The Secret Scout – An Introduction

Niko Kranjcar is one of Harry’s favourites

The signing of Sandro, one of the major success stories of Harry’s transfer career, demonstrates this perfectly. Despite the Brazilian being a player of good pedigree – recently inducted to the full Brazilian squad, coming with glowing references from Dunga himself – and of a lower transfer fee and wage than a player such as Van Der Vaart (who signed hurriedly on deadline day two months prior), Redknapp still felt obliged to link the fate of the scout that recommended him (Ian Broomfield, also Harry’s chief scout at Portsmouth) to the player’s future performances:

“We’ll see whether Ian’s got a job on Wednesday…He raved about him. I couldn’t get out to Brazil to see him because it was in the season”.

Unlike the vast majority of Redknapp’s signings, Sandro’s value now undoubtedly exceeds the initial £6 million outlay. Is it coincidence that Broomfield had spent a month watching the player and received glowing reports from many sources before money was put on the table? Or that the player was signed in March but didn’t arrive in North London until August, giving him five months of preparation before embarking on the next stage in his career rather than the length of a desperate dash down a motorway or to an airport? Another Spurs spring signing, Luka Modric, didn’t work out too badly either.

I should say at this point that I am by no means damning Harry Redknapp’s methods – he is a hugely successful and capable manager. I write on behalf of the scouts, who during my time working in the beautiful game, have seen their influence in player recruitment decrease year on year.

With constant technological advancements and improvements in global communications and infrastructure, it is easier than ever to find a diamond in the rough. The purchasing of players solely because they have shared a training pitch with the manager in the past, players that will go anywhere for the right number of zeros, and players that agents guarantee will be the difference between glory and failure, is no longer necessary, but seems to be more prevalent than ever.