Scouting Qualifications

I get quite a lot of messages on Twitter asking for advice. I enjoy helping people and I’m always happy to provide advice.

I will add that I don’t reply to people who don’t follow me, it just feels a little disrespectful and the bare minimum if you’re asking me for my secrets. I say secrets as if I don’t publish my advice all the time. Anyway, just wanted that small detail off my chest.

Something I get asked about is what courses and qualifications to do for an aspiring scout. There are a few companies who are the main providers and I haven’t done them, but from speaking to people who have, they said the main value was the networking aspect and the fact they provide you with the opportunity to work as a consultant through them. The actual content of the course didn’t teach them much though.

I understand where people are coming from when they ask about qualifications, it’s a logical first step. However, I believe that it’s procrastination and the best thing you can do is get started. Clubs aren’t going to suddenly hire you because you’ve done a short course and been to one live match.

When I tell people what I do, I get asked what level I play(ed) at or I’ve been asked “what makes you qualified for this job?” my parents understand my job and are very supportive but my mum still struggles to understand how I know what I’m doing, even though she’s seen me spend years writing, watching and being obsessed with football. “But how did you know to do that?” is a regular one.

The question about what qualifies me throws me off. It’s not easy to answer, other than I’ve studied the game and I’m confident I know what I’m talking about and pretty decent at analysing players. And my politics degree doesn’t really help.

This very popular newsletter is my main advice about getting into football. I talk about studying the game and getting experience. Networking is key and the courses may help you there, and I’m definitely not saying that the courses aren’t useful. However, my point is more that they aren’t the end point, there’s so much more to it. There’s no shortcut or cheat code.

Something I’ve been thinking about recently is about how to teach scouting.

I’m working with our interns on a few scouting tasks and as a scouting nerd, I like reading reports, discussing scouting and players, and just teaching in general. I’ve always wanted to write a book, I used to think it would be on the education system, or Chinese and US foreign policy, but now I’m thinking I’d like to write an all-encompassing scouting book. Not yet, I still have so much to learn, but down the road if I continue to have a good career, I’d like to leave something behind.

Alternatively, I’ve been thinking about how you have coaching and analysis university courses, but not for scouting. I can understand that scouting is less linear and somewhat more of an art, it’s far more subjective, but I still think there’s room for it.

You could operate as a mock recruitment department. For example, the coursework could be to work as a group to plan a transfer window for Spurs. You could form a link with a nearby team and actually help with their recruitment. You’d have modules on transfer negotiation, squad building, data analysis, etc. Study visits to academies and different clubs. Guest lectures from heads of recruitments, sporting directors, academy scouts and head coaches from throughout the football pyramid. Experience, networking, practise and feedback all in one place rather than the way I did it.

I’m just reeling off ideas here so you get the idea. Anyway, if any universities want to fund this and hire me to help design it, please let me know. If not I’ll just do it when I retire.

I also have an idea for a points system with scouts but that’s something for another day.

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