The GBE Expert Hub: What can we do to help you?
Bringing the 12 Days of Content to a close
Getting 12 pieces of content around this niche area of the domestic football regulations must have been difficult for some of you. I admit, the topic isn’t always the most sexy football has ever looked, but I’m hoping that many of you will have enjoyed the experience, and I know that some people have read all 12 pieces. I thank you for that support.
From this point onwards though, things are changing. Some of you will only hear from this platform once or twice a month. That might be music to your inbox, but, if it is something that you would prefer to see on a more regular basis then it is time to consider hitting that subscribe upgrade button.
We are only talking about £5 a month, with a discount on yearly subscriptions as well, and that would support the kind of writing and research that you have received in this past couple of weeks.
The hard work will not stop. Research will continue. Efforts to provide the best information in the sector on foreign recruitment continues.
Let me break down how this will look on and off the platform from this stage:
Of course, we remain totally dedicated to putting out some free content for anyone and everyone who wants to read about dedicated information in this field, so that will happen on a monthly basis.
However, we genuinely feel that there is exceptional value to be had by signing up, for the price of a matchday pint a month, to get the weekly bulletins, weekly player reports from our high quality dedicated scouting team, audio/video content, and some interesting data connected to GBE/ESC as well.
The data is scheduled to come online on January 1st for the JTW (as Craig Bradley is trying to get to catch on for the January Transfer Window).
Are you a professional who wants to go a step further?
This is not about teaching recruitment teams in the UK to suck eggs. Many, many clubs either already have a handle on GBE/ESC regulations and recruitment, and we look forward to seeing how different people decide to work in this sector.
However, The GBE Expert Hub can provide a really interesting service to many clubs or agencies who perhaps don’t have the personnel or the budget to spread their resources so thin. We are targeted on providing incredible value for money in this very specific sector.
When the domestic market is so competitive, and budgets are stretched so tightly, but improvement on the pitch is required, it can be very difficult to achieve. There are avenues to explore outside of the domestic market, and we firmly believe that if a club absolutely cracks the ESC or GBE market ahead of their rivals then they will differentiate themselves and gain a sustainable edge.
We have demonstrated, with our knowledge of the domain, player identification and report writing that we are a valuable resource for clubs ranging from Sheffield United to Carlisle, top to the bottom of the EFL.
Using our different tiers of support, a club can tap into this support no matter the budget, no matter the goals, from parachute payment clubs, to those confined to free agents.
We aren't restricted to England though. Whilst there currently aren't any ESC regulations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, there are still routes for foreign player recruitment that are open that can be investigated. Our published scout reports are just the tip of the iceberg, there are already a big bank of reports behind the paywall, with a dedicated, trained team adding more interesting players every day.
We are not trying to find the BEST players in the world. We are endeavouring to find players that will make a difference to clubs in the EFL, SPFL, Cymru Premier, and NIFL, as long as they are attainable. Deals that can be done.
For obvious reasons it doesn’t make sense to go into the details of each tier here, but we are always available for a meeting or phone call, just get in touch via email or message on the system and we can have a free exploratory call to see if there is anything that we can work on together.
Email: andywatsonsport@gmail.com
Agencies are pivotal to the whole system
We realise how important agents are to the transfer flows between the domestic market and foreign clubs/players.
Therefore, we want to provide support to domestic and foreign agents to upskill their offering.
For some agencies it could be worthwhile looking through their stable of talent and establishing the GBE status of each player i.e. do they get the 15 points? Are they available on ESC? What do they need to do to qualify?
We also are able to use our knowledge of the UK market to help target particular clubs for particular players and grease the wheels of player identification for both the agency and the clubs involved.
Or it may be just the education of the regulations that is required…
The Future of The GBE Expert Hub
Obviously, this is a new venture, but there are so many exciting plans to come.
We are developing some huge resources that could form part of a bespoke service in the near future.
We will host some separate educational resources for people to use either internally or for their own knowledge.
As you can see, there is plenty in the pipeline, so stick with us to be part of the really exciting journey!
There are already a couple of dates in the diary that may be of interest to you.
Working in conjunction with the Football Transfer Forum, Andy is running an event for agents, and one for clubs, where he will be discussing everything to do with the GBE/ESC rules and how to maximise your work with them.
The agents seminar will take place on 3rd March at 19:30 UK time online.
The clubs seminar will take place on 10th March at 19:30 UK time online.
Tickets can be bought through the links in yellow above.
Thank you to anyone who has a paid subscription already, if you want to recommend this platform to anyone else, that would be incredible for us.