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.