22-04-2016, 18:46
Seriously though Matt there's a lot anyone with a bit of research intelligence can find out about up-and-coming players. There are local papers everywhere with football reports and news. I think after seeing him in Evo-stick goalscoring lists, the Pendle Times, or something, told me about Joe Gaughan, then I found a newspaper report from New Zealand online. He's even included in some football management games as a New Zealand player. In themselves games are a source of information. Want to know how tall and heavy Sam Corne and Xavier Vidal of Welling United are? I could find out in seconds as I'm sure could you.
I concentrated on players with unsuccessful or obscure teams, because they do still have some good players and, particularly if their club is likely to go down, they may want to move on. If Joss Labadie at Dagenham weren't so prone to mistake opponents for lunch I'd be writing to Danny Wilson NOW and suggesting he give him a route back to league football at a decent level ........
Once you start looking it soon becomes obvious that a name you at best vaguely knew may be worth a bit more research. If it crops up in reports a few times, or someone bothers to write a whole article, an ex-pro manager says this boy could go higher, a team mate, instead of talking about himself, chooses to go on about the contribution this young lad is making ........ They're messages and we should be the ones reacting. Of course, you can't know how realistic a prospect is without a professional judgement in the end, but all ordinary fans have watched a game in which it is obvious one of the players absolutely stands out ...... you can see it in the attitude of the players round him for a start.
And sometimes you can be ahead of the game, take Elton Ngwatala, I'm pretty sure his Kidderminster contract is only to the end of the season. (They have no money anyway, so he wouldn't cost!) Even something like Soccer Manager still shows him as a player with his French team ...... but he's here. He's French so unless we leave the Common Market he's free to play here, he'll be a free agent, he's 22 and he started out at Paris St Germaine so he won't be an idiot. I don't know whether he might make Div One, but the club is full of men who would know - Bob Newton in the bar for a start never mind the guys with football responsibilities!
All it needs is a bit of work, research, the capacity to move quickly and make immediate decisions. A small club could set itself up to do that. Small organisations don't need to behave like bureaucracies, indeed they can't afford to. Contracts offered would reflect that, they'd be initially short, but with opportunities for extensions and higher rewards once players proved themselves.
It didn't take me long to come up with those names. They aren't unknowns, just slightly obscure, but that's where a club like Chesterfield might find a gem. Man Utd won't be looking there, they'll be too busy raiding Ajax's youth team. And yes ordinary fans could help the club uncover talent. Who didn't want to be a pro' and who wouldn't enjoy living the dream in later life through a name he recommended?
I concentrated on players with unsuccessful or obscure teams, because they do still have some good players and, particularly if their club is likely to go down, they may want to move on. If Joss Labadie at Dagenham weren't so prone to mistake opponents for lunch I'd be writing to Danny Wilson NOW and suggesting he give him a route back to league football at a decent level ........
Once you start looking it soon becomes obvious that a name you at best vaguely knew may be worth a bit more research. If it crops up in reports a few times, or someone bothers to write a whole article, an ex-pro manager says this boy could go higher, a team mate, instead of talking about himself, chooses to go on about the contribution this young lad is making ........ They're messages and we should be the ones reacting. Of course, you can't know how realistic a prospect is without a professional judgement in the end, but all ordinary fans have watched a game in which it is obvious one of the players absolutely stands out ...... you can see it in the attitude of the players round him for a start.
And sometimes you can be ahead of the game, take Elton Ngwatala, I'm pretty sure his Kidderminster contract is only to the end of the season. (They have no money anyway, so he wouldn't cost!) Even something like Soccer Manager still shows him as a player with his French team ...... but he's here. He's French so unless we leave the Common Market he's free to play here, he'll be a free agent, he's 22 and he started out at Paris St Germaine so he won't be an idiot. I don't know whether he might make Div One, but the club is full of men who would know - Bob Newton in the bar for a start never mind the guys with football responsibilities!
All it needs is a bit of work, research, the capacity to move quickly and make immediate decisions. A small club could set itself up to do that. Small organisations don't need to behave like bureaucracies, indeed they can't afford to. Contracts offered would reflect that, they'd be initially short, but with opportunities for extensions and higher rewards once players proved themselves.
It didn't take me long to come up with those names. They aren't unknowns, just slightly obscure, but that's where a club like Chesterfield might find a gem. Man Utd won't be looking there, they'll be too busy raiding Ajax's youth team. And yes ordinary fans could help the club uncover talent. Who didn't want to be a pro' and who wouldn't enjoy living the dream in later life through a name he recommended?