Brian Tinnion's View..

Brian Tinnion gives City hope with expanding youth operation

BRIAN Tinnion may have served as Bristol City captain and manager in the past, but it could be argued his latest role at Ashton Gate is his most important so far.
Brought back to the club he left in September 2005 this summer, the Geordie has taken up the newly-created post of head of youth recruitment.

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Brian Tinnion was appointed Bristol City's head of youth recruitment in the summer

Given that the Robins have undergone a dramatic change of direction in recent times and are now committed to identifying and developing young players for their first team, Tinnion has a crucial part to play.

Having acted as a scout for Everton for several years and established a successful youth coaching operation in and around the Spanish resort of Malaga, Tinnion knows what the job entails and is setting about changing things for the better at Ashton Gate.

City's shortcomings when it comes to recruitment have been well-documented and Tinnion is dedicating himself to ensure things are done differently in the future.

He told the Bristol Post: "The biggest difference is we are now getting out to watch games and are building a network of players and contacts. When I was here, I couldn't find a report or any information on any 15 or 16-year-old player.

"I don't think we had the system in place or the resources to even go and watch under-18 teams in places like Newport, Oxford and Cheltenham. We were pretty much limited to the Bristol area.

"If you're not out looking, you are not going to sign players. There are now two of us, Robert Thorne and I, covering up to 50 games a month between us.

"I've already clocked up a lot of miles – I've been to Sunderland, I've been to Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Torquay, Plymouth and even Ireland. I watched four games in two days in Dublin and now have some contacts there that I didn't have before.

"Steve Coppell signed Kevin Doyle and Shane Long for Reading by looking in Ireland and we know there are good players out there. But you can't find them if you don't look.

"We've made contacts in Liverpool and been offered a 16-year-old right-back by them. We've done the same at Manchester City and will have first pick of any of their scholars who don't make it. It's all about building relations.

"I have good contacts in Spain and we are looking for players out there as well. We had a 16-year-old Spanish lad in the other week for a trial and more will follow.

"We're trying to cover as much ground as we can and watch as many players as we can. I've already watched more than 70 games since the start of this season from under-16s right up to under-21s as well as some first-team matches.

"We already have local scouts watching games in the Bristol area from under-8 and upwards, now we need to get that network a bit bigger.

"We spotted Liam Monelle playing in Mangotsfield's youth team some time ago and he played in our under-18s at the weekend. He did alright and will now have an extended trial.

"Weston-super-Mare also have some good youngsters and I think more local boys will get an opportunity now we are doing things differently."

City chairman Keith Dawe has spoken of the pressing need to forge a recruitment policy based upon due diligence in order to avoid mistakes made in the past With that in mind, Tinnion has been charged with the task of travelling the length and breadth of the land, familiarising himself with young players and building a comprehensive record of scouting reports.

He said: "The idea is that, when someone asks me about a player, I know that player. I want to know as many players as it is possible to know.

"We had 17 or 18 young players in to have a look at in August and when that happens again next year, I want to be in a position where I know all of them in advance. That means seeing them play and writing reports on them.

"It is a key part of my job and it means we don't go in blind whenever we get players in to have a look at. If you haven't done that essential homework, then you are left in a position where you have to take an agent's word."

Although Premier League clubs continue to prey on smaller rivals and take their best young players, the new academy grading structure means City will not necessarily lose out. They can now sell to top clubs for a profit and invest in equally talented players from further down the system at a fraction of the cost.

Tinnion said: "We are a Category Two football club now and it stands to reason that we are going to lose some players to Category One clubs. We've just received £165,000 for two players from Chelsea and Liverpool (Jacob Maddox and Herbie Kane).

"But there is nothing to stop us going to a Category Three club and taking some of their best players. And the beauty of it is, they cost a fraction of what we have received from bigger clubs taking one or two of our players.

"Category One clubs pay more than we do and that means we can take a really good 14 or 15-year-old from a Category Three club and spend no more than £20,000. That has to be good business for Bristol City and it is the way forward for this club."

"That's why I'm spending a lot of time covering areas such as Swindon, Torquay, Cheltenham and Plymouth. There are good players out there and we can sell one for £90,000 and buy one of the standard for £20,000."

Gus Mafuta is one such recruit and he impressed in City's 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers Under-21s at Ashton Gate earlier this week.

"I brought him in from Colchester United and he's still a very young 18, but he has already trained with the first team here and Mark O'Connor (Under-21 manager) is really pleased with the way he is developing," said Tinnion.

"He is a physically strong midfielder with leadership qualities and he has captained the Under-21s. He's certainly one who I think go into our first team eventually."

City have been accused of paying lip-service to their academy in the past and certain managers would rather bring in loan signings from outside than take a gamble on the club's best young players, many of whom departed after two years without being offered professional terms.

Financial pressures have since forced City to explore an alternative avenue and head coach Sean O'Driscoll was appointed in January with a brief to develop young players for the first team.

The fact academy players are now finding their way into the first team has rendered Bristol City an instantly more attractive destination for emerging players, whose heads might previously have been turned by the lure of the Premier League.

Tinnion said: "We now have a manager who is prepared to give young players a go, and we've seen Joe Morrell, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid, Wes Burns and Toby Ajala all in and around the first team this year. You have to practice it rather than just preach it and Sean O'Driscoll has been fantastic.

"I introduced half-a-dozen young players out of the academy when I was first-team manager, but Cole Skuse is the only one to have featured regularly since then.

"For whatever reason, other managers stopped using the academy. Sean O'Driscoll is committed to developing young players for the first team and that has now become our most saleable asset.

"Joe Morrell could have gone to Liverpool, but knew he had hardly any chance of breaking into their first team. He turned them down because he saw that young players here were getting in the first team. That makes our job a little bit easier when it comes to persuading our best players to stay.

"It makes Bristol City 100 per cent more attractive to young players and their parents. We show them the Joe Morrells, Bobby Reids and Joe Bryans and they can see the pathway is there to make the first team at this club.

"If a good young players comes from this area, the odds are that he is going to be a Bristol City fan. What could be better than scoring the winner against Bristol Rovers like Joe Bryan did the other month? They know that could happen here."

City are not the only club in the region and the task of attracting the best players aged between 16 and 21 is rendered more difficult by Southampton's success in reaching and establishing themselves in the Premier League.

Tinnion said: "Southampton are our biggest problem at the moment, because they are in the Premier League and have excellent facilities. You only have to see their track record to realise what we are up against. They have had Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gareth Bale and they are attractive to young players in our region, because they have done it and are now a top-flight club. That is our difficulty at the moment."


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