Articles

Hope for out-of-work players and young footballers

Richard Wilson HeraldScotland

JOE MILLER hopes that a new website will help to put clubs in contact with out-of-work players and young footballers looking to establish themselves in the game.

Miller is the co-founder of Viascout, an online database that players and clubs can sign up to and watch or post video footage and gain access to cvs.

Miller hopes to tap into the growing use of online videos as a way to create a global scouting network.

Chris Smalling, the Manchester United defender, posted footage of himself that led to his move from Maidstone United to Fulham, while Owen Hargreaves put video clips of him training online to prove his fitness, and is now on the verge of joining Manchester City.

"Clubs in Scotland, outwith the Old Firm, don't have scouting networks, they're relying on agents coming in with video evidence or a cv and asking clubs to give the player a trial," Miller says. "We're giving both, and from an agent's point of view, they might not have a contact at that club. There are kids out there, and football clubs just don't have the resources to send scouts to matches, or to go 100, 200 miles to watch a player.

"The site has a social chat area, where the players can identify the good players in their teams, and the clubs can tap into that. I experienced it a couple of years ago at Clyde, when I put an advert in the paper for trials and 2500 cvs came in. At Stirling Albion, they charged £200 a time for a trial, young guys are desperate for a chance to be football players."

Several English clubs have already registered their interest in the project, which Miller hopes will eventually offer a comprehensive service across several countries. As well as uploading videos, players fill in questionnaires about their physical attributes, their position, what foot they favour, sprint times, and career details.

"Once we build the data up, the clubs will pay a subscription for access to the search engine," Miller says. "With the data we're collecting, and the video evidence, it's all there for the clubs to look at. We are not acting as agents, we're a third party, we don't take part in any deals. We provide the service, a pathway."