Agents, the FA and Lower Leagues

chimaera · 22 May 2007 at 10:13

I've been watching Barnet play for a long time now, lots of highs along with plenty of lows, yet this off-season is looking like the core of the team will be totally wiped out because of agents and the FA's innability to do anything about them, its really winding me up.

We have young players who were given chanes by the club and who have turned into future stars, yet a NEW rule introduced by the FA only allows players to sign for agents for a maximun period of 2 years, meaning that the agents are constantly looking for transfers to fuel their pockets.

So far we've had 5 of our best players hand in transfer requests, the latest one even asked to be one of the highest paid players in the clubs history during negotiations (which he was offered), and has now turned around saying its unacceptable along with his agent questioning the validity of his contract (i.e trying to get him to leave on a free with a year left to run).

Lower league clubs cannot afford to give players long term contracts, 2/3 years max, which means they're constantly being screwed around by agents trying to pocket bosman moves.

I know that it's football and this thing happens in all leagues, however the FA have made matters worse by not tackling agents and their seedy practices, and for one i'm fed up of seeing the club i love being ripped apart because of downright greed.

Its not an issue of exposure, this season we've had Premiership scouts and even a number of visits from Frank Arnesen (helps being a London club sometimes).

Whats the point of nurturing the future stars of the football league when all you get is a token fee from arbitration, lower league clubs ensure their survival by selling their best players and investing the money back into the squad, at this rate i really fear for the game at this level.

Vandle · 22 May 2007 at 10:56

Great post mate.

They are certainly a cancer of the game but I realy cant see a way of avoiding their murky presence nowadays.
Will it stop after a few are blown open to be underhanded and currupt ? Doubtful.

moody · 22 May 2007 at 11:19

Have to agree. What I don't understand is after the panorama programme, where Peter Harrison was caught red-handed offering both Liverpool and Chelsea (as well as him admitting he'd offered him to Newcastle) one of our youngsters (Nathen Porritt) who was still under contract with us, the FA/PL have done absolutely nothing about it.

Harrison is still Porritt's agent, and not surprisingly Porritt is now refusing to sign the professional terms offered to him as part of his academy contract.

[ASSE]Hinchy · 22 May 2007 at 12:10

I completely agree that something needs to be done to protect these lower league clubs. It is going to be hard to do though because at the end of the day, the players will turn around and say that it is their right to move on if they want to. Obviously the agents whispering in their ears all the time isn't going to help things but its a hard one to call. If the young players feel they can get better deals and careers elsewhere, who are these smaller clubs to stop them?

Personally, I'm very much on the side of the clubs in the whole issue.

chimaera · 22 May 2007 at 12:34

Thanks for the replies, I find it quite disturbing that it can happen to a Premiership club and still have nothing done about it, little old Barnet easily slips under the radar...not promising.

Hinchy said:
I completely agree that something needs to be done to protect these lower league clubs. It is going to be hard to do though because at the end of the day, the players will turn around and say that it is their right to move on if they want to. Obviously the agents whispering in their ears all the time isn't going to help things but its a hard one to call. If the young players feel they can get better deals and careers elsewhere, who are these smaller clubs to stop them?

Personally i'd like to see higher arbitration payouts, at the moment its used by higher league clubs as a method of getting young talent on the cheap, which is completely against the reason it was introduced.

Say if a league 2 team nuture a player for 5 years and he has a potential value of £300k, i'd like to see an arbitration value of at least 50% of that, at the moment the smaller club will get a token £25k and a smack in the face when they try to sign a replacement.

At the moment its a glorified Bosman transfer, a world away from rewarding clubs for spending what could be anything up to a decade nurturing talent.