Back in the day when our club recruited a new player, there was an aura of uncertainty especially with an unknown name. What are they like? Will they enhance our squad? You were more than willing to watch them up closely for a few games and then judge their abilities for yourself.
Those days are clearly now gone due to the rise of digital media. Nowadays all you need to do to view a potential new signing or player linked to your club is go on YouTube and type in their name.
Hayato Inamura of Celtic Cork City v Celtic, Pre Season Friendly, Football, SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland – 08 July 2025 Cork SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh Ireland Photo Lorraine O’Sullivan/Shutterstock
You will then get footage of said player in action sometimes complete with a scouting report, giving you an indication of what to expect. Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it and we’ve all been guilty of judging a player over a few minutes of footage, myself included. Err he’s not for me, or he’s outstanding the next Larsson snap him up right now!
It’s not that easy however is it? Well no because if it was clubs everywhere would have no need for scouts and clubs just employ someone to go trawl through clips of players and create a list of potential signings.
The reality is that you have to watch a player closely in the flesh to know their strengths, their weaknesses, their off the ball movement, commitment, and their overall attitude to fully grasp their true ability as a footballer.
Queen s Park v Celtic – Pre-Season Friendly – The City Stadium Celtic s Mikey Johnson warms up ahead of the pre-season friendly match at The City Stadium, Glasgow on Wednesday July 10, 2024. Photo Andrew Milligan
So there’s a lot more to it than just watching a five minute clip of a player in action. For example I could edit a five minute video of Mikey Johnston and convince you he was a world beater, maybe that’s what Flamengo did?
Or it could work the opposite way and you could view a few minutes of Daizen Maeda in action, and instantly say “not for me”…if you included some of his wackier moments – and there have been many – then he’d never get anyone interested!
The reality is that the scouts know much more than us and it takes a lot of research to identify potential new recruits. The YouTube era has led us all to believe that we are certified football scouts but the reality is completely different.
But it won’t stop everyone reading this believing that they know a player when they see one!
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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