As long as you have the right information, Aston Villa co-owner Wes Edens believes, then 'most of the decisions are pretty darn simple'.
In the last five weeks, the numbers were trending in the wrong direction for Dean Smith, who was sacked on Sunday after three years in charge.
Five defeats in a row was the worst sequence since Smith took over in October 2018 but that was far from the only alarming statistic. Villa have lost 18 games in the calendar year, a record matched only by Southampton – who beat Villa 1-0 on Friday in Smith's final game.