Agents in football, Sir Alex Ferguson’s claim under review - Part 2
The guy in question in that tasty looking designer suit is the modern agent, someone who has made life difficult for football clubs and their managers. How is that? In reality, that individual is a shrewd business-minded person. He/she tells the footballer's
parents that their kid can make far more than his father ever made. In fact, he gets the endorsements, the community visits; he is responsible for building up a young footballer’s image in world football.
Ferguson’s job has been made difficult because 'that agent' now forces the club's hand. Before the time of the “agent”, who is almost comparable to Agent Smith from Matrix trilogy, manager used to play a paternal role, a role which mirrored care and affection.
They used to just bring out a contract with a respectable wage engrained on it and the player signed it without even reading the text above the dotted line.
Ferguson holds the view that, that was the time when dealings were done on mutual respect and trust. Players used to trust their clubs and respect the manager’s recommendation but this is odd because the manager is working for the football club and not the
“footballer” in question in this matter. He is bound to do whatever is necessary to make the club function in the best possible manner.
Back in Sir Alex’s favourite days, the clubs held power over their workers i.e. the players. They decided the contract terms because the player was too naive or ill-informed to even worry about the financial side of the matter. In all fairness, it should
be the other way around because without players, there will be no football clubs.
After all, like all organizations labour does have some rights; one cannot just discount their say in the matter. Add to this the fact that footballers are seldom educated individuals who have sufficient knowledge of anything other than how to kick or pass
a ball or in some cases, tackle the opponent who possesses the ball. Agents are tailor-made to fit as so-called “Union leaders” on footballers' behalf.
The problem is that sometimes players are so foolish and naive that they can’t figure out what is the best step for them in club football? As football has grown as an entertainment business rather than a sport, agents have started to spurt up from all direction
which is justifiable given the amount of money involved. People see money and say hey maybe I can make my living by representing some talented lad who knows how to kick a ball or two. Sadly, as the number of agents has increased, some of them have adopted
let’s say unconventional means to get the best deals for their clients.
The story has taken a turn for the worse in the past decade as players have now become more and more dependent on the agents. Players allow agents to handle everything from their wages, bank accounts, endorsements and travelling schedules to social parties
and whatnot? At first, it was meant to be a player-agent connection in which the player was the “boss” but nowadays, footballers have become so reliant on their agents that they can’t do anything without contacting them at first. Most footballers now trust
their agents more than they trust their wives- see tabloids for further details. The issue is that agents do not always have their client's best interest at heart. They are indeed money making machines and that is exactly why fans have come to hate them so
much.
Despite all their shortcomings and flaws, agents are only doing their job in all honesty. It is the players who need to be blamed if anyone is to be held accountable, they should be held in justice because they are the ones who have surrendered all control
over their professional life to such representatives. If players focus enough, the matters relating to settling a contract or negotiating an advertisement deal aren’t that hard. But, footballers would rather attend parties, go to pubs with their “mates” and
in some cases, spend their hard earned money on girls which take money to accommodate their physical “needs”.
Stupidity and foolishness on the players part is the real problem here, a problem that can only be addressed if players are educated. If they are willing to think for themselves rather than hire experts to do so in their place. In early days, clubs exploited
the players but now it’s these agents who exploit them both.
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