Taken from OS http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/20130109-slrecruitment-585625.aspx Steve Lansdown has revealed details about Cityâs long-term recruitment policy, with a major change in direction implemented. The majority shareholder, writing in this Saturdayâs Well Red match programme, says the new policy has been embraced by manager Derek McInnes. And it should see the Robins signing players aged 24 and under more often than not, with older recruits becoming an exception, rather than the norm. Lansdown writes: âIt has always been the belief of chairman Keith Dawe and myself that we should be compiling a database of young players in all positions so that when we need to bring someone in, we already have a lot of information on them. âThis can then be supplemented by scouting reports, building up a full picture of whether the player meets our particular criteria. âThis may seem basic stuff but you would be amazed at how difficult it is to implement. âThe first challenge is to find a manager who embraces the idea, and we are fortunate in having Derek McInnes, who sees the benefit of having such background information available and recognises that it is a club asset. âIn the past we have been plagued by a football hierarchy who want you to believe there is some form of black art to finding players and those secrets should never be shared. âI suspect it is a means of protecting their position and trying to show their importance, but I am pleased to say that recruitment policy at Bristol City Football Club has now moved into the 21st century. âUnder the guidance of managing director Jon Lansdown we now have two people working full time on compiling the statistics and information on players, while we are establishing a team of scouts around the country to watch these and report back. âThe system still has some way to go but we are definitely moving in the right direction. As an investor I am delighted to see this and am happy to commit funds to it. âTherefore, what I expect to see in the future is us recruiting players who are under the age of 24. That is not to say we will not recruit older players, but they should be the exception rather than the norm.â Lansdown adds: âBristol City Football Club has undergone huge change over the last year or so and the establishment of a sound recruitment policy is one of them which has involved a huge amount of work. âThis is one of the pillars of the club's long-term strategy and over the second half of the season we will be reporting on the others.â Read the full column in the 84-page Well Red programme for the visit of Leicester City to Ashton Gate this weekend, on sale for just £3. "What I expect to see in the future is us recruiting players who are under the age of 24." Some positive news, thoughts ?
Well at least some communication from the boardroom but I wonder if some of the comments on here led to the statement? A bit of positivity but let's wait and see where they take us.
This is great in theory and if you are in mid table obscurity and can afford to do this and take your time over amassing the data. However we need seasoned and capable individuals to come in and pull us out of the **** right now........
That is clearly a very sensible policy for the future and very welcome to see this extract from Saturday's programme, published three days before the match. Someone is listening to us at City! But it also makes it clear that this is not written in stone so if the right one/two for McInnes come along during this January, they will use common sense to do everything to maintain Championship status.
'Some positive news' - LOL Positive news would be 2 CHs and midfielder plus 1 sacking. Sounds like Lansdown has reinvented the wheel but then ruins it - 'The first challenge is to find a manager who embraces the idea, and we are fortunate in having Derek McInnes'. May the Lord help us.
To be fair Steve has always as an accountant with one eye on the books been looking to reduce the costs of players wages when you were in L1 even before the debt situation spiraled.Its a good policy however does it really help you know? Suggest that this will work in L1 better than the championship,as for McInnes embracing the policy he has no choice if that is what his paymasters wish to implement, especially given his lack of credibilty on the results front, his tenure as manager must be at risk so why rock the boat. COR
SL is talking complete sense for any normal business. I can't knock a bloke who clearly cares about the club and has put in large wedges of his own cash. However...... this is football not a normal business - and I am a bit worried that this illustrates his background meddling that has led to some of our current woes. Did Cloughie rely on some bank of detailed notes built up over a few years on young promising players? I doubt it - he and Peter Taylor looked at the team, how they wanted to play, and looked for a square player to fit the square hole. Regardless of age. But then they had that intangible football knowledge that SL says quite clearly is like "black art" to him. Therein lies part of our problem maybe??
This is the bit that I found VERY interesting... This just goes to highlight to me how much our benefactor is getting a grip on the club again. Clearly he was told to sod off and keep his nose out before (other than writing the cheques). You can imagine, for instance, GJ saying "you concentrate on the books Steve and leave finding the players to me" To a degree, this is the managers job BUT, if both manager and owner are on the same page, this makes life so much easier. This really is a MASSIVE overhaul of the club from top to bottom and when the old guard have departed, we will have one managers players, all working together to achieve success, not like it is now...
To be honest, I'm seeing this the other way. This is almost an admission from Lansdown that he will not pour money into the club for signings. He's probably annoyed with pouring money into a squad that isn't improving, and knowing full well that he doesn't have the money required to keep us in the Championship. What he was rather do, something that we should have been doing YEARS ago is build up the academy and pay top dollar for top scouting and coaching talent in order to bring in some of England and Europe's best talent to Bristol City. Given the catchment area of Bristol compared to the rest of the Football League we should really have spent millions on a brand new academy. I hate to admit this, but Rovers had the right idea by getting into bed with UWE. They're getting a new stadium by leeching from a university with more money than sense, and I reckon they'll use UWE further to boost their own academy. If Lansdown wants a legacy at Bristol City then he should be building a Westcountry version of the Ajax Academy.
Ender, if SL isn't a billionnaire by now I will be very surprised so money is clearly not the issue. He will however be PREVENTED from pouring money into the club by the FFP as no matter how much money the owner has, the club is limited by turnover (as I understand it) so we are handicapped unless we sign some sort of lucrative stadiium deal... Also, very important are the regulaions that state that:- players under 24 who are out of contract are only available on a free transfer if released by the club holding the players' licence., i.e. Bosman does not apply so if we sign a 17 year old on a 3 year contract who turns out to be a Rooney, our asset doesn't walk with the club getting nothing so, no more Maynard's (again, if I understand this right). So to me, it is protecting the clubs best assets as and when the academy starts producing some gems... Like I said on another post a few weeks ago, bigger picture in view here - in this case, for years to come
Maybe this is exactly what he is aiming at. Just look at the number of new signings this season for the Under 21's. Whichever league we are in next season, if the quality shows through, they will be getting opportunities in our first team. Unfortunately living where I do, means I am unable to assess those in the under 21's. I'd be grateful for updates from anyone who does watch them. PS And the capture of 15 year old Joe Morrell.
I've pasted this from a thread in December started by Wizered and it's the announcement about the job that SL is talking about in this Saturday's programme excerpt above. Academy and Player Recruitment vacancies. The club is currently recruiting for two crucial roles within the football department: Academy Manager and Head of Player Recruitment. Both successful applicants with report to the Board of Directors, with the Head of Player Recruitment also working closely with the first team manager. The Head of Player Recruitment will be required to work under their own initiative yet also recruit and manage a team of full and part-time individuals. The ability to develop and understand the detailed DNA of Bristol City FC and its players is a vital role. The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring detailed opposition analysis reports are produced in line with the first team manager’s requests. The ability to communicate with a level of gravitas, expertise and confidence to the first team manager and directors in relation to all subjective player opinions is important. Additionally, the Head of Player Recruitment will have excellent networking skills and have the ability to enhance current relationships whilst forging new partnerships that will improve the club’s reach. Anyone interested in applying for either role should send an up-to-date CV and covering letter, either by e-mail to [email protected] or write to: Doug Harman, Executive Director, Ashton Gate Stadium, Ashton Road, Bristol, BS3 2EJ. Applications close on January 18th 2013. http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/2...es-554281.aspx End of job advert; This is definitely a very significant move for City and in fact mirrors how most European clubs recruit new players. For instance at Benfica here in Portugal, the Chief Coach, Jorge Jesus, does exactly that. He coaches the first team squad. Yes he has an input into the type of players he would like in his squad, but the recruitment is usually done by the Director of Football, Rui Costa a former Portuguese international. Here is a bit from Wikipedia and you will see that he also appoints the First team coach; On the following day after his final professional game, Costa was presented as the new director of football, hiring Quique Sánchez Flores as the new manager of Benfica and being responsible for the formation of the team in the next season. During the 2008 Summer transfer window, Costa was able – already as Director of Football – to sign a few well-known players, such as Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar and bringing in Spanish left-winger José Antonio Reyes and Honduran striker David Suazo in on loan, thus gaining general praise from both board and fans alike. On the following Summer, Costa further increased his efforts to build a more strengthened Benfica team following a disappointing league campaign in the previous season. He would make several high profile signings such as Argentinean striker Javier Saviola, Brazilian centre midfielder Ramires and Spanish defensive midfielder Javi GarcÃa, along with experienced Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus.[SUP] [/SUP]His major signings would prove to be successful as Benfica would win the Primeira Liga in the 2009-10 season for the first time in five years. Benfica would also win the Taça da Liga in the same season defeating rivals FC Porto in the final. So is this the route that SL is going along? Do we agree that it is a more structured way than the haphazard methods of player recruitment that have prevailed at BCFC in the past? And if so, that the odds on successful recruitment of players are improved from the hit and miss way in which someone like Saborio was brought to the club. (Not a dig at GJ just the way it was done by him and many others before and possibly one since)
I often find City fans attitude to SL bizarre. I think this initiative has come from Keith Dawe bearing in mind a) he's in recruitment. b) he's interested in grass roots football and spotting young talent. They know young players are more likely to be hungrier than older players (who may just be after one last good pay cheque before they 'take it easy'); plus we have more scope to develop a younger talent which we can later sell for a higher fee; as opposed to buying older players on the decline of their career only for them to 'retire' at Weston super mare! SL did say a while ago that he needs to make the club sustainable in its own right. The only way to do that is to get a money-earning stadium, an academy that deliver quality players to sell (or deliver results), and an improved transfer policy (buy cheaper, sell for more). At the same time, they've said it's not a hard and fast rule, so if a good 'older player' comes available then they won't let a 'policy' stand in the way. This is all logical and makes sense so why the **** are people still moaning?! Sorry my grammar is a bit **** tonight but hopefully you get the idea!
