SAM ALLARDYCE

Former player heaps praise on fallen boss

I WAS a football agent for eight years. I never got asked for money and I never offered it.

It was, though, an untrustworthy business.

There were a lot of dodgy people operating in the field, and I was never entirely comfortable being in amongst it.

Throughout my time, I would hear through the grapevine about other agents cutting deals with club managers.

People spoke of them giving cash to managers, involved in transfers that had made them a lot of money, by way of a reward.

The other side of it was of managers themselves making demands to player representatives, along the lines of: “Look, I am making you a lot of money. I want a cut.”

You would also hear of agents saying to clubs: “How much do you want for your player?”

Then, on hearing their reply, they would say: “Okay, I want 50% of anything I get over and above that figure. “The other half will be yours.” The worst stories were of transfer deals that should never have happened. A manager would buy a player for a club, not because they needed him, but because he knew HE personally would make money out of it.

Or instances where an agent, who had supplied a club with some of their biggest names, would persuade them to also take a chance on one of his clients who wasn’t up to the level he’d be expected to play at.

Gordon Smith was They would agree to keep

aware of the seamier him side sweet, of and football,the player which would provedbe writtenthe undoingoff as ‘a of developmentSam Allardyce project’, (below).and maybe used in a couple of friendly games or cup ties against inferior opposition.

I don’t have concrete evidence these deals

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