Post by QPR Report on Aug 2, 2009 6:54:30 GMT
The Times/Duncan Castles
August 2, 2009
Unplumbed talent pool in League One and Two
Three summers ago, Everton’s medical staff requested an examination of Joleon Lescott’s reconstructed knee. A positive result allowed David Moyes to push through a transfer from Wolves for what was regarded as a gambler’s fee of £4m, rising to £5m, for a Championship centre-back. Today the Scottish manager could comfortably quadruple that outlay with a single phone call to Manchester City.
For all the Premier League’s expanding wealth, academies and international scouting networks, there are rich resources to be quarried from the nation’s lower divisions. At Everton, both Tim Cahill and Phil Jagielka spent their formative years in the Football League. In recent England squads, Ashley Young, Peter Crouch, Robert Green, Leighton Baines, Jimmy Bullard, Curtis Davies and Theo Walcott are others who found their feet in the Championship or below.
The Sunday Times asked two men who specialise in assessing football talent to pick teams of Football League players capable of prospering in the top tier. Some have played in the Premier League already, the majority are in the early stages of their career, and the common complaint was how to narrow down their selections to 11.
Ewan Chester is Rangers’ chief scout with a Scottish silverware count of 33 trophies in 20 seasons. In between his two spells at Ibrox, Chester helped Livingston escape relegation by bringing in nine players before leaving to head and restructure Fulham's scouting department. “It was a wrench to leave Fulham and a league of the quality of the Premier League,” says Chester. “I only left because it was Walter Smith and Rangers asking.”
Lee Matthews is a football consultant for Sports Management International, an agency that includes former pros Neil Cox and Chris Whyte, and works closely with BHP Sport, headed by former Liverpool striker David Hodgson. A contemporary of Jonathan Woodgate and Paul Robinson at Leeds United, Matthews’ playing career was blighted by injury as he hopscotched around 10 clubs before retiring in 2007.
“We’re a young, ambitious group who want to build good relationships with the clubs rather than make a quick buck,” says Matthews, who helped striker Robert Snodgrass move from Livingston to Leeds last year. “As former pros, it’s easier for us to understand how precarious life is in the lower divisions.”
The experts pick their winners
Lee Matthews’ XI (Football consultant, Sports Management International)
Jason Steele (Middlesbrough, goalkeeper, age 18)
Adam Matthews (Cardiff, right-back, 17)
Mark Beevers (Sheff Wed, centre-back, 19)
Miles Addison (Derby, centre-back, 20)
Joe Mattock (Leicester, left-back, 19)
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds, right wing, 21)
Joe Ledley (Cardiff, centre midfield, 22)
Fabian Delph (Leeds, centre midfield, 19)
Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough, left wing, 22)
Ross McCormack (Cardiff, forward, 22)
Connor Wickham (Ipswich, forward, 16)
Ewan Chester’s XI (Chief scout, Glasgow Rangers)
Joe Lewis (Peterboro’, goalkeeper, 21)
Gianni Zuiverloon (West Brom, right-back, 22)
Andre Bikey (Reading, centre-back, 24)
Zak Whitbread (Millwall, centre-back, 25)
Joe Mattock (Leicester, left-back, 19)
Adam Lallana (Southampton, right midfield, 21)
Fabian Delph (Leeds, centre midfield, 19)
Graham Dorrans (WBA, centre midfield, 22)
Kris Commons (Derby, left midfield, 25)
Tamas Priskin (Watford, centre-forward, 22)
Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough, left wing, 22)
League One: home of the fallen giants
Who’s spent some money?
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article6736020.ece
August 2, 2009
Unplumbed talent pool in League One and Two
Three summers ago, Everton’s medical staff requested an examination of Joleon Lescott’s reconstructed knee. A positive result allowed David Moyes to push through a transfer from Wolves for what was regarded as a gambler’s fee of £4m, rising to £5m, for a Championship centre-back. Today the Scottish manager could comfortably quadruple that outlay with a single phone call to Manchester City.
For all the Premier League’s expanding wealth, academies and international scouting networks, there are rich resources to be quarried from the nation’s lower divisions. At Everton, both Tim Cahill and Phil Jagielka spent their formative years in the Football League. In recent England squads, Ashley Young, Peter Crouch, Robert Green, Leighton Baines, Jimmy Bullard, Curtis Davies and Theo Walcott are others who found their feet in the Championship or below.
The Sunday Times asked two men who specialise in assessing football talent to pick teams of Football League players capable of prospering in the top tier. Some have played in the Premier League already, the majority are in the early stages of their career, and the common complaint was how to narrow down their selections to 11.
Ewan Chester is Rangers’ chief scout with a Scottish silverware count of 33 trophies in 20 seasons. In between his two spells at Ibrox, Chester helped Livingston escape relegation by bringing in nine players before leaving to head and restructure Fulham's scouting department. “It was a wrench to leave Fulham and a league of the quality of the Premier League,” says Chester. “I only left because it was Walter Smith and Rangers asking.”
Lee Matthews is a football consultant for Sports Management International, an agency that includes former pros Neil Cox and Chris Whyte, and works closely with BHP Sport, headed by former Liverpool striker David Hodgson. A contemporary of Jonathan Woodgate and Paul Robinson at Leeds United, Matthews’ playing career was blighted by injury as he hopscotched around 10 clubs before retiring in 2007.
“We’re a young, ambitious group who want to build good relationships with the clubs rather than make a quick buck,” says Matthews, who helped striker Robert Snodgrass move from Livingston to Leeds last year. “As former pros, it’s easier for us to understand how precarious life is in the lower divisions.”
The experts pick their winners
Lee Matthews’ XI (Football consultant, Sports Management International)
Jason Steele (Middlesbrough, goalkeeper, age 18)
Adam Matthews (Cardiff, right-back, 17)
Mark Beevers (Sheff Wed, centre-back, 19)
Miles Addison (Derby, centre-back, 20)
Joe Mattock (Leicester, left-back, 19)
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds, right wing, 21)
Joe Ledley (Cardiff, centre midfield, 22)
Fabian Delph (Leeds, centre midfield, 19)
Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough, left wing, 22)
Ross McCormack (Cardiff, forward, 22)
Connor Wickham (Ipswich, forward, 16)
Ewan Chester’s XI (Chief scout, Glasgow Rangers)
Joe Lewis (Peterboro’, goalkeeper, 21)
Gianni Zuiverloon (West Brom, right-back, 22)
Andre Bikey (Reading, centre-back, 24)
Zak Whitbread (Millwall, centre-back, 25)
Joe Mattock (Leicester, left-back, 19)
Adam Lallana (Southampton, right midfield, 21)
Fabian Delph (Leeds, centre midfield, 19)
Graham Dorrans (WBA, centre midfield, 22)
Kris Commons (Derby, left midfield, 25)
Tamas Priskin (Watford, centre-forward, 22)
Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough, left wing, 22)
League One: home of the fallen giants
Who’s spent some money?
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article6736020.ece