12 scouts......how to set up a good scouting network?

M

mcbgun

Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
215
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi guys,

Just wanted to know the best and most efficient way of setting up a scouting network with scouts?

I usually have one scout on each region but this probably isn't the best way to do it surely? Any suggestions or websites that have information on this?

Is it best to concentrate on countries rather than regions and competitions for the lesser regions like the African Nations instead of trying to scout the whole of Africa?

Its one of the areas I've never been too good at so please lend a helping hand! I'm just looking for what works for people...set ups they have etc.

Many thanks!
 
I tend to have...
1-2 scouts who are just set to scout the entire world
3-4 Central Europe
3-4 South America.
1 Central America
1 Argentina
1 Brasil

and most importantly I have them only scouting players who are under the age of 21.
 
Lee said:
and most importantly I have them only scouting players who are under the age of 21.
Click to expand...

Is this to reduce the "clutter" in the scout reports, or do you find that they scout more/better players under 21 if they're restricted?
 
Kiltman67 said:
Is this to reduce the "clutter" in the scout reports, or do you find that they scout more/better players under 21 if they're restricted?
Click to expand...

I only buy young players so have no need for them to feedback any older players. Also I think scouts are limited to how many players they report on at each time, so giving them restrictions helps find the players you're after as they will scout more of those.
 
Generally agree with Lee. One thing I'd add is that for all the scouts who are scouting regions I would also have them scouting a competition in that region (e.g. World Cup qualifiers) then you reduce the risks of players slipping through the cracks because you're not scouting the region they're in.

Another suggestion is to have your best scout being the one roaming around the world. I recently read a blog post making the point that the key attributes in a scout is not just judging CA/PA, but also local knowledge. I normally don't sign a player without having my best scout produce a report. If your best scout is roaming the world then in principle they should have knowledge of a lot of countries.
 
Lee said:
I only buy young players so have no need for them to feedback any older players. Also I think scouts are limited to how many players they report on at each time, so giving them restrictions helps find the players you're after as they will scout more of those.
Click to expand...

Might give it a try. I have a network of almost 20 scouts, spanning almost every continent and find that some of them never find a single player worth even considering signing. Anything that improves the chances of spotting a hidden gem is worth a shot!
 
remember to send some scouts to the big youth competitions
 
Mexico and Africa are highly underrated imo but sometimes work permits become an issue to be fair... Iv picked up some great players from those regions anyway...
 
what i do is the following thing:

1 head scout: all rounder (with high JPA en JPP) he's the one that has the final opinion
1 opponent scout: some1 with high tactical knowlegde. really only need for scouting opposition
4 youth coach: one with high JPP + Determination + Adaptability. Looking for the best hidden Gem
4 first team coach: one with high JPA + Determination + Adaptability. Looking for the best 1st team player need.

usually ths is my scouting network :)
 
CDX89treme said:
Mexico and Africa are highly underrated imo but sometimes work permits become an issue to be fair... Iv picked up some great players from those regions anyway...
Click to expand...

I've never had any luck with Africa. I've scouted each region in Africa for 10+ years and haven't found a single player worth signing.
 
Lee said:
I've never had any luck with Africa. I've scouted each region in Africa for 10+ years and haven't found a single player worth signing.
Click to expand...

They seem to be somewhat rare. I have once found a decent striker in South Africa, and one or two average Nigerian youngsters.
 
I found this guy in SA and he is already good and has amazing potential so i suggest keep looking :)
 
Il have to look for some players but the best guy I ever signed from Africa was a GK and picked him up for 100k...

Hopefully you can make these out there basically my first encounter with Eric then four or five years down the line...
The key is the scout report... Carbone is a solid scout but he was wrong he is a leading Serie A keeper now not a good keeper... Unfortunately for Eric Ter Stegen was my first signing at AC and Courtois was brought in as competition... Erics development was also much faster than I anticipated hence why he has played so little...
I might try and sign from Villa but my Mexican keeper is a tank... haha

What Im saying is sometimes a scout report might be a little off because a player might not reach his potential at a certain club due to it being a bad league and facilities...
I say keep trying I usually take a punt on any Regen who has reasonable potential and costs 100k or less...

View attachment 276556
View attachment 276557View attachment 276558View attachment 276559View attachment 276560
 
Most african youth take time to develop. Don't expect high CA or PA from african players (PA will increase when moving from tiny african club to your larger club).

I'm 4 years into my game and have 3 near wonderkid and 1 wonderkid african players. None of which blew me out of the water when I signed them, now one is Captain of Ivory Coast at 20 years of age and just won the world cup.

I also have 23 scouts and use none of them. The recruiting costs were enormous for my medium sized club so I had to cut back. They do come in handy when I request scouting reports on 200+ players. Only takes a couple of days.
 
Is also important scouting the next opposition. I recommend to put that scout with an additional task, scouting your league country.
That allow to scout some players without missing the next opposition reports.
 
Montanaro said:
Most african youth take time to develop. Don't expect high CA or PA from african players (PA will increase when moving from tiny african club to your larger club).

I'm 4 years into my game and have 3 near wonderkid and 1 wonderkid african players. None of which blew me out of the water when I signed them, now one is Captain of Ivory Coast at 20 years of age and just won the world cup.

I also have 23 scouts and use none of them. The recruiting costs were enormous for my medium sized club so I had to cut back. They do come in handy when I request scouting reports on 200+ players. Only takes a couple of days.
Click to expand...

Were they identified as wonderkids when you first signed them? My scouts very rarely find anyone with over 2.5 stars potential in Africa and Asia, now I'm wondering if some of them would see a jump if they came to a big European club.
 
Mine wasn't but became wonderkid after few months at club and i think it would be quite unlikely to find them as wonderkids in Africa due to rep of leagues/countries. IIRC he was rated at 3 stars PA by scout but i was more impressed by his stats and scoring record and for ?500k was well worth a gamble. When he arrived he was rated at 4 star PA and thats compared to likes of Huiguin/Benzema.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top