FERGAL Harkin says he plans to introduce more “live scouting” as one of his first acts as Wanderers’ new sporting director.
Speaking for the first time since his hiring, the Irishman highlighted plans to combine a data-driven recruitment department with more in-person reports on transfer targets, which he believes would help Bolton achieve greater outcomes.
In a wide-ranging interview with the club, Harkin stated that he and Steven Schumacher would work totally together on new acquisitions, but that the club needed to increase the number of academy-grown players coming through the system.
Previous sporting director Chris Markham and manager Ian Evatt had relied primarily on data-driven recruitment, rejecting many traditional scouting approaches.
However, Harkin believes they could play a significant role in finding talent that has gone missed by competing clubs, many of which are also able to invest in similar datasets.
“From what I have seen so far there are some fantastic guys working in the background of the club, whether that’s the medical and sports science or the data analysis and recruitment area, so they are identifying players,” he told me.
“One thing I want to bring back is live scouting, which I believe we don’t do enough of.
“I believe we must embrace data because it is really significant and provides us with a competitive advantage; but, because of the level we are at, data informs you how a player is doing and doing, but everyone knows this because everyone has access to the same types of data.
“We need to discover a guy who has the talent but isn’t achieving it. Maybe it’s the system he’s using or the setting he’s in, which you can usually figure out by watching games and talking to people. Add that to the already amazing work that is being done, and I believe we have a great chance.”
Wanderers’ academy has had a successful season, with Julian Darby’s Under-18s winning the national play-offs in the Youth Alliance League.
Part of the plan, which Harkin hopes can lead to a return to the big time, is to provide opportunities for young players coming through the system.
“We remember Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicholas Anelka, those times,” he blurted out. “And when you talk to anyone about Bolton, it’s the first thing they mention. Our ultimate goal is to try to get there; there will be ups and downs, and it may not be a straight line. We have to accept it.
“First and foremost, we have a Premier League stadium and a large local audience that is passionate and capable of driving the team, and I believe that one of my responsibilities is to oversee squad planning. This is really essential to me.
“To be sustainable, we need players who are excellent enough to get us to the level we want to be, but we also need to produce talent who can perform on the field and, eventually, sell.
“We realize where we are in the food chain right now, but we need young, vibrant exceptional talents who can perform on the pitch and then go on.
“In recent years, we’ve had some incredible loan players who were eventually sold. Finally, we want them to come through our program, and what they’ve accomplished over the previous year has been fantastic. Dave (Gardiner), Julian (Darby), and everyone else there. I met them, and they were overjoyed that Sam (Inwood) was finally playing in the first team, that Sonny (Sharples-Ahmed) was playing in the first team, and that Max (Conway) was named player of the year while on loan. That’s something we should be proud of, but I need to make room for those players to play in the first team. It is then up to them to make it.
“I provide the opportunity, the coaches provide the development, but the players decide when they get that opportunity. Sam and Sonny did themselves a world of good by changing the way people talk about them.
“I believe that if we had a group of 25, say, veteran first-team players, the juniors would never have a chance. We need to lessen that slightly while still having kids around it so that the coach can put them in if they are injured, suspended, or simply performing well in training. Fortunately, we have a coach that believes in youngsters and wants to work with them, but there is a balance.
“By doing so and controlling the team, we can become more sustainable. However, due to the age demographics of the participants, we are currently not selling too many. They are good players, but that is what the market expects.”
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