SCOUTING FOR CITY’S NEXT STARS
NEIL Warnock’s policy of not overspending, despite Cardiff City’s promotion to the Premier League, appears a sensible one.
But it also means the Bluebirds must once again use their scouting network very cleverly and pull off some stunning bargain deals, as they have done before under the Yorkshireman.
Warnock accepts that free transfers and loans may again be the order of the summer, but will have full confidence in whoever arrives at Cardiff to slot seamlessly into the promotion-winning side.
Five or six signings are needed, he has admitted, without breaking the bank.
And the man charged with finding the perfect players to survive in the top flight is Glyn Chamberlain, an old friend of Warnock’s and a former manager and coach in his own right. He’s also the man who found some excellent value in the summer of 2017 when the likes of Neil Etheridge, Callum Paterson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing were signed.
But what is Chamberlain’s background? And how will he seek out players capable of bolstering the Bluebirds? This is what his CV and job description look like...
Playing career
At 59, Chamberlain is very much part of the old guard in footballing terms. He was a professional in the English top tiers during the 1970s and 80s and later carved out a career in non-league football.
After coming through the youth ranks at Burnley, Chamberlain played for Chesterfield, Kettering Town, Hyde United and Macclesfield Town as a defender. Chamberlain also had a spell with Gainsborough Trinity — the first club Warnock managed back in the early 1980s.
He hung up his boots in 1987 and has since become a manager, coach and (very successful) scout.
As a manager and coach
The 58-year-old has had only brief dalliances with management, primarily in non-league.
He led Northern Premier side Newcastle Town from 1994 to 1999, before moving into the North West Counties Premier Division with Cheshire-based Congleton Town.
Chamberlain would return to management very briefly after two years as assistant boss at (then) League Two Macclesfield Town.
He was Gary Simpson’s No.2 but got a fleeting shot at the No.1 job — just as the Silkmen had plummeted into the National League, ending a 15-year stay in the football league.
Chamberlain left Macclesfield as Steve King — the man who masterminded that shock FA Cup 3rd round win over Cardiff in January 2013 — arrived as the new boss.
It triggered a return to scouting for Chamberlain; a field in which he had previously excelled during his nine-year absence from coaching.
As a scout
In 2000, alongside his job as Congleton boss, Chamberlain worked as a scout at Fulham, eventually becoming full-time and working for six years at Craven Cottage alongside Jean Tigana and former Wales manager Chris Coleman.
During Chamberlain’s time with the Cottagers, a high proportion of French players were brought to the club — mainly because of Tigana’s influence and the work of chief scout John Marshall. Steed Malbranque, Sylvain Legwinski and Papa Bouba Diop were among the more successful signings from the French market in Chamberlain’s time at the club.
Chamberlain’s work was spotted by Crewe Alexandra boss Dario Gradi, who hired the 58-year-old as chief scout in 2006.
Chamberlain’s tenure saw a high turnaround in playing staff at Gresty Road: Wales internationals Simon Church and Owain Fon Williams were among those to join the Railywaymen. Chamberlain hasn’t yet brought much Welsh talent to Cardiff, quite the opposite with Declan John leaving for Rangers.
One thing Crewe were able to do with Chamberlain as chief scout was negotiate loan moves with Premier League clubs. Tottenham’s Jake Livermore and Lee Barnard arrived on short term deals, as did Manchester United’s David Gray.
See Cardiff’s reliance on loan stars Craig Bryson, Marko Grujic and company in the past season for an example how that policy has been mirrored in South Wales.
Another hallmark of Crewe’s transfer policy during that period was free signings.
Again, that is an area of the market Warnock has successfully exploited with Junior Hoilett, Sol Bamba and others. It’s very likely that he will do
the same this summer if players of sufficient quality are available on Bosman deals.
Chamberlain left Crewe in 2009 to become a scout at Burton Albion, aiding the club’s staggering rise from non-league to the Championship. The club were in the National League when he joined, but were competing with Cardiff and other Championship behemoths until their very recent relegation.
Return to scouting and role with Bluebirds
A year after Chamberlain’s intermittent coaching spell at Macclesfield came to an end, he returned to scouting with Doncaster Rovers in 2012 before moving to Burnley — his role before joining the Bluebirds — and spent three years with the Clarets as they targeted promotion.
Working under Sean Dyche at Turf Moor, Chamberlain as a UK and international scout managed to bring in players like Tom Heaton, Scott Arfield and Michael Keane on free or cheap deals. All proved big hits in Lancashire. The Burnley model is one Warnock has admitted to admiring and will try and replicate in the top flight. Warnock holds regular meetings with Chamberlain about recruitment and has already visited owner Vincent Tan in Malaysia to discuss the finer details of budgets and contracts.
The futures of Aron Gunnarsson and Junior Hoilett may decide how many players the Bluebirds’ recruitment team need to find this summer, as well as what is in the transfer kitty. Although it is expected to be no more than £20million this summer, with the Scottish market — as well as loans and frees — expected to be high on the agenda.
What has he done with Cardiff so far?
Since being hired by Cardiff in the first few months of 2017, Chamberlain’s impact cannot be understated.
While Warnock is credited with turning around the Bluebirds’ fortunes on the pitch, much last season owed to the impact of free transfers like Etheridge, Paterson and Mendez-Laing who all performed above expectation.
Even players like Loic Damour and Danny Ward, brought in last summer after being scouted by Chamberlain, had their say at times during an incredible 2017/18 campaign. Most wouldn’t have expected them to shine in a promotion-winning team.
There has been the odd miss for Warnock and Chamberlain in the past year or so. They spent large chunks of money on Lee Tomlin and Gary Madine with neither particularly firing in a Cardiff shirt.
But Warnock will trust his chief scout to find the right players, with the right mentality, to compete for survival next season.