Sometimes not being allowed to do the right thing

Hi all,

Just a quick update of my musings of the industry at the moment. Rather than discuss the transfer window I'll give you a little insight into an occurrence recently as we tried to sign to represent a young talented international representative player.

As you will know if you follow or are involved with us, Simply Sport has a code of conduct where we try to as much as we can to inform any club before we make an approach for an 18 or under youth player player at their club. As like any industry, some clubs/companies you have closer relationships with than others, even if we have relationships with most.

However, 5 months ago we rang up one particular club to ask if we may approach a player and whilst it rarely is a question that gets Academy Manager's singing and dancing he appreciated our call and affirmed. However, as of late that same Academy Manager has informed the parents that he has never spoken to us on this subject - and this has upset the parents. Is it merely bad memory, specifically chosen memory or politics? You can decide for yourselves.

Ultimately, I am sure with a conversation with the Academy Manager later today, I can try to get this resolved, but this isn't the first time this occurrence has happened and it really concerns the parents rightly of any young player - albeit I must state it is is a very rare occurrence. Obviously if this occurrence happens it is typically with clubs we have a less close relationship than with others, but it goes to show that even if you try to do the right thing by clubs sometimes, they may appreciate it externally but internally it will be dealt with a different manner. It's disappointing but it won't change the way we are trying to operate at Simply Sport but you if you're reading it as an outsider you can understand how so many unscrupulous agents would happily try never to let the club know they are approaching the player until they turn up for professional contract negotiations because their fearful of how academies may deal with that approach internally and perhaps that club may even gear that player and his family towards 'preferred agents' who may only serve the interests of the club.

Simply Sport will continue to do things the right way - even if it hurts sometimes. And it does hurt.

UK Immigration for Talented Footballers

I am not the first and I will not be the last to petition against a change to the FA and UK government's stance that clubs here may only sign a Non-EU passport holder player if he has played over 75% of competitive games for his national team in the past 2 years, if they are in the top 70 countries in the FIFA rankings.

For example, over the past decade I have observed as South American, African and Asian markets have been plundered by countries without such immigration restrictions, such as Germany, France, Spain and Belgium, who pick up players cheaply with good potential, build them into superstars, they then go onto play heavily for their national teams then they are sold at a premium to clubs in the English Premier League. For example, Papiss Cisse and Sergio Aguero.

Then on top of that, UK teams are now, like the rest of Europe, told to fit into the UEFA Fair Play Rules restricting the way finances may be spent.

Well, if this is to occur - has anyone realised that the playing field does not become more fair if the UK still have these restrictions based upon them? In-fact it hits UK clubs hardest.

Quite simply if a UK club has to wait until a Non-EU passport holder has played over 75% of competitive games for his national team - you would expect them to pay the premium as they will be mature, established internationals by that stage. Let's put it this way, for example, the immigration rules here as it stood meant Man City couldn't have competed to sign Sergio Aguero easily when Atletico Madrid moved to sign him in 2006 as he hadn't played the required amount for Argentina's senior team. And then when the time comes when Man City could sign Aguero they're also going to be impeded by paying the best premium to beat any other club because of concerns of fitting within fair play rules. So both hands are tied.

Whilst the FA does make the odd exception for outstanding youth talent, it is often only for players from the top 10 FIFA ranked countries and it then goes to a subjective panel - then who is actually to say if one 17 year old is better than another for example ? Surely it's the further development that's equally as important to the raw talent adjudged on that day for a visa and that development happens after the exception is made not before.

Truly, if we were to be fair and a totally free market, all clubs in Europe should share the same immigration rules in football and same financial regulations. This is fictitious I know but I still believe the UK's approach to player immigration could be more competitive. What do you think?

Another Transfer Window Closes...

So here we again, at the end of another transfer window in the United Kingdom and across many countries.

This doesn't mean that all transfer activity is over however as of course some players that are out of contract may still be signed freely by clubs after the window has closed. Two more higher profile players I will be assisting in that position include former Leicester City left back/winger Jordan Stewart and German central midfielder, Michael Fink but in the greater scheme of things most player movement is now done until January.

Any of you who followed the sports news yesterday will see a host of deals being rushed to completion, forming a sense of the surreal as an industry completes perhaps 20% of all it's business in one day. What other industry does this? It is yet another reason I do not believe in the transfer window and still believe if truly contested would not stand up to the rigour of EU Law as is quite clearly a restraint on trade and possibly even forms a restriction on the free movement of workers. None the less, here we are.

You could also make the point that it is mainly in the UK that leave all their deals to the last day, whilst in comparison in Germany most deals were concluded far earlier in the window. Revealing a compelling and bizarre cultural approach to transfer market business we have here.

For Simply Sport ourselves it has been an interesting 2 months. As a recently formed business our client list whilst of high quality is still fairly small, it also highly geared strategically for the long-term towards youth who will have high future market value but aren't to be moved at this stage and from a transaction stand point that is not always ideal. Such is the case that I'd say 65% of our transfer window meant utilising my relationships with other agencies abroad to present clubs domestically where we have strong relationships with player opportunities. This often presents it's own challenges in various forms, none less so than when the other agent has his own method of negotiating (or agenda) when a deal is presented that does not fit in with our own. You also have less control and influence over the player, we for example could bring an offer to the table from England but without a worldwide mandate, we cannot stop a better offer coming in for the player from abroad scuppering all the hard work we've done here to bring an offer to the table - and so on.

In any case, I am personally glad that the window is over for another summer whilst remaining keen to help some of the out of contract players secure contracts in the next month. I can now return with my colleagues to focus on signing further leading talents that will ensure the long-term future of Simply Sport and move us away from a reliance on other agencies during these transfer windows. I know with the young talent we have already alongside some of our elite professionals playing in the Premier League and La Liga that we have we are well on course to reducing that reliance.

A Game of Opinions

Here's a little insight into my transfer window so far... for the same player; one Manager of a Championship side who finished mid-table last season barked at me for even suggesting he'd be good enough for them. Whilst on a call to another Manager, this time from a Premier League side that finished in the top 10 last season regarding the same player, he talked of his utmost admiration for the player and his achievements.

This is why football shall always remain - a game of opinions.

The best thing about football is that, everyones opinion is valid. It diverts beyond class, creed, religion or any other theoretical segregation of society anyone may throw at us. Football is purely a game of opinions and that is why it makes it such an interesting conversation starter and enthralling for anyone who enjoys the game. However, when it comes to promoting a player's interest in the transfer window there's only so much "debating" you can do with a Manager...

I recall recommending Luke O'Neill, a young defender released from Leicester City a year ago to lower placed clubs in the SPL. This, merely on the basis that I believed in his quality having seen him play in the u18s and after actively asking Jon Rudkin (the Leicester Academy Manager) about him. However, those SPL clubs then were saying he's too young, he's unproven and wouldn't cut it. Luke spent a short time with Mansfield before transferring to Burnley after being pursued by several Championship clubs this summer and is truly kicking on. Had he moved from a lower SPL club to the Championship this could have made a very good profit for that club - and they recognize this now... this among 100 other examples you could discuss per season, shows even from the highest to the lowest levels, football is a game of opinions.

For me, this is a reason why you should never give up on a player and players themselves should never give up either. It's also a reason why I've never understood agents who say they're "waiting for the phone to ring" during the transfer windows. You can only wait for the phone to ring when someone or a lot of people have a favourable 'opinion' of your player. It's great when I get a call about one of my players. But equally I get a buzz when I'm on the phone or at meetings promoting my players who perhaps have less active admirers but could find just the one Manager and team willing to take my lad to the next level - where he deserves to be, because he never gave up.

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.