Former Man City striker James Poole quit his professional career to become a scout

By Will Unwin

The ambition of becoming a professional footballer is a dream many have but one few fulfill.

Forward James Poole came through the ranks at Manchester City, winning the FA Youth Cup during his time in the club's academy, going on to sign a professional contract before moving on to Hartlepool United in League One following a successful loan spell with the club.

After more than 100 games for the north-east outfit, Poole left for pastures new back in his native Greater Manchester, signing for Bury.

Poole had a frustrating spell at Gigg Lane, including a loan spell at the other end of the country, playing for Dover, a time which caused him to question his full-time profession.

Rather than chase a contract in the lower league, Poole set his ambition on returning to the Premier League, realising his ambition by taking a scouting role at Manchester City but continuing to play part-time at Salford City, the club owned by Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers.

"I had a really down year last year; I couldn't get settled anywhere moving here and there. Then something came up outside of football - I was already looking at things to do outside of football - and the opportunity with Salford came along which I wanted to take and I didn't want to pursue full-time football in the league and I've had a really good year."

The lifestyle of a lower league footballer can a gruelling and physically draining one by playing twice a week for little financial recompense.

Poole decided his future lay elsewhere and wanted to find a job that gave him more career stability and also allowed him to stay in his native Manchester rather than the costing moving involved in being a professional player, so took plunge early to follow his passion of scouting.

"It's something I've loved doing since I was a kid. I remember the scout who spotted me for Macclesfield and I've kept in touch with, he took me to a tournament when I was 15 so it was always something I've wanted to do; I've always loved watching and analysing football. It's not just scouting I see my future, it's the recruitment side of things in football, that's the line of work I want to go down and scouting is the first step on the ladder and a great introduction of where I want to be when I'm older.

"It was Brian Marwood that I kept in touch with from when I left City. I spoke to him last summer about coming in and doing some work experience and he was, along with a couple of other people, who offered me the role I'm currently doing. When I moved up to Hartlepool, he [Marwood] lived in Durham so it was nearby, so he kept tabs on my career and he was really helpful and the one who helped me get this role."

Poole believes Manchester City are sticking to their family roots despite their transformation in the last decade by utilising the skills of those who know the club best.

"They keep in touch with a lot of ex players, so if a player gets injured or need to look at doing something after their career, and the people here are so helpful and accommodating. There's lots of people who leave the club who have so much knowledge they don't know they've got, that City are desperate to tap into."

There are plenty of jobs behind the scenes that Poole feels he is suited to and the ex-Bury forward knows he needs to get the right grounding to progress in his new profession with the aim of potentially becoming a head of recruitment or director of football down the line.

It also helps that Poole is currently undergoing a degree in business management, giving him an entirely different skillset to aid his plans.

"I've obviously got the football knowledge that I've built up over the years playing at a good level from a young age.

"I thought that if I could mix that with the more theory-based knowledge you get from a degree that'll set me in good stead for where I want to be in the future, whether that's as a director of football or head of recruitment, which is my long term goal."

The old image of scouts at damp grounds, writing notes on the back of cigarette packets is long gone, with Poole, 26, working a new-age of staff analysing from an office for the City Football Group.

"At Man City, they've got link ups with New York City, Melbourne City and a team in Yokohama. In a nutshell, it's scouting players, watching plenty of games and trying to find players for, primarily, those three teams. It can all be done online, there are programs now where you can watch any game, from any standard around the world - it's quite amazing what you get your hands on now - so I can do it all from my desk, but I think I would like to go to more games but they're on Saturdays.

"We have a big scouting networks across the world and they will recommend players to us and I can watch them in the office or the other way round, so they can go watch them live. They're our eyes on the ground so can give us a proper analysis of them in a live game."

Poole wants to carrying on playing for as long as possible, with good reason having scored 19 in 38 at Salford, as he realises he will be a long time retired but he knows where is future almost certainly lies in recruitment.

"I have got a good balance and I'm happy at Salford and I'm happy with my work. There's always a little bit in you, as I still watch a lot of games where I know I could do a job at that level but there's always a little of me wanting to go back into it but I've got to look at the bigger picture and look way beyond my career and what I want to do with life and what I'm doing right now is preparing for that."

Having experienced the lower leagues, Poole's experiences can help the next generation of academy prospects who might not make it at the top level and don't fit the mould of the archetypal League Two player, having come through a Premier League youth academy.

"You're not prepared to get kicked and play on poor pitches and find ways to win games when your technical skill doesn't count for a lot. There's some great benefits to the academy system and that and that alone does not prepare you for first team football but if you can balance that with loans and getting league experience coupled with your obvious technical ability you need to be at an academy then that's the best solution and the ways academies need to go."

By continuing playing at Salford, who were promoted to the Conference North this season, Poole believes it will only help his analytical skills.

"I come up against smoeone and I think 'he's good player' and I'll go home and do some research on him, see if there's any video of them or background on their career.

"I think that's massive, as a lot of scouts don't have that first-hand experience of playing against someone, so you don't get a true picture of the player they are until you get up close and personal and see how they operate in the game. Nothing has come of a situation like that, but it's certainly something I'm interested in doing."

There's plenty of football experience at Salford who can boast ex-Football League players Gareth Seddon and Danny Webber in their ranks, as well as their famous owners who keep close tabs on their investment without being intrusive on the team, something that keeps the club under added scrutiny.

"I think there's always pressure, there's massive expectation as well. Everyone away from the club expects us to succeed. I think the owners expect us to succeed but the players more than anyone expect to succeed. There's pressure from outside but we put pressure on ourselves to win, as that's the minimum requirement of the team with the quality we've got. We did well to handle the pressure and expectation from all areas.

"It's very rare that they [the owners] make themselves known. They come as fans do; they turn up, stand in their spot, watch the game and go home. They don't come into the changing rooms, they don't come into he bar, they keep themselves to themselves and most of the time you don't know they're there. When they are there you'll feel it and you'll feel a little more pressure to impress these people, but it doesn't affect the lads and it certainly doesn't affect me. It gives you a little more motivation to perform when they are watching."

Due to the experience Poole has already acquired in his career and his determination to collect more knowledge on and off the pitch, the methodical thinker looks set to be a success in a second footballing career, too.