The Staggering Mismanagement - Recent History.

[brian green]

Thinking less aggressively, doesn't the real problem of agents lie with the clubs themselves?  The clubs rarely, if ever, act for the common good of the game.  They all subscribe to a devil-take-the-hindmost philosophy where schadenfreude rules.  If the clubs acted in unison to curb the power of agents the game would be better for it.  But they won't because they all want to screw their rivals and if a suitcase full of money to a third party is what it takes they do it.

[Mister E]

Thinking less aggressively, doesn't the real problem of agents lie with the clubs themselves?  The clubs rarely, if ever, act for the common good of the game.  They all subscribe to a devil-take-the-hindmost philosophy where schadenfreude rules.  If the clubs acted in unison to curb the power of agents the game would be better for it.  But they won't because they all want to screw their rivals and if a suitcase full of money to a third party is what it takes they do it.

Yes, and the clubs will not act in unison because of the value-differential: why would those with loads of dosh give up their advantage by playing fair with those with significantly less dosh?
Only when the money runs out will there be genuine attempts to act together. By which time the game may well have disaffected many of its advocates and other stakeholders.

[garyfouroaks]

What am I missing here? If we have spent £5.5 million on agents fees in the last two transfer windows then that was under the current regime, not the last regime. Even the window immediately before Bruce's appointment was under the current regime of Dr T and Keith Wyness. As much as I dislike Lerner what has this got to do with him, apart from the fact he left a club that needed team strengthening?
Also, as high and ridiculous as the figures appear, did we overpay or did we just pay the going rate?

I think part of it is we continued to pay for fees for players who we signed as a PL club that have left the since. So something should have been written into those contracts and others to stop us from doing that. I think everyone at the club has a better handle on things that were done wrong, or indeed mistakes that they have made and hopefully have learned from.

I too think this is a non-story.

We do not know why the agents fees were staggered. It may simply have been that it suited the club to pay in instalments- fair enough.

[ROBBO]

Where is McCormack? heard no mention of him for weeks, could he be our secret weapon in the play-offs.

[eamonn]

Only if we use him as nuisance value to wind his old Fulham teammates up in the dressing room at Wembley should we both get there.

[olaftab]

Where is McCormack? heard no mention of him for weeks, could he be our secret weapon in the play-offs.

There was something mentioned at the  AVST AGM as some sort of personal issue  and the club are helping him through that. It was treated as sensitive and serious so we should wish  him good luck in coping with it.

[footyskillz]

Looking at this the agents fees have been a real push in the face. I may revise how and who villa have brought in since I have seen the savings on agents fees and Bruce and above are far more savvy..

Tony Xia recent statement says about looking at last 10 years and the spend so have to give credit to Bruce and wyness in being less naive than past regimes.
It's good they were aware but still we took a risk or calculated gamble to promote ourselves and because of last history before the good Dr then we have these issues

[sickbeggar]

Maybe i'm having a bad case of deja vu, but i'm pretty sure Bruce said all that about 6 months ago when he was starting to whine a bit about having no money in January.

[Steve67]

Why would agents receive anything from a loan fee?