The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Fifa must tackle the evil of agents Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:39 PM PDT OCT 1 — What is the most negative influence on modern professional football? I know a lot of you would immediately answer illegal gambling and the match-fixing that sometimes goes with it. However, I believe (maybe naively) that match-fixing is relatively uncommon and isolated — either a match is fixed or it isn't, and in the vast majority of cases it isn't. No, there's a worse influence on football than match-fixing; something that should be addressed with even more urgency: players' agents. From the top, let me make two qualifications. Firstly, I accept that agents are a necessary part of the game. Players have neither the time nor the expertise to manage their large salaries or negotiate the lucrative commercial contracts that come their way; they need someone to do it for them, and that's where agents have a perfectly valid role. They can't simply be done away with. Secondly, I acknowledge that not all agents are bad. There are plenty of scrupulous, responsible agents who carry out their business in a professional, transparent manner and attempt to give their players genuine, honest advice. But now I'll stop being nice. On the whole they are a very unpleasant bunch, motivated by greed and existing on the margins of the game, causing unrest, contributing nothing positive and, like predatory leeches, routinely sucking vast sums of money out of the sport that they had nothing to do with generating in the first place. No, I don't like agents very much. They cause an awful lot of problems between players and clubs, mainly due to the fact that their income rises when their players move. They might receive a relatively small (by their standards) retainer for day-to-day work, but the big bucks are earned by agents when they claim a sizeable percentage of a transfer fee. Therefore it isn't in the interests of money-motivated agents to have players who are happy to stay where they are. So, at the first moment of unrest, they are in the players' ear, telling them how badly treated they are and how much money they could be earning at another club. Even more unethically, they often work by insider dealing — a manager may, for example, receive a "cut" of the transfer fee if his club sign a player from a certain agent. Furthermore, agents are the most common sources of deliberately destabilising leaks to the media, and that explains why we never see the dirty dealings of agents exposed in the media. Despite modern newspapers being obsessed with sniffing out scandal and unveiling corruption, agents can get away with so much because of journalists. Agents are the source of a steady and rich supply of gossip and speculation, so why risk upsetting them by exposing unethical behaviour? They need each other: the agent wants to create interest in his player and bump up his transfer value; he uses the newspapers. The newspapers want sensational scoops and exclusive revelations; they use the agents. They scratch each other's backs in a seedy, grimy, secret relationship that does an enormous disservice both to the art of journalism and the game of football — and there's nothing that anybody can do about it. Agents are particularly topical this week because much of the controversy surrounding Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez in the last few years has been caused by his agent — the most notorious of them all — Kia Joorabchian. Although Joorabchian can't be accused of directly instigating Tevez's refusal to appear as a substitute at Bayern Munich in midweek, there can be little doubt that the general ongoing climate of conflict and distrust between Tevez and his club has been caused by the Argentine's agent (although Joorabchian doesn't like to describe himself as an agent, mainly so he can get away with being unlicensed). Having been taken out of Argentina as a young man under Joorabchian's wing in a "third-party ownership" arrangement that many leagues no longer allow, Tevez somehow seems to be unable to extricate himself from Joorabchian's questionable influence even now he's a multi-millionaire. Joorabchian seems to have some kind of hold over the striker, and that makes for a very difficult relationship with his club. The problem with agents is that they are so difficult to regulate. If a player feels that he needs advice and is willing to pay someone for that advice, how can that process be stopped? Fifa, the game's world governing body, are attempting to get to grips with the issue and I wish them all the luck in the world because the role of agents needs to be reformed. In a way, ruthless operators like Joorabchian are inevitable under the present state of affairs. They're nothing more than shrewd, unscrupulous businessmen who have recognised an opportunity to make lots of cash thanks to a lack of regulation in the current market. If a gap is there, someone will come along and fill it. Fifa have to take responsibility and fill that gap by properly regulating agents and making them accountable to transparent business practises. If that doesn't happen, devious and immoral agents, who have no interest in the health of football and are motivated purely by hard cash, however they can earn it, will continue to exert their malign influence. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| City slickers raring to show some true class Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:25 PM PDT OCT 1 — Will life return to normal this weekend as Manchester City travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers tonight (10pm, live on StarSports, Channel 813 on Astro)? I think it will as there are no parasitical elements at the training ground. The Manchester City players must be heaving a sigh of relief now that Carlos Tevez has finally committed the ultimate crime in football, and is facing the due punishment for his misdeed. This spells trouble for Blackburn Rovers though as they could become cannon fodder, especially after the limp performance against Newcastle United last weekend, going down 3-1 and having a man sent off too. While Man City attempt to brush off any effects of the Tevez saga, their co-leaders at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) will be at the same time welcoming Norwich City to Old Trafford (10pm, live on ESPN, Channel 812). Alex Ferguson will surely be demanding a clean sheet against Norwich City after the debacle of conceding three goals against Swiss side Basle in their mid-week Champions League encounter, let alone the free header given to Peter Crouch for Stoke City's equaliser last Saturday. Manchester United must plug the holes in that defence and keep the marauding Canaries at bay. Norwich would be the ultimate test for a leaky MU side! Okay, only kidding but the knighted one will definitely blow a fuse if Norwich is allowed to even breathe on David de Gea. They have adequate strength and great cover upfront but, hopefully, Ferguson does not make the same tactical faux pas committed against Stoke. The manager should have brought on young Danny Welbeck with his energy, pace and enthusiasm instead of Michael Owen, to replace the injured Javier Hernandez. When you have Dimitar Berbatov on the pitch, you need another striker who is willing to run his heart out. So, having Berbatov and Owen on the pitch together, in my opinion, blunted United's attack and allowed Stoke to come back. Another pair of blue and red rivals will not be thinking of other teams in the league this weekend as they clash in their famous city in the early kickoff at 7.45pm (live on ESPN). Yes, the Merseyside derby takes us to Goodison Park and David Moyes might still deploy the same defensive tactics as he did against Man City last Saturday. Although the feeling is that Moyes could well decide to put Liverpool under pressure to test the already uncertain defending. The Reds defence has to be put to the sword if Everton want to salvage some credibility after last weekend. Another local derby, on Sunday (11pm, live on ESPN), sees what could surely be the story of the weekend. Playing at White Hart Lane, a confident Spurs team will come up against the Gunners, quite perhaps the team under the most pressure currently in the EPL. This could well be a high scoring draw but Spurs look in good form. After the heavy losses in their first two matches of the season — 5-1 at home to Man City and 3-0 away to MU — they have maintained a commendable run of winning three on the trot, including that trouncing of Liverpool at home. Emmanuel Adebayor has come into some great form for his latest club, and this will please the Spurs faithful as he is likely to score against his much-hated former club and local rival, Arsenal, after doing the same at Man City last season. I am certainly looking forward to watching this match more than any other this weekend, personally and professionally speaking. Meanwhile, a club that is flying under the radar at the moment is Newcastle United, whose manager Alan Pardew deserves credit for the club's unbeaten start to the season. They are one of four with that distinction up to Week 6 of the EPL. There has been a slow evolution at St James' Park, with Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan leaving the club and replaced by the likes of Yohan Cabaye, who for me is an improvement. Last weekend's hattrick hero Demba Ba, who is also a new signing, is a physically strong player, and he looks to be an asset for Newcastle's style of play. I think they can maintain their good form, though I have concerns about their defensive cover if club captain Fabricio Coloccini or Steven Taylor were to be injured for more than a week or two during such a long season. With Hatem Ben Arfa set to return to full fitness, I think the high-flying Magpies should finish comfortably between 8th and 12th position come May 2012. Their test of resilience continues at Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight. The other team not from Manchester which has surprised critics by remaining unbeaten this season is Aston Villa. Villa, who play Wigan Athletic at home tonight (10pm, live, Channel 817), have yet to lose a Premier League game so far, but Alex McLeish's men have drawn five out of their first six league games, which is hardly inspiring form. Enjoy the football, folks! * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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