Scouting and international breaks

Not all managers regard it as necessary to personally watch a player before signing him. Some are satisfied to trust their scouts, stats and video evidence.

That’s through necessity, though.  What chance of you of watching a late addition to your wanted list in the dying weeks of a window?  They would all prefer to see the player in person.

With two games a week, that is often impossible. This issue lead Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan to over rely on players they came up against in the SPL.

International breaks are, therefore, an oasis of opportunity.  This is when a manager can travel half the globe watching football, assessing multiple targets.

Ange Postecoglou now has free midweeks but he has used the February and March breaks to get ahead of the curve. Let’s hope wisely.