You’ve got to remember as an average those that end up in football are not the cream of the crop intellectually. I don’t think that is an incorrect or unfair statement. I’m talking about the average not the exceptions.
Generally majority have to favour football so leave school without completing education and that sets the pool.
Once playing days are over these same folks go into Coaching, Scouting etc. those with detailed analytical minds until perhaps some recent instances, are in other industries and you only have to look at the wages clubs will pay an analyst and it isn’t going to attract top tier talent.
This is not meant to offend. I’m not saying all footballers are thick or having a dig ant anyone who didn’t have a chance to further their education etc. But the average is there in the pool and it sets the tone.
Take even our PL recruitment. Callum Robinson. He was not a centre forward. If we decided to play 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 he would have been useful on the left. He wasn’t a Center Forward though so how did he even get recruited?
Oliver Burke was quick, but he also wasn’t a Center Forward.
Now I know we can’t afford top level talent but surely we could have afforded someone whose trade it was to play there?
I liked the phrase earlier used as well; why are we glacial paced when it comes to getting deals done? When it comes to players moving out they’re gone in days. Coming in? It’s like settling the Middle East conflict!
I get what your are saying, but I do think the reasoning is a bit too simplistic. Yes most professional players have limited education and a good percentags come from areas where education isnt a priority. Conversely there is a difference between educated, high IQ/intelligence and capabilities. Why some rise to the top in these roles is opportunity. Specific skillsets can be strengthened if the skills align with the person's natural talents. It is opportunity that determines the speed of development.
With that in mind, what we would expect is that the poorer coaches and scouts would not build a good track record. Thus, even if they have been given opportunities, they would dropped by clubs.
Another part of this is culture. "Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group of people from another. Its the "how we do things around here" mindset that is heavily influenced by those at the top.
Brentford and Brighton being two clubs that look to have the systems in place to coach and scout at the highest levels.
I know that even those clubs don't get everything right, but they have less poor decisions than average
In our case for the last 10 years or so we have made a lot of poor decisions that were costly. 18M Brewster, poor movement and justs wants to hit the ball with power. Cannon £10M, just play it in front of me on the grass. McGuinness on a long ball tends to run out under the ball, taking himself out of the game. Berge £23M a luxury player whose work rate was suspect, can't win headers even though 6 Foot 5in. and rarely uses a left foot. I agree with you about Robinson, though I will add that he also pulls out of challenges.
What we require is a DOF, an overhaul of our scouting, and a process with guide rails to prevent Wilder or any manager from persistenly deciding "I want those two and won't accept anyone else." That would at least prevent £28M being spent on two players who are so limited that they each have only 1 strength and about 9 weaknesses.
These failures aren't because of IQ and education. They are caused by inaccurate scouting reports, a manager with an ego problem, a board who don't understand the game and a recruitment process that needs to be changed.
What we are looking for is. Skill level, pace, both feet, positivity, leadership, resilience and ambition.
