PREM OF LAPTOP FLOPS...
FOR EVERY Virgil Van Dijk there is a Tanguy Ndombele. For every Danny Ings, weep all the way to the bank over a Nicolas Pepe.
All four of those Premier League players have the honour – or in some cases the ignominy – of being a top-flight club’s record signing.
If you take a look at the record buys of the 20 current Premier League clubs you will find far fewer hits than misses among them.
Mick Brown, Ron Atkinson’s trusted former No.2 – and chief scout during some of the Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United years – believes it’s because the wrong people are now making the big transfer decisions.
Some clubs have dispensed with their one-time armies of experienced scouts, who would put in the hours on the road, seeking out talent or analysing a transfer target in person.
Brown said: “Most clubs would have people who have been in the game for years, have been through the mill as managers or coaches and have then moved into scouting, so their opinions were valued. Now everybody seems to have gone down the road of assessing players through computers.
“Largely this is done by people who have no experience, have not been in any facet of the game. Is it any wonder so many big signings have failed?
“Old-school methods aren’t infallible, but they do get more right than wrong, which isn’t the case now at many clubs.”
Brown, whose extensive know-how is currently being utilised by West Ham boss David Moyes, added: “You have CEOs and sporting directors calling the shots now.
“Quite often because of their lack of football knowledge they find themselves in the hands of the agents who are running the game to an extent.
“Sir Alex wouldn’t want a computer to tell him – he trusted in experience.”