It was probably this time last year that the idea of starting the GBE Expert Hub popped into my head.
The summer window had just gone and my LinkedIn posts during the window had caught the imagination of some people, and my notice had just finished at Blackburn Rovers.
Diving straight back into a club environment didn't really appeal too much, so this is why we have the GBE Expert Hub.
The first year has gone pretty well. We have published 120+ pieces on the platform so far, recommending lots of players who have since gone on to get moves this summer, some to the UK like Sontje Hansen, and many others to high levels elsewhere.
I hope that pro subscribers have enjoyed the Bulletins, which highlight moves made and give recommendations to how to use the GBE/ESC market effectively.
We have also had some great, big features over the year so far, focusing on different things such as ESC Conversions, the situation in Scotland, and non-playing staff hiring.
Numbers of subscribers have steadily risen throughout the year, but the number of pro subscribers isn’t really high enough at this stage to commit to doing this as a job on its own so far.
And that is what I would love to change over time.
The purpose of this piece though is to talk about some of the changes and upgrades that are coming to the GBE Expert Hub brand over the next few weeks and months.
But, first, I want to open up a little bit as to “why” and hope it doesn’t come across as too self-indulgent!
My interest in football has been, and will be, life long and life fulfilling. To be able to say that I am able to provide for my ever-growing (had our fourth baby this summer) family through something that I enjoy and find fascinating is truly the dream. I believe that my knowledge and presentation of information is niche, but important, and I want to be able to be useful to you.
As things stand, I am still continuing to support the Hub through other work. Ideally, I would love to be 100% GBEEH, and not only that I am REALLY keen to support other young, talented scouts and writers to develop and work their way into the game as well.
To do this, the GBE Expert Hub needs to change. We have a lot of information, knowledge and data, so we need to adapt our offer to reflect all of that.
I hope that you guys, as registered subscribers, are happy to help us with this transformation, if not in financial backing (I would never request that) but in perhaps advice and support.
What will change and when?
I am going to tackle this in stages that will hopefully make it quite straightforward to understand.
For free:
I’m afraid that the free tier is coming to an end. We have been providing a number of articles, player reports and podcasts for free for almost a year, but I’m afraid that we have to move forwards and make this decision.
However, there are two points that I would like to make here:
Free content will still go out on Twitter and LinkedIn - much of which will contain value, make sure to follow GBEExpertHub on Twitter, and www.linkedin.com/in/andy-watson-gbe
All current free subscribers are going to receive one month of pro subscription for free for the month of October. This way, EVERYONE can see what it is like to be on the paid tier and you can then choose whether to carry on that subscription for November and beyond.
Pro subscribers:
Good news for pro subscribers, your £5 a month is going to stretch a little further this year.
We are going to continue with the promise of weekly content exclusively for pro subscribers, there will be an incease in volume as well. There is now a team of experts who follow key GBE markets closely who are supplying regular updates on their areas.
The Band 2 leagues of Eredivisie, Belgian Pro Leagues, Primeira Liga, and Turkish Super Lig, are being reported on by
, Will Daniels, Harry Spinks, and respectively.We also have Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, East Asia, and South America being watched and reported on by new football experts to the team.
In addition, pro subscribers will also continue to get a player report per week, and any bulletins and news which I will work on. The next piece of work due on the pro tier is an analysis of the summer transfer window, which I am working on now.
There will also be a monthly podcast exclusively for pro subscribers.
If this whets your appetite and you aren’t currently a pro subscriber then please join using the link.
For those free subscribers who want to try before you buy, don’t forget that you will be receiving a free month in October.
New for 25/26:
Get Ahead on GBE
You may have already seen this advertised, but there will be a new four session programme from Andy Watson where he will lead discussion on key trends, rule changes, strategy advice in the GBE/ESC market at key times of the year.
The first session is on 25th September at 17:30, and in that Andy will discuss what happened in the summer window just gone, and how to use this information to help you plan for the autumn.
Further sessions are scheduled for December, February, and, importantly, June 2026, which will be the first public discussion of the new FA guidance for 2026/27 season.
To book on, please follow the following links, or DM/comment on this post.
https://buy.stripe.com/dRm3cvajFgRF69a81l7EQ03
4 sessions for the price of 3:
https://buy.stripe.com/bJe7sLfDZ44T0OQ3L57EQ04
Private 1-2-1s
Beginning in October, Andy Watson will be offering private 1-2-1 sessions with the idea of helping people with specific issues surrounding GBE and ESC.
The sessions will be limited to only four per month and are bookable through this link.
https://calendly.com/ecologicouk/gbeexperthub
GBE Expert Hub Global Recruitment
This is probably the biggest announcement in this email.
We are working on producing a whole new service to the market. The current system works ok for professionals who just want some basic information and advice, but we have found that many of our clients and subscribers want and need something more in depth.
This is why we are launching the Global Recruitment service.
The focus of this service is to fulfil many of the functions of a recruitment department, but at the fraction of the cost to the club/agency/ownership.
The finer details of the Global Recruitment service have yet to be determined, but the initial price for the first cohort of subscribers will be less than £100 a month. If you have been a subscriber, or if you know me, then you will know that the work will be put in and the price will be value for the product.
Player lists will form a key part of the service, showing the subscribers who our model likes in various different competitions, and, importantly, communicating the player’s GBE status within that data.
There will also be extra player reports on this tier, an Ask Me Anything session every month, a regular voice note service about GBE strategy, and an open dialogue between the subscribers themselves, as well as an open channel to myself and
to talk about players.If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in talking to us about this service, simply drop us a message.
There is more in the pipeline, but nothing that I can officially announce at this stage.
There are extra resources that are pretty much standalone pieces but that could be interesting to a lot of people, but I don’t delve into great detail about them as I am very wary of overload at this stage.
Extra resources available:
GBE Agency Audit
The cost of this very much depends on the size of the agency, but the idea of this is to look into the stable of an agency and supply them with the information required to show which of their players currently qualifies for the UK market and if they don’t, what they need to do to get there.
GBE Player Status Report & Evidence
An in-depth investigation of an individual player's GBE and ESC status, giving information on whether the player is eligible to move to the UK and work. Alongside the results, you will receive the relevant evidence and a plan to progress forwards, all in a very professional but easy to understand format.
Submit a cohort of players for the GBE Expert Hub to assess their current GBE and ESC status, as well as their eligibility end date.
Player Lists
These will be produced and released periodically and offered as standalone documents.
I hope that this piece was illuminating in terms of the direction that the platform is moving. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to get in touch!
If you aren’t interested in getting any more emails, you might want to unsubscribe, as things will only grow and get busier from this point!
Thanks to you all,
Andy