Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth says that Magpies would never sign a player on the back of simply digital footage Newcastle United supremo Dan Ashworth has insisted the Magpies will never abandon scouting players in the old school manner of jetting scouts across Europe to find the next big star at St James’ Park. In a world dominated by Artificial intelligence and Newcastle possessing a posse of data analysts in their recruitment hub, there are only a handful of first-team scouts that zig-zag their way across the Continent to find new players. But in light of the Sandro Tonali affair, Ashworth believes that having eyes and ears on the ground in Europe and on the domestic front is vital.
Ashworth, whose name is above the door on transfers at the Academy, senior, and women’s levels, has overseen a shift in Newcastle’s approach to recruiting new players. However, he acknowledges that employing current technology, with the club previously using Wycscout to look at players boiled down to particular clips, may be done if utilized responsibly.
Dennis Wise once upset Kevin Keegan by requesting him to watch a YouTube footage of Ignacio González in 2008 before giving him over to him days later. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Keegan, who resigned shortly after.
However, Newcastle’s rebuilt training ground is a long cry from what it was like under Mike Ashley. Every morning, a robotic line marker paints the dimensions on Eddie Howe’s training pitch, indicating that Newcastle is no longer doing things on the cheap.
“I listened to Elon Musk’s conference the other day with interest – that none of us are going to have a job soon!” Ashworth said, smiling.
“You’re right, we do have a robot out there painting the line. What we aim to do (in recruitment) is combine the objective – facts – with the subjective – opinion – to test and question the answer. So we’re not just data-driven, but also data-informed. “It also requires industry expertise and suitability.”
Newcastle will try to bolster their squad during the January transfer window, following the rigors of competing in three competitions in a short period of time. When the FA Cup begins in earnest for top-flight clubs in January, that number will be increased to four.
But Ashworth sees no cause for fans to be disappointed by other clubs and their operations. “A player suited for Newcastle United in the Premier League and Eddie Howe might not be suited for Aston Villa and Unai Emery,” the former England manager stated. So that’s where the subjective aspect comes in: is he or she a good player? Data can help, but it can’t replace industry knowledge, scouting reports, and experience.
“We use both because there are so many players out there that you can’t scout them all.” We reduce them to a manageable quantity and then check them with our eye, with our subject opinion, and it will be questioned again as the player moves through the system.”
Ashworth, 52, elaborated on his transfer philosophy, stating that there can never be enough background checks on players. Newcastle may feel themselves unlucky with Tonali; after all, there was no indication of his gambling addiction on his Serie A records at Brescia and AC Milan.
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