Lewis takes new role as Norwich build up positional scouting team
Matt Lewis: Has been Norwich's Head of Performance Analysis for two-and-a-half years
Written by Simon Austin — November 16, 2023
MATTHEW LEWIS has been appointed Positional Scouting Lead by Norwich City as they continue to build out this new unit.
The Canaries launched the positional scouting system - under which scouting is organised by position rather than location - two years ago. The move was led by Head of Recruitment Lee Dunn and former Sporting Director Stuart Webber and there were conversations with Paul Winstanley (now Co-Sporting Director at Chelsea), who had pioneered the system during his time as Brighton's Head of Recruitment.
Lewis has moved from Head of Performance Analysis, a role he had held for the last two-and-a-half years, and is one of three Positional Scouting Leads - for forwards, midfielders and defenders.
The Positional Leads lead on live scouting at matches, while the Technical Scouts they 'buddy up' with focus more on video and data. Norwich’s other Positional Scouting Leads are Kamil Nowak, who joined the club in October 2022 from Burnley, where he was Tactical Analyst and Scout, and Leonardo Scirpoli, who is based in Munich and joined the club in December 2021, having previously worked for Hertha Berlin and Arsenal.
The Technical Scouts are:
- Robbie Thelwell: Arrived in September and was previously Aston Villa first-team scout.
- Matthew Kimber: Joined in October, having previously worked as a scout for Lincoln, Burnley and Wolves.
- Mike Haines: Joined in September 2021 from Manchester United, where he was Recruitment Analyst.
Norwich do not have imminent plans to appoint a new Head of Performance Analysis, having recently hired Connor Cole from Southampton as First-Team Analyst and Billy Wright from Watford as First Team Set Piece and Training Analyst.
Josh Appleyard, who had been Senior Performance Analyst for nine months, left in April to become a Positional Analyst with Newcastle United, who are also rolling out the system.
Clubs believe it enables their scouts to really focus in on specific positions and identify the players who fit their game model. Arsenal - where Norwich’s new Sporting Director, Ben Knapper, worked for 13 years - are another club that have adopted the positional scouting model in recent seasons.
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