Should we not call ourselves 'Agents'?

There appears to be a stigma attached to the word 'agent' in football. What do you think of, when you think of an 'agent'? If your thoughts are mainly positive..you are an odd one out.

However, what do you think of when you hear 'lawyer', 'personal adviser', 'management team', 'management company' OR 'personal assistant' when it comes to football? My assumption is that, whilst not all are at far better levels, that your thoughts are more positive to those titles than the title of 'agent' in football.

I recall reading Mel Stein's 'How to become a football agent' when I was first setting out along the path of becoming a football agent. I recall reading how because he as a qualified lawyer would do anything not to be referred as an 'agent' and instead ensured people considered him a 'lawyer' because of the stigma attached to being referred to as an agent.

Now, I fully understand Mel's point of view. It's a testament to those of us who are so desperate to separated from the perception that comes with being called an 'agent'. That's why so many will call themselves personal advisers or managers or full package management companies.

Simply Sport are in essence a full package management company but what I don't want to avoid is being called an 'agent' or an 'agency'. It's what we are, it's what I am. However, what we want to achieve at Simply Sport is to try and turn the role of an agent into a profession. It's a key part of our differentiating strategy along with investing in player support. I want in the future for an 'agent' in football to become a profession, not just a fly by night ("I have a phone book and know a few people") kind of role that some fulfill for perhaps at most a decade then fade away. I want people to aspire to be agents at a young age and to train, to intern, to develop skills to properly advise players. Hence our association to the Nottingham Law School, hence to our open policy to intern applications and for shadowing experiences here and more.

Ultimately, in order for the term 'agent' to rid of its stigma in football, it's so so imperative that the good agents of the industry stand up and announce they are 'agents' as much as they are management companies or lawyers or advisors or managers. So for my part, I just want to confirm, I am most certainly an agent...co-running, I believe, one of the most innovative companies in the industry at this moment in time.

Scouts: are some identifying talent with their ears?

Most in the football industry, let alone fans themselves, will find it hard to dispute that often once one club publicly courts/shows interest in a player it alerts other clubs to the player and a snowballing effect seems to occur.

Unfortunately, the problem is this desire to hear on the grapevine about other clubs and other scout' targets (even between scouts at one club) creates a situation which I term 'scouting with their ears, not their eyes'. I'd stand by the belief that 75% of scouts, particularly at youth level, are not keen to truly push a player forward until they hear another club is interested OR even if pushed, that club he/she scouts for won't actively pursue the player until they hear there is interest from other clubs...

This is the scouting with ears phenomenon of the industry.

Now I understand the theory from a Chief Scout or Academy Recruitment Director perspective, there are simply too many players and listening out to word of mouth is a good way of narrowing down who are the truly top players, likewise listening out could be simply 'intelligence gathering', however those in the industry will recognise that it is not often that sophisticated or planned to be that way. Often it simply does come to the fact that clubs are reactive to what other clubs are doing.

So from a fan's perspective or even a parent of a young player' perspective, if you ever look at a player in a team and think how have they had a chance to play for this team? It may well come down to the fact they may not have even been properly scouted and somewhere at some point there was a rush for the player because of scouts and clubs listening out for what's "hot" in the market from other clubs rather than identifying talent themselves and truly backing the scouts they utilize or getting rid of those scouts that do not have the eye but perhaps scout with their ears only.

Nutritional Advice Still Not Good Enough

It’s becoming quite apparent that regardless of whether it’s a seasoned professional footballer or a young up and coming scholar at a top Premier League club or otherwise, that these players still lack fundamental knowledge regarding nutrition. This despite clubs believing they offer some of the best advice in the world to their players.

There could be many reasons for this. It could be clubs simply offer bad advice or the advice may not be comprehensive enough. Or it could also be that some players simply do not want to listen or take in all the advice they can get. Whatever the reason, and I tend to believe it leans toward the advice given by clubs not being comprehensive enough, every week I hear new examples of a lack of nutritional knowledge from players because we explore this as part of our support plan to our clients.  

After club advice, many players seemingly can differentiate between what they think are ‘good’ foods/drinks and what are ‘bad’ foods/drinks. For example, some players may believe good foods for protein are many of the white meats such as chicken and turkey and the bad to be the red meats like lamb. Some players may also be told the good foods are fruit and vegetables. They won’t know why exactly these foods are considered good or bad, they are just told they are. The problem with differentiating and setting out nutritional advice like this simply is ineffective and at worst, wrong.

The problem with many clubs’ advice, but not all I must stress, is that the theory behind what constitutes good foods and bad foods (if they can be set out like this at all) and the timing of consuming such foods in relation to its positive or negative impact on the body is rarely explained. In-fact having a knowledge of what you believe is good foods/drinks or bad foods/drinks without knowing when is best to consume them with some foods can be as bad as not knowing.

I’d say 50% of players I’ve spoken to at least believe bananas are simply a ‘good’ food. If I asked them for when? They find it very hard to answer. Most wouldn’t even recognise the, in essence high sugar content of a banana, even if its sugar content is another one defined ‘good’ as compared to ‘bad’, means a large banana or two is not exactly efficient for your body whilst lazing around the house during the summer period, whilst however it may be good at some point nearer to a work out if you want to maximise your energy levels and to gain the bananas natural benefits then. However, the typical player may just think a ‘good’ food is a ‘good’ food and not consider what would makes it ‘good’ in relation to sports performance and body development relates also to when you eat it and for what bodily purpose.  

Whatever the age, whether 16 or 32 years, clubs who don’t already, who are the majority, need to start educating their players about the theory behind nutrition – so that they can start thinking independently about what drinks and foods are right for their body and when, even when it comes to exotic foods they haven’t encountered before so they can make logical decisions on their nutrition and needs to be beyond just pre and post game preparation and recovery drinks and foods. Additionally, players of all ages should make concerted efforts to learn about nutrition. It doesn’t matter how much time you’re putting in on the training pitch or in the gym, if you don’t know the difference, as one example,  between whey protein and creatine protein and when it’s best to consume, and as another example, know about protein quality and amino acids, different types of fats and more you'll find it difficult to achieve your targets. Simply you can’t achieve your targets as athletes without knowing how to fuel properly.

In conclusion, players and clubs need to think beyond the simplicity of what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ when it comes to nutrition and more along the lines of ‘why’, 'what' and ‘when’, but until then in professional football we’ll remain years behind other countries and sports in the way this is delivered and understood by its participates at all playing levels.