Wouldn't that be because the others didn't get much of a go? rightly or wrong i'm pretty sure if the likes of Wright had more opportunities he would have performed better.
On that same token if they were around now we would look a lot better IMO.
I think you may be onto something there.
Come on man, what would be the point of him just sticking around? His mere presence isn't going to inspire us to 3 points and it would be a bit unfair of us to say no when we let Ben Arfa do whatever he wants.
The whole thing is pretty annoying but we cannot really blame him for wanting to be with his family, he's human.
Statistics are used a lot in football (Pardew fucking wanks over them) by proper management, they wouldn't be doing their job properly if they weren't, but I imagine it's more to just back up what they've already seen with their own eyes.
I cannot imagine many managers choosing their squad and tactics because of what they've read on a spreadsheet.
I would imagine American sports teams would have far more supporters though, especially locally, considering the size of the states they represent?
Then there's the advertising opportunities, obviously.