Allardyce forces Ravel Morrison out the door with agent demands?

Duck Soup

The Guardian article from last Saturday tells the whole story, but here's the shortened version:

Ravel Morrison starts to be touted as the Next Big Thing at West Ham. Sam Allardyce "suggests" that Morrison signs up with the same agent that Allardyce - and club captain Kevin Nolan - uses, a guy named Mark Curtis.

Morrison doesn't want Curtis as his agent and says no thank you. Allardyce and Nolan keep on at Morrison, on pretty much a daily basis, to sign up with Curtis's agency. Morrison refuses.

End result: Morrison is on the cusp of a loan deal to QPR.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/feb/15/ravel-morrison-west-ham-united-waste

Paully D

Well, this lot do have previous.

Sadly often managers will pair with an agent and receive a cut of money when he makes a move to said managers club. Look at Ben Haim/Pino Zahvi with Redknapp. 'Arry signed him three times despite him being complete and utter rubbish.

Pete Harrison sent an open letter to Gartside of Bolton a couple of years ago. Custis was involved. The most damning thing about it is that no legal action was taken against him which probably tells us all we need to know:

Over the last few months, ex-football agent Peter Harrison has made a number of allegations against Phil Gartside on social networking site, Twitter. Here, in an open letter to the Bolton chairman, he explains the motives behind his actions.

Dear Phil,

Over the last few months another agent and I have attacked you on Twitter about the way you run Bolton Wanderers Football Club. You have never once replied to our accusations or tried to sue us, which seems strange given the things that have been said.

I would just like to explain to the supporters who think that I am having a go at you because I am bitter about you maybe cutting me out of a deal, or as some of them keep mentioning, because I lost Andy Carroll, (although he does not play for Bolton so that’s a bit confusing.)

No Phil, I am having a dig at you because you are an embarrassment to BWFC because of your close association with the agent Mark Curtis. This man is probably the most hated agent in football as he has tapped up so many players, many who were about to sign or had signed at your club, and nothing is ever done about it. Agents have complained time again about this, but Curtis always gets away with it. It is the belief in football amongst agents that you, through your position on the FA Panel, are protecting him.

Now, agents do lose players, but it seems to happen a lot at Bolton, and agents are frightened to put players to the club, as if they are very good, then they normally get tapped up by your mate and a blind eye is turned to this.

Phil, I was working as an agent at BWFC before you were chairman and it was an excellent, friendly club - my second club, although I liked going there so much I was there more than at my first love, Newcastle United.

I brought Eidur Gudjohnsen to the club on a free transfer, Ali Al Habsi on a free transfer and represented Gudni Bergsson, and Mick Whitlow. I brought Fredi Bobic to the club, Nakata, and of course represented Jussi for many years.

So Phil, I know and knew the club quite well. What bothers me, Phil is that I have negotiated players contracts with you, as have many other agents, and you are very good and capable at doing the negotiations. So why did you start insisting that Mark Curtis has to represent the club when negotiating a contract and therefore paying him a substantial commission.

Lots of people are talking about this Phil, and are saying that this just does not seem right. Why pay big commissions to an agent, especially one that has been in trouble so many times with the FA and fined by FIFA, when you are capable of doing it for the club and thus saving the club money.

I know you are BWFC’s biggest fan (earning £350,000 per year plus substantial bonuses) but do you not think that you need to be cutting costs at the club because of the financial problems they are having? The first thing a sensible chairman would do is cut the costs and one of the costs to be cut should be stop paying an agent money for a job that you can do.

I would gladly represent the club for free and I am sure there is a Bolton supporter out there who would love to be Chairman and not take a salary. C’mon Phil, stop all this whispering going on in football and run the club properly. Be open and honest to your fans.

If you have nothing to hide then please tell your supporters how much commission you have paid to Mark Curtis and his co Director David Bromley over the last ten years. Enough I say to have bought two players who could now be helping you fight relegation.

So Phil, what’s your reply going to be? Silence? Or maybe your mate at the FA might stick up for you like the last time. Whatever your reply, the whispering and accusations will continue unless things change in the way you run your club.

You are a FA board member Phil, the same board who after their failed World Cup bid, complained that FIFA had to be more transparent. Yes, transparent Phil, so show some leadership and come clean on how much of your supporters’ money you have given to Mark Curtis. The FA surely want to prove how transparent English Football is and to put an end to all this nudge, nudge, wink, wink that goes on when your name and Mark Curtis’s name is mentioned.

Finally Phil where has all the club money gone? When you look at your Squad you have not spent massively and your wage bill is not that big, so why is the club in so much debt? How come they are over £100 million in debt yet you have received £120 million in Sky money over the last 3 years. It does not add up Phil and hardly merits a bonus!

Something’s not right here mate. Transparency, that’s what everyone is calling for. You owe it to your fellow fans. C’mon Phil, speak.

Over to you Phil, Bolton fan and proud Chairman.

Yours,
Peter Harrison

He also said this:

http://kumb.com/story.php?id=126093

Agent Mark Curtis, who worked with Allardyce at Bolton before the pair renewed their relationship at West Ham was the next target of Harrison's venemous attack. "I hate Mark Curtis, he is bent; he is Sam's agent, he is Fatty Nolan's agent," he wrote.

Curtis and Allardyce's conduct at West Ham was then brought into question when Harrison asked: "Sam, why is your agent pinching the players at West Ham? [He] seems to follow you about, are you getting a bit on the side?"

And when a follower asked Harrison if young Hammer James Tomkins, who recently signed a new five-year deal weeks after changing agents was now represented by Curtis he replied: "Yes, with a little help from Nolan and Sam."

Finally, after nearly two hours of constant accusations, Harrison ended his tirade by writing: "After four or five months of giving abuse to Fat Sam and his corrupt mates, not one letter from a solicitor, why? Guilty as f***!"

No doubt in my mind that that Guardian story is 100% correct.

Mocha Joe

Been a lot of stories about Allardyce and that agent up to similar tricks before.

Vinz Mesrine

The sooner Allardyce and his ilk are gone from the game the better.

kryogen

This was brought up in a thread last week, I guess the United thread. Big Sam and his way of doing things is well known, or at least well speculated on at this stage. You would wonder how much better HR would be though

Mitch Connor

feel a little sorry for Morison here.

Gutted he threw away his chance at United, I thought he was going to be a superstar for us, but it does appear he has been trying to learn from his mistakes and take the chance he had at West Ham. Unfortunately for him it goes pear shaped cause of Big Sam and his corrupt mates - so unfair on the lad. No wonder he wants out of the club.

kryogen

United and Mendes, Fergie/United and Zahavi, Chelsea and Zahavi, Ajax and Raoila, the blossoming PSG and Raoila

Big Sam and Custis, just doesnt have the same ring to it but they are certainly not alone

Lovely Bloke

Yes, the United/Mendes link absolutely stinks.

gimmick

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

The sooner Allardyce and his ilk are gone from the game the better.

The "ilk" you speak of will simply be replaced again and again. Its a football problem which will be ever present.

Mitch Connor

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Yes, the United/Mendes link absolutely stinks.

Indeed - I think DDG switched to Mendes JUST before we signed him. I heard Strootman was advised to switch agents too.

And the Bebe transfer stinks to absolute high heaven. How that transfer hasn't been hammered in the media for its shady nature is beyond me.

kryogen

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Yes, the United/Mendes link absolutely stinks.

Meh, no more then plenty others, there was a time when Zahavi was in that role too and many credited that to his friendship with Fergie.

One I cant stand is Raiola. Just cannot stand that guy.

City have been ramping up there relationships with agents the last while too.

kryogen

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Indeed - I think DDG switched to Mendes JUST before we signed him. I heard Strootman was advised to switch agents too.

And the Bebe transfer stinks to absolute high heaven. How that transfer hasn't been hammered in the media for its shady nature is beyond me.

Garay switched to Mendes in the summer didnt he, Coentrao is with him. Shame he couldnt engineer a switch with Thiago Silva for us. He has some stable of players in fairness but I am not aware DDG uses him?

Edit: http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/gestifute/details/berater_413.html

De Gea doesnt appear on the list?

LiamoSail

It's not really that far removed from the connection between Alex Ferguson and the Elite agency.

There was plenty of players, youths in particular who made allegations claiming they were pressurised into signing with the agency in which ferguson's son was involved, by Ferguson

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2379603/United-cut-Ferguson-agency-link.html

It's quiet commonplace. Iirc, Mark Hughes had the same agent as the vast majority of players he signed at qpr. That Kia Jor' fella

kryogen

Its a common enough problem I would imagine

barone

any other links to mendes/pin /raiola rumours stories?

kryogen

barone wrote: »

any other links to mendes/pin /raiola rumours stories?

www.google.ie

barone

kryogen wrote: »

www.google.ie

legend

DundalkDuffman

kryogen wrote: »

Its a common enough problem I would imagine

Very recently there was some such story with the signings that Solskjaer made for Cardiff

SantryRed

Deal done.

Joins QPR on a 3 month loan deal.

kryogen

DundalkDuffman wrote: »

Very recently there was some such story with the signings that Solskjaer made for Cardiff

Was there?

TheDoc

Duck Soup wrote: »

The Guardian article from last Saturday tells the whole story, but here's the shortened version:

Ravel Morrison starts to be touted as the Next Big Thing at West Ham. Sam Allardyce "suggests" that Morrison signs up with the same agent that Allardyce - and club captain Kevin Nolan - uses, a guy named Mark Curtis.

Morrison doesn't want Curtis as his agent and says no thank you. Allardyce and Nolan keep on at Morrison, on pretty much a daily basis, to sign up with Curtis's agency. Morrison refuses.

End result: Morrison is on the cusp of a loan deal to QPR.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/feb/15/ravel-morrison-west-ham-united-waste

The loan move to QPR is not because he isn't singing up to "Big Sams mate".

A week previous Allardyce was pretty scathing of Morrison, outlining the club's physios have indicated Morrison has no issues, but the player keeps pulling out of training with what he claims are "niggles".

At this point it's evident to me Ferguson made the right call. Allardyce continued that Morrison is in real danger of becoming another name in a long list of talented footballers who threw it all away. His attitude is poor and is not pushing himself to get back into the first team, after making a bright start but loosing his place.

The move to QPR was touted as maybe a remedy for him, working under Redknapp and moving down a division to take a little pressure off.

All of this was discussed during his Friday press conference, was scathing and pretty much laid it down to Morrison in the public domain, shape up, or get lost.




No sympathy for Morrison, and its possible any touting of a new agent is to maybe find someone who will properly look after him, his current crowd have let him down significantly imo.

Hammer Archer

Was going to give my view on it, but TheDoc has pretty much summed it up.

I'm sure Sam isn't entirely blameless in this. I'm sure he did attempt to persuade Morrison to sign with Curtis. The reason for that is debatable.

But to me, it looks as if Morrison and/or his agent have seen him have a decent first third of the season and have been pushing for a big pay rise (I've seen figures from £40k - £60k per week mentioned). With his inexperience, his chequered history and his habit of drifting out of games, there is no way he was worth this. No doubt he is an exceptional talent, but as Sam intimated in the press conference last week, he is in danger of throwing it all away if he doesn't get his head straight. This isn't the first manager he's fallen out with (and he's only just turned 21), and my guess is it won't be the last.

On a side note, I think having him and Barton in the same squad is a recipe for disaster.

Mitch Connor

TheDoc wrote: »

The loan move to QPR is not because he isn't singing up to "Big Sams mate".

A week previous Allardyce was pretty scathing of Morrison, outlining the club's physios have indicated Morrison has no issues, but the player keeps pulling out of training with what he claims are "niggles".

At this point it's evident to me Ferguson made the right call. Allardyce continued that Morrison is in real danger of becoming another name in a long list of talented footballers who threw it all away. His attitude is poor and is not pushing himself to get back into the first team, after making a bright start but loosing his place.

The move to QPR was touted as maybe a remedy for him, working under Redknapp and moving down a division to take a little pressure off.

All of this was discussed during his Friday press conference, was scathing and pretty much laid it down to Morrison in the public domain, shape up, or get lost.




No sympathy for Morrison, and its possible any touting of a new agent is to maybe find someone who will properly look after him, his current crowd have let him down significantly imo.

So you are just taking Big Sam at his word - no thought that Sam could have been trying to put further pressure on Ravel?

The Secret Footballer tells a story of a keeper at a club of his being linked to a couple of big sides. Keeper wasn't bothered by the speculation, was happy to let the club deal with it. Club rejected the bids (fine with the keeper) but to ward off further interest the manager dropped the keeper from the next game saying they weren't focused due to the speculation - hinting at poor mental strength, so clubs would lose interest in him.

Could be similar happening here.

Paully D

Mitch Connor wrote: »

So you are just taking Big Sam at his word - no thought that Sam could have been trying to put further pressure on Ravel?

The Secret Footballer tells a story of a keeper at a club of his being linked to a couple of big sides. Keeper wasn't bothered by the speculation, was happy to let the club deal with it. Club rejected the bids (fine with the keeper) but to ward off further interest the manager dropped the keeper from the next game saying they weren't focused due to the speculation - hinting at poor mental strength, so clubs would lose interest in him.

Could be similar happening here.

It's Dave Kitson.

Paully D

Piece from Kilbane's autobiography via Iain Macintosh:



Some things never change.