Post by Macmoish on Jun 20, 2011 6:48:40 GMT
Meanwhile also at Chelsea: ("Hate the Sin. Love the Sinner!" - ie: Would be great if QPR had a great scouting system instead of what Briatore/Paladini/and their Italian Rep seem to do
Telegraph
Chelsea face busy summer in the transfer market as they go scouting for scouts, as well as players
Chelsea have got a busy summer on their hands. Not only are they pushing for some heavyweight recruitment to refresh their squad, they are also restructuring their football operation off the pitch.
The new manager is the priority — and things are picking up speed as they seek to appoint Guus Hiddink – but the club also want a new talent spotter to replace Frank Arnesen. Steve Rowley, Arsenal’s highly-respected chief scout, has, according to a well-placed source, been offered over triple his current salary to work for Chelsea and is being pushed to give an answer in the coming week. Roman Abramovich wants his new team in place by the end of the month.
While there are clear plans to pursue an aggressive recruitment strategy for the first-team squad this summer, Chelsea also want to ensure that they have the best possible people in place to ensure that young talent is being brought in to complement their expensively acquired assets in the future.
Frank Arnesen, the former sporting director, resigned six months ago and has now moved to Hamburg. It was his responsibility to make the academy competitive with the best in Europe but, while there have been a number of promising players to emerge at Cobham, no player has forced their way into the first team. Michael Mancienne, Fabio Borini, Jacopo Sala and Michael Woods have all left the club already this summer and more Arnesen players could follow.
His departure has given Chelsea the chance to rethink the way they go about their recruitment. Several scouts have also left: Lee Congerton is joining Arnesen at Hamburg while Frenchman Guy Hillion and Hans Gilhaus, from Holland, have also gone. The network needs to be refreshed so that Chelsea are not left paying the premiums they have on David Luiz and Fernando Torres — or what they would have to pay to sign Luka Modric. Roman Abramovich wants players of this calibre coming through the club’s academy system over the next decade.
Neil Bath, the academy director, is doing an excellent job and there are very high hopes for England youth internationals Josh McEachran and Nathaniel Chalobah, but recruitment of youth players has become a fiercely competitive global business and Chelsea want to be at the forefront.
If they appoint Hiddink, they do not see the need to also appoint a sporting director but would rather give the Dutchman the support of a powerful chief scout. Rowley’s superb track record at Arsenal has made him a natural target.
Rowley, however, is apparently reluctant to leave Arsenal. He runs the 23-strong scouting network there and it would be a surprise if they did not fight hard to hang on to one of their most valuable assets. Over the last three decades his ability to spot players — from Tony Adams to Jack Wilshere — has been worth millions to the club and he has developed a very productive working relationship with Arsène Wenger.
What is clear is that Chelsea are looking to build a team that plays with a more expansive style. They want the kind of technically sophisticated players that Rowley spots. They have previously met Txiki Begiristain, the former Barcelona player and director of football, before deciding against appointing him and it is no secret that Abramovich wants his team to play with more verve.
Since Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, Chelsea have been very reliant on the pace and power of Didier Drogba and the hard-running and goalscoring of Frank Lampard. It was no surprise that the team struggled last season when both players where out with injury.
Having acquired Fernando Torres to help wean the team off their Drogba dependency (although that has failed so far) they are now looking for a player to change the tenor of their midfield play. That is the reason they appear determined to try to prise Modric away from Tottenham — he is a player to build a team around. If they cannot get him they will try for another playmaker — Javier Pastore of Palermo for example — because the team is perceived as being deficient in creativity and imagination in midfield.
It will not be easy for the new manager to change the way this team plays without new personnel because the influential senior players in this team have found so much success playing in their direct, robust style. Under Carlo Ancelotti there was an increased emphasis on passing and ball retention but he never had the players to make the full transition.
Abramovich has increased his personal involvement in making deals in the last six months and there is a real hunger to get things right this summer: new players, a new manager, a new playing style and new system for spotting talent.
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8584190/Chelsea-face-busy-summer-in-the-transfer-market-as-they-go-scouting-for-scouts-as-well-as-players.html
Telegraph
Chelsea face busy summer in the transfer market as they go scouting for scouts, as well as players
Chelsea have got a busy summer on their hands. Not only are they pushing for some heavyweight recruitment to refresh their squad, they are also restructuring their football operation off the pitch.
The new manager is the priority — and things are picking up speed as they seek to appoint Guus Hiddink – but the club also want a new talent spotter to replace Frank Arnesen. Steve Rowley, Arsenal’s highly-respected chief scout, has, according to a well-placed source, been offered over triple his current salary to work for Chelsea and is being pushed to give an answer in the coming week. Roman Abramovich wants his new team in place by the end of the month.
While there are clear plans to pursue an aggressive recruitment strategy for the first-team squad this summer, Chelsea also want to ensure that they have the best possible people in place to ensure that young talent is being brought in to complement their expensively acquired assets in the future.
Frank Arnesen, the former sporting director, resigned six months ago and has now moved to Hamburg. It was his responsibility to make the academy competitive with the best in Europe but, while there have been a number of promising players to emerge at Cobham, no player has forced their way into the first team. Michael Mancienne, Fabio Borini, Jacopo Sala and Michael Woods have all left the club already this summer and more Arnesen players could follow.
His departure has given Chelsea the chance to rethink the way they go about their recruitment. Several scouts have also left: Lee Congerton is joining Arnesen at Hamburg while Frenchman Guy Hillion and Hans Gilhaus, from Holland, have also gone. The network needs to be refreshed so that Chelsea are not left paying the premiums they have on David Luiz and Fernando Torres — or what they would have to pay to sign Luka Modric. Roman Abramovich wants players of this calibre coming through the club’s academy system over the next decade.
Neil Bath, the academy director, is doing an excellent job and there are very high hopes for England youth internationals Josh McEachran and Nathaniel Chalobah, but recruitment of youth players has become a fiercely competitive global business and Chelsea want to be at the forefront.
If they appoint Hiddink, they do not see the need to also appoint a sporting director but would rather give the Dutchman the support of a powerful chief scout. Rowley’s superb track record at Arsenal has made him a natural target.
Rowley, however, is apparently reluctant to leave Arsenal. He runs the 23-strong scouting network there and it would be a surprise if they did not fight hard to hang on to one of their most valuable assets. Over the last three decades his ability to spot players — from Tony Adams to Jack Wilshere — has been worth millions to the club and he has developed a very productive working relationship with Arsène Wenger.
What is clear is that Chelsea are looking to build a team that plays with a more expansive style. They want the kind of technically sophisticated players that Rowley spots. They have previously met Txiki Begiristain, the former Barcelona player and director of football, before deciding against appointing him and it is no secret that Abramovich wants his team to play with more verve.
Since Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, Chelsea have been very reliant on the pace and power of Didier Drogba and the hard-running and goalscoring of Frank Lampard. It was no surprise that the team struggled last season when both players where out with injury.
Having acquired Fernando Torres to help wean the team off their Drogba dependency (although that has failed so far) they are now looking for a player to change the tenor of their midfield play. That is the reason they appear determined to try to prise Modric away from Tottenham — he is a player to build a team around. If they cannot get him they will try for another playmaker — Javier Pastore of Palermo for example — because the team is perceived as being deficient in creativity and imagination in midfield.
It will not be easy for the new manager to change the way this team plays without new personnel because the influential senior players in this team have found so much success playing in their direct, robust style. Under Carlo Ancelotti there was an increased emphasis on passing and ball retention but he never had the players to make the full transition.
Abramovich has increased his personal involvement in making deals in the last six months and there is a real hunger to get things right this summer: new players, a new manager, a new playing style and new system for spotting talent.
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8584190/Chelsea-face-busy-summer-in-the-transfer-market-as-they-go-scouting-for-scouts-as-well-as-players.html
