Liverpool Echo’s Everton reporter Chris Beesley interviewed Comparisonator CEO Tarkan Batgün, who shared his ideas on using AI to revolutionise football scouting — and why he believes these changes can help Everton.
They were just 10 words. But they served as a damning self-indictment of the reign of chaos Farhad Moshiri presided over at Everton that resulted in eight managers in as many years, the lowest equivalent points total in the club’s history that brought them to within a single goal of a first relegation in 72 years, plus an unprecedented brace of points deductions in a season for PSR rule breaches.
When apologising in the summer of 2022 to loyal but long-suffering Blues, who were still recovering from the 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace to secure their Premier League status in their final home game, Everton’s then majority shareholder admitted: “We have not always spent significant amounts of money wisely.”
The repercussions of such actions would menacingly come galloping towards Goodison Park like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse during the 2023/24 campaign, with those aforementioned sporting sanctions that would have taken the Blues down had they been meted out just 12 months earlier.
While the long wait for results relating to Manchester City’s 115 financial charges continues after reports in recent days on yet more delays, whatever the final verdict ends up being, at least the Etihad Stadium outfit that had been derided as being chronic underachievers before their petrodollar-fuelled success under Sheikh Mansour transformed them into football lottery winners Everton’s ‘booby prize’ in contrast was the status of there never being another club to have spent so much to become so bad.
So, as the Blues, who have new owners with The Friedkin Group, a new home with Hill Dickinson Stadium, and an old manager who has been their most consistent performer of the Premier League era back at the helm in David Moyes, look to rebuild, their recruitment strategy has become a hot topic during the current international break.
Speaking on the Royal Blue podcast, regular guest Gavin Buckland pointed out how he felt that how bound by the weight and expectations of an illustrious past, he felt Everton found themselves caught by a dilemma of trying to implement a ‘big club’ approach or adopting the kind of strategy that has helped the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Brentford establish themselves in the Premier League in recent years.
Using data relationship in scouting has revolutionised football scouting in recent years and one of the pioneers in the field has been Comparisonator CEO Tarkan Batgun, who has also developed Artificial Intelligence systems to help in player recruitment.
A dual Australian-Turkish citizen, he devised the concept of the ‘scouting laboratory’ while serving as director of scouting at Bursaspor, and brings more than 20 years of analytical expertise and experience within the global football industry.
When asked how he thinks his AI scouting could help with recruitment at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Batgun told the ECHO: “I don’t know the club’s internal operational models and structure but in my humble opinion, Everton’s challenge in recent years wasn’t a lack of effort — it was a lack of clarity. There were too changes in coaches, styles, strategies, timelines and recruitment logic.
“What I believe that Everton possibly needs is alignment and precision, and that is exactly what AI decision-support can provide. Comparisonator perhaps could help Everton through five factors.
“Identifying players who fit the manager’s football – not just good players. Wrong profiles have cost the club millions.
“Evaluating if a player can survive Premier League intensity. Many past signings failed because their previous league did not prepare them for the tempo of English top flight football.
“Reducing risk by analysing adaptation probability. The Premier League is the most difficult league to ‘translate’ into, but our League Translation models help avoid expensive mistakes.
“Finding undervalued players before they explode. Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth succeed because they trust contextual data, not status or reputation.
“Ensuring long-term consistency in decision-making. Even with changes in coach or ownership, the recruitment framework stays stable.
“If Everton uses contextual analytics – not just raw numbers or subjective reports – the club can rebuild smarter, faster and far more sustainably.
“Again, all I said was based on human assumption and what I have investigated over the years. I hope that is not interpreted wrongly.”
Istanbul-based Batgun believes there are a couple of major aspects of AI-based scouting that will define the next decade in football.
He said: “Imagine a future where sporting directors and coaches talk to the system. They could ask: ‘Show me a left-back who fits our pressing traps; which U21 striker is ready to survive the tempo of the Premier League; find loan destinations where my midfielder will grow fastest’.
“AI will answer in real football language – not tables and charts. This is already being developed inside Comparisonator.
“Recruitment will also shift from talent to environment matching. The question won’t be: ‘Is he a good player?’ But: ‘Is he good here?’
“This is where AI gives football a competitive edge: predicting development; identifying risk; matching players to tactical ecosystems; simulating future performance; reducing emotional and political decision-making. But AI won’t replace football people.”
To read the original article, click here: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/five-ways-everton-can-improve-32900953
