Brighton fans will trust Tony Bloom amid report of recruitment change

That meant looking at stats and trawling through clips to find the answer to head coach Dean Wilkins’ wish for, as his then sidekick Ian Chapman recalls, “a striker with a bit of presence who could play but also score goals.”

Those resources were more limited back then but you could still do valuable homework.

“It was Soccer Database. It wasn't available to everyone. I trawled the goal highlights, mainly League Two, and thought Glenn looked decent,” said Chapman of the process which saw him scout a young lad named Glenn Murray at Rochdale.

How had Murray been identified? By his goalscoring numbers.

The move which eventually happened – albeit a few months later – brought him south for a two-part career which would see him play a massive role in two promotions.

Things have changed since then but you still use all resources available.

Albion are seen as world leaders in player identification and recruitment.

So a report of a change in how they do things, be it suggestions of fine-tuning or an overhaul, suddenly makes headlines.

The Daily Telegraph told this week of changes behind the scenes in Albion’s much-admired recruitment department and indicated more of a move to data.

What goes on with player recruitment will remain a closely guarded secret. It has to.

From the perspective of those looking in but with an interest in Albion doing well (such as the local newspaper and fans), that leads to a conflict.

On the one hand, you like to know what happens. At the same time, you like the results of it remaining a secret.

But it is no secret that rival clubs have seen what the Seagulls have done and looked to buy pieces of it off them.

That Albion would be ripping up something which works so well feels unlikely, even though to infer that is the case makes for good headlines.

Equally, the prevailing mood around those who follow Albion closely is very likely to be “In Bloom we trust”.

It is hard to think of a chairman who has such appeal and support among a club fanbase as Tony Bloom.

To the degree that the crowd chant his name as a way of lifting the team to greater feats on the pitch.

Equally, there will be tweaks and amendments to how all things work behind the scenes on a regular basis – and not just in player recruitment.

It would be remiss for that not to be the case.

While chief executive Paul Barber would never come out and tell any of us how the scouting and recruitment system operates, he has alluded on several occasions to the need to keep looking forward.

You can’t tread water when you are swimming against a current.

To do so would be to see yourself swept backwards at a rate of knots.

If there were to be no changes or updates, that would be of more concern.

Any changes will have been carefully considered and be of a case of evolution, not revolution.

Barber has also spoken about Albion needing to make their money work hard for them.

That is maybe where there has been misconception about their big-spending summer of 2024.

The most recent transfer window cannot be judged in isolation.

They spent money they had received in previous years and, in some cases, bought players for the future.

We know something else about Albion’s recruitment.

That it is not just about identifying the players. It is also about getting those deals over the line in what can be complicated environments.

About what they do with the players when they get them.

About patience. The breadth and quality of outgoing loan deals has improved and that has been a gradual process. But it will not make headlines.

Even now, it feels like Facundo Buonanotte, for example, is only just finding his Prem feet, almost two years after being thrown into the late push for a winner at home to Bournemouth.

You might identify Buonanotte or Yasin Ayari or Malick Yalcouye for your midfield but can you look after him, develop him – and wait?

One name which has entered the discussion is Jamestown Analytics, the company which provides data to Albion on an exclusive basis as far as the Premier League is concerned.

Hearts are the latest club to go down a similar avenue amid reported interest from Bloom.

That interest is, for now, believed to be more about the Jamestown link-up than with investment from Bloom in the Edinburgh club.

The data apparently helped them select Neil Critchley as their new boss among 90-100 applicants.

Speaking on the Improving Scottish Football podcast, Joel Sked from the Hearts Standard said: “It’s all very secretive. They like to keep processes guarded, understandably so because of how successful they have been.

“A lot of clubs try to copy.”

Sked reported Hearts would have exclusivity to Jamestown data within Scotland.

Which opens up the debate over use of data against the more traditional, personal touch.

Such a shift was what the Telegraph piece appeared to be suggesting.

One of their sources highlighted the need for human networking and pointed out: “Scouting is far more than just spotting good players.

“It’s looking at a player live in terms of his leadership, willingness to run when the team is losing, finding out what kind of personality he has and talking to people about him. Is he on time every day or late to training? Data cannot pick all of that up and it’s hugely important when investing in players.”

Equally, it could be answered that all those qualities are actually reflected in the final performance-related figures.

There is also the aspect of making the correct decisions based on the data. Data alone is not enough.

Can there still be the personal touch?

Back in 2008, chief scout Barry Lloyd said he knew Murray was a good player from the way he kicked the ball in the warm-up at Macclesfield.

But Albion had been on the case for months thanks to Chapman’s background work. Looking at the clips and numbers.

Whatever the reasoning, it all proved to be £300,000 (a huge fee back then) well spent.

The methods have moved on but you still use what is available and keep evolving.

When Albion do that these days, the football world asks what they are up to.