Trent Alexander-Arnold Campaign

[spudski]

2 hours ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I heard earlier this season (from someone who had been speaking to a City scout) that at one age group City were only looking for players indicated to reach a specific minimum height.  This very much confirms my suspicions that at times the characteristics of the squad are more important in recruitment than the ability of individual boys.

This is taken from the link I shared above. And correlates with what you say...

Current academy scouting systems and rate of success

In the last decade of football, the scouting systems of so many football clubs have seen a complete revamp due to advancement in technology, especially in the field of Machine Learning.

The scouts are now using advanced tools that help them not only analyze players but allow them to bring data and information on each and every player they scout in a single place which makes their job a lot easier when they are comparing these players. This allows them to make data driven decisions and reach smarter conclusions at the end of the day.

Timon Pauls, the former Director of Football and Chief Scout of Bayern Munich revealed in an interview with the Professional Football Scouts Association that in the current ecosystem of football, the teams are assessing players not only on their technical abilities, but their physical development, mentality, speed and weather if there is a role currently at the club they can fit in the foreseeable future.

At the end of the day there might only be one player in 100,000 that is able to pass all of those tests and despite advancements in the scouting department, a very important thing you need on your side is luck. In fact, one study found that, if success is measured by wealth, then the most successful people are almost certainly those with moderate talent and remarkable luck.