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Prospect Housethe scouting desk · talent and data
the scouting desk · talent and data

The Scouting Desk — Football Scouting Analytics for the Pro Game

The Scouting Desk covers recruitment work in the professional game: reading and writing scout reports, the data that supports a shortlist, position-by-position profiles, how a player is matched to a club model, and how a career is built, planned and eventually ended.

Recruitment, data and the shortlist · 22 files across 5 rubrics · updated 2026-09-27
Scouting analyst seen from behind at a press box desk overlooking an empty pitch
Scouting Reports

How to Read a Scout Report: Inside the Club Process

A scout report is an argument, not a description. Here is how clubs read one, section by section, before a name reaches a shortlist.

Scout in a dark coat watching from an empty stadium stand, seen from behind
Scouting Reports

Scout Report Template: The Sections That Matter

Nine sections, one page of judgement. The template a professional scout report follows and the fields that decide whether anyone trusts it.

Two analysts at a long desk facing blank monitors in a video analysis room
Scouting Reports

Video Scouting vs Live Scouting: How Clubs Split It

A clip package shows the action. A live viewing shows the player. Clubs need both, and the split between them is a budget decision.

Coach in the stands holding a tablet, seen from behind with the pitch out of focus
Scouting Reports

Football Player Profile: What a Club Actually Needs

A player profile is not a highlight reel in prose. It is a role description with evidence attached, and it has to survive contact with a coach.

Blank graph paper with a pencil and ruler on a plain desk in daylight
Scouting Reports

Scouting Report Grading Scale: What the Marks Mean

Every club grades players. Almost no two clubs grade them the same way. What the numbers on a scouting report actually signal to the people reading them.

The file · positionsEvery position, profiled for the recruitment meeting

Six dossiers, one for each job in a squad list. Each file covers what the role asks for, which numbers survive a move between leagues, and the questions a scout should be able to answer before a name is filed.

CBCentre backDefence · profile 2026-09-25IFBInverted full backDefence · profile 2026-09-206Defensive midfielderMidfield · profile 2026-09-148Box-to-box midfielderMidfield · profile 2026-09-08IFInside forwardAttack · profile 2026-09-039Centre forwardAttack · profile 2026-08-29

The metrics block: what the desk measures, and how a one-page report spends its space

Left: the working field count for each block of a one-page scout report, and how the files are split across the rubrics. Right: the headline numbers a recruitment department tracks, what each one actually reads, and how well it survives a change of league.

One-page report · fields per block
Technical10 fields
Tactical8 fields
Physical6.5 fields
Header6 fields
Grade and verdict3 fields

Field counts are the mid-points of the working ranges published in the scout report template: wide enough to be honest, short enough that a decision maker reads to the end.

Rubric load · files per rubric
Scouting Reports5 files
Data & Metrics4 files
Positions6 files
Transfers & Fit4 files
Pathways3 files
Headline metrics · what they read
MetricReads onTravels between leagues
Minutes and availabilityThe playerTravels well
Expected goals per 90Chance involvement per minutePartly
Goals minus expected goalsFinishing overperformancePartly
Progressive passes per 90The playerTravels well
Progressive carries per 90The playerPartly
Possession valueThe team's style of playPartly
Expected threat contributionsRole and instructionsPartly
Counterpress recovery timeThe team's collective pressNo
Aerial duel win rate, with volumeThe player, in that leagueTravels well
Availability across three seasonsThe playerTravels well

New on the scouting deskAll articles →

Scouting analyst seen from behind at a press box desk overlooking an empty pitch
Scouting ReportsMethod

How to Read a Scout Report: Inside the Club Process

A scout report is an argument, not a description. Here is how clubs read one, section by section, before a name reaches a shortlist.

2026-09-27
Empty half of a football pitch from the halfway line with a goal and net in daylight
Data & MetricsMetrics

Expected Goals Explained: What xG Measures and Misses

xG answers one question well and three badly. What the number really measures, and the parts of a forward game it never sees.

2026-09-26
Two players contesting a header seen from behind at distance on a green pitch
Position ProfilesDefence

Centre Back Scouting: What to Watch in a Defender

Anyone can spot a defender who heads it away. Centre back scouting is about what happens in the ten seconds before the duel and the pass after it.

2026-09-25
Head coach on the touchline of an empty stadium seen from behind, arms folded
Transfers & FitFit

Team Style of Play: Building the Club Profile

Before a club can judge a player it has to describe itself. How a style of play document turns into recruitment criteria.

2026-09-24
Scout in a dark coat watching from an empty stadium stand, seen from behind
Scouting ReportsStructure

Scout Report Template: The Sections That Matter

Nine sections, one page of judgement. The template a professional scout report follows and the fields that decide whether anyone trusts it.

2026-09-23
Empty stadium tunnel leading out towards a bright green pitch
Careers & PathwaysCareer

Professional Footballer Career: Length, Age, Value

The average professional career is over before most fans notice, and it does not end at the same age for a winger and a centre back.

2026-09-22

Data & MetricsAll articles →

Empty half of a football pitch from the halfway line with a goal and net in daylight
Data & MetricsMetrics

Expected Goals Explained: What xG Measures and Misses

xG answers one question well and three badly. What the number really measures, and the parts of a forward game it never sees.

2026-09-26
Empty football pitch seen from high in the stands with crisp white line markings
Data & MetricsMetrics

Progressive Passes per 90: Reading the Metric Right

Progressive passes per 90 is a role statement more often than a quality statement. How the count is built, and what it hides about the player.

2026-09-21
Recruitment meeting room with a long table, closed laptops and empty chairs
Data & MetricsModels

Data Scouting Football: How Recruitment Analytics Works

A database finds candidates, not answers. How data scouting football actually runs inside a recruitment department, from filter to final shortlist.

2026-09-16

Position ProfilesAll articles →

Two players contesting a header seen from behind at distance on a green pitch
Position ProfilesDefence

Centre Back Scouting: What to Watch in a Defender

Anyone can spot a defender who heads it away. Centre back scouting is about what happens in the ten seconds before the duel and the pass after it.

2026-09-25
Defender in plain kit seen from behind running down the touchline with the ball
Position ProfilesDefence

Inverted Full Back: How the Role Changed Scouting

The modern full back defends a flank and plays in the middle. What changes in a scouting report when the role is inverted.

2026-09-20
Midfielder seen from behind shielding a football from an opponent on a green pitch
Position ProfilesMidfield

Defensive Midfielder Role: Scouting the Number 6

Some number sixes destroy and some conduct, and a few do both. What a scout watches in the ten metres ahead of a back four.

2026-09-14

Transfers & FitAll articles →

Head coach on the touchline of an empty stadium seen from behind, arms folded
Transfers & FitFit

Team Style of Play: Building the Club Profile

Before a club can judge a player it has to describe itself. How a style of play document turns into recruitment criteria.

2026-09-24
Plain slate-grey coaching board propped on a table beside a ring binder and pen
Transfers & FitFit

Transfer Targets: How Clubs Test a Player Fit

Every club has a list of transfer targets. Very few have one that survives the wage structure, the squad balance and a January phone call.

2026-09-18
Boardroom table with a closed plain folder, pen and glass of water, empty chairs
Transfers & FitModel

Player Trading Model: Buy, Develop, Sell, Repeat

Some clubs buy players and some clubs buy assets. What a trading model demands from the scouting department, and the players it rules out.

2026-09-09

Careers & PathwaysAll articles →

Empty stadium tunnel leading out towards a bright green pitch
Careers & PathwaysCareer

Professional Footballer Career: Length, Age, Value

The average professional career is over before most fans notice, and it does not end at the same age for a winger and a centre back.

2026-09-22
Agent and club official seated across a plain desk, both seen from behind
Careers & PathwaysRepresentation

Football Agent Representation: What the Mandate Covers

The mandate is a contract about leverage. What football agent representation actually includes, and what it costs a player.

2026-09-13
Retired professional walking away from an empty pitch at dusk seen from behind
Careers & PathwaysCareer

Life After Football: The Exit Plan Every Pro Needs

Retirement is a fixture in every career, just without a date. What the transition out of playing actually involves, financially and personally.

2026-09-05