Hi guys

This blog will interest players who really want to become a professional football player, however, have you asked yourself or wondered what or how does a premier league scout think in order to attract them?

Here are the questions and answers with one of the premier league scout who has 14 years of experience in analysing players and opposition team.

1. Hi Colin, can you tell us who you are and what is your background? I’ve been a scout for 14 years. I came through Grassroots, to semi-professional, to professional scouting. I played a little semi-professional football but have been working in the Premiership and Championship for 14 years as a scout and opposition analyst.
   
   
2. What clubs have you worked for before? I’ve worked for Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Middlesbrough in the main and worked for with a few clubs helping them out when I was a free-lance. 
   
   
3. Do different clubs from different levels have different taste to what sort of players they're looking for? Yes very much so. It all depends on the manager and his philosophy.
   
   
4. What is the normal routine for scouts from premier league level? When you're part-time it's approx 3 games a week, when you’re full-time it could be 1 a day or every other day and sometimes 2 games in the same day. We do speak to others to find out information and we use papers to find out information but now the internet is the big tool.

   
   
5. When you go to match, what would a normal assignment be like and who determines the assignment? It comes from my superiors as in the chief scout or the scouting co-organisers. Every club is slightly different but they do all come to the same way of analysing players and teams. It’s a mixture of looking for new talent analysing players over time or zooming in on intended targets to sign. We even go and watch our own lads out on loan to see how they are progressing.

   
   
6. What do you personally look for when scouting players? In my opinion, there is NO one thing to look for in a player as every player will be different and have something missing or he has something going for him. It all depends on what attributes he has that determines your thought process of where he could play and who he could play with or for. It’s so diverse that’s why it’s so interesting. Attitude is a big factor on how far a player can go.
   
   
7. Is there a difference in how you look at a player for a youth player vs adult? If so, what are the differences and could you share some examples? Yes, there is. Within a young player, you're looking for potential and how you could improve him or how you think with your experience he could improve or where he could play in the future. With adults they should be closer to the finished item so you're looking at what he can do at current moment, knowing he won’t improve too much in certain areas, but of course he can still improve but what I’m trying to say is you give more to a younger player than you would to an older player because you simply expect more because of his experience and knowledge.
   
   
8. What do you mean by, a player needs to have a pedigree and why is that so important? It’s not important but it helps with a scouts experience and thought process knowing if a lad has been with a big club or a professional club for a long time and then released, which means he has a good upbringing in the game. Knowing how you should train and he should have more game knowledge than lads who haven’t been at clubs. It’s a bit like when a young man has been to boarding school rather than a normal school you would expect him to have a little more discipline and be slightly more knowledgeable in certain areas.
   
   
9. What if a player doesn't have a pedigree, how would you determine that he/she good be the right candidate for the club? You could tell with the boy’s raw talent or determination. Jamie Vardy, need I say more.
   
   
10. What are the obstacles of a scout when looking for talents? The managers playing players in wrong positions that don’t suit their attributes. The Standard of the game or the opposition. The inconsistency of the player (attitude).
    
    
    
11. What are your thoughts on players who are competing at the non-league level or below? I think there are loads of players that are quality out there and clubs are now beginning to see the light after Jamie Vardy. The truth is there are loads out there, they just need a chance.
    
    
    
12. We see players like Jermaine Beckford, Jamie Vardy, Andre Gray, Dwight Gayle, Scot Hogan and Michail Antonio, what are your thoughts of players from the lower end of the English Football Leagues? Those names have just proven what I said above. I could give you 10 more.
    
    
    
13. What would someone from the lower end of the English Football League need to show or have in order to convince they have the ability to play at the top or abroad? Running ability determination. Obviously, skill factors come into it but sometimes you don’t have to be a Messi or Ronaldo to be a good footballer. If a player can play a certain role that would be more than good enough they just need a chance. Look at Puncheon, I remember him in the lower leagues and he’s no different now to what he was then. Vardy is similar.
    
    
14. What do you think of Scout Me Online? I like the concept and think it could be very useful as long as it doesn’t JUST show the best bits of a player. Then it becomes like any youtube clip of someone’s son playing well but just the best bits, that is pointless and agents or dads don’t understand no one wants to see a player's best bits especially a scout? They want to see everything so if they do shout him up, they can say where he needs improving and why he hasn’t been picked up before.
    
    
15. Can you scout a player by watching a full game on the internet, like YouTube videos? Can you also give your reason? You can! To a certain degree. But the truth is you would have to go and see him live as it does make a massive difference.
    
    
16. The participation is increasing in football for men and women and a lot of players get released from their academies from 18 years old because the space of being a footballer is limitless. What do you think their opportunities are? It could actually work! Seeing a player who’s been released by a club may be about opinion’s and in another scouts eye’s he could see something other coaches or scouts didn’t. But also AND THIS IS THE BIG THING when a player gets released plummeting down a few leagues it gives him the kick up the backside he needed to raise his game and play to his full potential.
    
    
17. What would you advice youth players and adult players on Scout Me Online (Assuming both age category will have different advice)? Increase your work-rate as too many are highly skilled but lack effort and rely on their technical ability. You only get out what you put in.
    
    
18. What are your thoughts about Scout Me Online trying to connect players with clubs from around the world? It could work very easily but if categorised, it would help and be quicker. Again it all comes down to the guy watching. But putting in the lower leagues of English football would show the talent down there that leagues like Poland, Slovakia as examples may be interested in because I know from experience there are lots of players in the English lower leagues that could play in leagues abroad that are not as strong.

We will have the video recorded with the questions and answers from the premier league scout who would reveal himself, however, please take the advice and think about it.

We all need direction and as a player, we normally have a common belief that someone will see us and that the time will happen and if it doesn't, then I'll just move on. Don't let it happen like this, prepare yourself and give 100% in every second of the match. It's all about the attitude and work rate. 

If you guys have any ideas on what you want us to talk about, please send us an email to admin@scoutmeonline.com and we would be happy to get some insight and deliver it.

Many thanks

Kyam (Abdul Quiyum)

CEO and founder of Scout Me Online