Interesting article about Monaco's player recruitment scheme, which has to be considered a huge success by any standard. For one thing he relies mainly on six of what he calls "super-scouts."
This quote from the architect in particular struck me, re analytics vs. traditional scouting: "All the data and methods you mention are very important, but if you do not know how to read and interpret them, they are definitely useless. The sensitivity and ability to read this data is critical. But I believe much more in what our eyes and our brain are capable of transmitting to us than in any computer in the world. The computer and statistical data offer us an essential, but not decisive aid."
The whole thing is here if you are interested: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-meet-monaco-transfer-guru-signed-mbappe-bernardo-bakayoko-build-footballs-exciting-team-111214429.html
Wouldn't want to go on a canoe trip with this guy, btw, as is totally arrogant about himself, but he describes the whole player recruitment world in detail and also has some pointed comments on why English teams have not done better in Europe lately.
"From one moment to the other the ability to invest in
confirmed talents disappeared and I saw many people despair. If we wanted to continue at the highest level, we had to radically change policy and find young talents, put them in a good showcase, and then sell to make strong financial contributions to sustain the project." - Campos
Sounds similar to the FSG mantra of signing exciting young players with potential, put them in 'a showcase' and sell them at a profit a year or two down the line. The difference being that Monaco seem to have scouted much more effectively and brought great entertainment and the promise of success (at least for now).
So the business model and the quality and success of the scouting and recruitment are co-dependent and equally essential.
Does it produce teams that can sustain success at the top level domestically and in Europe? Unproven.
Can it produce one-season-wonder teams? I would say probably, based on gut instinct and Liverpool's recent history.
I do think Campos is right about the English clubs' recruitment being unbalanced towards high-quality attackers (financial reasons dictate this as much as anything - how many kids go round with defenders' names on their shirts? How many defenders appear in promotion campaigns?).
I don't think we've dropped the old scouting model of physically going to watch players. I'm sure we have a balance between statistical analysis and feet-on-the-sidelines scouting, but are our scouts sufficiently able (as Campos puts it) to "notice" and project into the future, rather than just look and see?
We have picked out some great talent in recent years, and tried (if you believe what we're told) to go for the likes of Delle Ali, but the recruitment process hasn't always worked out in those cases. Maybe we didn't offer them enough money, or maybe London life appealed more. But that's not a scouting issue.
I'm disappointed (but not surprised) that nobody has replied to this thread with any genuine answers or insight into the current LFC process of scouting. Maybe it's all too much 'behind closed doors.'
Thanks for that Robbie, fascinating stuff.