Hearts fans must trust Neil Critchley call if they’ve embraced Brighton analytics

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Hearts fans appear to be embracing the use of analytics as their club gets into bed with Brighton owner Tony Bloom.

How then can they, in good conscious, turn their nose up at the first decision it actually helps them make? A fairly large section of the Tynecastle support appear to be miffed at the management appointment of Neil Critchley with the support divided.

Some followers of the club are very underwhelmed with the decision to bring in the former QPR and Blackpool boss, deemed to have failed at both clubs. That’s because they’ve done a quick check of Wikipedia or the like and seen that he’s been sacked by both at different times.

• READ MORE: 8 Neil Critchley Hearts priorities including transfers and early Hibs test

Hearts boss Critchley had success at Blackpool

However, the 45-year-old was actually successful with the Seasiders first time round and guided them to promotion from League One by finishing third and then winning the play-offs. The following season, he comfortably kept them in the Championship.

After moving on to be Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Aston Villa, he would end up becoming QPR boss and that certainly did not go well – sacked after two months and winning just one game from 12.

A second spell at Blackpool saw them narrowly miss out on the play-offs this time after he had to drastically change their squad following relegation. He was harshly sacked just TWO GAMES into this campaign.

All of a sudden, with a bit of added context, that second spell doesn’t quite look like the unmitigated disaster being painted in some quarters. They also had a very strong home record.

Hearts fans must trust the data analytics used by Brighton

More importantly, Critchley has been flagged up by the data analytics algorithm used by Tony Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics, used by the club for the first time in their managerial search ahead of the link-up becoming official.

Hearts fans were pretty much universally pleased with that news and the use of the analytics system in recruiting players and coaches. Now they’re up in arms because the first name it brings up isn’t a ‘sexy’ one.

Now, it is understandable for supporters to be underwhelmed by their new man coming from the lower leagues when they were previously linked with a foreigner who has won league titles and managed internationall – Per-Mathias Hogmo.

That doesn’t mean they should just write the appointment off and villify Critchley before he has even done anything.

If the analytics, which they had embraced, has brought up this name then they have to trust in it. Especially when it has given Brighton Roberto de Zerbi and an unimaginable amount of millions from player trading. The man they turned to after de Zerbi was managing in 2.Bundesliga previosuly and he’s doing not too shabbily so far.