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WANDERERS’ approach to player recruitment and analysis is set to get a Premier League-style makeover.
The summer of change at the Reebok has already seen a total overhaul of the club’s medical staff, and that is now set to spread into the scouting department.
Dougie Freedman is keen to move away from a “man in the stand” approach to recruitment and has ordered a number of new roles to be created in his back-room to improve data analysis on potential new signings, opposition players and the performance of those already in his squad.
The new-look department will be masterminded by Brian Prestige, who has been with Wanderers for nine years and was part of a similar set-up in the days of Sam Allardyce.
Prestige has been at a conference in New York over the last week, where the keynote speaker was newly-appointed Manchester United boss David Moyes.
Sporting organisations from all over the world attended the Leaders in Performance event, which focused on ways elite talent can be identified and developed.
And it is understood that the recruitment and analysis model employed by Moyes at his former club Everton will provide the blueprint for what Wanderers are trying to achieve.
Freedman is excited about the changes in player analysis, which have already provided him with a shortlist of players to chase this summer.
“Gone are the days where you’ve got a bloke stood behind the goal with a flat cap watching players for the club and scribbling notes down on a notepad,” he told The Bolton News. “That might be how other people like to do it, but we want to come at it a from a different way completely.
“We are making quite a few changes behind the scenes that the fans might not see but that I think will have a really positive effect on the way we work here.
“Brian will be working very closely with Mark Leather and that will provide the basis of how we sign players, based on their physical attributes.”
Another familiar face, Lee Sargeson, will continue in his role with the development squad but a handful of other new staff will be added in the coming weeks.
Vinny North, who worked with Freedman at Crystal Palace, is due to be made head of opposition analysis, while another appointment is also to be announced from a Premier League club.
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The summer of change at the Reebok has already seen a total overhaul of the club’s medical staff, and that is now set to spread into the scouting department.
Dougie Freedman is keen to move away from a “man in the stand” approach to recruitment and has ordered a number of new roles to be created in his back-room to improve data analysis on potential new signings, opposition players and the performance of those already in his squad.
The new-look department will be masterminded by Brian Prestige, who has been with Wanderers for nine years and was part of a similar set-up in the days of Sam Allardyce.
Prestige has been at a conference in New York over the last week, where the keynote speaker was newly-appointed Manchester United boss David Moyes.
Sporting organisations from all over the world attended the Leaders in Performance event, which focused on ways elite talent can be identified and developed.
And it is understood that the recruitment and analysis model employed by Moyes at his former club Everton will provide the blueprint for what Wanderers are trying to achieve.
Freedman is excited about the changes in player analysis, which have already provided him with a shortlist of players to chase this summer.
“Gone are the days where you’ve got a bloke stood behind the goal with a flat cap watching players for the club and scribbling notes down on a notepad,” he told The Bolton News. “That might be how other people like to do it, but we want to come at it a from a different way completely.
“We are making quite a few changes behind the scenes that the fans might not see but that I think will have a really positive effect on the way we work here.
“Brian will be working very closely with Mark Leather and that will provide the basis of how we sign players, based on their physical attributes.”
Another familiar face, Lee Sargeson, will continue in his role with the development squad but a handful of other new staff will be added in the coming weeks.
Vinny North, who worked with Freedman at Crystal Palace, is due to be made head of opposition analysis, while another appointment is also to be announced from a Premier League club.
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