An Interview with…David Fairbrother
This week’s interview is with Birmingham City scout David Fairbrother.
David works in the Northamptonshire area for the under 18’s age group.
He has previously worked for Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest, Coventry City, MK Dons in his career.
Other roles include being the Head of Recruitment for the Kettering Town Youth Academy and working for the Corby Town and Rushden and Diamonds youth academy. He has worked also for the Northamptonshire FA as an Under 18 Ambassador.
Hello David. First of all, what is your background in the game?
I played semi professional until I suffered a ligament injury. I’ve coached adult teams and youth teams locally and I’m also on various youth committees.
How did you come to be a scout? Was it something that you always wanted to do or was it an opportunity that just came up?
An ex-player colleague was working in a scouting role for a Premership club and he asked me to go with him. I enjoyed it and learnt the ropes there. I then had a call from a League Two side and worked as a scout for them for two seasons before working in a scouting capacity for nine clubs from non-leagueto the Premier League.
What is your working week like as a scout?
Busy! I watch at least five or six games a week.
What do you scout for? Future opposition or to look for players?
I mainly scout future academy players and have also done opposition scouting for various clubs.
What characteristics do you look for in a player?
A player’s first touch is vital, if you control the ball you control the game. I also look for a player who can control the ball with one foot and give it with the other.
I also like a player who looks around quickly before they receive the ball and also being able to play out of tight situations and their movement on and off the ball.
I’m keen to see what their enthusiasm is like for the game – a pet hate of mine is seeing a player who doesn’t look as though he wants to be there.
I’m amongst the few scouts who have just a quick look at the players warming up, you can judge the players attitude that way.
Attitude is the word that I come back to again and again.It is the most important attribute in a player or person. I believe that attitude is as important as ability.
How many times do you usually have to watch a player for a manager?
I go and watch a player three or four times.
When scouting a specific player, do you watch just them or the whole game?
If it’s a particular player then I do concentrate on him but also the whole game as if the particular player has the ability then he may have an influence on the whole game anyway.
I’m also very aware of both teams as someone may catch my eye.
What key attributes do you think make a successful professional footballer?
As I mentioned above attitude. A club and a scout will always have time for the player that wants to learn and is prepared to bring his team mates into play on the pitch. They must also want to learn off the pitch too.
It’s important that the scout talks to the player’s family and to have the skills to learn about the players upbringing.
Have you found any players who have moved on to be big names in the game?
I have scouted many players over the years who have played for professional and semi-professional clubs.
At the present time I have one Premiership player, three Championship players, three League One and two League Two players that I scouted.
There are also four semi-professional players that I scouted who are playing in non-league. All of these players have been scouted by me in past 12 years.
The most important thing for me is that these lads have achieved their ambitions to play professionally. I get a lot of satisfaction and pride that I played a small part on the road to fulfill their ambitions.
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