Scouting Methods Unveiled

This weekend the Under-18s had another good win - 4-0 against Barnsley. The Under-16s did very well and won easily. And the Under-9s and 14s played Stoke City and all of them won quite comfortably.

That set the tone for the first team win which rounded the weekend off nicely.

It was nice to see Victor Anichebe start and get his goal and see two former academy players come on in Jack Rodwell and James Vaughan.

Many youngsters will play against Man City for the reserves on Tuesday and some will also be involved on Thursday night when Standard Liege visit.

The tours that they have been on when we've faced foreign opposition should give them an insight into what it's like to play in European games.

At this stage of the season we look at the work that the scouts have done. A majority of the boys that played at the weekend are all based within an hour's travelling distance of the Club - and a lot of the work that the scouts have done in recruiting players goes unnoticed.

We have a meeting based around our local recruitment policies.

It's only when speaking to Martin Waldron (head of local recruitment) you realise the depth that goes into the operation.

There are 16-20 senior scouts in charge of a direct area and in that area they will have a band of half a dozen support staff. So you're looking at a staff that numbers around 200!

Tonight I will be meeting with our scouts. In that meeting we will be looking at what we have done in the past, the results, and how they are showing themselves and the players that are joining at different age groups - and the way forward.

We are going to charge our scouts with the task of finding more, better players.

We say to our players - and it's an unfortunate thing - it is the law of the jungle that as soon as they sign for us, it's the job of the scouts to find players who are better.

The scouts will bring in the best players from the groups that they see, but only on the understanding that any player that is brought in has to be better than any of the players that are here already. So the task gets harder and harder as the standards improve.

There are no jobs or roles anymore important than any others - but without the raw material to start with, we will have nothing.

You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken droppings!