Post by QPR Report on Oct 12, 2009 11:36:27 GMT
(The Base agent of course became famous for the probably-unprecdented statement on QPR's Official site) . See he's also Steve Sidwell's agent
Dog's life of diligent agents
By Rick Broadbent - The Times September 5th 2005
DOGS, VERMIN, WORMS. JOE KINNEAR’S appraisal of football agents may have struck a chord with those who view them as sharp-suited sharks festering in the underbelly, but there is the flip side. This is the one where the agent endures sleepless nights during the transfer window and eleventh-hour dashes on snowbound motorways. It is the one where his concerns extend to rogue cleaners and dodgy electricians, red tape in Rome and the Colombian striker left stranded as his wife endured seven operations.
It can be a dog’s life. During the last hours of the transfer window, Eric Walters, an agent with Base Soccer, found himself at the home of the Charlton Athletic secretary. The clock was ticking. The club had rung that week saying they wanted a striker. Walters knew that Jay Bothroyd was available and so, with hours to spare, they signed the deal.
The story debunks the myth that clubs wage a constant battle with agents. “We’re part of the game now,” Frank Trimboli, Base Soccer’s managing director, said as another window shut. Leon Angel, the company founder, added: “Often we actually represent the club. With Matteo Ferrari’s move to Everton, we were given a budget. They told us what they wanted to spend and we came in under that and saved them a very substantial amount.”
Although it was only a loan, the Ferrari deal took six weeks and numerous trips to Italy to complete, Latin temperaments and the transfer ban imposed on AS Roma for signing Philippe Mexès while contracted to Auxerre further muddying the waters. Everton also wanted Ferrari registered by noon on Friday so that he would be available to play the next day.
“Everton’s CEO was in Monaco for the Uefa Cup draw so it was all being done by e-mail,” Angel said. “But he’d mislaid his bag and had to borrow someone else’s.” At 6pm Trimboli was frantically making calls from Euston station to Italy to get Ferrari’s international clearance. “I finally got through to the right lady but she said they didn’t speak to agents,” he said. A further complication was that the agreement between Everton and Roma was not in Italian.
“The Everton guys were about to leave Monaco, Ferrari was on his way to the team hotel and the Roma guys were about to leave the office for the weekend,” Trimboli said. “It went on for 45 minutes. It was pretty stressful.”
That Trimboli and his colleagues prefer to call themselves player representatives highlights the stigma still attached to football agents. One smaller agency admitted that their players and even parents were often approached and subjected to attempted poaching by what they termed “parasites”.
“You do get people promising what they can’t deliver,” Angel said. “We’re realistic and might tell a player we could get him £12,000 a week, but someone else will come in and say they can guarantee £20,000. People jump on the bandwagon and claim they are representing someone, but it’s more transparent now. If a club is paying us a fee, they pay the FA and the FA pay us.”
In their London office, lined with signed shirts and football memorabilia, Angel and his team have drawn up two lists for the next window. One is of players that are available and the other of requests from clubs. “It can change every half hour during the window,” Walters said.
Although the window has focused their minds and income streams, they will not move a player just to make a quick buck. “We look after our clients,” Trimboli said. “When we had Slaven Bilic we found out his cleaner was charging him £9.50 an hour when the going rate was £3.50. Electricians will add £200 to the bill when they know it’s a footballer. People take advantage of players.”
Imports can be particularly vulnerable, as Juan Pablo Ángel discovered when he arrived in the this country only for his wife to fall seriously ill. “He came over and was dumped,” Leon Angel said. “He didn’t speak hardly any English and didn’t trust anyone, but now he’s with us and is a friend.”
The company’s biggest deal of the summer was working for Juventus on the Patrick Vieira transfer. “A player they were desperate for,” Trimboli said. “They think, with him, they can win the Champions League.” Others have involved Lassana Diarra, Ian Walker and Jon Stead. Another fell through after six months’ work because a player changed his mind. “You have to be philosophical, ” Angel said.
It is hard work. Two years ago, Trimboli was stuck on the M25 in a blizzard in the early hours of deadline day. At 5.30am he was in a private hospital as a player had his medical. Last Wednesday at 9pm, they were still trying in vain to place a player. As midnight struck, the agents rang each other to discuss what had transpired. Then they took one day off. Dog tired.
Iraqi playing in dangerous game
IF THE TRANSFER window has been fraught with problems for British agents, spare a thought for Najim Mohamed. The only Fifa-licensed agent for Iraq, his business has been undermined by the turmoil in his homeland and he is now operating out of Dubai. If he does three deals a year then he considers that good work.
“It is hard because it is not like Europe where agents might be involved in £20 million transfers,” he said. “I’ll get an income from a player, but it is difficult. It is very unprofessional here and people come and go. Nobody is licensed and it’s chaotic.”
Mohamed hopes that one day he will bring an Iraqi player to Europe, but he knows that volatile politics and sceptical attitudes present obstacles. “In Iraq the national federation does not help and the league is in disarray,” he said. “It is hard to get together to do deals and phone lines are often down. The terrorists do not want anyone to have a happy life.
“I want to get into Europe because there are some good players in Iraq. The trouble is European clubs see it as a big risk. They think the player will not fit in and will get homesick.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article562762.ece
QPR Official Site - April 10, 2009 - Statement from Eric Walters, the agent of Dexter Blackstock- This statement is to clarify the situation regarding Dexter Blackstock and QPR.
- Dexter was unhappy at QPR for some time, as he had only started six of a possible 21 fixtures.
- He wasn't even on the bench for QPR's home fixture against Bristol City and seeing as he was the Club's top goalscorer, Dexter was unhappy about this situation.
- A few Clubs approached me for Dexter, including Nottingham Forest. I spoke with Gianni Paladini and he advised me that we needed to clear this with Paulo Sousa.
- Paulo came back from Portugal on March 26th at lunchtime. Dexter discussed the situation with Paulo, and he didn't say anything to Dexter about the possibility of him staying with QPR.
- At 4.00pm on March 26th 2009, Dexter signed the paperwork to complete his loan transfer to Nottingham Forest. - Eric Walters
Dog's life of diligent agents
By Rick Broadbent - The Times September 5th 2005
DOGS, VERMIN, WORMS. JOE KINNEAR’S appraisal of football agents may have struck a chord with those who view them as sharp-suited sharks festering in the underbelly, but there is the flip side. This is the one where the agent endures sleepless nights during the transfer window and eleventh-hour dashes on snowbound motorways. It is the one where his concerns extend to rogue cleaners and dodgy electricians, red tape in Rome and the Colombian striker left stranded as his wife endured seven operations.
It can be a dog’s life. During the last hours of the transfer window, Eric Walters, an agent with Base Soccer, found himself at the home of the Charlton Athletic secretary. The clock was ticking. The club had rung that week saying they wanted a striker. Walters knew that Jay Bothroyd was available and so, with hours to spare, they signed the deal.
The story debunks the myth that clubs wage a constant battle with agents. “We’re part of the game now,” Frank Trimboli, Base Soccer’s managing director, said as another window shut. Leon Angel, the company founder, added: “Often we actually represent the club. With Matteo Ferrari’s move to Everton, we were given a budget. They told us what they wanted to spend and we came in under that and saved them a very substantial amount.”
Although it was only a loan, the Ferrari deal took six weeks and numerous trips to Italy to complete, Latin temperaments and the transfer ban imposed on AS Roma for signing Philippe Mexès while contracted to Auxerre further muddying the waters. Everton also wanted Ferrari registered by noon on Friday so that he would be available to play the next day.
“Everton’s CEO was in Monaco for the Uefa Cup draw so it was all being done by e-mail,” Angel said. “But he’d mislaid his bag and had to borrow someone else’s.” At 6pm Trimboli was frantically making calls from Euston station to Italy to get Ferrari’s international clearance. “I finally got through to the right lady but she said they didn’t speak to agents,” he said. A further complication was that the agreement between Everton and Roma was not in Italian.
“The Everton guys were about to leave Monaco, Ferrari was on his way to the team hotel and the Roma guys were about to leave the office for the weekend,” Trimboli said. “It went on for 45 minutes. It was pretty stressful.”
That Trimboli and his colleagues prefer to call themselves player representatives highlights the stigma still attached to football agents. One smaller agency admitted that their players and even parents were often approached and subjected to attempted poaching by what they termed “parasites”.
“You do get people promising what they can’t deliver,” Angel said. “We’re realistic and might tell a player we could get him £12,000 a week, but someone else will come in and say they can guarantee £20,000. People jump on the bandwagon and claim they are representing someone, but it’s more transparent now. If a club is paying us a fee, they pay the FA and the FA pay us.”
In their London office, lined with signed shirts and football memorabilia, Angel and his team have drawn up two lists for the next window. One is of players that are available and the other of requests from clubs. “It can change every half hour during the window,” Walters said.
Although the window has focused their minds and income streams, they will not move a player just to make a quick buck. “We look after our clients,” Trimboli said. “When we had Slaven Bilic we found out his cleaner was charging him £9.50 an hour when the going rate was £3.50. Electricians will add £200 to the bill when they know it’s a footballer. People take advantage of players.”
Imports can be particularly vulnerable, as Juan Pablo Ángel discovered when he arrived in the this country only for his wife to fall seriously ill. “He came over and was dumped,” Leon Angel said. “He didn’t speak hardly any English and didn’t trust anyone, but now he’s with us and is a friend.”
The company’s biggest deal of the summer was working for Juventus on the Patrick Vieira transfer. “A player they were desperate for,” Trimboli said. “They think, with him, they can win the Champions League.” Others have involved Lassana Diarra, Ian Walker and Jon Stead. Another fell through after six months’ work because a player changed his mind. “You have to be philosophical, ” Angel said.
It is hard work. Two years ago, Trimboli was stuck on the M25 in a blizzard in the early hours of deadline day. At 5.30am he was in a private hospital as a player had his medical. Last Wednesday at 9pm, they were still trying in vain to place a player. As midnight struck, the agents rang each other to discuss what had transpired. Then they took one day off. Dog tired.
Iraqi playing in dangerous game
IF THE TRANSFER window has been fraught with problems for British agents, spare a thought for Najim Mohamed. The only Fifa-licensed agent for Iraq, his business has been undermined by the turmoil in his homeland and he is now operating out of Dubai. If he does three deals a year then he considers that good work.
“It is hard because it is not like Europe where agents might be involved in £20 million transfers,” he said. “I’ll get an income from a player, but it is difficult. It is very unprofessional here and people come and go. Nobody is licensed and it’s chaotic.”
Mohamed hopes that one day he will bring an Iraqi player to Europe, but he knows that volatile politics and sceptical attitudes present obstacles. “In Iraq the national federation does not help and the league is in disarray,” he said. “It is hard to get together to do deals and phone lines are often down. The terrorists do not want anyone to have a happy life.
“I want to get into Europe because there are some good players in Iraq. The trouble is European clubs see it as a big risk. They think the player will not fit in and will get homesick.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article562762.ece
QPR Official Site - April 10, 2009 - Statement from Eric Walters, the agent of Dexter Blackstock- This statement is to clarify the situation regarding Dexter Blackstock and QPR.
- Dexter was unhappy at QPR for some time, as he had only started six of a possible 21 fixtures.
- He wasn't even on the bench for QPR's home fixture against Bristol City and seeing as he was the Club's top goalscorer, Dexter was unhappy about this situation.
- A few Clubs approached me for Dexter, including Nottingham Forest. I spoke with Gianni Paladini and he advised me that we needed to clear this with Paulo Sousa.
- Paulo came back from Portugal on March 26th at lunchtime. Dexter discussed the situation with Paulo, and he didn't say anything to Dexter about the possibility of him staying with QPR.
- At 4.00pm on March 26th 2009, Dexter signed the paperwork to complete his loan transfer to Nottingham Forest. - Eric Walters