got a call colleague from a old office colleague today which made me think. The difference in how I structure my work time is immense. In my old job a had a daily and weekly routine, monday reports sent by 10.00, tuesday action-based checklist which I follow up before Friday afternoon.
Even though the tasks varied a bit depending on where we were in the accounting year, it was mainly the same thing week in and out. Then finally Weekend.
FML
Now sitting on a thursday I have checklist that I try to follow but its mainly for myself no to forget anything. This weeks looks something like this:
- Follow up on demand emails
- Send out new email demands
- Daniel contract
- Academy overview a) who has signed/trailed in which club b)what happens after the season
- Belgium club
- Follow up x-club and the players I presented
- Get in touch with with club, z - d - s - f - a
- Player recruitment
There is no really chronological order. All I know is that these tasks need to be carried out and honestly I wouldn't need a office to do this work (although, thank god I have).
For example yesterday/today again it feels like I have nothing to do and I am just waisting time. All the above mentioned things are done and I dont really know were to start, it feels down. On the other hand on Tuesday next week I am driving 700km to meet 2 really good players, those days it feel up.
my main point in all this comparing to my office job I am way ahead, at the same time its not always beautiful
have a nice easter
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
transfer saga
i regularly hear opinions that agents are seen as scum and have a general appearance of untrustworthy. Ask most pro-player or experienced agent they will say dito about clubs, the difference is that nobody reports on this.
Had a Skype conversation with an agent colleague today that is active in Portugal:
- He took a domestic player to a mid size club in Bulgaria. The player went on a short trial on after a couple of days the club wanted to sign him, negotiations went quite smooth and within 10 days all paperwork was done (both player and agent contracts with the club). Within two weeks the club signs 5 more players and now has a squad of around 35 players in total. Anyway the coach (that was present during the trail) gives the player a chance and he plays quite regularly for the first couple of weeks. The teams results are not satisfying and the club gets allot of negative press in regards to their newly acquired players and transfer strategy.
Some press is also negative towards my friends player, he is the only one that actually plays out of 6 new players and therefor gets all the negative press of the terrible transferwindow focused around him. The weeks pass and when pay-checks should come through the players account is empty. At the same time he has taken his whole family to the very far end of Europe and bills are gathering up (rent, food, kindergarden etc.). He finds out that all other players in the team has been paid and naturally asks his agent to look into the matter. The agent calls the president up and asks why his player has not been paid and also why his invoice is late 6 weeks (although late agent invoice are almost standard nowadays).
Without answering his question the president start saying he is disappointed with the player and the negative shade this has put on the club (in fact directly on him) and wants to break his contract, this 7 weeks into a 3+1 year contract. As an example he emails the agent an article and hangs up, end of discussion.
- The player is now in a foreign country with his family with no mny.
- The agent has not been paid.
The club of course know that breaking a contract without just cause can lead to serious punishment from FIFA but they will now do everything to make the player that uncomfortable that he will agree to mutually end the agreement. Not paying, training with reserves, not inviting him to team activities etc.
The end of this saga now seems to have a happy ending anyway. Agent is currently in CAS process and it looks good for their party...
The agent business is built on protecting their client from not being screwed, disregarding if its a football player, movie star, music artist or a painter dealing with a gallery/exhibit.
Also me being very eager to make a deal in MLS I have tried to expand my network overseas, both clubs and agent colleagues. I have to say the difference in terms of general attitude towards agents there is huge. They are seen in a much more positive light. In US most agents have rich academic background in sport management or sport law, also the agent tradition is much longer over there.
Had a Skype conversation with an agent colleague today that is active in Portugal:
- He took a domestic player to a mid size club in Bulgaria. The player went on a short trial on after a couple of days the club wanted to sign him, negotiations went quite smooth and within 10 days all paperwork was done (both player and agent contracts with the club). Within two weeks the club signs 5 more players and now has a squad of around 35 players in total. Anyway the coach (that was present during the trail) gives the player a chance and he plays quite regularly for the first couple of weeks. The teams results are not satisfying and the club gets allot of negative press in regards to their newly acquired players and transfer strategy.
Some press is also negative towards my friends player, he is the only one that actually plays out of 6 new players and therefor gets all the negative press of the terrible transferwindow focused around him. The weeks pass and when pay-checks should come through the players account is empty. At the same time he has taken his whole family to the very far end of Europe and bills are gathering up (rent, food, kindergarden etc.). He finds out that all other players in the team has been paid and naturally asks his agent to look into the matter. The agent calls the president up and asks why his player has not been paid and also why his invoice is late 6 weeks (although late agent invoice are almost standard nowadays).
Without answering his question the president start saying he is disappointed with the player and the negative shade this has put on the club (in fact directly on him) and wants to break his contract, this 7 weeks into a 3+1 year contract. As an example he emails the agent an article and hangs up, end of discussion.
- The player is now in a foreign country with his family with no mny.
- The agent has not been paid.
The club of course know that breaking a contract without just cause can lead to serious punishment from FIFA but they will now do everything to make the player that uncomfortable that he will agree to mutually end the agreement. Not paying, training with reserves, not inviting him to team activities etc.
The end of this saga now seems to have a happy ending anyway. Agent is currently in CAS process and it looks good for their party...
The agent business is built on protecting their client from not being screwed, disregarding if its a football player, movie star, music artist or a painter dealing with a gallery/exhibit.
Also me being very eager to make a deal in MLS I have tried to expand my network overseas, both clubs and agent colleagues. I have to say the difference in terms of general attitude towards agents there is huge. They are seen in a much more positive light. In US most agents have rich academic background in sport management or sport law, also the agent tradition is much longer over there.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
tbt & nr7
its thursday (through-back) and the month of february is coming to an end. For me this means two things:
1. Without being sentimental but more since its #tbt, its exactly one year ago I went to my second hometown to totally isolate myself. It was 8 weeks before my FIFA exam and I had quit my job and really gambled everything on one card. Honestly I had no real back-up plan and looking back at it the pressure I put on myself was massive. On top of that I had not told that many friends/family that I actually had quit and was writing the exam. I told people I was away on business but really went into serious study mode:
- 7 weeks of intense studying
- 8 hours/day including saturdays
- no substances
On exam day I was quite nervous but managed to pull myself together, the nervs kicked in after the exam. More exactly the 48 hours I was waiting for my federation to give me the result, terror.
2. Number two or in fact nr.7. Tomorrow my seventh transfer will 99% be done, its already official on the clubs webpage but 2 big details are missing. We are negotiated and are totally agreed. My contract between the club and agent, and players signed employment contract. The player is from Asia and is young, since it will take him 3-4 days to travel to the club and sign live they prompted on electronically signing the contract. So I have sent him his contract and tomorrow morning the player will print, sign, scan and email it to me. Then I will wait for the club to do the same with the agent/club agreement. I trust the chairman but I will not take any risk in sending the players contract in beforehand, in theory when they have the player-contract there is no incentive of signing our agreement.
Again its a player from the academy I work with, going to a domestic championship club. Unfortunately a club in this league neither has the budget or will to pay any agent commission, nor does the player make the money I would feel comfortable being remunerated my 10%. My end will come if the player explodes, I have 15% of next sale (including FIFA training compensation).
Looking at the seven transfers I have done in the past 9 months, they were all very different. Different structure, background, commission, country, key factors etc.
This is the whole tickle, contrasts.
1. Without being sentimental but more since its #tbt, its exactly one year ago I went to my second hometown to totally isolate myself. It was 8 weeks before my FIFA exam and I had quit my job and really gambled everything on one card. Honestly I had no real back-up plan and looking back at it the pressure I put on myself was massive. On top of that I had not told that many friends/family that I actually had quit and was writing the exam. I told people I was away on business but really went into serious study mode:
- 7 weeks of intense studying
- 8 hours/day including saturdays
- no substances
On exam day I was quite nervous but managed to pull myself together, the nervs kicked in after the exam. More exactly the 48 hours I was waiting for my federation to give me the result, terror.
2. Number two or in fact nr.7. Tomorrow my seventh transfer will 99% be done, its already official on the clubs webpage but 2 big details are missing. We are negotiated and are totally agreed. My contract between the club and agent, and players signed employment contract. The player is from Asia and is young, since it will take him 3-4 days to travel to the club and sign live they prompted on electronically signing the contract. So I have sent him his contract and tomorrow morning the player will print, sign, scan and email it to me. Then I will wait for the club to do the same with the agent/club agreement. I trust the chairman but I will not take any risk in sending the players contract in beforehand, in theory when they have the player-contract there is no incentive of signing our agreement.
Again its a player from the academy I work with, going to a domestic championship club. Unfortunately a club in this league neither has the budget or will to pay any agent commission, nor does the player make the money I would feel comfortable being remunerated my 10%. My end will come if the player explodes, I have 15% of next sale (including FIFA training compensation).
Looking at the seven transfers I have done in the past 9 months, they were all very different. Different structure, background, commission, country, key factors etc.
This is the whole tickle, contrasts.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
winter turning to spring
similar to the summer window also january started slow. The stress knowing that the market is active, agents move their players and you not delivering is stressing. In other words the whole January was hard, deals breaking down last second, unluck, high expectations and bad timing made my stomach turn inside out. Now mid Feb everything feels much better, have done 3 so far. Here comes a quick recap on each case:
1. One of the players I tried moving already this summer was sitting on a ending contract and it was now or never for him to make a shot at europe. On top of that I did not have an representation agreement signed with him which means I am also racing against other agents offering him different deals. Everything was lined up in beginning of January for a mid size club in eastern europe, agreed in terms of contract and agent fee and after just setting the last practical details in terms of dates the club suddenly is not convinced. The dont pick up my phone calls or respond to emails, this is never a good sign. I slowly realize they are looking at other options and at the same time the player getting more stressed, this one had the potential to become a nightmare.
Out of the blue some random dude informs the player that another team in the same league are interested and that he can help. I act with full aggressiveness to secure I own the situation and take 100% charge, call the coach, president, team officials making sure they understand I and nobody else represent the player. We go down together and visit the club, quite quickly agree then fly back to sign.
For me a big important deal done, for the player a great move both financially in from a sporting perspective.
Important also that is makes a good statement for other players I want to sign.
2. An academy player signing his first pro contract. Arranged a 2 week trail for 2 kids from the academy I work with. Both really made a great impression, unfortunately the club could only afford one of them. He signed a 2 year deal with a domestic Championship club. The club is a small budget club so there is not even worth mentioning any agent provision and the player salary is small as well (I would never take mny from a young player like this). My financial benefit is if the kid explodes and moves, I have 30% of future financials such as transfer fee or training compensation.
3. For me a very underrated player, which club was relegated from the top tier. As many relegated clubs they suffer tremendously financially. My player which I had signed already this fall had a quite high salary and everybody knew he was way too good to stay. I had 2 clubs on the line both willing to make substantial offers (remember that 95% of all transfers these days are free agents). The selling club honored the situation and was realistic in their demanded price and everything went very smooth. Although my player was top 3 most expensive player they have ever bought...
In these scenarios when 2 clubs want the player the loosing club will always get disappointed and pissed at the agent, so also in this case. My relationship with them is now spoiled, but thats a part of it.
So even though the winterwindow is not closed yet I have done 6 transfers my first 2 windows. A result I should be very happy with, but as with everything my appetite is just growing. Maybe I can squeeze in 1 more deal this window, that would be fab.
Exactly 1 year ago I gambled and quit my job, applied to take a license and sat alone for 2 months straight and just studied. Looking back, best decision ever.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
1 month left, tick tack
Feels like time is running out, looking back at some earlier posts I wanted to have recap on the post from late September "Prep for 2014". Basically my strategic plan was to work on 3 points in order stay alive both in the short and long run. These 3 points were:
1. Collaboration with an academy:
Visiting the UK based academy I was just so impressed with resources that are used on these young kids. Comparing to my country of residence it is just day and night, anyone doubting football business is big deal should travel around in Europe seeing how much money is invested in kids.
Anyway, after some negotiations i managed to convince the academy director an agent is a necessity in order to get players out to pro clubs. He gave me his blessing and I got to work.
Back in my office I started contacting suitable clubs (there are several parameters to take into consideration when picking a club, such as; to they play young players, do they historically sell young players, coach mentality, club environment good for youth, level of league etc.). One of the conditions from the academy was that the club should cover all costs in regards to trails, in pro football this is not the standard. Opposite it always the agent/player that players that stands for this cost.
Also from the Academy side a prerequisite was that I as an agent do not take any commission from the first transfer, thats understandable.
Selling the academy and services to the suitable clubs I managed to arrange 3 trials for these young lads. First one was negative, the next 2 have been at their club for 2 weeks and yesterday the trainer was positive in an interview to the newspaper. We will have feedback today (please please).
I really have invested allot of time and cash on making me the agent for this academy so deeply hope they produce some interesting players..
Whats innit for me? Well I will write representation contract with the players and try get in a sell on clause for my self on next transfer.
2. Attacking players with ending contracts:
This I thought was a well performed point from my side. Together with a colleague from the agency I work with we had 12-13 good players were contracts ends, in other words helping transferring 5 out of those would be an ok result. This has not really worked out the way I wanted, mainly for 2 reasons. It is commonly known both by players/clubs/agents that it is a clubs market and that they determine the conditions (we have touched upon this subject before). Therefor half of those 12-13 players got offered new deals directly after the season ended, 2 months before the window open with a tight deadline. Players know it is not easy to find new clubs these days and therefore chose the safe option to directly extend the deal...
Secondly feedback from clubs is that the cant give any concrete offers for January before mid December, budgets are very tight and if they already have signed a player and lets say 2 crucial players get injured the last weeks of the year they will not have room in the budget to replace the injuries. Clubs wait until last minute, this of course makes the agent work much harder and players stressed.
2. Asking clubs for lists:
When I say lists I mean demand lists from clubs on what they will be looking for. This point has gone really well, and I have managed to get in contact with many clubs from UK, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Scandinavia, Ukraine, Greece etc. Problem is that I cant provide the players the clubs demand. Often I present a player were I know their agent which makes me have to split the potential commission. This is ok as long as you know the other agent well and no one tries to rip each other off..
Two other points:
-There will be no new years celebration this year, need to be in the office 1 Jan in morning..
-David Russel movie The Fighter is on telly tonight, cant wait
1. Collaboration with an academy:
Visiting the UK based academy I was just so impressed with resources that are used on these young kids. Comparing to my country of residence it is just day and night, anyone doubting football business is big deal should travel around in Europe seeing how much money is invested in kids.
Anyway, after some negotiations i managed to convince the academy director an agent is a necessity in order to get players out to pro clubs. He gave me his blessing and I got to work.
Back in my office I started contacting suitable clubs (there are several parameters to take into consideration when picking a club, such as; to they play young players, do they historically sell young players, coach mentality, club environment good for youth, level of league etc.). One of the conditions from the academy was that the club should cover all costs in regards to trails, in pro football this is not the standard. Opposite it always the agent/player that players that stands for this cost.
Also from the Academy side a prerequisite was that I as an agent do not take any commission from the first transfer, thats understandable.
Selling the academy and services to the suitable clubs I managed to arrange 3 trials for these young lads. First one was negative, the next 2 have been at their club for 2 weeks and yesterday the trainer was positive in an interview to the newspaper. We will have feedback today (please please).
I really have invested allot of time and cash on making me the agent for this academy so deeply hope they produce some interesting players..
Whats innit for me? Well I will write representation contract with the players and try get in a sell on clause for my self on next transfer.
2. Attacking players with ending contracts:
This I thought was a well performed point from my side. Together with a colleague from the agency I work with we had 12-13 good players were contracts ends, in other words helping transferring 5 out of those would be an ok result. This has not really worked out the way I wanted, mainly for 2 reasons. It is commonly known both by players/clubs/agents that it is a clubs market and that they determine the conditions (we have touched upon this subject before). Therefor half of those 12-13 players got offered new deals directly after the season ended, 2 months before the window open with a tight deadline. Players know it is not easy to find new clubs these days and therefore chose the safe option to directly extend the deal...
Secondly feedback from clubs is that the cant give any concrete offers for January before mid December, budgets are very tight and if they already have signed a player and lets say 2 crucial players get injured the last weeks of the year they will not have room in the budget to replace the injuries. Clubs wait until last minute, this of course makes the agent work much harder and players stressed.
2. Asking clubs for lists:
When I say lists I mean demand lists from clubs on what they will be looking for. This point has gone really well, and I have managed to get in contact with many clubs from UK, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Scandinavia, Ukraine, Greece etc. Problem is that I cant provide the players the clubs demand. Often I present a player were I know their agent which makes me have to split the potential commission. This is ok as long as you know the other agent well and no one tries to rip each other off..
Two other points:
-There will be no new years celebration this year, need to be in the office 1 Jan in morning..
-David Russel movie The Fighter is on telly tonight, cant wait
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