Football Scouting: A Conversation With Chris Robinson
Most of what parents hear about scouting comes from the touchline. Someone's cousin was spotted at a tournament. A man with a lanyard was at the game last week. A paid "scout trial" promises the chance to be seen. Very little of it comes from the people who actually make recruitment decisions inside an academy.
So Football Parent put ten questions to Chris Robinson, Head of Academy Recruitment at Southampton FC and, before that, Head of Integration Recruitment at Chelsea FC's academy for more than 11 years. We asked what he looks at when he watches a young player, how trials really run, what to do when a scout hands you a card, and when agents genuinely matter. His answers are below, in his own words.
About Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson
Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Chris Robinson has been Head of Academy Recruitment at Southampton FC since February 2024. Before that he spent more than 11 years as Head of Integration Recruitment at Chelsea FC's academy. A UEFA B licensed coach with FA Talent ID Levels 1 to 3, he has coached at clubs including Manchester City and Portsmouth, and managed clubs including Cheltenham Town and the FA XI. He is a director of The Scouting Game Ltd and the author of The Scouting Game: An Insider's Guide to Talent Spotting Football's Next Stars (Pitch Publishing, 2025). Follow him on Instagram.
What a Scout Notices in the First Five Minutes
Football Parent asks
When you watch a young player for the first time at a grassroots game, what do you notice in the first five minutes? What makes you write their name down rather than move on, and what do parents wrongly assume you're looking at?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Football is a simple game based on control, pass and move. People like me complicate it, I think, so we can earn a living!
But however we describe it, it is really those basics that we are looking at, particularly if we include the desire to win the ball back in the "move" part. So it will be some bit of quality relating to these basics that attracts me.
How Academy Trials Really Work
Football Parent asks
Walk us through a real trial from the moment players arrive to when they leave. How are they grouped, how long do you actually watch each one, and when do you usually make your mind up?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Most better academies are moving away from the big set piece trials that we used to have, where loads of kids would all arrive and be assessed in a couple of hours. They are very hit and miss. They are often not a good experience for the kids involved either.
So most of the better academies will now have some sort of assessment process where a recommended player will come in and be assessed whether they are ready for a trial over a few weeks, perhaps one night a week for six weeks, in their relevant age groups. It does vary from one academy to another. This is a better process all round. I set up a filter system to do exactly that at Chelsea and have done again at Southampton.
Ideally we want a number of experienced scouts to watch players to decide if they are ready to come in on trial, and then we have to take into account other factors such as what we need in that particular age group.
When a player comes in on a formal eight week trial, then our job in the scouting department is to make sure they know what to expect and are properly handed over to the coaching department. Most academies will have some sort of mid-trial review to give some feedback, and then the final decision at the conclusion of the eight weeks.
I think most academies try to have the final decision made by consensus, in other words with recruitment and coaching involved, and probably other departments too. Ultimately though, I have always maintained it is a recruitment department decision as to whether a player should be signed.
It can be very difficult for young players to walk into a dressing room where they don't know anybody, so the better academy will try and make that as comfortable a transition as possible.
How a Grassroots Player Gets Seen
Football Parent asks
If a genuinely good grassroots player is nowhere near a scout, what actually gets them seen? And what's a waste of a family's time and money: paid "scout trials", showcase events, highlight videos?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
The basic position is that players should play as high a standard as they can, with and against the best players that they can, and get the best coaching available. This is the way they develop as players, and it is also much more likely to bring them to the attention of scouts. If you are a scout and you are going out on a Saturday morning, for example, then you will probably start with the better leagues and the better teams.
If there is not an academy near you, or you feel your child is being overlooked, then you can send clips in to the Head of Academy Recruitment, but bear in mind the distance qualifications. This can work, but again it will depend on the individuals involved as to their attitude to these sort of approaches.
The showcase events vary in quality, but the better run ones with a good track record do bring players to the attention of scouts. It is certainly worth doing some research to be sure about that track record.
When a Scout Hands You a Card
Football Parent asks
When a scout hands a parent a card, what should happen next? How can a parent tell a genuine approach from someone who isn't what they claim?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Firstly, every scout must have a proper photo ID from their club and this must be shown to the team coach. An approach from a scout must go to the team coach first, not directly to the parent.
But then when a scout gives a parent a contact card, it is important for the parents to identify them and what the next step is. It may be that the scout is just saying they want to come and watch the player again and just making initial contact. Parents should ask and get clarity then.
Development Centres and the Academy Radar
Football Parent asks
What separates a player worth flagging from one who's just keen and fit at a development-centre session? Is a development or foundation centre invite the same as being on an academy's radar?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
The term "development centre" covers a range of activities. It may describe the sort of filter system I mentioned earlier, which is a proper sensible approach from an academy to filtering talent.
On the other hand, some development centres have very little contact in practice with the main academy. This is sadly the case with some of the "Foundation" or community programmes. These are usually "pay for play" and they can work well and be good progression points for a player, but they can also just be commercial schemes.
Again, it is a matter of speaking to other parents and to the centre themselves to check what their connection is to the academy and what their track record is like in being a pathway for players to progress.
Trust the process. Track the progress.
Track their goals and assists, log their progress and keep coach feedback in one place, season after season.
When Recruitment Decisions Really Stick
Football Parent asks
Your Chelsea role was integration recruitment. What does that mean in practice, and at what age are recruitment decisions really made that stick? How much should a parent read into a child being spotted early versus late?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
My Chelsea role came about because I was asked to lead the process of connecting up different parts of the club in terms of the Academy and the Foundation, from grassroots into the professional game. It really meant that I was managing scouts and centres and trying to create effective pathways and assessment processes.
The priority age for recruitment for most academies is 6 to 8. The first age you can actually sign a player is under nine, because at that point they are free and they will be with you usually for a long time and you can develop them.
At these early ages there are not a lot of differences between the top players in grassroots and the players in academies. However, as time goes on, the effects of the better games programme and usually better coaching means that the gap between grassroots and academy players gets wider.
Players can still jump across that gap right up to ages 17 and 18. However, it does become more difficult. In general terms it is a question of the sooner the better to get into the academy system, in all honesty, but it can happen later.
Getting Picked Up Again After Release
Football Parent asks
How common is it for a child released at 11 or 12 to get picked up again later, and what did the ones who came back tend to do in between?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Yes, many players do come back into the academy system having been released at younger ages. This is very common.
It may be that a player is released from a Category One academy and goes and joins a Category Three academy and really finds their game and develops. Others may go back into grassroots and rebuild their game. There are an infinite number of pathways and it is never too late.
How Parent Behaviour Affects Decisions
Football Parent asks
How much does a parent's behaviour (on the touchline, in conversations with staff) count when you're deciding on a player? Has it ever changed your recommendation?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
If a player is really good, absolutely top, then you will put up with a lot in terms of parent behaviour. But if it is at all marginal, then the behaviour of a parent will be taken into account, for good or bad, when coming to decisions. There have been occasions when I have felt the player was not good enough for us to put up with difficult parent behaviour.
Having said that, academies do have codes of conduct for parents, and so the behaviour should be managed appropriately as you go along.
When Agents Become Relevant
Football Parent asks
When do agents genuinely become relevant for a young player, and what do families most often misunderstand about them?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Where the rules are concerned, agents can only be formally representing players when that player is in the academic year coming up to their scholar decision, i.e. at under 16. It can be very useful for parents to get some advice from good agents at that point and going forward.
With the change in the market in academy acquisition, agents are getting involved with families at under 14 and even earlier in some cases. This is an almost inevitable consequence of the big focus now on young players being moved at the end of their under 14 year. This is all a bit worrying and not always in the best interest of the players concerned.
At the right time, a reputable agent can be very useful for a family. But there are a lot of people around masquerading as agents when they are not actually FIFA registered agents. Parents need to be very careful about who they connect with and why.
I must say that, unfortunately, some parents do see engaging with agents as part of the money making process.
One Piece of Advice for Parents
Football Parent asks
What's one piece of advice for a parent whose child has just been spotted by a scout?
Chris Robinson • Head of Academy Recruitment, Southampton FC
Don't get too excited. There is a long way to go.
Final Thoughts
What stands out across Chris's answers is how much less mysterious scouting becomes when someone inside an academy explains it. Scouts are looking at control, pass and move, and the desire to win the ball back. Good academies now assess players over several weeks rather than judging them in a single afternoon. And the most reliable way to be seen is still to play at the highest standard your child can, with and against the best players they can, which is the same thing that helps them improve.
For parents, a few practical points follow directly from what he says. If a scout approaches, expect them to go through your child's coach first and to carry club photo ID, and ask plainly what the next step is (our guide to how football scouts identify players covers the process in more detail). Before paying for a development centre, ask other parents and the centre itself what its real link to the academy is: our comparison of development centres and academies sets out the differences. If your child is released, take Chris's word that coming back is very common. And treat an early approach from an "agent" with care: check they are FIFA registered and read our guide on finding a football agent for your child before agreeing to anything.
Above all, as he puts it: don't get too excited, there is a long way to go.
For more from Chris on how scouting works, from what scouts look for in each position to trials, agents and what parents can expect, his book The Scouting Game covers it in depth. You can also follow him on Instagram at @the_scouting_game.
Editor's Note
The views expressed in this interview are those of Chris Robinson. Football Parent regularly interviews coaches and experts to present a range of evidence-informed perspectives on youth football.
