New Chief Scout appointed: Ewan Chester

[Thunder Bolt]

Generally, I think Warren does opposition scouting, in advance of fixtures, rather than player scouting.

I can't remember which away game he was commentating on, but he did say that he'd scouted Danny Holla.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Never heard of him, but very pleased he's a Chief Scout rather than a 'Director of Football' (or whatever Burke's job title was).

I think the role that Burke performed, or at least parts of it, are now performed by Paul Winstanley who is Head of Recruitment. Chester will lead a team and report directly to Winstanley

 

[Meade's Ball]

Looks like a folk-singing version of Richard Madeley. In spite of that, pleased to have a new and experienced man on the books. Hope he uncovers and grasps a few beauties.

 

[GT49er]

I think the role that Burke performed, or at least parts of it, are now performed by Paul Winstanley who is Head of Recruitment. Chester will lead a team and report directly to Winstanley

I would hope the reporting goes to CH first!

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

I would hope the reporting goes to CH first!

All the scouting reports will end up with CH, but on a day to day basis Chester will be line managed by Winstanley.

 

[Brighton TID]

Seems the days of the tippy tappy, tippy tappy, euro 'flair' player are over for us.

From now on it's gonna be all about thoroughbred Britishness, and winning the 50/50 tackles and the aerial battles.

I am sad about that, but happy also.

 

[dazzer6666]

Seems like he knows what he is doing this bloke. Anyway, most important aspect for me is that CH is being given what looks like far more control over all things player related. Which in my view is a very good thing.

 

[Johnnyboy]

He was probably meant to be looking at Walcott, but got the name wrong

Brilliant

 

[BensGrandad]

Apparently WA went to look at a striker in a game at Plymouth but arrived very early so watched a youth team game before then that CW played in, the rest is history.

 

[severnside gull]

Apparently WA went to look at a striker in a game at Plymouth but arrived very early so watched a youth team game before then that CW played in, the rest is history.

If that is the case he has more than earned whatever Albion pay him.

 

[severnside gull]

Seems the days of the tippy tappy, tippy tappy, euro 'flair' player are over for us.

From now on it's gonna be all about thoroughbred Britishness, and winning the 50/50 tackles and the aerial battles.

I am sad about that, but happy also.

Make your mind up!!!!!

Know exactly what you mean. I enjoyed the adventure into tippy-tippy although I think we got it wrong in that we never learned to introduce pace into the equation. Sami effectively killed our identity unfortunately as although we continued to play "our way" it turned out that his version of the Brighton style was tactical naivety. Now I would love to see a combination of power and pace although waiting for us to switch from slow build-up to incisive passing and running may be overly ambitious.

 

[BigGully]

If that is the case he has more than earned whatever Albion pay him.

Not sure about that, Walton was on the Plymouths bench at 16 years old and had a few clubs interesting, it hardly unearthing him really.

As I understand it he was being touted around a number of clubs before BHA came up with an agreed offer, so yes its good work by all involved, but I suspect the one that signed the cheque was the real hero.

 

[BensGrandad]

What I said was only as WA said about how we come to sign him, on the radio at one game.

 

[BigGully]

What I said was only as WA said about how we come to sign him, on the radio at one game.

I wasnt disregarding your comment, just putting a slightly different slant on it.

Scouting remains an inexact science, I can never really understand why clubs pay over inflated prices for a player after a tournament rather than have the skill to scout him a couple of months before the tournament at a greatly reduced price.

After all they are all Internationals and most playing at established clubs, they must have shown glimpses of whatever they do in the tournament prior to it, if not then its likely just to be a bit of form that perhaps wont be replicated after it !!!

 

[Brovion]

Look at that Laptop.... jeez, state of the art stuff there! That probably had, like, a meg of memory! And a built in 3.5in floppy disk drive as well!

I think it looks like it's got one of those new-fangled BNC connectors, probably for a Novell NetWare connection. And I do believe it has both 9 pin and 32 pin serial connections and that might even be a Centronics parallel port for his printer. It does look like one of those contraptions they have in 1960s movies with the US president tapping in the nuclear launch codes.

Anyway, yes, welcome Mr Chester. Hopefully they'll sort you out with some decent kit - and Google maps will be better than that globe.

 

[BensGrandad]

I think it is a case of many people note players that appear to be better than average, some take them up an d try them out others are undecided and dont make a decision. Top non league players and even prem and championship clubs have players that lower clubs will watch closely, some make it like Rohan Ince others like our young keeper Martin although joining Man City did not progress as expected.

 

[AZ Gull]

Globe on desk, check
The Kingfisher Football encyclopaedia to hand, check
Championship Manager 98 loaded, check

This is obviously going to be a great appointment

Very disappointed in you, [MENTION=7]Mustafa[/MENTION].

It is the Rothmans Football Yearbook (edition 1996-97, unless I'm much mistaken). Now the Sky Sports Football Yearbook, of course. The absolute BIBLE of football stats, as any schoolboy worth his salt should know.

 

[Giraffe]

He looks old school in appearance. I like that.

 

[NooBHA]

Hughton trying to recreate his success at Newcastle getting the old team back together.

He wasnt with Chris at Newcastle I dont think, or at least not till near the end of his yime there.. He is really strange Ewan Chester. When he speaks he sounds like a Public Schoolboy from Eton that you would expect to make references to ''Rugger'' or ''Cricket''. You get the impression he would know nothing about football until you get into a conversation with him and then his knowledge is really vast, which sort of shocks you and throws you a little bit.

 

[8ace]

Found this old article from The Gerald:

EWAN Chester has probably accumulated enough air miles during his spell as Rangers chief scout to travel to Mars and back, but rest assured that if he ever makes it to the red planet, he will doubtless be keeping an eye out for the local talent.
For a man with a modest and nomadic playing career that included spells at Workington, Morton, and Hong Kong Rangers, Chester has since earned a reputation for having the sharpest scouting eyes in the business. So sharp, in fact, that he has the implicit trust of the latest incumbent of the Ibrox hot-seat, Dick Advocaat, to the extent that the Dutchman was prepared to sign Marcus Gayle from Wimbledon on the strength of Chester's recommendation alone. Eyebrows were raised after the manager's admission that he had never seen the Jamaican first-hand but suggestions of panic buying were wide of the mark. ''Marcus Gayle had actually been on my list for three years and in that time I had watched him on a number of occasions,'' said Chester. ''With Michael Mols injured the manager wanted a striker and I felt he was different from what we already had at the club. He is better in the air than anybody else here and is left-sided. We haven't had anyone like that since Duncan Ferguson and Mark Hateley.'' Tellingly, he felt it was necessary to have more ''British-style players to match Celtic because they are strong physically'' and added: ''In my job it is always helpful to have players up your sleeve and that's the way it was with Marcus. ''Fabrice Fernandes had also been on my list for two years, from when I watched him play for France's under-21 team in the Toulon tournament. I knew he had a disagreement with Jean Tigana at Fulham, so we moved in quickly.'' The ''list'' is stored away from prying eyes in his office computer and included are the names of those players Advocaat has earmarked for his summer spending spree. ''Six goalkeepers, 12 defenders . . .'' he counts out loud before estimating there are ''about 80'' players in his database. With the manager having already stated that there is only likely to be one or two additions to his squad for the next campaign, many of those on the list will never make it to Ibrox, but it is Chester's job to ensure that there are plenty options available to cover any eventuality. A chance meeting with Willie Donachie, the former Scotland internationalist, during an FA coaching course resulted in the retired journeyman deciding against following the often perilous path of management and instead walked straight into a scouting job at Oldham Athletic. Having served his apprenticeship at Boundary Park, Chester joined the Rangers revolution instigated by Graeme Souness 14 years ago, predominantly as a community coach, but he was soon on the road again, scouting on potential purchases and filing reports on the club's future opponents. For someone ''Rangers- minded'', Ibrox was - and still is - the ideal workplace and Walter Smith's elevation from Souness' assistant in 1991 also resulted in a promotion for Chester, who by that time had cultivated myriad contacts throughout the footballing world. ''Walter gave me a piece of advice that has stood me in good stead. He once told me 'I don't care if a player goes to Manchester United or anywhere else, so long as I know about him'. That, essentially, is my job: to make the manager aware of any players who could do a job for Rangers.'' With more agents than ever before hawking their clients around, and live football beamed in from across the globe, Chester's job has never been easier. Yet, paradoxically, it has never been more difficult. ''It is great to have instant information on players but saturation is a worry. I do get phoned up and sent information all the time from agents, but you can tell pretty quickly which ones know the game and which ones don't. When Walter first appointed me, I was trying to do absolutely everything but I have learned to prioritise: there's no use concentrating on goalkeepers if the manager needs a right back.'' He has had mixed fortunes from his many missions, but the biggest waste of time occurred when trying to find a back-up to Andy Goram. ''I had a strong tip from a German scout and flew over to see this keeper in action. He lost four goals in 20 minutes and the only consolation was that it was 80 degrees in the shade.'' Other adventures have proved more fruitful but the recommendation of which he is most proud is that of Lorenzo Amoruso, despite the fact the Italian defender has been stripped of his captaincy this season after several costly mistakes and is likely - ''maybe, maybe not'' - to leave in the summer. ''I went to see him play for Fiorentina against Barcelona and he was man-for-man on Ronaldo. He was absolutely brilliant under extreme pressure and that is when he is at his best.'' Amoruso's countryman, Marco Negri, remains a mystery to the man who first saw him save Perugia in a relegation decider and persuaded Smith to part with #3.5m for his services. He is convinced the striker, whose contract at Ibrox was terminated a few months ago, ending a most bizarre three-and-a-half years, will make a comeback from a serious leg infection but cannot help ponder what might, indeed, should have been. ''When I watched Perugia they had 10 guys working their socks off for survival and one guy who did nothing but win the game for them. I told Walter he was not a team player, but one guaranteed to score 35 goals a season, and after the start he made, Walter used to joke: 'You didn't tell me he would do it before Christmas'. ''I think he regrets withdrawing his labour and although he came across as moody and disinterested, he was just a very private, complex person. ''It is a shame he never realised his potential, but in his first season out of the picture, Derby County asked for a video of him in action and I got Sandy Jardine to make one up. It is the best one I have ever seen and that is testament to his goalscoring ability.'' There is similar disappointment expressed when discussing Jonas Thern, ''a player's player'' who was never able to show his true worth after joining Rangers from Roma, and sheer disbelief at Alexei Mikhailichenko's status as assistant manager of the Ukrainian national team and Dinamo Kiev. ''I can imagine the training sessions they must have. A light warm-up on Monday, another on Tuesday, and a day off on Wednesday.'' Chester rhymes off names like children do the alphabet. He counts Kenny Dalglish, Souness, Smith (who unsuccessfully attempted to take him to Everton), and Advocaat as friends, and keeps in regular contact with those former Rangers now plying their trade down south, such as Richard Gough and Stuart McCall, for advice on players. When he talks of having to ''plan a year ahead'' because of the Bosman Ruling and refers to ''active and inactive'' members of his own squad, you get the impression he likes playing manager, but such a notion was quickly and vehemently dispelled. ''I am never going to become a reserve team coach or a manager. Realistically, I have found my niche and my only ambition is to stay here and do the best I can.''

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...e-strives-to-bring-the-best-to-ibrox-1.193557