By Nick Lough
When you picture a football agent, what sort of image first comes to mind? A £400 Armani suit with diamond encrusted cuff links, all wrapped up with a stylish pair of Christian Louboutin dress shoes to match?
Well, unless you’re Jorge Mendes representing Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa, or Mino Raiola acting on behalf of clients such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the stereotype isn’t the reality for most agents.
“There’s not much glamour, believe me, unless you are representing some of the top players in the world,” said James Garley, director of the ACHIEVE Management Agency.
“People think that you spend your life sitting around swimming pools with a cocktail in one hand and a phone in the other but the reality is that it is seriously hard work.
“You spend many, many hours on the job, and it can have quite an impact on your time, especially in the evenings with late phone calls when managers and players have finished their working day and training.
“It can have an effect on your relationships with family and partners for sure because the hours are very unsociable and basically never-ending. It is very stressful because you’re managing the careers of people.
“You just have to do the best you can, be honest with your clients, have their best interests at heart and care.”
ACHIEVE are an agency in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, founded in 2011 by James and Dave Garley.
James’ original background was in business, marketing and the internet, and he has a university degree in Business and the Internet (BSc).
Dave is a former goalkeeper who played at Non-League level, and studied the game for over 40 years before launching ACHIEVE.
Although they have had considerable success with players in the Football League, the agency has pulled off some terrific coups of late by bringing through players from Non-League and part-time backgrounds to professional football clubs.
In the past couple of years they’ve secured deals for players such as Chris Stokes (Forest Green to Coventry City), Greg Luer (Burgess Hill to Hull City) and, just a couple of weeks ago, Tom Meechan (St Neots Town to Newport County).
These are just a few of the company’s success stories, but the question on everyone’s lips is: “Where do you find these Non-League talents?”
Well, James isn’t afraid to put the work in to land some of the lower leagues’ hidden gems.
“We work really hard to watch players in games to try and spot new talent, as well as doing a lot of research on players.
“You always do your due diligence because you want to know what their attitude is like, their personalities.
“To make it as a professional footballer you have to really want it, so you need to do your homework to find out if they want it enough.
“Sometimes you’ll receive tip-offs about players through your relationships and networking, so it’s important to follow up on those recommendations as well.
“We are also contacted by players as well who are aware of our track record.”
The world of football agents can often be a dog-eat-dog world, with a number of rival businesses battling it out for the services of potential clients.
Beating off competition is the first step to landing your desired player, and if they’re still relatively young, convincing the odd parent or two may come into play when negotiations get under way.
James said: “It’s certainly a very competitive industry and there are vast numbers of agents all vying to represent players, so you’ll always be competing against at least one person in order to represent a player.
“We are always open, honest and transparent with players and we always maintain that there are no guarantees in football.
“We have heard of some agents promising the earth and that they’ve ‘got a guaranteed move’ lined up – usually knowing full well they haven’t but using it as a tool to sign the player to a representation contract.
“We never go down that road. We will always make sure the player has the right opportunities by having scouts from clubs watching him. Ultimately, it is then down to him to perform when he steps onto that pitch. We will not lie to people; we have the integrity of our business to think of.
“In terms of parents, we encourage their involvement, especially the younger players.
“At the end of the day, the parents were the ones who have been putting the hard graft in when they were a kid, ferrying them to training sessions and buying their boots and training wear.
“Why should you suddenly expect them not to be involved?”
This past January transfer window saw clubs from both the Football League and Premier League raid Non-League for their prize possessions, with a number of starlets being snapped up.
Top-flight outfit Norwich swooped for Dartford midfielder Ebou Adams, National League striker duo Dominic Vose and Shaun Tuton left Wrexham and Halifax for Scunthorpe and Barnsley respectively, while Peterborough swooped for Nuneaton Town pair Aaron Williams and Callum Chettle.
The Non-League talent pool was quite the flavour of the month, but why?
“There’s always been so much talent in Non-League football and it’s a very fine line once you get to a certain level in the Non-League pyramid between there and the Football League,” explained James.
“Going back to the days of Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand, people like that, they’ve always been out there.
“I find they’re hungrier for success as well – they’ve been in normal jobs, they know how the other half live so they really want it, whereas some players who have come through an academy system can sometimes take it for granted.
“At the moment there’s a big interest in Non-League players because of the success that Jamie Vardy has had, and quite rightly so. He’s been a revelation and everyone wants to find the next Vardy – and he’s out there somewhere!
“We also explain to players that even if they reach the Football League, then for them to stay at that level, the hard work becomes even harder!”
As for James and Co., the ambition is certainly there to make ACHIEVE Management one of the leading agencies in the UK – but selecting the right players to put them there is crucial to both them and their clients’ futures.
“The aim long-term is to become of the biggest talent agencies in the country.
“It’s one of those businesses where you never really know where it’s going to go, your success ultimately will be down to the players you represent.
“You’ll always try your hardest to get a player to a high level, but eventually they will reach a level and won’t be able to go any higher than that irrespective of the league.
“We are focusing on putting together a team and the clientele to rival any of the biggest agencies in Britain.”
