisors particularly in the scouting team to compensate for his inexperience in that area.

I said he would not get a job anywhere else in football without being his father's son and you have not told me what qualities he has.  he is incredibly strong in obtaining investor funding is ridiculous. he can only do any of his job because his dad is a multi billionaire and gave him a cushy job and shed loads of money. He may have hidden talennts but being direcor of football at Fulham is not one of them. Wasting £100M would have seen him exiting any other team by Christmas last season..BUT we are obliged to keep the serial failure that you seem to endlessly defend no matter what. How bad do you think he needs to be before you say he is the wrong man.... Your AKA is the rational fan, maybe you should reconsider that.

[I Ronic]

but he is a professional statistician

A professional statistician... Yeah, in the same way that if I decided to quit my job tomorrow and try to sell people cakes I'd baked, I'd immediately become a "professional baker"

Of course I'd know F.A. about baking. I'd have no qualifications or experience in relation to baking. But I could still tell people I was a professional baker

If you bake cakes and sell them. Then you're a professional Baker.
We would then discuss on the forum how useless you were and the only reason you had a majimix was because your dad was minted.
You would dis customers on Facebook/twitter/instagram which would lead to more posts about how not only were you useless but plain rude as well.
Then you'd make a podcaste and those on here, with time on their hands would pick over your bones.

[The Rational Fan]

I said he would not get a job anywhere else in football without being his father's son and you have not told me what qualities he has.  he is incredibly strong in obtaining investor funding is ridiculous. he can only do any of his job because his dad is a multi billionaire and gave him a cushy job and shed loads of money. He may have hidden talennts but being direcor of football at Fulham is not one of them. Wasting £100M would have seen him exiting any other team by Christmas last season..BUT we are obliged to keep the serial failure that you seem to endlessly defend no matter what. How bad do you think he needs to be before you say he is the wrong man.... Your AKA is the rational fan, maybe you should reconsider that.

History of Events

When Tony Khan asked his father to be DoF without experience, SK said "yes, my son".

When Tony Khan as DoF asked his father to buy Mitrovoic, SK said "yes, my son".

When Tony Khan as DoF asked his father to give him £100m for players, SK said "yes, my son".

The Future DoF

If Fulham sacks Tony Khan, when new DoF asks for something then what will Shahid Khan say?

If we hire a new DoF and Shahid Khan says "yes to everything the DoF wants" things will be probably go better, at least until he makes a mistake and blows the money like most DoFs eventually do.

If we hire a new DoF and Shahid Khan says "no to everything the DoF wants" things will be very dark indeed. If you don't believe me this can happen, then ask a Newcastle or Sunderland or Blackburn or Bolton or Wigan or Leeds or Aston Villa fan.

As a Fan, "Yes, my son" is better than "No, my experienced DoF". I frankly see many advantages having a DoF that is a multi-billionaires son, especially if daddy will bail him out of his mistakes.

[Twig]

Why would Shad Khan employ a new DoF and then say no to his requests? That strikes me as an odd assumption that Rational has conveniently adopted in order to sustain a very tenuous line of argument.

[The Rational Fan]

Why would Shad Khan employ a new DoF and then say no to his requests? That strikes me as an odd assumption that Rational has conveniently adopted in order to sustain a very tenuous line of argument.

Go ask Mike Ashley or Ellis Short, why a owner says no to a new DoF. Let's face it, if Tony Khan goes it because his father doesn't want to "yes, my son" anymore to his requests for money that he thinks will be wasted, but you hope he will continue to say "Yes, my DoF".