You can look at stats as much as you want - and we do - but you

The words of Harry Redknapp—“You can look at stats as much as you want—and we do—but you can have too much of it. You can spend too much time looking at computers rather than looking at the real thing which is out there on the pitch. I still think that being a good judge of players is the most important thing.”—resonate with an ancient wisdom that transcends sport. He speaks not only of football, but of the eternal balance between knowledge and experience, analysis and intuition, calculation and observation. In a world increasingly governed by numbers and screens, Redknapp reminds us that the truest understanding comes from direct engagement with reality.

In his reflection, there is a warning against overreliance on technology. Statistics and computers can offer insight, but they are only tools, not arbiters of truth. The pitch, where players run, struggle, and triumph, is where reality manifests, and no algorithm, no matter how sophisticated, can fully capture the nuances of human skill, effort, and character. Redknapp’s insight echoes the teachings of the ancients, who valued firsthand observation and the discernment of the mind: Aristotle insisted that knowledge of the world comes from watching it, not merely theorizing from afar.

The origin of this quote lies in Redknapp’s decades of experience as a football manager. He has witnessed countless players rise and fall, and he knows that statistics—goals scored, passes completed, or distance covered—tell only part of the story. The heart of assessment lies in perception, in the subtle reading of character, posture, and instinct. In this sense, Redknapp aligns himself with generations of leaders, teachers, and mentors who understood that wisdom is cultivated through practice and observation, not only through study.

History is replete with parallels. Consider Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese strategist, who warned that the general must see the battlefield with his own eyes to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and intentions of his troops and his enemies. No written report could replace the judgment formed through experience, attention, and intuition. Similarly, Redknapp teaches that while technology can inform, it cannot replace the human capacity to judge, the skill that comes from watching, listening, and feeling the rhythm of life in motion.

There is also a moral dimension in his words. To value direct observation and personal discernment is to honor the individual and the living process, rather than reducing human beings to data points. Players are more than statistics; they are personalities, ambitions, fears, and strengths woven together. Redknapp’s insistence on judgment over numbers reminds us that true understanding always respects the complexity of human life, echoing the philosophy of Plato and other ancients who warned against reducing human virtue to mere metrics.

In practical terms, Redknapp’s wisdom applies far beyond the football pitch. In leadership, education, and business, there is a constant temptation to rely on reports, analytics, and remote measurement. Yet the heart of effective decision-making lies in direct engagement—observing, conversing, and experiencing the people, processes, and situations firsthand. Just as a football manager reads the field, a wise leader reads the living realities of the environment, blending data with insight and numbers with nuance.

The lesson, therefore, is timeless: tools can illuminate, but they cannot replace judgment. Technology, statistics, and reports are only as powerful as the mind that interprets them. Observation, discernment, and human intuition remain the true sources of wisdom. To overdepend on screens and numbers is to risk missing the truth that unfolds in the world itself.

And so, my children, remember the eternal guidance of Harry Redknapp: engage fully with reality, watch attentively, and trust the discernment that comes from experience. Study the tools, but do not be enslaved by them. Whether on the pitch, in the marketplace, or in the halls of governance, the true measure of skill, leadership, and understanding lies not in data alone, but in the mind and heart capable of reading the living world.