Now as a ‘Freelance Scout and Consultant’ I am able to assist both a wider range of players and clubs.

During my career as a scout, I have been fortunate to have been in the right place and at the right time, to have been able to view the talents of some exceptional young players.
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Whilst each player has a different story, they also had a lot in common, with a desire to succeed and become a professional footballer.

Meet  . . . . Anthony Pilkington 

Fate plays a major part in everyone’s journey and it certainly has for me.

Whilst working at Stockport County I was introduced to the football programme at Myerscough College.

On this programme I was able to view the talents of several promising young players. Anthony Pilkington was one of those players.

I recommended Anthony to Atherton Collieries as a breakthrough into Non-League Football.

For him (and also for me), the night of  29th November 2006 was a life changing date that I will never forget.

‘Pilks’ had a night to remember playing in a game for Atherton Collieries v FC United of Manchester. I was at the game, as my son Alex was then Atherton Collieries skipper.

It was a great win for Atherton and as for Anthony? . . . . . .  Well he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory. Here are his goals on the night.

As a step up in the non-league pyramid, I then recommended him to Stockport County  . . . . . He went on to score for Stockport in the 2008 play off final, got man of the match, then went on to play in the Premier league for Norwich City and score against Manchester United.
You can see the goal here.

And the rest as they say is history.

My career as a scout took off and completely surpassed my previous one as a player. ‘Scouting a player’ became an obsession.

Being given the opportunity to scout, view talented players and back my opinion on them became my most enjoyable challenge.

When I reflect back, I often think about what would have happened to both myself and the players I have scouted, if the players involved on this page and myself had not been fortunate enough to be in the ‘same place at the same time’.

Each player that a scout ‘spots’ gives back an incredible feeling of satisfaction.

A scout can visit dozens of games and then all of a sudden a player will catch your eye. Difficult to describe the feeling, except for the fact that you cant wait for it to happen again.

The scouting journey continued. If you are a player who has had a disappointment on your journey to be a professional footballer, then please remember that there are scouts and clubs looking for ‘that next player’ and that player could be YOU!

Thank you ‘Pilks’ for the comment below;
“Alan has brought through lots of players from non-league and grassroots that have gone on to have great careers in football. I’m very grateful to him for helping me have the career that I have had up until now.”

So where and how do you scout players? I dont think that there is a definitive answer to that question.

The one thing I do know is that there is and always will be talented players who have yet to be scouted.

The Obsession  . . . . 

Finding talented players without a doubt became an obsession for me.

As you may know, there are countless numbers of players who get released from clubs each year.

Whilst some of the decisions to release these players will have been correct, there was also scope to scout those players that could ‘bounce back’ . . . .  I gambled and set a criteria (my own) to assess the talents of players between the ages 16-22.

All the players on this page met that special critera and it became the backbone for the remainder (including now) of my scouting career.

Meet . . . . Rhys Turner, Alex Kenyon, Joe Bunney

By the time I had scouted these players, I realised that there was a distinct relationship between talented players and their mindset to succeed.

All these players were incredibly self motivated. Yes they may have had to face the situation where they had been released previously by clubs, but every one of these players were so determined and focussed to achieve their goal of becoming a professional footballer.

Each one of them had different technical and physical attributes, each one of them had a different character and personality, each one of them had come via different levels football background.

All of them made it as full time professionals and fully deserved.

The scouting journey continued . . . .

Meet Josh Thompson . . . . 

Josh Thompson was another player who had come through the grassroots pathway. I knew Josh as he lived local to me and around the age of 16 he was growing into a young and promising centre back.

I recommended Josh to Stockport County and he then had a short spell at Preston North End, before finally going back to Stockport.

These experiences all added to his development and by the time he was 18 he had become ‘a player’.

His rapid rise into the 1st team plus representing England u19 squad in such a short time produced the move of a lifetime to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

Here is Josh playing and scoring for Celtic.

Here you can see one of my proudest possessions.

One day Josh paid me a visit.

What happened next was priceless.

He had come to give me his England shirt with the words “Thanks for everything”

An unbelievable gesture from Josh, a day I will never forget.

Thank you you so much Josh.

So, the story continues . . . .

New Crofton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire is the next port of call and I am attending a mid season friendly at Nostell Miners Welfare institute.

Meet Oli Johnson . . . .

The game could not have been described by any means as spectacular, until midway through the 2nd half when Nostell Miners decided to bring on a substitute by the name of Oli Johnson.

The next 20 mins I could not believe what I was seeing. It became the Oli Johnson show. Oli’s pace and footwork was something out of the ordinary.

As a scout and witnessing this 20 min blitz, I just knew I had to view this player again.

4 days later, I was back again watching Nostell in a league fixture. This time Oli started the game. It was a repeat performance from him.

Scouts have to balance performance v opposition as part of the scouting criteria. Sometimes also you have to counter balance those thoughts when your gut feel tells you this player has something ‘different’.
Here is Oli doing what he does best.

Oli, an excellent young player, took his chance and 2 years later was playing in the Championship with Norwich City !

Meet Festus Arthur . . . .

Sometimes as a player when you have gone through the academy system you are faced with an outcome of whether you will be offered a further contract or not.

For those who are not, you are faced with a dilemma / disapointment of whether you want to continue and progress your career. Some players are able to push on and sometimes cannot.

Festus Arthur was a player I came across 2019/20, having been released by a pro club.

Festus had a big physique, a prospect and a player with a very positive mindset. I was able to introduce him to James Gannon at Stockport County.

Festus was soon in the 1st team, progressing well and approx 18 months at the club before being sold to Hull City. He just needed the chance . . . . He got it and took it. I thank Festus for offering the following comment;
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“I am so glad I met Alan Lord. He helped me a lot to be the player I am today and gave me the opportunity to showcase my talent”.

As this page is being written there are players who are having decisions made on their future. The decisions may be right at the time. On the flipside the decision may have been wrong.

It is easy to let the disappointment of being released affect your long term future, BUT if players believe in their own ability, just like the players on this page then there is nothing to stop you.

You have read above about players from all backgrounds having the desire and commitment to realise their potental.

Meet Jack Hinchy . . . .

In just 2 years it is possible to go from a potential young player to attracting a Premier League club coming in to buy you !!

In 2019 I spotted Jack Hinchy. I was organising a trials event for Stockport County. Jack fitted the ‘Emerging Talent’ profile of other players that I had spotted over the years.

Here was a player who I dont remember ever having a poor training session or game.

” Just want to thank Alan Lord. Everyday I was looking forward to training with him and this brought the confidence out in me. I believe this confidence has brought me to where I am today, from progressing through to Stockport’s first team and now to Brighton”

 

The ‘grassroots’ programme is another area that cannot be ignored.

During my time at Stockport County this pathway was an essential part of the development programme at the club.

Max Greenhalgh
Adam Owen
Finley Stanyer
Jack Hopkins

All players who took the opportunity to develop their potential and break into the 1st team squad.

In an era of Covid intervention and at an age where it is so easy to be distracted and lose the focus that is required to achieve professional status

All the players on this page had THE ABILTY and THE MINDSET to follow their dream and become Professional Footballers.

For me it was a pleasure to share and help in the end result.

Could YOU be the next player ?
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If you are aged 18-23 and believe in your own talent, ability and attitude then please get in touch with me on the link below.

• Contact Form

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