Dan Ashworth implements Brighton recruitment model – Newcastle United advertise for key extra staff

It has been a remarkable story at Brighton, Dan Ashworth credited with a (the?) major role in their astonishing progress.

The Seagulls headhunted him after his stellar success in the FA Director of Elite Development job.

Dan Ashworth top of the list when it came to his role in creating the “England DNA”, an elite player development plan which aimed “to help create winning senior teams, in the men’s and the women’s game.”

Appointed as Technical Director at the south coast club in early 2019 as Brighton escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, Dan Ashworth then put in place foundations and plans that have played a massive role in this remarkable Brighton story.

Fortunes banked through players recruited in recent years, a very healthy club from top to bottom, plus the small matter of currently sixth in the Premier League.

There have obviously been any number of people who played their part in this astonishing progress at the Amex Stadium BUT very difficult to argue that any were more important to it than Dan Ashworth.

Tony Bloom did everything he could to retain Dan Ashworth AND then made it as difficult as possible for Dan Ashworth to get started in his new role at St James’ Park, once he announced his resignation in February 2022. The club’s owner gutted to lose Ashworth and only when Newcastle’s owners agreed to pay considerable compensation, was his lengthy gardening period allowed to be cut short. Arriving at Newcastle United as Sporting Director in summer 2022, rather than having to wait until winter 2022.

In the shirt time he has been at St James’ Park, Dan Ashworth already credited as the main man in making so many changes, the most visible of course has been the recruitment of so many impressive signings at all levels of the club, from the exciting teenage Garang Kuol, up to first team players such as Nick Pope (£10m!!) and the superb Sven Botman.

Newcastle United were a total joke under Mike Ashley, a club fighting relegation the vast majority of seasons, whilst behind the scenes everything falling apart, the owner milking the club and running it on a skeleton staff.

All change now and Dan Ashworth one of the club’s key signings, along with others such as Eddie Howe and Darren Eales.

Newcastle United are a club now getting rebuilt, the aim to be bigger and better than ever before.

The excellent Training Ground Guru site have now explained just some of the hard work from Dan Ashworth and numerous new staff, many in newly created roles, that he is bringing in to help revolutionise Newcastle United.

Training Ground Guru report – 24 January 2023:

‘NEWCASTLE UNITED are beefing up their scouting and recruitment department – and also moving to the position-specific model that Sporting Director Dan Ashworth used at Brighton.

The Magpies are advertising for a Lead Video Analyst and Positional Analysts for the first team. And in the Academy they are recruiting for an Under-13 to 18 UK Scouting Lead, Head of Emerging Talent, Recruitment Operations Manager and Scouting Lead.

They recently hired Paul Midgley from Manchester City (where he was Northern UK Youth Scouting Manager) to become Head of Youth Recruitment.

Both the Lead Video Analyst and Positional Analysts are new first-team roles. The Lead Video Analyst will work closely with Head of Technical Scouting Andy Howe (the brother of Head Coach Eddie Howe) to “analyse prospective target players through a variety of games at varying levels around the globe.”

They will also “lead and manage a team of positional analysts.”

These Positional Analysts are effectively scouts, providing video analysis and “occasional live game analysis” for potential target players “focusing on specific positions.”

They will look at both emerging talent (typically in the 17-21 age bracket) and potential first-team players. They will also work closely with the data team, Lead Video Analyst and Head of Technical Scouting to “produce daily reports and evidence-based clips in line with the recruitment strategy.”

As TGG wrote last April, Brighton organise their scouting according to player positions rather than geography, which is the traditional model. This change was brought in under Ashworth and Head of Recruitment Paul Winstanley.

Ashworth joined Newcastle from the Seagulls last June, while Winstanley is now Director of Transfers at Chelsea.

At Brighton, four Senior Scouting Managers oversee different positions, rather than overseeing scouting for different parts of the country. Pete Bulmer, for example, is responsible for scouting centre-backs for the first team.

These Senior Scouting Managers oversee a pool of scouts, who produce player reports and work closely with the club’s recruitment analysts.

Three Scouting and Intelligence Co-ordinators also help to compile initial shortlists of players for the Senior Scouting Managers and use both objective (data) and subjective (mainly scouting reports) measures.’