Tottenham Hotspur chief scout Rob Mackenzie discusses his plans for January transfer window as he started his new role at North-London this month.
Mackenzie explains how data plays as an important factor in today’s transfer market. He will look to help manager Ange Postecoglou in the upcoming transfer window as Spurs are currently in red hot form.
Tottenham are currently in good reign of form with changes made by new chief football officer Scott Munn. All the recruitment team arrived at Tottenham from rival Premier League club Aston Villa in this campaign, which also includes Technical director Johan Lange and head of football insights and strategy Frederik Leth.
Mackenzie’s analytical approach has helped him to find talents such as Riyadh Mahrez and Ngolo Kante at France. He also scouted Jamie Vardy at Fleetwood Town, back in 2011.
Meanwhile, speaking to SkySports in 2017, Mackenzie spoke about using data in transfers but only till certain extent. He said :-
“Data is neutral, reliable and it allows you to assess a significant number of players in a time-efficient manner.
“It provides a platform for you to identify players and benchmark expected performance levels. It also allows you to compare similar profiles, help establish what else is available in the market. Therefore work out who the most valuable players are to your club.
“Having access to data and career biographies of players in competitions across the world is certainly empowering, but as with any resource available to you, it is important to acknowledge the level of insight that it can and cannot provide and place that into much needed perspective when making decisions. Anything in isolation tends to be insufficient.”
Mackenzie explains some players needs time to adapt in a certain atmosphere
Rob Mackenzie explains how you have to go beyond data to work out how some players needs time to adapt in certain atmosphere. He said :-
“When signing a player you are initiating a significant change in someone’s life.
“So it is almost as important to anticipate how they are likely to approach the new challenge. They will be presented with as it is to understand their current level of performance.
“With that in mind, you aspire to gain an understanding of their character. What motivates them? What stage of their career are they currently at? And perhaps more importantly, what does a move to your club represent to the player from these perspectives?
“Irrespective of a player’s statistical profile or positive live scouting reports if there is not a good fit across the board then the risk associated with a player not succeeding at your club can often be quite significant.”
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