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Someone else we can blame in 12 months time 
Also he did the same job at the MK dons so at least he will know the way when we move there
I agree i see this as Poch wanted him so spurs hired him....Any one got any more info on him like players he has found and track records and stuff? i know no of this matters because spurs will ruin his career but still...
Obviously not Idea about this guy but it is a statement backing poch. Hopefully we can get one or two players that he actually wants in January.
On paper with Broomfield, Mitchell and Baldini we should be working wonders in the transfer market.
However we will not because we are Tottenham.
However we will not because we are Tottenham.
Go to 6:15 in this video and hear him explain his role at Southampton. If he comes to us I'd expect this video will be the only evidence that he exists as Spurs operate behind an iron curtain where we supporters have no idea what people do let alone know what they look and sound like.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialsaints
http://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialsaints
it's official
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/club-announcement-paul-mitchell-261114/
Classic spurs though. tells us his title and his background but absolutely nothing about what he will actually be doing and where he fits into the structure. Hopefully we'll get more clarification soon but I doubt it.
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/club-announcement-paul-mitchell-261114/
Classic spurs though. tells us his title and his background but absolutely nothing about what he will actually be doing and where he fits into the structure. Hopefully we'll get more clarification soon but I doubt it.
Who is Paul Mitchell and why have Tottenham Hotspur prised Southampton's head of recruitment away?
Talent-spotter and analyst whose department transformed Saints this summer while banking £30 million is on his way to Spurs who badly need his input
Saints no more: Mauricio Pochettino will be joined at Tottenham by Paul Mitchell, another signing from Southampton Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Jeremy Wilson
4:02PM GMT 17 Nov 2014
10 Comments
Paul Mitchell is the head of recruitment who has become one of the most sought after men in football. Mitchell's own playing career was ended by injury at the age of 27, he has been at Southampton for less than three years and is still only 33 but it is with good reason that Tottenham Hotspur believe they are making one of the more important signings in their recent history.
The entire ethos at Southampton is of a club dependent on their structure and culture rather than any one individual for success but you needed to spend only a few minutes at the club's training ground to appreciate Mitchell's considerable input.
He has been in charge of the recruitment department since January 2012 but the quality of that operation has never been more evident than during this past summer when Southampton sold around £95 million worth of talent, reinvested about £65 million, and still seem to have improved their squad.
Tottenham had a not dissimilar challenge in 2013 when they sold Gareth Bale for £85 million but, despite spending in excess of £100 million, have instead gone backwards. You can certainly understand why Levy might have cast some envious glances in the direction of St Mary's during this past month.
So just what do we know about the set-up at Southampton that Tottenham will presumably now try to replicate? The first point is that Mitchell's work is rather different to a director of football like Franco Baldini. He is not being brought in for his worldwide network of contacts among agents and club executives but rather for his ability to analyse football players.
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The most intriguing element of the department, though, is what is known as the "black-box". It is a small room with a phone, a desk and a row of chairs that faces a giant screen. Southampton designed their own computer software that is used in this room and, with just a few clicks, Mitchell and his team could be watching any player, team or target anywhere in the world. Yet the "black-box" is not used solely for identifying players but also analysing Southampton's own squad and future opponents.
For example, when Woolwich offered £16 million for Calum Chambers during the summer, part of Southampton's decision-making was based on the assessment that they already had a superior right-back in Nathaniel Clyne. Mitchell believes that the "black box" really was something unique to Southampton.
"Unless people have got a real black box underground, I've never heard of a training facility having something like that - having something designed and bespoke with that ability to deliver," he said, shortly before handing in his notice at Southampton.
"It's not just recruitment. That's where the theory started, but I've seen the power of that room, to sit with Fraser Forster when Dave Watson (the goalkeeping coach) is going through the pre- and the post-match with him or to even deliver to a young player we potentially want to sign into the academy and have him sat there with mum and dad and go through a visual presentation to say why he should choose Southampton. It's just a very powerful platform."
Mitchell's approach at Southampton was to tailor his energy to the club's specific needs but then delve with almost forensic depth into a player's background and past performances. Character references were sought and off-field habits were also throroughly investigated. "We've seen before and heard quotes from managers that have probably perception-wise based their acquisition on the two games they've played against that player in the Premier League or the Football League," explained Mitchell. "I work off a very simple theory of I had one good game once, but I think the 80 other times I played I wasn't so good.
"Part of the philosophy and the theory is to not waste time on things that are unachievable. What can we achieve? How can we achieve it? How can we be more efficient? Then how can we analyse that to make it even better the next window or the next time we debrief it, and constantly just keep evolving and challenging ourselves every day. That's the key.
"It's not proven science, but I think our philosophy and theory was always risk management. Let's try to offset as much of the risk as possible to make the best acquisition. You have a responsibility to your owner that invests a hell of a lot of money to work as hard as you possibly can to make the best acquisition for the football club, and that's what we're trying to do. We're investing in the processes and the strategies. I actually do feel within the industry there is a little shift. The transfer window is becoming box office, it's real intrigue. I think that will shift to people looking at best practice throughout the industry and then taking that as their own."
A first concrete example of this is how Mitchell himself has been prised from Southampton.
Talent-spotter and analyst whose department transformed Saints this summer while banking £30 million is on his way to Spurs who badly need his input
Saints no more: Mauricio Pochettino will be joined at Tottenham by Paul Mitchell, another signing from Southampton Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Jeremy Wilson
4:02PM GMT 17 Nov 2014
Paul Mitchell is the head of recruitment who has become one of the most sought after men in football. Mitchell's own playing career was ended by injury at the age of 27, he has been at Southampton for less than three years and is still only 33 but it is with good reason that Tottenham Hotspur believe they are making one of the more important signings in their recent history.
The entire ethos at Southampton is of a club dependent on their structure and culture rather than any one individual for success but you needed to spend only a few minutes at the club's training ground to appreciate Mitchell's considerable input.
He has been in charge of the recruitment department since January 2012 but the quality of that operation has never been more evident than during this past summer when Southampton sold around £95 million worth of talent, reinvested about £65 million, and still seem to have improved their squad.
Tottenham had a not dissimilar challenge in 2013 when they sold Gareth Bale for £85 million but, despite spending in excess of £100 million, have instead gone backwards. You can certainly understand why Levy might have cast some envious glances in the direction of St Mary's during this past month.
So just what do we know about the set-up at Southampton that Tottenham will presumably now try to replicate? The first point is that Mitchell's work is rather different to a director of football like Franco Baldini. He is not being brought in for his worldwide network of contacts among agents and club executives but rather for his ability to analyse football players.
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08 Nov 2014
The most intriguing element of the department, though, is what is known as the "black-box". It is a small room with a phone, a desk and a row of chairs that faces a giant screen. Southampton designed their own computer software that is used in this room and, with just a few clicks, Mitchell and his team could be watching any player, team or target anywhere in the world. Yet the "black-box" is not used solely for identifying players but also analysing Southampton's own squad and future opponents.
For example, when Woolwich offered £16 million for Calum Chambers during the summer, part of Southampton's decision-making was based on the assessment that they already had a superior right-back in Nathaniel Clyne. Mitchell believes that the "black box" really was something unique to Southampton.
"Unless people have got a real black box underground, I've never heard of a training facility having something like that - having something designed and bespoke with that ability to deliver," he said, shortly before handing in his notice at Southampton.
"It's not just recruitment. That's where the theory started, but I've seen the power of that room, to sit with Fraser Forster when Dave Watson (the goalkeeping coach) is going through the pre- and the post-match with him or to even deliver to a young player we potentially want to sign into the academy and have him sat there with mum and dad and go through a visual presentation to say why he should choose Southampton. It's just a very powerful platform."
Mitchell's approach at Southampton was to tailor his energy to the club's specific needs but then delve with almost forensic depth into a player's background and past performances. Character references were sought and off-field habits were also throroughly investigated. "We've seen before and heard quotes from managers that have probably perception-wise based their acquisition on the two games they've played against that player in the Premier League or the Football League," explained Mitchell. "I work off a very simple theory of I had one good game once, but I think the 80 other times I played I wasn't so good.
"Part of the philosophy and the theory is to not waste time on things that are unachievable. What can we achieve? How can we achieve it? How can we be more efficient? Then how can we analyse that to make it even better the next window or the next time we debrief it, and constantly just keep evolving and challenging ourselves every day. That's the key.
"It's not proven science, but I think our philosophy and theory was always risk management. Let's try to offset as much of the risk as possible to make the best acquisition. You have a responsibility to your owner that invests a hell of a lot of money to work as hard as you possibly can to make the best acquisition for the football club, and that's what we're trying to do. We're investing in the processes and the strategies. I actually do feel within the industry there is a little shift. The transfer window is becoming box office, it's real intrigue. I think that will shift to people looking at best practice throughout the industry and then taking that as their own."
A first concrete example of this is how Mitchell himself has been prised from Southampton.
Here's what a Southampton blogger had to say about him....just take it with a pinch of salt...
By a bizarre coincidence only days after Spurs are linked in the national press with Saints head of recruitment Paul Mitchell he has handed in his notice.
At this moment in time its unclear whether Mitchell will be heading to White Hart Lane or perhaps he has something else lined up, although I don't think many people would bet against him being unveiled at Spurs in the very near future.
There are two facts to consider in this case, the first is money talks and almost certainly a desperate Daniel Levy will be paying well over the top and secondly Mitchell not having had a lucrative playing career is in no position to turn down a big offer.
Saints would obviously have preferred to keep Mitchell, no one likes to see change in a system, but the Club are relaxed about the development and are stressing that Mitchell is only one man in a system and that system remains intact without him.
Indeed there are those that would say that Mitchell's influence has not been as great as has been made out by Neil Ashton in the Daily Mail, he joined the club in January 2012, in that transfer window Saints made two signings, the first was Billy Sharp who had been limked with the club at the start of the season and the second Tadanari Lee who arrived fro Japan, not a player you would have expected Mitchell to have been aware of in his previous role at MK Don's.
Mitchell was recruited for the hope that Saints would be promoted to the Premier league, that proved to be the case and the first window he was involved in saw mixed results, Jay Rodriguez signed early in the window has been a big success, as has Steven Davis and Nathaniel Clyne, but then it all started to go a little wrong, Paulo Gazzaniga has not made the progress expected, Yoshida is so so at best, Mayuka has at £3.5 million been a disaster as has Gaston Ramirez at £12 million, both were signed but didn't appear to fit in with the Club's now style of play.
The recruitment of Artur Boruc was good, but the January signing of Vegard Forren was again an expensive folly with the Norwegian leaving without kicking a ball in first team anger for Saints, t the end of 2012/13 big questions were being asked of Saints transfer dealings.
The summer of 2013 brought only three players signed, all for big fee's, Dejan Lovren has obviously see a big profit realised, it cannot be denied that he had a good start to the season, but his second half was less spectacular and he is now being found out at Liverpool, Wanyama has been a great signing, but the third Osvaldo has paled the money we have wasted in both transfer fee and wages on Gaston Ramirez into insignificance.
This time last year our transfer policy was under intense criticism we either seemed in the main to sign players who were not up to the job or overpriced ones that did not fit into our system, the problem was that a Club of Saints size could not keep wasting vast amounts of money on players who turned out to be flops, in those first two seasons we spend in the region of £70 million yet on Mayuka, Forren, Osvaldo & Ramirez we spent half of that for little return.
So the jury was very much out on our transfer committee at the end of 2013/14, we were not seen as a side that made astute signings we were seen as having a scattergun approach, the good players we did get in we paid too much money for and in general apart from the early part of the summer window in 2012 our dealings were not great.
But was Paul Mitchell part of the problem or part of the solution, in fairness to him he was in a system were the then man at the top was meddling in every aspect of the club and going above those he was paying to run departments for him, there is no reason to believe that the transfer or more formally player recruitment department would have been any different.
Certainly the summer of 2014 looks at this moment to be a golden one, most would say the factor behind that is Ronald Koeman and there is a big case for that, almost definitely Koeman's presence and reputation has helped attract players who would not have joined before his arrival, some of these like Pelle and Tadic would have been his own choice of target. But others would have been at the suggestion of our player recruitment system.
So we should not just rubbish Paul Mitchell just because he has been enticed off to join Spurs, he has played a role in our progress, but we should not over emphasise that role, he was part of a system rather than the whole of that system, his job was not to develop players it was to gather information and process that data to a point where those responsible for the signings would take a look at those potential signings who might be of interest, in essence Mitchell's job was to sort the wheat from the chaff.
It is ironic that Mauricio Pochettino is said to have such confidence in Mitchell for two reasons, firstly that in the short time they worked together between January 2013- May 2014 we signed only four players, the first Forren was a disaster, likewise Osvaldo who having played under Pochettino at Espanyol, the manager would have known more about that anyone at the club, the other two were big signings and in that respect not that difficult to source, so the question is why does Pochettino see Mitchell as being so good, his qualities were not at their best when the Argentinian was at St Mary's.
The work of player recruitment is often overlooked and it is not the big signings where it earns its corn, it is in identifying those players who have potential and who the club can sign cheaply and develop or those players who we can sneak in under the radar before the big clubs swoop.
We should not worry about whether this will affect the players, they would not have had any dealings with Mitchell till after they had joined, unlike say Ronald Koeman he is not a figure that would have been a factor in whether a player joined us or not.
The loss of Paul Mitchell is not a major blow to the club, it is a blip and they will soon identify a replacement and have him in place, indeed the only real issue is that Mitchell will be party to our transfer targets for the January transfer window and it would be folly to assume that he will not pass these on to his next employer, indeed may already have done so.
Whether Mitchell will save the job of Pochettino and indeed his employer Levy will soon be found out, certainly this coming transfer window will be crucial to both, if Spurs again get it wrong then the chances of them both being at White Hart Lane are very slim.
By a bizarre coincidence only days after Spurs are linked in the national press with Saints head of recruitment Paul Mitchell he has handed in his notice.
At this moment in time its unclear whether Mitchell will be heading to White Hart Lane or perhaps he has something else lined up, although I don't think many people would bet against him being unveiled at Spurs in the very near future.
There are two facts to consider in this case, the first is money talks and almost certainly a desperate Daniel Levy will be paying well over the top and secondly Mitchell not having had a lucrative playing career is in no position to turn down a big offer.
Saints would obviously have preferred to keep Mitchell, no one likes to see change in a system, but the Club are relaxed about the development and are stressing that Mitchell is only one man in a system and that system remains intact without him.
Indeed there are those that would say that Mitchell's influence has not been as great as has been made out by Neil Ashton in the Daily Mail, he joined the club in January 2012, in that transfer window Saints made two signings, the first was Billy Sharp who had been limked with the club at the start of the season and the second Tadanari Lee who arrived fro Japan, not a player you would have expected Mitchell to have been aware of in his previous role at MK Don's.
Mitchell was recruited for the hope that Saints would be promoted to the Premier league, that proved to be the case and the first window he was involved in saw mixed results, Jay Rodriguez signed early in the window has been a big success, as has Steven Davis and Nathaniel Clyne, but then it all started to go a little wrong, Paulo Gazzaniga has not made the progress expected, Yoshida is so so at best, Mayuka has at £3.5 million been a disaster as has Gaston Ramirez at £12 million, both were signed but didn't appear to fit in with the Club's now style of play.
The recruitment of Artur Boruc was good, but the January signing of Vegard Forren was again an expensive folly with the Norwegian leaving without kicking a ball in first team anger for Saints, t the end of 2012/13 big questions were being asked of Saints transfer dealings.
The summer of 2013 brought only three players signed, all for big fee's, Dejan Lovren has obviously see a big profit realised, it cannot be denied that he had a good start to the season, but his second half was less spectacular and he is now being found out at Liverpool, Wanyama has been a great signing, but the third Osvaldo has paled the money we have wasted in both transfer fee and wages on Gaston Ramirez into insignificance.
This time last year our transfer policy was under intense criticism we either seemed in the main to sign players who were not up to the job or overpriced ones that did not fit into our system, the problem was that a Club of Saints size could not keep wasting vast amounts of money on players who turned out to be flops, in those first two seasons we spend in the region of £70 million yet on Mayuka, Forren, Osvaldo & Ramirez we spent half of that for little return.
So the jury was very much out on our transfer committee at the end of 2013/14, we were not seen as a side that made astute signings we were seen as having a scattergun approach, the good players we did get in we paid too much money for and in general apart from the early part of the summer window in 2012 our dealings were not great.
But was Paul Mitchell part of the problem or part of the solution, in fairness to him he was in a system were the then man at the top was meddling in every aspect of the club and going above those he was paying to run departments for him, there is no reason to believe that the transfer or more formally player recruitment department would have been any different.
Certainly the summer of 2014 looks at this moment to be a golden one, most would say the factor behind that is Ronald Koeman and there is a big case for that, almost definitely Koeman's presence and reputation has helped attract players who would not have joined before his arrival, some of these like Pelle and Tadic would have been his own choice of target. But others would have been at the suggestion of our player recruitment system.
So we should not just rubbish Paul Mitchell just because he has been enticed off to join Spurs, he has played a role in our progress, but we should not over emphasise that role, he was part of a system rather than the whole of that system, his job was not to develop players it was to gather information and process that data to a point where those responsible for the signings would take a look at those potential signings who might be of interest, in essence Mitchell's job was to sort the wheat from the chaff.
It is ironic that Mauricio Pochettino is said to have such confidence in Mitchell for two reasons, firstly that in the short time they worked together between January 2013- May 2014 we signed only four players, the first Forren was a disaster, likewise Osvaldo who having played under Pochettino at Espanyol, the manager would have known more about that anyone at the club, the other two were big signings and in that respect not that difficult to source, so the question is why does Pochettino see Mitchell as being so good, his qualities were not at their best when the Argentinian was at St Mary's.
The work of player recruitment is often overlooked and it is not the big signings where it earns its corn, it is in identifying those players who have potential and who the club can sign cheaply and develop or those players who we can sneak in under the radar before the big clubs swoop.
We should not worry about whether this will affect the players, they would not have had any dealings with Mitchell till after they had joined, unlike say Ronald Koeman he is not a figure that would have been a factor in whether a player joined us or not.
The loss of Paul Mitchell is not a major blow to the club, it is a blip and they will soon identify a replacement and have him in place, indeed the only real issue is that Mitchell will be party to our transfer targets for the January transfer window and it would be folly to assume that he will not pass these on to his next employer, indeed may already have done so.
Whether Mitchell will save the job of Pochettino and indeed his employer Levy will soon be found out, certainly this coming transfer window will be crucial to both, if Spurs again get it wrong then the chances of them both being at White Hart Lane are very slim.
I'd like to sell Kaboul as well. If we're bringing in Moreno, we won't need him.
Can this thread also include some angry Southampton-fan tweets? Their indignation fuels my erection.
:lamelashock::kaboul:
"Get your own scout scouts" @ScouseSaint
I'm still grasping for an idea of what that "black box" is and what makes it so powerful.
The article makes it sound as if it's a magical room that allows them to peek in on a player as they go about their lives off-camera.
"Alright boys, boot it up. Let's have a look at what Shaqiri is doing right now."
"My god... Smashing drunk club sluts four at a time. He'll fit right in!"
The article makes it sound as if it's a magical room that allows them to peek in on a player as they go about their lives off-camera.
"Alright boys, boot it up. Let's have a look at what Shaqiri is doing right now."
"My god... Smashing drunk club sluts four at a time. He'll fit right in!"
I was thinking more along the lines of AVB (Porto) Poch (Southampton) Lamela (Roma, though may prove us all wrong) Darren Bent (Charlton) Andy Reid (Forest) Bentley (Blackburn) Pav (Spartak Moscow) Postiga (Porto) Rebrov (Dynamo Kiev) Rasiak (half-season to be fair at Derby) Paul Stewart (Man City) Ruel Fox (Norwich!!) ...yeah I went back there!!
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Like watching three kids build a sand castle, slowly crafting it to perfection before another comes over and kicks it down
Heard similar re Poch/Mitchell (just after Mitchell left), with Poch wanting more control over transfers (which sadly he got) not being how Mitchell saw things