Long gone are the days when a manager used to traverse miles in all climes to watch a player before driving several miles back home in the dark after an evening match.

Scouting has been transformed in this modern era with technology at the forefront providing data led analysis and information.Clubs deal in global markets with some clubs concentrating on major leagues with software analytics company StatDNA being used to drive moneyball principles.Wyscout,Scout7 etc etc are used to identify a plethora of players, indeed Southampton have identified 20 players for each position before whittling this down to 3 or 4.

The manager will liaise with his recruitment team who will scour the software to match his requirements and carry out further analysis if necessary to identify possible targets.He might of course have certain targets in mind.Then of course the ardous task is to get these 'Over the line' and I am led to believe this whole process can be extremely protracted, frustrating and in the end disappointing if the target is not acquired.Financial constraints of course play their part and unrealistic targets are not pursued.

Edited by Willo (31 Dec 2018 1.02pm)

That was actually my point. People seem to get very upset that the board 'wait' to sign players as if this means they are inactive. It's a negotiation process so preparation, timing and confidentiality are key to success.

I wholly endorse these sentiments.

Transfer negotiations can be highly complex with clubs in competition with others and the whole process can be very convoluted and protracted and ultimately can result in a very disappointing conclusion.A great deal of activity goes on behind the scenes which supporters are not aware of.

Any reason these complex negotiations can't be conducted before the window opens? Not having a go, just intetested.

We have 5 matches during the transfer window. Leaving it until the last minute could be a very bad move. If roy goes to form, he won't put new players straight into the team. So you could be looking at mid Feb before any new signings are up and running. ...

Edited by spartakev2 (01 Jan 2019 12.30pm)

I agree that there is usually an urgency involved in getting January signings. Urgency is a weakness when you are negotiating. That is probably why CPFC's strategy seems often to be to 'wait' until the selling club face a similar urgency induced by the closing transfer window. I don't know if that's a good strategy* but it is a strategy not laziness as some suggest.

* the date in the name of the company "CPFC 2010" is evidence that it has some merit.

Edited by maddog (02 Jan 2019 2.30pm)