Football Agents Blog

Premier League to VET SPONSORSHIPS

faagent — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 11:00:21 +0000

Times News Paper.

The Paper reports that 'The rules were agreed by the Premier League clubs last week despite opposition from Newcastle United and Manchester City. If the Premier League’s board has reasonable grounds to “suspect” that it is an associated party deal or “otherwise than at arm’s length” then an independent firm will determine whether it is of fair market value or has been artificially inflated.

The advent of the Newcastle pumping money into the Club raised concerns that it will be able to artificially raised sponsorship deals to raise its finances and therefore be able to get round Financial Fair Play Rules.

What are Financial Fair Play Rules?

Initially introduced by Uefa to prevent clubs spending beyond their means. It was to ensure fair play between clubs and also to stop or at least reduce the risk of football clubs going bust. The first thing the Club must ensure, in reality is to prevent the heart ruling the head. That is prevent overspend particularly on players and the wage bill, the most expensive part of running a football club.

According to UEFA Clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£3.9m) more than they earn per assessment period made over a rolling three-year period. BBC Sport, reports that Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt.

Fines

The potential punishments includs warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for Uefa competitions.

Nine clubs were found to have breached the FFP criteria in the first assessment period, most notably Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, and a range of fines and sanctions were imposed.

City were fined £49m, £32m of which was suspended, had spending restrictions imposed and could only name a 21-man Champions League squad for 2014-15.

Getting Real on FFP

The Premier League is the most caters for the most valuable sport on earth. It must be seen to do the right thing, apply the rules and ensure fair play between all clubs. But it must also be applied equally across all Countries so the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona et al are also covered.

Let us know what you think.

LIVERPOOL, RECORD BREAKERS

faagent — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 10:28:00 +0000

LIVERPOOL, RECORD BREAKERS

Not a good start, or a good game to be fair. But the momentum is continuing and the winning mentality has returned. Last 5 games, 5 wins shows the stars on Match of the Day Last Night. At the ground it was quite a muted affair. Perhaps the Kop were wearing face masks armed with the knowledge that Van Dijk and Fabinho et al had a COVID outbreak.

Liverpool was the first English team ever to record 2,000 top-division wins. Jürgen Klopp notched up his 150th league win as Liverpool manager, 12 games quicker than Sir Kenny Dalglish in 2011.

Salah struck his 22nd goal of the season, and only Roger Hunt with 23 in 1961-62 has scored more for Liverpool before Christmas. (Liverpool had 23 games before Christmas then to 27 this season).

With a depleted Everton getting a draw at Chelsea, there is a slight gap emerging between them, Liverpool and City.

Cristiano Ronaldo or Ralf Rangnick’s principles

faagent — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 13:26:21 +0000

Cristiano Ronaldo or Ralf Rangnick

Manchester United are sliding down the Premier League Table and are not looking to get up it soon. This is with Ronaldo playing the vast majority of games for Manchester United. Therefore he alone cannot be the one United look in their hour of need. Ralf Rangnick is now in town and will orchestrate on and off field business.

If the two differ in philosophies who will come up top? We are now familiar with the fact that Ralf Rangnick is famous and indeed has been branded as the ‘God Father’ of the gegenpressing and has inspired the likes of Klopp and Tuchel. But with Ronaldo at 36 years of age, can he adapt to the top press? Is he too old? Can he be bothered?

In the Time there is a quote bout all that is Ronaldo:

This summer, a year after Maurizio Sarri was sacked by Juventus, the Italian coach offered a rare insight into the modern-day dilemma of managing Cristiano Ronaldo. “His interests go beyond what is normal, beyond the team or club. I am a coach, not a manager; however, Ronaldo brings the numbers at the end of the year,” Sarri said on Italian radio, before adding: “Ronaldo’s management is not simple, from all points of view. He is a multinational company.”

Rangnick is only at Manchester United initially as an interim manager, Ronaldo may choose not to listen, he is among the bottom 1 per cent of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for pressing last season, and has the lowest number of any regular striker in the Premier League this campaign.

I wonder if Rangnick gave instructions over the phone to Michael Carrick to drop Ronaldo with their game against Chelsea on Sunday? Afterwards Carrick gave credit to Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes for “knowing when to press and when to drop off”.

That can’t be said for Ranaldo. His days must be numbered?

Let me know if you agree.

Source: The Times

Mane Worth £200 Million

faagent — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 12:26:28 +0000

Sadio Mané is surely £200 m, or at least the transfer fees of Neymar and Mbappe. It’s not just Mané’s skill and pace that defenders fear but also his work rate. The latter is emphasised by this second goal against the outside pretenders for the Premier League title, Chelsea. When Mané’s missed pass frustrated him, he challenged and pressured the ball to the extent that is scared the ‘living daylights’ out of Kepa the Chelsea’s record fee goal keeper, forcing the mistake, intercepting the pass and happily slotting home the goal.

Even with that performance the other two important aspects of assessing a players worth are just as important, the player himself, humble, dedicated and philanthropic to his community and the acknowledgement of despite all his riches he never forgets his roots. But in addition to that, the fact that (I hope I am not tempting fate) he never gets injured. He appears to be able to play game after game with no drop in performance or injury worries, unlike the other two record breaking players aforementioned.

The Times in today’s paper opens with the ‘ominous sights’ of Liverpool that included a Mané’s headed goal where Salah and a pre-assist and Firmino’s an assist. The three combined as one with a precision that resulted in the end result, a superb combination goal. Post match inverview Mané revealed how he knew what Firmino was going to do before he even got near the ball. It was like both minds were in sync.

£200 m for Sadio Mané? In footballing terms, a bargain!

#premiershipfootball, #soccer, #footallagents, #sadiomane, #LiverpoolFC #chelseafc

Football Technology Helps Coaches Prevent Injury to Players

faagent — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 10:06:46 +0000

How Does Technology Help Elite Athletes

There is an increase in football teams using technology to assist in player performance. Managers are increasingly making use of real-time data for matches, with companies such as STATSports producing technology that provides 32 in-game metrics

Three Quarters of Premier League Clubs Use Technology on Player Performance

A pod attached to the back of the vests collects analytics using software that monitors the movements of a player up to 1,000 times a second. Pitchside beacons, held on tripods, bounce a signal from GPS satellites to the pods, and the data is then transmitted to the smartwatches and tablets in real time.

Reported in the Times Newspaper it says:

“Now, this allows you to affect things live so you’re not trying to manage after the events,” Sean O’Connor, the co-founder of STATSports, based in Newry, says.

“People are able to take that data during games and make decisions,” he said. “What that allows you to do is build a profile on a player. You expect a player to do X, Y, Z in training and games. When they start to move away from those norms it can be for good or bad reasons.

“If they are in a training session and there is 25 minutes left and they have gone way past what you normally expect them to do, then you can make a call to either taper it off or take them in early.

“It’s the same concept in a game as well. If the manager is deciding between two players to replace, he could ask his coach what feedback can you give, physically.”

Players wear GPS vests

Players wear GPS trackers which monitor 32 different categories including speed, distance run, heart rate and acceleration. The tracker sits in a vest which can be worn underneath players’ shirts on matchday. Data collected is beamed to a satellite.

Boosters allow real-time tracking

Portable beacons stationed on tripods around the pitch bounce a GPS signal to the trackers which allows them to collect data in real time.

Results beamed to coaches’ watches

Coaches can access live performance statistics on their laptops, tablets or smart watches via an app. They will be able to know more accurately if a particular player needs to be rested.

Breaking Klopp to Leave Liverpool

faagent — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 09:43:04 +0000

The unthinkable it to happen for Liverpool Fans, Jurgen Klopp has spoken about his departing from the Club. To Liverpool Fans he is the God of football and is worshipped in those Northern parts that has brought success.

The good news is that is it four years away, the bad news is that he is thinking about leaving, not just the club for Football in general.

Jürgen Klopp has said he plans to take a year off when his Liverpool contract expires in 2024 and will only return to management should he miss the challenge.

What Klopp Actually Said

“I’ll take a year off and ask myself if I miss football,” he said in an interview with Sportbuzzer. “If I say no, then that will be the end of coach Jürgen Klopp.

“If one day I am no longer a coach, there is one thing I will not miss: the brutal tension immediately before the game.”

five-year deal last December to extend his previous contract, which had been due to expire in 2022, and in doing so drew a line through the prospect of taking a sabbatical then.

However, Klopp has said he will finally be ready for a break after nine years at Anfield and could walk away from football completely at the age of 57.

In The Times is is reported:

Klopp has never spent more than seven years at a club since stepping into management at FSV Mainz 05, and continuing his career at Borussia Dortmund, and the prospect of outstripping those stays speaks volumes for the depth of feeling he has for Liverpool.

Winning the Champions League in 2019 was followed by the club’s first league title for 30 years, with the silverware establishing Klopp as one of the greatest managers in the club’s history.

Liverpool are currently in Austria on a pre-season camp where Klopp is plotting further success.

“The whole club is hot for the new season, we want to be even better,” he said.

“We want to chase the opponents and the ball over the entire field, continue to be a super unpleasant team that is not fun to play. We’re not defending any titles. We want to get new ones. We’ve only just started winning.”

Liverpool have added Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas to their title winning squad following an £11.75million deal with Olympiacos.

That was largely offset by Dejan Lovren’s £10.9 million move to Zenit St Petersburg, while Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne have left following the expiry of their contracts.

Sales will continue to influence incoming signings with Hertha Berlin interested in signing Marko Grujić permanently after he spent two years there on loan. Liverpool are open to selling the Serbian midfielder, but while a £13 million offer has been mooted it is understood that it would cost more than that to snare the 24-year-old.

The prospect of Ronald Koeman becoming Barcelona coach offers intrigue over the future of Georginio Wijnaldum, who has one year left on his contract at Anfield.

8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich.

Barcelona are already committed to the signing of Miralem Pjanic, 30, from Juventus with Brazilian midfielder Arthur moving from the Nou Camp to Italy.

Centre Backs In Need

faagent — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 09:04:58 +0000

CENTRE BACKS IN DEMAND

Sir Alex Ferguson said:

“...Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles...”

Most of the time this is true. It's really the Manager that wins the games. He makes the team into his own, the players believe and will run through walls for him.

That is what makes a winning team. Of course you must also combine that will quality. Thus in the last of his championship successes in 2012-13 Manchester United had only the fifth-best rear-guard that season.

This makes my point. I was always of the view that the title winners that 2012-13 year was poor in quality across the team. It was the manager that pulled them through. The team needed a re-build, Ferguson knew that, and retired at the top. United have still not rebuilt the team.

The Time's reports that 'Today’s centre backs often have the most touches of any player on a team, given the new emphasis on building from the back. Last season Van Dijk had the most of any centre back in the top flight (3,624), with Manchester United’s Harry Maguire in second place (2,975).

Across Europe, the main title-winners have all relied upon the old guard, the likes of Sergio Ramos, Leonardo Bonucci, Jérôme Boateng and Thiago Silva. Juventus planned ahead by signing Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax last summer for £67.7 million and will view that as a sound investment despite the 20-year-old being criticised for inconsistencies in his debut season in Serie A.

“They need a centre back, a top centre back who can bring that level of domination to a defence like van Dijk does at Liverpool, like Vincent Kompany did when Manchester City were winning titles,” Gary Neville, the former United defender, said on Sky Sports.

“I don’t think Harry Maguire hasn’t had a good season, I just think he needs a partner. That’s not being unfair on Lindelof, who may need a partner as well. He and Maguire are both good defenders, but United need a centre back. You’ve got to be ruthless. The best managers in the world are ruthless.”

Who would have thought, centre backs being so popular, but also expensive.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-puzzle-facing-liverpools-rivals-w...

Football Tactics, Overlap and Shoot - VIDEO

faagent — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 09:24:03 +0000

OVERLAP AND SHOOT

Under 8's to 10's grass roots football is back, with COVID - 19 safety!

This drill, being socially distance with no tackles and distance of 2 meters.

Here the WINGER, becomes playmaker and potential striker. The Central Midfielder becomes part of the attack by providing an overlap to cross the ball.

VIDEO LINK: FOOTBALL DRILL & TACTICS BOARD - OVERLAP AND SHOOT:

THE TECHNIQUE

The red players will remain quite static in the drill, no tackling.
A (one-two) between Y2 and Y3 gets the movement started.
Then Y2 makes a ‘killer forward pass’ to Y1.
Y2 sprints around Y1, whilst Y1 cuts in to create space for Y2.
Y2 then overlaps Y1.
Y1, slips the ball to Y2.
Both Y2 and Y3 run into the box anticipating the cross from Y2

SKILL

Defenders are allowed to tackle (post COVID – 19)
As the Defenders will be aware of the combination play, you can add an extra attacker, so if the overlapping player is blocked, a pass back to an additional player can be made to create a cross or a one-two.

NOTES

Coach timings and weight of pass. Crucial for players to maintain one touch pass to speed up the combination play so that defenders are taken by surprise.

FA LEVEL 2 Structure

Was Wigan's Demise Part of a Bet?

faagent — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 10:20:37 +0000

The Times newspaper today it is reported that Rick Parry, the Chairman of the English Football League, in a conversation with a Wigan Athletic fan, said that via a rumour circulating round the football world that Wigan's demise was all for a bet.

The Paper reports:

'Rick Parry has been involved in an astonishing conversation with a Wigan Athletic fan during which the chairman of the English Football League said there was a rumour that the club’s administration was linked to “a bet in the Philippines on them being relegated”.

Four weeks ago Wigan were sold from one Hong Kong-based company to another, both of which were until recently majority-owned by the same businessman and a high-stakes professional poker player, Dr Choi Chiu Fai Stanley.

Au Yeung Wai Kay, a Chinese businessman, has since replaced Dr Choi as the majority shareholder of Next Leader Fund, which purchased the club from International Entertainment Corporation (IEC), a Hong Kong-based, Cayman Islands-registered company, on June 2.'

Yesterday football agents reported that Wigan Athletic were placed into administration with a 12 point deduction for the financial breach (see: Linkedin page, Wigan Athletic Administration but that a caveat was left to consider that it was quite a surprise bearing in mind that the Club only changed ownership on the second of June.

The former Liverpool Chief Executive in a video that was posted last night on Twitter, which shows only his feet, Parry says:

“There are all sorts of rumours. There’s rumours that there is a bet in the Philippines on them being relegated because the previous owner has got gambling interests in the Philippines.”

An investigation will proceed into the demise of a proud English Club, the BBC on Wigan Athletic reports:

The speed from the change of ownership being executed to Wigan being put into administration has raised eyebrows.

Joint administrator Gerald Krasner, who took over as chairman of Leeds United in 2004 in the middle of the Yorkshire club's dire financial situation, said the matter would be investigated.

"Every administration I have been involved in had its peculiarities," he said. "But this is a first. Four weeks is a record that will stand for some time.

We shall wait the outcome of this interesting development.

Pep Plans Rebuild on Squad to Challenge Liverpool

faagent — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 08:27:01 +0000

Pep Guardiola admits that is squad is getting old and some of the 'dead wood' has to go to stand any chance of catching the dominant force that is Liverpool FC for next season.

As Pep's team will provide the customary guard of honour in tonight's mouth watering game tonight, Pep will not only be analysing the game unfold in front of him but also be considering those places where he must improve. His team are 23 points behind the Premier Champions.

Pep has made it clear he wants new blood for at least one centre back:

“We’d like to stay with the players who gave us what they did for the last decade and to be eternal, but we grow in years and sometimes we have to do it and replace them with new players,” Guardiola, 49, said.

“We have to rebuild. It happens at clubs around the world. We have to accept it and try to take the right decisions to try to maintain the level that we have. We have exceptional players [but] after the season finishes we will reflect.”

Players at risk

Pep wants a move for Nicolás Otamendi, the 32-year-old Argentinian, and offers for John Stones who has hardly had a lookin of late.

David Silva, the 34-year-old captain, is leaving at the end of the season and Claudio Bravo, 37, is out of contract. A full back will be pursued if João Cancelo, who has failed to dislodge Kyle Walker from the team, decides to leave.

Guardiola admitted that Sergio Agüero, 32, and the 35-year-old Fernandinho could leave at the end of the next campaign

Pep's Wanted List

Kalidou Koulibaly, the Napoli defender, Pau Torres of Villarreal, and Benfica’s Ruben Días are among the centre halves that City are interested in.

Guardiola also defended the club’s decision to sell Leroy Sané, one of the young stars in the squad, to Bayern Munich for £55 million after he rejected three new contract offers from City.

Liverpool v Manchester City Statistics

If Liverpool continue their present form, they will collect 106 points, which is six more than City’s record 100-point total from two seasons ago.

If City keep averaging two points per game —as they roughly are now — they will end the campaign 29 points behind Liverpool on 77. The previous biggest gap between first and second at the end of a season is 19 points, City ahead of Manchester United in 2018.

City’s standards have slipped against their rivals. This season they have claimed 13 points from a possible 27 against the established “big six” clubs. Last season they took 25 points from a possible 30.