Rangers to ‘cull swathes’ of scouting department, move will bring them in line with top Euro clubs
Rangers are making wholesale changes to their scouting and player recruitment departments, according to the Daily Record.
The news organisation reported online (9 September) that the Gers will “cull swathes of their scouting department as they move towards a more video and data-led operation”.
The Record said that club sources noted the move is not intended as a reaction to recent results nor a plan to cut costs, but will bring Rangers’ processes more in line with how other top European sides operate. However, it could bring savings to that side of the business in the long term.
Rather than the traditional method of having scouts on the ground, the scouts would be responding to a process led by video and data analysis to then decide which players to go and watch in person.
Most of the club’s overseas and part-time scouts will be cut and the seven full-time scouts working under chief scout John Park will be reduced to just three, with staff who wish to remain needing to re-apply for a position.
Evolution
In football, it is incredibly important not to get left behind. With technology evolving at the rate that it is, it is vital that clubs always look for the best ways to utilise the tools at their disposal, and if this is the way other top European sides are beginning to operate, it is important that the Gers keep up with the pace being set and find ways to perhaps even move ahead.
Michael Beale is a keen believer in not signing any player that he hasn’t seen in the flesh, and he will therefore be keen to make sure the club are still getting glimpses of overseas talent in person, and not just relying entirely on video and data analysis.
A new sporting director is yet to be appointed since Ross Wilson left the club to join Nottingham Forest last season, and Beale has mostly been in charge of recruitment by himself. This has left him with a lot on his plate, which might explain the recent bad run in form, and he will be as relieved as anyone to know that Rangers are looking to make some changes.
In other Rangers news, an update on a potential replacement for the Light Blues boss has emerged.