Brighton axe majority of scouts in surprise recruitment overhaul

Brighton have let go the majority of their full-time recruitment scouts as part of a restructuring of the envied department that helped earn the club £200 million in a bid to stay one step ahead of their rivals.

Telegraph Sport understands that staff at Brighton, whose owner Tony Bloom relies heavily on a secretive data model, were last week told that recruitment and the identification of players will now operate differently with three full-time scouts being dispensed with. Others may have been redeployed.

The move underlines how successfully the club, who are sixth in the Premier League table, level on points with third-placed Chelsea, have used data in their recruitment, although club insiders insist they will be no more reliant on it than they have been.

It is understood that the excellent work of the scouts who have left has been recognised by Bloom and that Brighton plan to make appointments as part of the restructuring to take the total recruitment staff headcount back up to near its previous level.

Technical director David Weir and his assistant Mike Cave, who were on the call to staff, are overseeing the restructuring. Tim Coe, who has held the titles of domestic scouting manager and central midfield scouting manager, is understood to be staying at Brighton, although his role could evolve within the new set-up.

Brighton have sold players such as midfielder Moisés Caicedo, who joined Chelsea in a British record £115 million deal, Marc Cucurella, Alexis Mac Allister, Ben White and Robert Sánchez for huge profits in recent years.

As a result of their success, a number of clubs have attempted to replicate Brighton’s model, which is now being tweaked to try to help them maintain an edge over their competitors.

‘A bit like KFC’s secret herbs and spices’

Jamestown Analytics, an offshoot of the gambling consultancy Starlizard with close ties to Bloom, is the data firm that Brighton use. It is believed that while Jamestown work with clubs in other divisions and countries, Brighton’s agreement means they get exclusivity in terms of Premier League clubs.

A source said: “Brighton’s model is a bit like KFC’s secret herbs and spices. Everybody wants the recipe, but those lucky enough to have it don’t want to share it with anybody.”

Brighton declined to comment on the restructuring or the decision to dispense with a number of full-time scouts when approached by Telegraph Sport.

Brighton’s decision has caused intrigue and surprise within football, and has sparked fears within the scouting community that clubs could cut the number of full-time scouts they use as data becomes more and more prevalent.

‘It looks like he trusts data more than humans’

One source told Telegraph Sport: “Scouting is far more than just spotting good players. It’s looking at a player live in terms of his leadership, willingness to run when the team is losing, finding out what kind of personality he has and talking to people about him. Is he on time every day or late to training? Data cannot pick all of that up and it’s hugely important when investing in players.

“It is also often the scouts who develop relationships and build networks that lead to recommendations and tips about various players that, again, data may not be able to provide. Ideally, clubs use data alongside scouting and both can complement one another.”

It is understood that Brighton still have at least one member of staff in charge of carrying out intelligence and background checks on players, despite the changes and departures.

One source who knew of Brighton’s restructuring plan to dispense with a number of the club’s scouts said: “Useable data offered by humans isn’t as good as Tony’s data. At least, that’s what it seems like. It looks like he trusts data more than humans.”