Players Route To Pittodrie

[Donstar71]

We apparently have 4 football scouts employed at Pittodrie. I'll assume for the majority of the year they will scout for kids to go through the system. Where do they travel to and how often, to scout for players available in the transfer window for the 1st squad? Do they travel abroad, or rely on the ability of local scouts in these countries? Do we scout African, Central American and Eastern European leagues? Do they approach clubs offering to take players on loan? Contacts and knowledge of the lower English leagues should be their bread and butter but we constantly seem to struggle.

I know of 2 signings at Pittodrie that happened by chance but should have been on the scouts radar and pursued. Sone Aluko when he came here on loan performed well but when he left there was no follow up, the player actually had to approach the club and ask if he could sign. Same with Niall McGinn, his contract with Celtic expired after a loan spell with Brentford, and a chance meeting with Craig Brown instigated his signing.

How many decent available players have we missed because the scouting system has failed to pick up on them?

I can even remember an unknown Arild Stavrum, on travelling to Aberdeen to discuss a possible move being left stranded at Aberdeen Airport as the club forgot to ensure someone was tasked with picking him up! Pretty standard stuff we seem to cock up on.

[Redstar]

We apparently have 4 football scouts employed at Pittodrie. I'll assume for the majority of the year they will scout for kids to go through the system. Where do they travel to and how often, to scout for players available in the transfer window for the 1st squad? Do they travel abroad, or rely on the ability of local scouts in these countries? Do we scout African, Central American and Eastern European leagues? Do they approach clubs offering to take players on loan? Contacts and knowledge of the lower English leagues should be their bread and butter but we constantly seem to struggle.

I know of 2 signings at Pittodrie that happened by chance but should have been on the scouts radar and pursued. Sone Aluko when he came here on loan performed well but when he left there was no follow up, the player actually had to approach the club and ask if he could sign. Same with Niall McGinn, his contract with Celtic expired after a loan spell with Brentford, and a chance meeting with Craig Brown instigated his signing.

How many decent available players have we missed because the scouting system has failed to pick up on them?

I can even remember an unknown Arild Stavrum, on travelling to Aberdeen to discuss a possible move being left stranded at Aberdeen Airport as the club forgot to ensure someone was tasked with picking him up! Pretty standard stuff we seem to cock up on.

As suspected...a chance meeting produces our best signing in recent memory...

[E-P-K]

Somewhat of a catch 22, AFC can not afford an extensive scouting system, with scouts all over the world, and any cash we do have, will be best spent in our youth system.

 

Signing players from outwith the UK is just going to get less, while we may get lucky with someone of quality coming on trial, but that will be more the players agent, or being out of contract rather than proactive scouting.

[sheepiekev]

Somewhat of a catch 22, AFC can not afford an extensive scouting system, with scouts all over the world, and any cash we do have, will be best spent in our youth system.

 

Signing players from outwith the UK is just going to get less, while we may get lucky with someone of quality coming on trial, but that will be more the players agent, or being out of contract rather than proactive scouting.

 

I hear what you say, but the likes of Dundee Utd have unearthed 3 goalies from Eastern Europe in the last 5 years alone.

You can't tell me they have more money than us. They don't

[E-P-K]

I hear what you say, but the likes of Dundee Utd have unearthed 3 goalies from Eastern Europe in the last 5 years alone.

You can't tell me they have more money than us. They don't

 

Dundee United have also in recent years recruited well from the Scottish lower leagues.

 

Maybe United have somewhat of a networking, or contacts in East Europe, or just got lucky,

[The Boofon]

Dundee United have also in recent years recruited well from the Scottish lower leagues.

 

Maybe United have somewhat of a networking, or contacts in East Europe, or just got lucky,

 

 

I don't know what goalies Kev is on about but maybe they are from the same country and so come recommended from the departing one?

 

 

Don't take much interest in the jute players. I presume the one who went to Celtic is one of them.

 

The Jute seem to have a more reasonably minded fan base than we do when it comes to signing lower league players.

 

Most of our fans would be calling for Pittodrie to be bombed if we went away and signed some young lad from Stirling Albion. The Jute seem to give their club a bit more slack regarding this. Maybe that's part of it.

[Monkey]

Re: Utd's lower league signings.

Were they not signed by Avril who had been the manager of Raith Rovers before getting the Utd job? If so then more than likely signed on the back of that knowledge rather than some scouting network.

[dervish]

Where do you get the scout figures from? It used to be that some of the youth setups where run by "scouts". I'd be surprised if we even had one dedicated full time scout.

[Redstar]

Re: Utd's lower league signings.

Were they not signed by Avril who had been the manager of Raith Rovers before getting the Utd job? If so then more than likely signed on the back of that knowledge rather than some scouting network.

Unfortunately we rely on Broons old contacts book...See Rae, Hughes and Naysmith...Old boys wanting to come back home...See Clark and Anderson...Chris Clarks mates...See Arnason and Fallon...throw in a smattering of lucky breaks...McGinn and Hayes and the rest relies on WM's youth development program

[Monkey]

Don't think you can say Hayes was a "lucky break" it was clear from early on he was wanted at Afc, and anyway not really an unknown who needed to be scouted. Milsom and Osbourne you could also add to Brown's contacts obtaining and don't forget your favoured Brown in that list.

I think that in recent times Afc have invested more in youth development and scouting than the traditional scout who finds ready made players.

[DandyDon KD]

We obviously don't have enough money to buy a decent (big name) player, but surely Stuart Milne could put his hand in his pocket and get a decent scout. The amount of unheard of talent out there is unbelievable, so if we could spend some cash on getting a good scout then we could get some decent foreign players on the cheap.

 

Who is our scout anyway? (now thinking about it I don't think that we have one foreign player, do we?).

[ollie1903]

We obviously don't have enough money to buy a decent (big name) player, but surely Stuart Milne could put his hand in his pocket and get a decent scout. The amount of unheard of talent out there is unbelievable, so if we could spend some cash on getting a good scout then we could get some decent foreign players on the cheap.

 

Who is our scout anyway? (now thinking about it I don't think that we have one foreign player, do we?).

 

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

Well we have a few non Scottish. Some even non British. And 1 from further a field... The Southern Hemisphere. I am of course talking about Isaac Osbourne of Botswana

[tommo1903]

Who is our scout anyway? (now thinking about it I don't think that we have one foreign player, do we?).

 

We don't have any player that isn't from the UK or Ireland. Or New Zealand.

[ollie1903]

In Dandy's defence he did say 'players'. Do we have a 'player' from NZ?

Ha ha, aye. True enough.

[DandyDon KD]

C'mon you get what I'm trying to say.

[zander]

Our last scout left along with his old man.

[Ke1t]

We've had an atrocious 'scouting' department for as long as I can remember. What is it... one dedicated scout?

 

I wouldn't even mind if he was any good at his job.

 

But he's clearly not.

 

Fits in well with the general milieu of the club.

[The Boofon]

This thread sounds like a Jonathan King letter to Santa.

[Donstar71]

AFC Scouts

Andy Ritchie aged 56 appointed 20/09/2012

Craig Robertson aged 49 appointed 01/07/2007

John McMaster aged 57 appointed 31/05/2006

Len Taylor aged 66 appointed 31/05/2006

 

Source of information - Transfermarkt

[Monkey]

Interesting info in this article about the youth scouting system in an interview with AFC Youth Academy Chief Scout Colin Grant in July of last year.

 

Basically I joined the club five and a half years ago. We have since set up what I think is a better scouting system. We have five scouts in Aberdeen who I co-ordinate.........Three years ago I set up the Aberdeenshire scouting network. Local clubs, with no affiliation to Aberdeen Football Club whatsoever......We also have a scout up in the Elgin area and we have people covering the Banff, Portsoy, and Stonehaven areas and two in the Glasgow area and two in the Edinburgh area........Paul Donnelly who is in charge of the Edinburgh Centre and Peter Weir who is in charge of the Glasgow Centre

 

By my reckoning that's at least 11 youth scouts at the club.

[E-P-K]

Interesting info in this article about the youth scouting system in an interview with AFC Youth Academy Chief Scout Colin Grant in July of last year.

 

 

 

By my reckoning that's at least 11 youth scouts at the club.

 

I would be very surprised if that is full time employees, in fact be surprised if it was even regular part time work, more likely a PE teacher at Elgin, Cove or where ever who runs the school football team has a contact at AFC to advise of decent prospects.

[Monkey]

The article implies slightly more than people phoning up, that appears to be the Aberdeenshire scouting network though as you read on from my extract.

I'm pretty sure they aren't working 6 days a week 9-5 but I think they will all be watching games each week and the guys in the centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be more active than that.

It is a reasonably sized youth operation though even if some are only part time.

[dervish]

Nah it's like I said I reckon. The "Scouts" really run wee training sessions for youth teams basically (tho that lot might actually when I think about it be FT so very well could do more). I ken someone pretty well who ran one of them, but up here (was very part time). Few ex players playing in the SPL but none for Aberdeen... and I know they were sent down for trials.

[dervish]

Oh aye and btw you can imagine how high on pecking order we are compared to the Celtic/Sevo for the best young players in Glasgow (and scheme size wise, plus even Killie would be more of a pull for some, they do pretty well) ditto (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh Hearts/Hibs.

[The Boofon]

I would be very surprised if that is full time employees, in fact be surprised if it was even regular part time work, more likely a PE teacher at Elgin, Cove or where ever who runs the school football team has a contact at AFC to advise of decent prospects.

 

 

Buckie High have a teacher who recommends players to Aberdeen.

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

the rest relies on WM's youth development program

[dervish]

I would be very surprised if that is full time employees, in fact be surprised if it was even regular part time work, more likely a PE teacher at Elgin, Cove or where ever who runs the school football team has a contact at AFC to advise of decent prospects.

 

Missed that first time round, yeah exactly in the old days that's what it was (they were "scouts" though on the books). With the Aberdeen/Weige/Edinburgh centers. Cut back on it a fair bit though it seems.

[Giblets]

Buckie High have a teacher who recommends players to Aberdeen.

Fa would that be?

It's nae poofy patterson or the mannie Cole is it? (was he nae a scout for West Ham once upon a time?)

[The Boofon]

Fa would that be?

It's nae poofy patterson or the mannie Cole is it? (was he nae a scout for West Ham once upon a time?)

 

 

No. He is an English teacher though.

 

Aye Cole sent folk down to West Ham when he was a teacher.