Former Director of Football Damien Comolli calls Spurs' scouting "kind of a joke"

As results continue to sour for Tottenham Hotspur, more and more people are coming out of the woodwork to attack not only the manager and the players, but the very systems set up to support them. Most notable in his dissent has been Damian Comolli, who in an interview with TalkSport stated that Spurs are "kind of a joke in the scouting community."

Commolli, who served as director of football at Tottenham from 2005 to 2008, stated that in his time at the club, Tottenham employed 12 full-time scouts, many of whom have no gone on to bigger and better things. Tottenham currently, however, are decidedly understaffed. By my own personal recollection, I can only think of three full time scouts for Spurs: Steffan Freund, Dave Magrone, and Mick Brown.

Commolli goes on to say, that Spurs' other support staffs are also undermanned. Stating that the team don't have enough fitness coaches or physiotherapists.

There it is. Spurs are understaffed and undermanned, so says a former Director of Football based on opinions he's heard from people he talks to from time to time. I'm not inclined to take anything Comolli says for the gospel truth, but if it is even slightly true, it's damning. The understaffing of the scouting department is particularly egregious for Spurs. As a club that cannot outspend other teams, Tottenham must find good value for their money. They're certainly not going to do that by just buying players that Liverpool are linked with.

The evidence around Spurs certainly supports Comolli's theory. Under Comolli, Spurs brought in more obscure talents like Giovani dos Santos, Adel Taarabt, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Luka Modric, etc. After his departure, Harry Redknapp began to bring in his "lads". Now, Spurs have shifted to buying more proven big name players. Even seemingly obscure players like Vlad Chirches were first tracked by bigger clubs-in Vlad's case Chelsea-before eventually joining Spurs.

I don't know if this is narrative or just the actual gospel truth. The reality probably lies somewhere in between, which I'm not sure I like much better.