Post by QPR Report on Jun 6, 2009 8:15:09 GMT
[Bumped]
The Times/Gary Jacob
Deal or no deal – silly season is here again
When it comes to the transfer window, which opens today, there are clubs who hold their nerve or panic in pursuit of a player, some who pay exaggerated fees and others who repeat mistakes from previous seasons. By the time it closes on August 31, there will be managers who have splashed the cash, others who have picked up bargains through wheeling-and-dealing, but nearly all will be citing squad inadequacies and pleading for money from their chairman.
Barclays Premier League clubs greeted the recession by keeping their wallets in their pockets in January, with net spending down year-on-year and the poor exchange rate inflating prices. More players arrived on loan then, a trend that could be repeated this summer. Manchester City are expected to be the biggest spenders, in the hope of attracting stars, but Chelsea will have to give their new manager substantial money if he is to close the gap with Manchester United.
The window promises to leave managers, chairmen, agents and supporters in a daze, so here is a basic guide to how deals are brokered from start to finish.
Related Links
How are players transferred?
The permitted approach is for a club to contact a rival expressing interest in their player, but in practice the first contact is with the agent or player (which could be deemed tapping-up). The agent ascertains whether his player would be interested in a move, whether personal terms are acceptable, allowing the buying club to pursue their interest with better information. An agent may be asked to find a move for his player, who is surplus to requirements at his club.
What does a player receive in a transfer?
When a player moves club, he receives a signing-on fee, which could be several hundred thousand pounds in bigger transfers, but he waives that right if he has handed in a transfer request.
How is the salary calculated?
The player’s agent will know what similar players earn, especially at the buying club, and ask for a higher salary for international players. The salary should approximately move in line with a player’s valuation. So a player who moves for £50 million, for example, will not accept £20,000 a week, the average top-flight salary. The player may receive a yearly loyalty payment, possibly in recompense for ensuring that his salary does not exceed the club’s wage structure.
How is a contract structured?
A contract will include clauses to cover many eventualities. These cover points such as bonuses for loyalty, appearances, winning, drawing, goals scored, keeping clean sheets, finishing positions, qualification for Europe and winning trophies. A promotion bonus to the top flight could be about £100,000. A win bonus could vary between £1,000 for a lower club and £9,000 at a top club
The contract may allow the player to renegotiate his salary if a new team-mate earns more, exercise an option for a new deal when he plays a defined number of matches and include an escape clause, above which a club are forced to inform a player of a bid for him. The contract may force a player to take a cut in salary if the club are relegated. However, clubs are often unable to insert this clause because the player would decline the move. Many players from Newcastle United and Middlesbrough do not have this clause.
What could delay or break a transfer?
Being unable to agree personal terms, the length of contract, problems with a medical or the player has a change of heart.
Why do players often sign a new contract after intense speculation about their future?
If the player does not move, he will seek to match his salary with the transfer valuation placed on him when he was subject to interest. The longer contract protects the player’s value for the club, but equally the player’s salary will now be higher, so he can command more in future.
Why does information leak out about transfers or contract negotiations?
Agents and clubs want to steal an advantage. An agent could want to publicise interest in his player to obtain a better deal at his present club or to alert other sides that the player is looking for a move. Clubs may want to use publicity to inform other teams of their willingness to accept an offer for a player. A manager may talk about the transfer to put pressure on his chairman to complete the deal and prevent fans blaming him for a lack of buys or a player leaving.
Do players hold all the power?
It appears so. A club must balance up offering a lengthy contract, which protects the value of the player, but could become a burden if he flops and cannot be moved on. For example, Winston Bogarde sat out his four-year contract at Chelsea, where he earned £40,000 a week, after joining in 2000.
Can players buy out their contract to move?
Some players have threatened to use Fifa’s transfer regulations unless they are allowed to move. The rules state that if the player has signed a contract when aged under 28, he is entitled to buy himself out of the contract three years after the deal was signed. Andy Webster was the first player to invoke it, at Heart of Midlothian, but the rule has yet to be tested by a top player or a leading club through fear of the consequences of a legal ruling. For example, had Frank Lampard employed the rule to move to Inter Milan last summer, he would have almost certainly faced a lengthy legal battle with Chelsea, putting his career on hold. The fear for Inter would be that should Lampard win, it could open the floodgates for players from the Italian club to follow suit.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6401401.ece
Graphic: anatomy of a transfer
extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/sport/transfer_anatomy.pdf
The Times/Gary Jacob
Deal or no deal – silly season is here again
When it comes to the transfer window, which opens today, there are clubs who hold their nerve or panic in pursuit of a player, some who pay exaggerated fees and others who repeat mistakes from previous seasons. By the time it closes on August 31, there will be managers who have splashed the cash, others who have picked up bargains through wheeling-and-dealing, but nearly all will be citing squad inadequacies and pleading for money from their chairman.
Barclays Premier League clubs greeted the recession by keeping their wallets in their pockets in January, with net spending down year-on-year and the poor exchange rate inflating prices. More players arrived on loan then, a trend that could be repeated this summer. Manchester City are expected to be the biggest spenders, in the hope of attracting stars, but Chelsea will have to give their new manager substantial money if he is to close the gap with Manchester United.
The window promises to leave managers, chairmen, agents and supporters in a daze, so here is a basic guide to how deals are brokered from start to finish.
Related Links
How are players transferred?
The permitted approach is for a club to contact a rival expressing interest in their player, but in practice the first contact is with the agent or player (which could be deemed tapping-up). The agent ascertains whether his player would be interested in a move, whether personal terms are acceptable, allowing the buying club to pursue their interest with better information. An agent may be asked to find a move for his player, who is surplus to requirements at his club.
What does a player receive in a transfer?
When a player moves club, he receives a signing-on fee, which could be several hundred thousand pounds in bigger transfers, but he waives that right if he has handed in a transfer request.
How is the salary calculated?
The player’s agent will know what similar players earn, especially at the buying club, and ask for a higher salary for international players. The salary should approximately move in line with a player’s valuation. So a player who moves for £50 million, for example, will not accept £20,000 a week, the average top-flight salary. The player may receive a yearly loyalty payment, possibly in recompense for ensuring that his salary does not exceed the club’s wage structure.
How is a contract structured?
A contract will include clauses to cover many eventualities. These cover points such as bonuses for loyalty, appearances, winning, drawing, goals scored, keeping clean sheets, finishing positions, qualification for Europe and winning trophies. A promotion bonus to the top flight could be about £100,000. A win bonus could vary between £1,000 for a lower club and £9,000 at a top club
The contract may allow the player to renegotiate his salary if a new team-mate earns more, exercise an option for a new deal when he plays a defined number of matches and include an escape clause, above which a club are forced to inform a player of a bid for him. The contract may force a player to take a cut in salary if the club are relegated. However, clubs are often unable to insert this clause because the player would decline the move. Many players from Newcastle United and Middlesbrough do not have this clause.
What could delay or break a transfer?
Being unable to agree personal terms, the length of contract, problems with a medical or the player has a change of heart.
Why do players often sign a new contract after intense speculation about their future?
If the player does not move, he will seek to match his salary with the transfer valuation placed on him when he was subject to interest. The longer contract protects the player’s value for the club, but equally the player’s salary will now be higher, so he can command more in future.
Why does information leak out about transfers or contract negotiations?
Agents and clubs want to steal an advantage. An agent could want to publicise interest in his player to obtain a better deal at his present club or to alert other sides that the player is looking for a move. Clubs may want to use publicity to inform other teams of their willingness to accept an offer for a player. A manager may talk about the transfer to put pressure on his chairman to complete the deal and prevent fans blaming him for a lack of buys or a player leaving.
Do players hold all the power?
It appears so. A club must balance up offering a lengthy contract, which protects the value of the player, but could become a burden if he flops and cannot be moved on. For example, Winston Bogarde sat out his four-year contract at Chelsea, where he earned £40,000 a week, after joining in 2000.
Can players buy out their contract to move?
Some players have threatened to use Fifa’s transfer regulations unless they are allowed to move. The rules state that if the player has signed a contract when aged under 28, he is entitled to buy himself out of the contract three years after the deal was signed. Andy Webster was the first player to invoke it, at Heart of Midlothian, but the rule has yet to be tested by a top player or a leading club through fear of the consequences of a legal ruling. For example, had Frank Lampard employed the rule to move to Inter Milan last summer, he would have almost certainly faced a lengthy legal battle with Chelsea, putting his career on hold. The fear for Inter would be that should Lampard win, it could open the floodgates for players from the Italian club to follow suit.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6401401.ece
Graphic: anatomy of a transfer
extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/sport/transfer_anatomy.pdf
