Crystal Palace | "Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get" | Future Spurs | IPO Prices at Seed Stage Acquisitions | Justin Kluivert | The Greatness of Stephen Curry

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace will play in the FA Cup Final. Crystal Palace will Play in the FA Cup Final because over the Last Couple of Years, they’ve done a really great job of Acquiring High Quality Talent at Good Prices. Palace Acquired Eberechi Eze from QPR (The Championship) for a Reported Transfer Fee of 17M Euros. Eze is One of the Best Attacking Midfielders in the World. When Ismaila Sarr was Playing Really Well for Watford FC, he was reportedly attracting the attention of some of the Biggest Clubs in England. When Watford FC were relegated, Sarr moved to Marseille. Just One Year Later, Palace acquired Sarr for a Reported Transfer Fee of 15M Euros. Sarr is One of the Best Wingers in England. Both Eze and Sarr Compliment the Power of Jean-Philippe Mateta who was acquired from Mainz 05 for a Reported Transfer Fee of 11M Euros. That’s a Grand Total of 43M Euros Give or Take.On Brennan Johnson Alone, Tottenham Hotspur spent close to 55M Euros.

Warren Buffett: “Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get.”

This is Not Criticism of Brennan Johnson. Brennan is a Really Good Footballer who Guarantees Goals from the Right Wing Position. That said, It is a Question around how we engage in Player Valuation.

One More Thing, I spend a lot of time talking about Player Archetyping and Alignment. These are Very Important Issues. That said, there is Little Replacement for High Quality Talent Identification.

Future Spurs Midfield

We Are Seeing Today, What Could Look Like Tottenham Hotspur’s Future Midfield. Archie Gray has Played a lot of Football this Season. This is the First Time we are Watching Him Play in His Best Position. While I Don’t Think Lucas Bergvall’s Best Position is as a Right Sided Midfielder, I Do Believe the Construction of Spurs Midfield Today Complements Each Other. That’s Something Spurs have gotten wrong over and over this Season.

Manchester United | IPO Prices | Seed Stage Acquisitions

For Years Now, Manchester United have made Seed Stage Acquisitions at Initial IPO Valuations. For Example, Rasmus Hojlund is a Really Good Player. But Manchester United invested upwards of 80m Euros for a Player that is still in the Development Trajectory of his Evolution. They did the same for Joshua Zirkzee. To Re-Calibrate Manchester United, they will likely have to Sell both Hojlund and Zirkzee at some stage at a significant loss. Ditto for Mason Mount. The Worst Part is, Manchester United’s Organizational Alignment Issues Mean, that these Players Never Had an Optimal Environment in which they could succeed.

Justin Kluivert

Football is an Incredibly Inefficient Market. Justin Kluivert Recently Started Ahead of Xavi Simons for Netherlands. While I believe Simons is a Better Player than Kluivert, Kluivert’s Origin Story is Representative of the Inefficiency that Exists Throughout Football. AFC Bournemouth like all Good Clubs Took Advantage of those Inefficiencies and they Acquired Kluivert for a Reported Fee of 10.8M Euros. Where in the Past, Kluivert was often used as a Wide Player, Bourmenouth have Optimized Kluivert’s Unique Combination of Pace and Power in the No. 10 Position.

Stephen Curry

The Greatness of Tom Brady was that you could put him out there with Average Receivers and He Would Elevate Them with his Decision-Making. While his Function is Different, Because He’s Not a Pure Point Guard, the Effect is Similar. There are Players on this Golden State Warriors Roster Who Wouldn’t Have the Careers they are having if not for the Gravity of Stephen Curry.

I Love Gary Payton II, but his Unique Skill Set Could Only Thrive in a 5 Man Lineup with Steph Curry.

I Love Draymond Green, but would we Consider Draymond to be an All-Time Role Player if Not for Steph Curry. Curry’s Greatness Amplifies Every One of Draymond Green’s Edges as a Basketball Player. You Notice it when either Player isn’t Playing.

I Like Quinten Post, but is he viable on any other team in the NBA?

I View Sport as the Art of Creating Space. There’s an Argument that no one in NBA History has Creates More Space on the Floor through his sheer existence than Stephen Curry.

One More Thing, as a Scout this is a Question that I constantly ask myself when I am engaging in the Talent Identification Process. How Does this Player Create Space? How Does He Monetize Space Creation?