FOOTBALL SCOUTING WORLDWIDE’S MANAGING DIRECTOR AND PROFESSIONAL SCOUT

Who should sign up to this online scouting course?

Anyone who is looking to become a professional first team football scout. The course replicates how you would scout for a club at first team level with practical scouting assignments and training on the scouting platform used by clubs across the UK and Europe. Course attendees will also have the opportunity to use this on the course. The course can also be taken by anyone anywhere in the world as it’s all based online.

What happens when someone signs up for the course?

They will instantly receive everything they need to begin the course via e-mail including professional scouting sample reports, scouting templates and FREE scouting handbooks. They also have the option to begin immediately!

Will course attendees need any prior qualifications or playing experience?

Not at all as everything in relation to first team scouting is covered on the course.

Can the course be taken alongside a full-time job or during studies?

Absolutely. The course has been tailor-made to take alongside a job or studies. It is self-paced and can be completed all in your own time with no deadlines or exams from anywhere in the world.

Do I need to live near a club to work for a club?

Not at all. I am based in Surrey and have worked for Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Sunderland to name a few clubs. Clubs also have scouts based abroad and those who work as video scouts. Video scouts can work from anywhere in the world. For example, we have guys working for FC Twente in the Netherlands who are video scouts that live in the UK.

Who has featured as a guest speaker on the course?

We have had Steve McClaren,

Chris Hughton, Joleon Lescott, Manchester United Head of Goalkeeping Scouting Tony Coton and Steve Walsh, who was Leicester City’s chief scout when they won the Premier League title in 2015-16. They have all been fantastic in not only giving up their time but key to the development of our course attendees in them gaining the insight as to exactly what information a manager and chief scout want to know when reading a scouting report.

What support is provided on and after the course?

I personally provide full support to all course attendees in mentoring them from start to finish, whilst also providing feedback on scouting reports. I also host the live scouting video chats via Zoom where attendees can also ask any scouting related questions.

What else will I receive after the course?

Signed and date-stamped certification with full support in producing a tailor-made scouting CV as well as a personal letter of recommendation.

What clubs have course attendees scouted for directly after completing the Football Scouting Worldwide course?

Most recently we have placed a number of course attendees at Millwall, Shrewsbury Town, FC Twente and Stockport County.

I started aged 19 in working as a first team scout for Wycombe Wanderers.

How long have you been working as a professional first team scout?

Fifteen years including ten combined in working for clubs in the Premier League. I spent just under ten years at Aston Villa and all in senior roles as a UK Scout, Next Opposition Scout and European Scouting Manager.

What inspired you to get into football scouting?

Championship Manager, Football Manager as it is now, was the catalyst in knowing that I wanted to become a scout. It consumed my teenage years but genuinely provided an excellent platform in initially learning the key attributes to be looking out for in each position. I knew that I was never going to make it professionally as a player so becoming a scout was the next best thing.

What would you say to anyone interested in working in football or scouting who suffers with their mental health?

I’m introverted, to be honest, and like so many suffer with anxiety and depression, whilst also being diagnosed as bipolar II in January 2019. I see an improvement in this area of the game, but I feel a responsibility to continue to help break the stigma and want to help others who are looking to work in football but worry that their anxiety or depression will hold them back. Going into a club’s training ground for recruitment meetings or even when hosting the live chats for example has always made me feel incredibly anxious beforehand, but I think it’s only because I don’t want to let anyone down.

Do many women work in men’s football as a first team scout?

This is an area of the game that I desperately want to help evolve and bring out of the Stone Age! I’ve been doing this job for 15 years and in the thousands of games I’ve attended, I’ve only ever come across two or three female scouts working in the men’s game. The industry and clubs are effectively saying women cannot identify talented male players, which has to change.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to become a scout?

Watch as many games as you possibly can across different levels and leagues. Play Football Manager when you can and record games, even if it’s just to listen to pundits and analysis. You never stop learning and every time people like Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Alan Shearer, to name a few, open their mouths, I often find myself learning something new or something that will make me look at an aspect of the game, the position, player or tactics differently. My final piece of advice…sign up to the course! I will look forward to personally supporting you from start to finish

– and beyond.

“Do the job you love and you’ll never work again”