Reach for the stats

BARNSLEY owner Patrick Cryne has revealed he has been a fan of the Moneyball method since his team twice missed out on Leicester ace Jamie Vardy.

Billy Beane – executive vice-president of the Oakland Athletics and part of a Chinese-American consortium bidding to take over the Championship club – was played by Brad Pitt in the 2011 film which used data to target players.

And Cryne, terminally ill with bowel cancer, said: “We’re investing heavily in that side of things. We missed Vardy twice.”