Our scouting system

[Ozblue 4,332]

From a distance, it seems to me that our scouting system is virtually non-existant outside of Scotland.I admit that we have managed to snap up a few bargains in the past few years before selling them on for a profit;Boumsong, Cuellar, Van Bronckhorst, spring to mind, but in the main we seem to miss out on a lot of talent we could have signed pretty cheaply.

Look at the facts:The main motivation for a player should be to win medals and trophies and play at the highest level possible.

1.Every season we are almost guaranteed to compete for silverware and entry into a European competition.

2.We have a History unmatched by few and are known throughout the world as a famous club.

3.We play in one of the best stadia in Europe with a crowd of approx. 50,000 ever 2nd week.

4.We have arguably one of the best training facilities anywhere in the British Isles.

So why do we see good young players sign for crap teams like Cardiff City,Blackburn Rovers, Wolves,Sunderland etc for peanuts,and then when Rangers finally open their eyes to the fact these players exist then it's too late.The horse has bolted and the stable door is shut and we can't afford them.

In this day and age of the Internet, Youtube and Satellite television etc! a Manager can easily see what an established player can do before sending a scout to check him out, so to me, a Scout should be earning his wages by looking for talent we can sign before other teams grab them.

You guys are far closer to the action than I am, so give me your thoughts about our scouting system and the people who are in those positions. Should Ewan Chester be only looking at players who could go straight into the 1st team or should he be looking for the future also?.....Or do you think Chester couldn't see a brilliant prospect if you stuck it under his nose?

[the blue plumber 856]

scouts

[Stu1993 101]

the whole point in scouting someone is to see how they play, watching highlights or youtube videos first only show you the good things a player is capable of, unless its a realy shit youtube video. When we send a scout out they see in first hand what the player is like. Im sure we scout players who have potential and could maybe go on to make a profit of them E.g Cuellar and Bougherra if he leaves.

[TexasGers 96]

Look at the facts:The main motivation for a player should be to win medals and trophies and play at the highest level possible.

Sadly this isn't the case for a good number of players

[Stu1993 101]

Look at the facts:The main motivation for a player should be to win medals and trophies and play at the highest level possible.

Sadly this isn't the case for a good number of players

Which is sad cause when you see players like Messi and Rooney, to very sepcial talents, they wouldnt care if they never got payed to play football. but im sure they accept the cash they get anyway

[barcelonabear 23]

The problem we have with young players moving on is that there's a reluctance to play them too early unless it is necessity, and those who have not seemed good enough like Burke and Adam have benefited from playing regular first team football. Aside from scouting we should be looking to set up a network of feeder style clubs who we can loan players to, so to allow them regular football in say Division 1 up here, or League 1/Championship down south.

On the scouting side we should be looking closely in our own backyard so the likes of Graham Dorrans don't escape down south and see their value rocket by 600% from an initial £100,000.

[Tumshie 205]

Should be looking at youngsters from Scandanavia and Eastern Europe. Because a lot of them are now in the EU there isn't a problem with work permits. Obviously South America and Africa are probably off limits unless they have played a lot for their country but we should be looking at North America as well.

I just want our scouting system to be better than Ewan Chester sitting in a room watching videos on Youtube.

[BlueSuedeSambas 56,593]

Very few clus have a dedicated network of 20-30 odd scouts who sit around an office, spin a globe & randomly go to the first place it stops in the hope of finding players.

Teams like Ajax, Arsenal, Sevilla & Udinese do, but thy are the best at it so to compare us to them is unfair.

A lot of clubs scouting networks are made up of old asscociates & ex players who the manager of that club trusts and although people here label it as jobs for the boys we aren't that different.

Yes, we could be doing more but the way some people go on and on and on about it is quite boring and repetitive now.

[Ryan_1 1,136]

I'd say Porto have the best scouts in the world.

[derekweir29 505]

Watching games at all levels, some cracking players out there.

Wee guy next door to me is 9 years old plays for a lower league team just now, Celtic Hearts and Rangers are watching him.

From what I have seen this wee guy is amazing kicks the ball about non stop and takes the hit n miss out the older yins over the park.

[BlueSuedeSambas 56,593]

I'd say Porto have the best scouts in the world.

Do they though?

Obviously Hulk & Cissohko were good business, what they tend to do is buy the best players from South America and Portugal.

Is that really good scouting or is that just taking advantage of the relaxed work permit regulations over there?

[derekweir29 505]

The team with the best scouting system has to Ajax and Udinese some of the young players they have are immense Udinese especially.

[papaguy51 941]

I think a lot of people are probably just a bit 'bored' of the mundane and rather uninspiring nature of our scouting system, assuming we actually have one.

How much does Ewan Chester get paid? Whatever it is, you could have given that cash to charity and I'd have told you for nothing that Mendes, Davis, Bougherra and Cuellar would pish all over the SPL.

We done well with Edu though. People will moan because we only found him due to MoJo's work in the States, but isn't that what a scouting system is all about, contacts in different countries?