You have moved into making the tactical decision.
Instead, your report could explain:
“The midfielder appears comfortable when receiving with time and space. When immediately pressured, their first touch becomes less secure and their passing options become more predictable.”
The information has now been provided.
The coaching staff can decide whether the observation is important and, if it is, how they want to respond.
THE SCOUT PROVIDES QUESTIONS
A useful way to understand the role of an opposition scout is:
The scout provides the questions. The coaching staff finds the answers.
Your observations may lead the coaching staff to consider:
Can we prevent this player from receiving?
Can we restrict their passing options?
Can we force them in a particular direction?
Can we encourage them onto their weaker foot?
Can we apply pressure immediately after they receive?
Can we prevent them from turning?
These are all legitimate tactical questions.
But deciding which approach to take belongs to the coaching staff.
The scout’s responsibility is to provide enough evidence for those questions to be considered.
IDENTIFY THE OPPORTUNITY – DON’T PRESCRIBE THE SOLUTION
The same principle applies when identifying potential weaknesses in the opposition.
For example, you may notice that an opposition full-back regularly advances high during attacking possession.
You may also observe that, when possession is lost, space can appear behind the player before they recover their defensive position.
It would be tempting to write:
“We should attack the space behind the full-back whenever we regain possession.”
Instead, an opposition scout could report:
“The full-back regularly advances into an advanced position during attacking possession. Following turnovers, space has repeatedly appeared behind the player before they recover their defensive position.”
The second observation provides considerably more useful scouting information.
You have identified:
The behaviour.
The pattern.
The circumstances.
The potential consequence.
The coaching staff can now decide whether this is relevant to their game plan and what, if anything, they want to do about it.
WHY SHOULDN’T THE SCOUT MAKE THE DECISION?
The coaching staff has a much broader understanding of their own team than the opposition scout.
They know their players.
They understand their team’s tactical principles.
They know what has been worked on in training.
They understand the physical capabilities of their squad.
They know which players are available.
They understand their team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Most importantly, they know how they want their team to play.
The scout may identify an obvious weakness in the opposition, but that does not automatically mean the coaching staff will want to exploit it.
Perhaps exploiting that weakness does not fit the team’s game model.
Perhaps attempting to do so would expose another area of the pitch.
Perhaps the coaching staff has identified a different weakness as being more important.
Perhaps they simply do not believe the potential benefit is significant enough to change their approach.
That is their decision.
The scout’s responsibility is to ensure that the coaching staff has the information required to make it.
YOUR REPORT MUST BE BASED ON EVIDENCE
One of the dangers for an inexperienced scout is making a conclusion without providing sufficient evidence.
For example:
“The centre-back is poor under pressure.”
That statement tells the coaching staff very little.
Instead, explain what you actually observed.
For example:
“The centre-back was involved in the first phase of build-up on multiple occasions. When given time and space, they demonstrated the ability to play forward. However, when immediately pressured, their first touch was less secure and they frequently chose to play backwards rather than attempt to progress possession.”
This provides context.
It also allows the coaching staff to make their own assessment.
The difference is important.
You are not simply giving an opinion.
You are presenting evidence from which an opinion can be formed.
AVOID TURNING OBSERVATIONS INTO INSTRUCTIONS
There is a significant difference between:
“The opposition midfielder struggled when immediately pressured.”
and:
“We must press the opposition midfielder immediately.”
The first is an observation.
The second is a tactical instruction.
There may be a situation where the coaching staff decides that this is exactly what they want to do.
But the decision should belong to the coaching staff.
WHAT IF THE COACH ASKS FOR YOUR OPINION?
There is an important distinction here.
A scout should not be afraid to have an opinion.
Your experience and your observations may lead you to believe that one particular approach could be effective.
If you have established trust with the coaching staff and a coach directly asks:
“What do you think we should do?”
then you can provide your professional opinion.
But understand the difference between offering an opinion when asked and writing instructions into your scouting report.
You might respond:
“From what I observed, there may be an opportunity to apply pressure when the midfielder receives facing their own goal. They appeared uncomfortable on several occasions when pressure was applied quickly.”
That is professional input.
The coach can then decide whether they agree and whether they want to incorporate it into the team’s preparation.
Trust is important here.
A scout earns the right to offer greater input through the quality, accuracy, consistency and reliability of their work.
BUILD TRUST THROUGH THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK
An opposition scout should not feel that they need to demonstrate their knowledge by constantly telling coaches what they would do.
In fact, the opposite is often true.
A scout builds credibility by consistently providing:
Accurate information.
Relevant observations.
Good evidence.
Useful context.
Clear communication.
Reliable analysis.
When the coaching staff trusts the quality of your work, they are more likely to value your opinion when they ask for it.
You don’t need to prove that you are the coach.
Your work should demonstrate that you understand scouting.
INFORMATION → QUESTIONS → DECISIONS
A simple way to remember the relationship between scouting and coaching is:
SCOUT
Observes → Analyses → Identifies → Provides evidence
⬇
INFORMATION
Creates questions and highlights possibilities
⬇
COACHING STAFF
Assesses → Decides → Implements
This is one of the fundamental differences between scouting and coaching.
The scout may identify the potential problem.
The scout may identify the opportunity.
The scout may highlight the pattern.
The scout may explain the circumstances in which a weakness appears.
But ultimately, the coaching staff decides what action, if any, should be taken.
PROFESSIONAL OPPOSITION SCOUTING
The best opposition scouts are not necessarily the people who have the most tactical opinions.
They are the people who can see the game, recognise what matters, provide evidence and communicate it in a way that helps others make better decisions.
Your report should not tell the coaching staff:
“This is what you must do.”
It should allow them to understand:
“This is what I have seen. This is how often it happens. This is the context. This is why it may be significant.”
That is the value of professional opposition scouting.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Don’t tell the coaching staff what to do. Tell them what you have seen, support it with evidence and provide the context they need to make their own decision.
The scout provides the information.
The scout provides the evidence.
The scout highlights the questions.
The coaching staff provides the answers.
That distinction is fundamental to becoming a professional opposition scout.
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beginners
📖 Continue Reading – Football Scouting: A Beginner’s Guide to Football Scouting
📖 Continue Reading – Football Scouting Courses: What should you expect from a Scout Education Provider
📖 Continue Reading – Football Scouting: How to Target the Right Club and Making the Perfect First Impression
📖 Continue Reading – The Content of Scouting: Part 1 – Professional Football Scouting: Why Context is Everything When Assessing Players
📖 Continue Reading – The Content of Scouting: Part 2 – Watch the Player Under Different Spotlights… And in Daylight
📖 Continue Reading – The Content of Scouting: Part 3 – Home, Away, and Hostile
📖 Continue Reading – The Content of Scouting: Part 4 – Assessing Players Against Different Levels of Opposition
Originally published by AFCAS – Association of Football Coaches and Scouts
The coaching frameworks, scouting methodologies, player assessment models and educational content contained within the AFCAS Education Hub have been developed from the practical experiences of AFCAS educators working within grassroots, academy, professional and international football.
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The educational content, coaching principles, scouting methodologies and practical frameworks published within the AFCAS Education Hub have been developed through years of professional coaching, scouting and recruitment experience.
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About the Author
Ged Searson is the Managing Director of AFCAS and has over 30 years of coaching and scouting experience. He is a former Premier League First Team Opposition Scout, former EFL scout and former Chief Scout of the Malawi National Team. Through AFCAS, he has educated coaches and scouts from across the UK and around the world.
