This article I didn't notice at the time, but being used to state why Belfodil may of been identified as fitting into our system. May also be why Koeman has been steadfast in calling out some players.
http://www.thetopbalcony.com/everton-hire-laurence-stewart-signing-season/167
EVERTON HIRE LAURENCE STEWART – THIS IS WHY IT’S THE SIGNING OF THE SEASON
If you have a scout who can spot a footballer with potential you might end up with a Jose Baxter – who has been talking this week about how he spunked his career up the wall by being a drug-addled idiot.
Everton’s new-look scouting team are no longer gambling on player recruitment – because the signing of Laurence Stewart from Man City could be the key to propelling Everton to the next level.
Today the club confirmed Lawrence Stewart has joined the club as Senior Recruitment Co-ordinator – a role working for Steve Walsh and chief scout Martyn Glover in Everton’s new-look recruitment team.
And the appointment is going to increase the chances that Everton will not only unearth the next generation of first team players, but will now be recruiting players who will fit a system and become part of a team that is more than the sum of its parts.
Stewart is one of the most highly regarded scouts in the game, and his grasp of statistics, video analytics and how football teams work will give Everton an edge in the transfer market that other teams will not be able to compete with.
Stewart is a modern scout. He’s a man who can watch a game, single out players, situations and tactics and has the presence of mind to work out exactly what is happening and how to improve things. If anybody in the country is qualified to find a specific player to fit a specific system and see instant results, it is him.
Who is Lawrence Stewart?
Signed from Manchester City, Stewart has an impressive CV. He has previously worked for Hull City, where his video work and use of analytics provided Steve Bruce with information for his half time team talks and helped lead the club to an FA Cup final.
At City, he was key to the way the club performed. He would assess opponents and pinpoint exact areas and ways in which the club could break down teams. He was crucial to their recent success.
He’s also worked with England for World Cup 2014 and was a performance analytics consultant to the Rugby Football League. In short, he knows how to watch sport and come to precise, logical conclusions.
He’s also a graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, so must know the club and city well.
How will Lawrence Stewart help Everton?
You can see how his scouting ability will be all-encompassing. The Hull Daily Mail described his work as a performance analyst in interesting detail:
“But his main matchday priority is to record a feed of the game directly onto his laptop, to allow him to tag incidents during the play.
“He then regularly keeps in touch with other members of the coaching staff on the touchline to inform them of any areas of opposition weakness and stress what is working well for the Tigers.
“Stewart, who is assisted by Dean Hughes, then makes up individual DVDs of every player’s performance, ready for them to review on a Monday morning.”
That means he is not just looking for a player with talent. He will be looking at players who can fit a system identified by Ronald Koeman, who can state exactly what he needs and expect results.
His ability to record and present video evidence of a player’s strengths will mean Steve Walsh and the team will get accurate, insightful information about any player Stewart has scouted.
How will he do it?
Stewart likes to use statistics, but always in context. He doesn’t care about the stats widely consumed in the media because he knows they only matter in the context of the team the player is in and the game that is taking place.
In an interview with
FootyMatters, he says: ““Some of the information that is presented may not always be the information that a club would be reviewing but I can see that it is interesting to the public. Many statistics regarding possession and passing are often used within the media to judge a player’s performance, but they simply do not provide enough context to adequately assess a player’s contribution.”
How will he work with Steve Walsh?
Closely, we can expect. Steve Walsh is only interested in building a full picture of a player’s abilities and form so that he can get a close idea of what the player is all about. Only then will he scout further and recommend him.
He says: “”We just want to know what the players did in that match. All the time we’re building pictures of players. Our technical analyst will sift through all the reports and tell me about the players who come up consistently as As or Bs. Then we’ll start to take more interest in them.”
Stewart will help deliver and organise that information and in turn will help find the players Steve Walsh and ultimately, Ronald Koeman, build a team that is capable of challenging at the top end of the Premier League table.
What next for Everton?
The signing of Stewart is significant. Everton now have one of the best recruitment teams in world football – and even with a manager who may not be here in three years time it means the club can enter a period of consistency that will put the even the Moyes years to shame. We are a club that now uses the most modern, innovative methods to bring in talent and mould a team that can compete.
Everton will now be at the cutting edge of player recruitment and squad building – and the slow, steady progress towards the top can continue.
It’s taken Farhad Moshiri six months (give or take) to clear the club of debt, get the cogs moving in the stadium move and now build a backroom team with the best scouts and analysts in the UK. He’s also hired a top class manager in that time – and while recent results have been shaky the club sits seventh.
It feels at the moment that the only way from here is up.
