Why don't clubs advertise jobs like everybody else?

This might be a crazy thought - but it seems logical to me.

Why don't clubs just advertise jobs like everyone else?

For example Stoke City want a new left back.

In the current system they'd draw up a list of players they think they could get.

Put the feelers out with some agents about players who may be interested in joining them.

Contact the selling club and hope to agree financial terms with both them and the player.

This is the way football works, and has always worked.

However every stage seems flawed to me.


In the current system they'd draw up a list of players they think they could get.
In itself this limits the ambitions of the club. Yes there is no point approaching Marcelo or Jordi Alba. But how do you know you aren't missing out on a player you could get? Maybe a player you have deemed as ungettable, or hadn't even considered, would jump at the chance of joining you.

Put the feelers out with some agents about players who may be interested in joining them.
Not all agents know all players, by involving specific agents you limit your pool of talent and lose control of the narrative. There should be nobody better to sell the opportunity of working for your club than your own club.

Contact the selling club and hope to agree financial terms with them and the player
At the stage you are trying to agree financial terms with the club and the player all your cards as the buying club are on the table. You want the player, and with a transfer deadline approaching, need to close it. This is where your pips get squeezed. Are you really going to miss out on this player for a couple of million of pounds over 5 years?


What if you did this instead?

You advertised the job with a set of criteria - playing and financial.

You will pay up to £20,000 a week, and a maximum of £5m in transfer costs for a player under the age of 25 who has a proven ability to play as a left back in the style of football you want to play.

Applications including salary expectations should be submitted along with video and data evidence by a certain date for review by the club transfer group.

Suddenly every potential player in the world is aware of your requirements and the financial package on offer. Maybe that French U21 international you never even considered looks at his situation in PSG reserves and asks his agent to put his name forward. Maybe the Austrian international sees the wages on offer are twice as much as at his CL club and applies.

By widening your pool of candidates, and by clearly explaining the requirements of the position in footballing terms you are more likely to end up with the best possible player.

And by clearly stating your financial terms up front you are less likely to be forced into over paying.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wyscout review and poking around the French third tier

Scouting report Dan Ndoye - Lausanne Sport

Data Analytics conference - Daniel Krueger report