http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/scouting-set-up-gives-deila-a-helping-hand.24479486 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/peter-houston-celtic-scout-scoured-3698049
PETER Houston has been criss-crossing the continent for Celtic for eight months. Now he reckons Ronny Deila could reap the rewards when he hits Europe. The new Falkirk boss has scoured 14 different countries eyeing talent since he joined the Hoops’ scouting operation. And at a final meeting with Deila on Wednesday, he told him there’s a database packed with potential for the new Norwegian gaffer to develop. Houston revealed Deila was ensconced at the training ground with Celtic’s video analysts in midweek, sifting through footage of his squad. But he insists his scouting work will come into its own when the manager starts looking for new targets. Houston said: “Ronny knows what he wants and will make changes to certain things. “He will assess his squad quickly – the lads who do all the analysis were pulling stuff together for him on Wednesday. “After that, if Ronny says he needs a No.10, a right-back or a left winger, then the information is there for him. “He will have a choice, a list of good points and bad then he can send someone to see the player. It’s all in place. That’s the beauty of being at a big club with resources to match. He’ll want to do well in the Champions League so will be looking at what he needs for Europe” Houston’s work for chief scout John Park opened his eyes to the sheer scale of Celtic’s operation compared to his own time as boss of Dundee United.He said: “I had eight unbelievable months. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to United but the resources and back-up that Celtic have are unbelievable. “I was asked to watch the targets their analysts had picked out. Last week I hired a car and drove through Portugal and Spain to watch two Under-19 groups. “I was in Malta for the Under-17 championships – but not for Scotland’s games. I was more following England and Holland. “My knowledge of players has increased tenfold. Not only youths, but first-team players too. “In eight months, I was in 14 countries watching targets. “Celtic can afford to do that and John runs a great department. They have the network there. And without a doubt Ronny will benefit. He might have some players in mind but if he asks ‘What have you got at centre back?’ – then bang, bang, the clips are there, mostly of European games. “Wingers? Right or left sided, he can watch the footage. “But you are not going to sign a player based on what’s on a computer. “That is when, for back up, they sent me out to watch them. To see if it is worth sending the manager or the assistant. “The last man who should see the player is the manager or someone close to him who can say yes or no. “So that was my job at Celtic and they were fantastic to work for.” Houston’s role was to bring his experience of the game to a system increasingly global in its nature and increasingly computerised. He said: “My first task was look through the target list and narrow it down. From my experience, I would tell them ‘He didn’t defend that’ or ‘He should be tighter there’. “Hopefully, they learned a bit more about the football and tactical side from my experience. They have great back up and good people working in there and Ronny will be helped big time.” Deila only has a month to get his Hoops dream up and running before the Champions League qualifiers. But Houston is convinced the 38-year-old can make an impression and insists sometimes change can be good for a club. He said: “Neil Lennon did a fantastic job. He and his backroom staff welcomed me with open arms. “I was a former rival, a guy he used to have verbals with in the papers, but Neil was a cracking guy who did a good job. “He will probably regret leaving but in the same breath maybe it was a good time to go for his sake and maybe for Celtic. “But I understand why he felt he needed something fresh. It was probably similar to my own situation at Tannadice. “I had been at United for seven years and it was probably the right time for both me and the club to get some fresh impetus. “Jackie McNamara has come in and been exceptional. Maybe that will happen at Celtic too.”
That's the reason I never included you in my popular 'Best Thread Creator On Here' thread. You do it a lot. A brief description would suffice and would add greatly to the quality of the thread. Plus, you never know how safe it is to click on links on here.
I do apologise Mr Beale... I regularly post from my Kindle, so copying and pasting from other websites is rather difficult. I do hope you understand.
I don't go around fixing all my typos like you ST...I'm not that precious. Dev...you're just a stoned wideo.
