When it comes to the scouting network at West Bromwich Albion, the progress from the ‘one man and his dad’ setup of the Gary Megson era to the present day is unquestionable. Considering the modus operandi of the Chairman and the Board however, I am beginning to wonder is it really worth it?
Phrases such as ‘keeping tabs on’, ‘monitoring the situation’ and ‘we are aware of his talents’ amongst numerous others have become synonymous with the Albion when it comes to player recruitment. A friend once told me that he had had a discussion with a person employed as a scout at another club. The chat continued and the scout, knowing my friend to be an Albion fan, told him that Albion were aware of pretty much all of the top talents around Europe. The only problem being that they never seemed to be able to conclude a deal for them. Not to worry, the players in question are all ‘known quantities’ to the Albion and no doubt hold an entry on the clubs fabled player database. There will, of course, be costs attached to the collecting, collating and updating of such a widespread pool of player knowledge. The question is are we getting the most out of this undoubted knowledge?
Shifting focus to this summer’s recruitment drive (ahem) and a look at who has joined the ranks: Goran Popov on a season long loan deal much like he was last season; Nicolas Anelka who is a known quantity if ever I saw one, especially with his past workings with Steve Clarke; Matej Vydra who scored a good number at Championship level last season whilst on loan at Watford; Diego Lugano the 85 cap Uruguay captain and finally Scott Sinclair on a loan-to-buy deal from Manchester City. Standard due-diligence would lead the club to look into the makeup and temperament of the players but beyond that, and considering the signings, it is unlikely that anything too in-depth would’ve needed to be done to ascertain whether these players were worth pursuing. It would’ve been easy enough to send a scout to a dozen or so Watford games or one to see Sinclair in sporadic action for a visual appraisal.
Back to the database and associated scouting network and the question I posed. Are we getting the best out of the systems we have put in place or are they, for the most part, merely keeping employees busy and the computer well-stocked with Europe-wide match reports and related information on the players in focus?
This summer has seen the usual large number of players linked with joining the club, with the majority of them able to be instantly dismissed for any one of a number of reasons. Transfer fee, wages demanded, other clubs interested, level of competition, etc. Sorting the transfer wheat from the chaff as an Albion fan is a pretty easy game to play. Is there a fee attached? Put that in the pile marked ‘unlikely’, large fee? Pile marked ‘no chance’, free or available on a loan deal? That’ll do for us. Now before i get slated for demanding large fee’s are spent, I have absolutely no problem with paying nothing for a player. You could even say its the preferred option. What’s not to like about getting someone like Claudio Yacob for nothing? The problem is that when that particular pool has been fished out, the club holding the rod need to move to a new pool which is something that we are completely reticent to do. Instead, we keep on baiting the same hook with the same old maggots, hoping to land something long after all the other pegs have been deserted. You see, the bigger pools have much fiercer competition and bigger costs attached so we would rather not cast off into them.
The benefits of being the club willing to take that calculated gamble (and it would be very calculated thanks to the extensive scouting legwork carried out) on a player are there for all to see. Michu was signed by Swansea for the modest sum of £2m from Rayo Vallecano and is now reportedly ‘worth’ around ten times that figure. Antonio Valencia was signed for around £5m by Wigan and later sold to Manchester United for around £16m. They are only two examples, there are many more such as Victor Moses (a player we were well aware of and had scouted) being another who made Wigan money when they sold him. Roque Santa Cruz was another, signed for £3.5m by Blackburn and later sold to Man City for around £17.5m.
None of the figures mentioned above for the club who were bold and brave enough in the market to sign them would have troubled the West Brom coffers so long as the wages paid weren’t astronomical and knowing the Albion, there is no possibility of that being a factor in our financial undoing. It’s also not like we haven’t been the beneficiaries of such a deal in the past either as the £3m paid to Luton in 2005 for Curtis Davies returned around £10m just two years later. They don’t all work out quite so well like the Leon Barnett deal between the same two clubs. My point is that unless you are willing to be the brave and the bold then is collecting such extensive information worth all the money and the fuss?
This summer we have seen ‘known quantities’ such as Dieumerci Mbokani move elsewhere. Nacer Chadli likewise. Wilfried Bony too. Links to Konoplyanka, Kalou and (to me, laughably) Defoe have all come to nothing, for a variety of reasons.
Fans, not to mention the Head Coach alike, are becoming increasingly frustrated that the required recruits have as yet not been forthcoming. The fact that similarly sized clubs (some with the benefit of big backing, granted) have spent like they are dealing with Monopoly money hasn’t helped the view of some fans. To me, other clubs spending is a total irrelevance other than the fact that it makes the league that little bit tougher and more difficult to safely navigate.
The holes in our squad have been well known for a very long time. With Lukaku returning to Chelsea a better player than when he arrived and with little to no chance of him joining Popov in extending his loan, a forward was a necessity. Anelka ticked a box there. Throw in the departed Marc-Antoine Fortuné and the soon-to-be departed Peter Odemwingie and it is clear that further additions are needed, preferably with a proven pedigree that, at this point, Matej Vydra doesn’t provide. Able cover in the defensive midfield and right back spots would also be welcome. They have also been a need that we would’ve been aware of long before now.
We are now left with a limited period of time to carry out business that should’ve been done a long time ago. Surely now is the time to gulp hard, be bold, brave and be that team to take a chance and invest in players that could inject a real degree of quality into the side, excite fans and possibly even provide a big boost to the clubs vault a few years down the line too. If the club are sensible in this brave approach, which I have absolutely no doubt they would be, then there is no chance of it leading to a Leeds/Pompey style slide into financial oblivion. None of the players I listed above would’ve caused even the slightest tremor to the foundations of the club.
For that, the Board need applauding. For adopting such a no-risk transfer strategy on the back of such inflated sums flowing into the bank however, they do not.
Thanks for reading! Please take a moment and follow me on Twitter – @FommyTarr. Give the site a follow while you’re at it – @LastWordOnSport.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football or with our new IRC football Chat.
Interested in writing for Last Word On Sports? Find out more by clicking on our “Join Our Team” page.
