Post by Macmoish on Mar 22, 2011 6:37:11 GMT
TELEGRAPH
Blackburn Rovers' dealings with influential agent Jerome Anderson comes under scrutiny
Links between Jerome Anderson and Blackburn Rovers are facing fresh scrutiny with the football agent’s son, Myles, signing a precontract agreement with the club.
Blackburn Rovers dealings with influential agent Jerome Anderson comes under scrutiny
Mark Ogden - 21 Mar 2011
Anderson, who has represented the likes of Ian Wright, Thierry Henry and Charlie Nicholas, is head of the sports management company SEM which, in conjunction with media rights company Kentaro, advised Venky’s, Blackburn’s Indian owners, during their Ewood Park takeover last November.
And Telegraph Sport can disclose that Myles, 21, was given a pre-contract at Ewood Park in January prior to signing a six-month contract with Aberdeen.
Blackburn would not confirm the contract on Monday, but sources at the Premier League are aware of the pre-contract agreement, which will enable the player to sign a permanent deal this summer.
The links between Blackburn and SEM have been widely reported and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson alluded publicly to the perceived situation at the club following Sam Allardyce’s dismissal as manager in December.
Ferguson said: “You’ve got that issue at Blackburn of an agent involved and deciding the future of the club, Jerome Anderson, he couldn’t pick his nose. It’s baffling and it’s a serious threat to how clubs get run and how they conduct themselves.”
Sources close to Anderson have insisted, however, that he has no day-to-day involvement at Blackburn, claiming that his role was merely to identify new owners to buy-out the controlling stake of the Walker Family Trust. It has also been stressed that transfer acquisitions are driven by manager Steve Kean.
It is understood that a gentlemen’s agreement is in place between Aberdeen manager Craig Brown and Kean that will see Anderson leave Pittodrie for Ewood Park at the end of the season.
Having failed to earn a contract at Blackburn following a trial last summer, which saw him play for 13 minutes in a 3-0 victory at Southport, Anderson was given a lengthier opportunity to impress under Brown at Motherwell, prior to the former Scotland manager moving to Aberdeen last December.
Having failed to earn a contract at Blackburn following a trial last summer, which saw him play for 13 minutes in a 3-0 victory at Southport, Anderson was given a lengthier opportunity to impress under Brown at Motherwell, prior to the former Scotland manager moving to Aberdeen last December.
Brown was keen to sign Anderson on a permanent basis while in charge of Motherwell and, within a month of taking over at Pittodrie, moved to sign the player until the end of the this campaign.
Described on SEM’s website as a “tough-tackling defender who can play at centre-back or left-back”, Anderson has made just one brief appearance as a substitute for Aberdeen – a two-minute outing in the 5-0 victory against Kilmarnock last month.
But despite his limited exposure to senior football, Kean believes that Anderson possesses the raw potential to develop in an established Premier League player, with hopes among the coaching staff at Blackburn that his late development can mirror that of Chris Smalling, who has become a first-team regular at Manchester United less than three years after playing for non-League Maidstone.
Kean, who is represented by SEM, has been aware of Anderson’s ability for more than a year and moved to secure him to his pre-contract less than a month after succeeding Allardyce as manager in December.
Anderson’s lack of a professional background in the game is understood to be due to his desire to pursue his education rather than accept offers of an apprenticeship at the age of 16. But his proposed arrival at Blackburn will only add to questions of SEM’s influence over transfer strategy at the club.
Allardyce voiced his concern at the possibility of some outside influences dictating his transfer plans shortly before his departure from the club and he was followed through the exit door at Ewood Park last month by long-serving chairman John Williams.
The club were accused of publicity-seeking during the failed attempt to sign Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho in January, but the decisions of key first-team players such as Chris Samba and Phil Jones to sign new contracts in recent weeks has added an element of stability, despite the threat of relegation.
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/8396748/Blackburn-Rovers-dealings-with-influential-agent-Jerome-Anderson-comes-under-scrutiny.html
Blackburn Rovers' dealings with influential agent Jerome Anderson comes under scrutiny
Links between Jerome Anderson and Blackburn Rovers are facing fresh scrutiny with the football agent’s son, Myles, signing a precontract agreement with the club.
Blackburn Rovers dealings with influential agent Jerome Anderson comes under scrutiny
Mark Ogden - 21 Mar 2011
Anderson, who has represented the likes of Ian Wright, Thierry Henry and Charlie Nicholas, is head of the sports management company SEM which, in conjunction with media rights company Kentaro, advised Venky’s, Blackburn’s Indian owners, during their Ewood Park takeover last November.
And Telegraph Sport can disclose that Myles, 21, was given a pre-contract at Ewood Park in January prior to signing a six-month contract with Aberdeen.
Blackburn would not confirm the contract on Monday, but sources at the Premier League are aware of the pre-contract agreement, which will enable the player to sign a permanent deal this summer.
The links between Blackburn and SEM have been widely reported and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson alluded publicly to the perceived situation at the club following Sam Allardyce’s dismissal as manager in December.
Ferguson said: “You’ve got that issue at Blackburn of an agent involved and deciding the future of the club, Jerome Anderson, he couldn’t pick his nose. It’s baffling and it’s a serious threat to how clubs get run and how they conduct themselves.”
Sources close to Anderson have insisted, however, that he has no day-to-day involvement at Blackburn, claiming that his role was merely to identify new owners to buy-out the controlling stake of the Walker Family Trust. It has also been stressed that transfer acquisitions are driven by manager Steve Kean.
It is understood that a gentlemen’s agreement is in place between Aberdeen manager Craig Brown and Kean that will see Anderson leave Pittodrie for Ewood Park at the end of the season.
Having failed to earn a contract at Blackburn following a trial last summer, which saw him play for 13 minutes in a 3-0 victory at Southport, Anderson was given a lengthier opportunity to impress under Brown at Motherwell, prior to the former Scotland manager moving to Aberdeen last December.
Having failed to earn a contract at Blackburn following a trial last summer, which saw him play for 13 minutes in a 3-0 victory at Southport, Anderson was given a lengthier opportunity to impress under Brown at Motherwell, prior to the former Scotland manager moving to Aberdeen last December.
Brown was keen to sign Anderson on a permanent basis while in charge of Motherwell and, within a month of taking over at Pittodrie, moved to sign the player until the end of the this campaign.
Described on SEM’s website as a “tough-tackling defender who can play at centre-back or left-back”, Anderson has made just one brief appearance as a substitute for Aberdeen – a two-minute outing in the 5-0 victory against Kilmarnock last month.
But despite his limited exposure to senior football, Kean believes that Anderson possesses the raw potential to develop in an established Premier League player, with hopes among the coaching staff at Blackburn that his late development can mirror that of Chris Smalling, who has become a first-team regular at Manchester United less than three years after playing for non-League Maidstone.
Kean, who is represented by SEM, has been aware of Anderson’s ability for more than a year and moved to secure him to his pre-contract less than a month after succeeding Allardyce as manager in December.
Anderson’s lack of a professional background in the game is understood to be due to his desire to pursue his education rather than accept offers of an apprenticeship at the age of 16. But his proposed arrival at Blackburn will only add to questions of SEM’s influence over transfer strategy at the club.
Allardyce voiced his concern at the possibility of some outside influences dictating his transfer plans shortly before his departure from the club and he was followed through the exit door at Ewood Park last month by long-serving chairman John Williams.
The club were accused of publicity-seeking during the failed attempt to sign Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho in January, but the decisions of key first-team players such as Chris Samba and Phil Jones to sign new contracts in recent weeks has added an element of stability, despite the threat of relegation.
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/8396748/Blackburn-Rovers-dealings-with-influential-agent-Jerome-Anderson-comes-under-scrutiny.html
