Has YouTube and agents touting around DVDs of their footie clients killed off the football scout. Remember the days when several scouts would turn up to watch upcoming talented players. They dont seem to need to. Even our Irish manager Trapattoni, until forced to recently said he preferred to watch his players progress on tv back in Italy while sipping wine. I find it hard to believe there are not countless undiscovered gems playing in Asian or African leagues, young guys who would jump at the wages / lifestyle a contract with Leeds would offer. There doesn't seem to be any appetite to go out and discover new talent. We're always linked with the usual few journeyman type characters, limited ability and certainly no likelihood of improving or ever being able to command a transfer fee down the line. Far too many winding down careers rather than looking to improve
Steve Walsh at Leicester is just about the best in the business. Has a network of scouts and as a result finds some absolute gems for next to nowt. A master of his trade.
Trevor Gould lives in Northampton, he does a spot of scouting for Arsenal. I was speaking to him a while back on how it works... Clubs like Arsenal have some 240 minor scouts scattered around the country watching schools and local teams, if these scouts spot someone worth taking a look at they are straight in touch with the next one up in the ladder, in his case it was Liam Brady. With this kind of network it will always be hard for teams without the same resources to compete.
