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The prospect of a recruitment overhaul at Wanderers should be one to excite fans, says Keith Hill.
It was revealed at the weekend that former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon has been assisting Bolton owners, Football Ventures, on a consultancy basis.
A long-time associate of chairman, Sharon Brittan, Kenyon has agreed to lend his experience to help implement analytics-led revamp of the football department, which may see Bolton follow a similar path to the likes of Brentford as they look to get back up the football pyramid.
The Bolton News has also learned that Wanderers intend to create a new post liaising between the manager and coaching staff and club chief executive, Emma Beaugeard, at the end of the month.
The restructure will leave Hill in an unfamiliar position compared to his previous managerial posts at Rochdale and Barnsley but he is confident is can be a success.
“It will be an exciting plan, there’s no question about that,” he told The Bolton News.
“We’re looking forward to not just recruitment now but also in the future because I want to build a football team that is going to be really successful. It does take some time unless you can take over a ready-made team.
“I think we’ve made progress and the window is underway but it’s a difficult time of year. Everyone is hedging their bets, everyone is waiting for one signing to drop in and then you’ll get the green light.
“We have had two ambers last week that didn’t quite materialise and were turned down last-minute, so hopefully we can revisit that on Monday morning.”
Wanderers’ move away from a conventional scouting structure, to a more data-based approach, is very much a departure from what it has been used to in recent years.
But the club has a very strong background in football analysis which stems back to Sam Allardyce’s famed backroom in the Premier League days. Staff who were involved in the department are still working in the Premier League today – and Hill is looking forward to ‘moving with the times’ as the new owners look to put their own stamp on the football department.
“We’ll all have to,” he said. “Personally, I think there are some brilliant football models up and down the pyramid and it’s the same with financial structures but recruitment isn’t just about one man and his dog anymore.
“It is still about the eyes, the feel, your knowledge, but it’s also equally important to realise there is more than one person who should be responsible for it.
“I am embracing it and I have enjoyed the last couple of weeks we’ve had. It is the football future, no question, because there is too much to be done at a football club for one man, his assistant and coaching team to cover. It’s a bigger world, the football map, and it’s something we’re really excited by.”
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It was revealed at the weekend that former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon has been assisting Bolton owners, Football Ventures, on a consultancy basis.
A long-time associate of chairman, Sharon Brittan, Kenyon has agreed to lend his experience to help implement analytics-led revamp of the football department, which may see Bolton follow a similar path to the likes of Brentford as they look to get back up the football pyramid.
The Bolton News has also learned that Wanderers intend to create a new post liaising between the manager and coaching staff and club chief executive, Emma Beaugeard, at the end of the month.
The restructure will leave Hill in an unfamiliar position compared to his previous managerial posts at Rochdale and Barnsley but he is confident is can be a success.
“It will be an exciting plan, there’s no question about that,” he told The Bolton News.
“We’re looking forward to not just recruitment now but also in the future because I want to build a football team that is going to be really successful. It does take some time unless you can take over a ready-made team.
“I think we’ve made progress and the window is underway but it’s a difficult time of year. Everyone is hedging their bets, everyone is waiting for one signing to drop in and then you’ll get the green light.
“We have had two ambers last week that didn’t quite materialise and were turned down last-minute, so hopefully we can revisit that on Monday morning.”
Wanderers’ move away from a conventional scouting structure, to a more data-based approach, is very much a departure from what it has been used to in recent years.
But the club has a very strong background in football analysis which stems back to Sam Allardyce’s famed backroom in the Premier League days. Staff who were involved in the department are still working in the Premier League today – and Hill is looking forward to ‘moving with the times’ as the new owners look to put their own stamp on the football department.
“We’ll all have to,” he said. “Personally, I think there are some brilliant football models up and down the pyramid and it’s the same with financial structures but recruitment isn’t just about one man and his dog anymore.
“It is still about the eyes, the feel, your knowledge, but it’s also equally important to realise there is more than one person who should be responsible for it.
“I am embracing it and I have enjoyed the last couple of weeks we’ve had. It is the football future, no question, because there is too much to be done at a football club for one man, his assistant and coaching team to cover. It’s a bigger world, the football map, and it’s something we’re really excited by.”
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