On The Front Foot Issue 2

PSN

ON THE FRONT FOOT July 2018

Issue Two

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork premiersportsnetwork

How

RYAN BERTRAND IS PLANNING

HIS NEXT

CAREER AT THE TOP OF THE

GAME TYSON FURY

Returning as a boxing and mental health champion

+ Supporting

Injured Players

Providing a safety net for players at a uniquely vulnerable time

0208 4191100 enquiries@premiersportsnetwork.com

INTERNATIONAL PLAYER CARE CONFERENCE

@PSportsNetwork premiersportsnetwork.com

NOVEMBER 12, 2018 CORINTHIA HOTEL, LONDON

OLD COURSE HOTEL ST ANDREWS GOLF TOUR 7-9TH OCTOBER, 2018

Sunday 8th Arrival Informal Dinner Monday 9th Golf on the Duke’s Private Dinner in the Road Hole restaurant Tuesday 10th Golf on New Course Prize giving lunch in Jigger Inn Depart

Note: This event is strictly on invitation-only and complimentary to club Directors, Player Liaison Officers & Player Agents

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

Issue Two Contents 4 Never a Dull Moment: England’s first Player Liaison Officer 6 Tyson Fury Mental Health Champion 8 Top Flight Advice: Ryan Bertrand Shares Lessons learned in his Career 11 Protecting Reputation in a Crisis 12 Brexit Special: Leap into the Unknown 14 Player Care News 16 Supporting Injured Players 18 Relocation, relocation, relocation…

03

Welcome to the July edition of On The Front Foot, the magazine for Player Care. With the World Cup in full and glorious flight and the transfer window wide open, it is no surprise that football dominates our pages. But it is by no means our exclusive focus. In fact, with our review of Tyson Fury’s return to the ring and a report on the touring lessons learned from the England cricket team, we have something for everyone.

We have the first of a 3-part interview with Lorna McLelland who was given the opportunity to invent the player liaison role in the UK when Graham Taylor hired her during his time as Aston Villa manager. We also have the first of a new section from the world of the sports agent as Tom Keane of New Era Global Sports gives us his Agent’s Angle and it may be a lot less glamorous than you might imagine.

This issue we wrap up the coverage of the Premier Sports Network’s recent Player Care Conference in Manchester with two features. The first is on financial planning and tells the story of Burnley midfielder Jeff Hendrick’s preparations for the future and advice to young players. The other provides a real insight into the challenges of supporting players when they are injured and the ways they can be successfully brought back to physical and mental fitness.

Happy Reading Spencer Hidge Director Premier Sports Network t. 0208 4191100

19 A Route Back from the Edge 20 How to Spend It: Financial Planning for Athletes 22 What Goes on Tour: Lessons from Past Ashes Series Down Under 24 Agent’s Angle: Life on the Road

Publisher Spencer Hidge Editor Phil Savage Design ShandMedia To send feedback or articles for publication contact Phil Savage at editor@premiersports.agency To enquire about advertising contact David Watts at davidw@premiersports.agency On The Front Foot is published by the Premier Sports Network copyright ©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without permission.

04

LORNA MCLELLAND

Never a dull moment Recollections of England’s first Player Liaison Officer, Lorna McLelland, as told to Gavin Blackwell.

Part 1: Getting started I have a fridge magnet which has made me smile for many, many years.

It reads ‘As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never face the wrong way’. It was presented to me by Graham Taylor shortly after he appointed me as the UK’s first fully professionalised ‘Player Welfare and Liaison Officer’ in 2002. It reflects his sense of humour and his wisdom in hinting at the splinters that I would encounter (and deal with!) in the 15 years to come.

So how did I get to work with Graham?

I started my working life as a French Teacher in Birmingham where I taught for many years. After that I worked as a counsellor then left the UK for 3 years to sail around the Mediterranean. We ended up settling in the South of France running a gite and language school. I did some work on local radio before being seriously injured in a car accident and returning to the UK for several years of rehab.

My daughter was studying at Birmingham University and worked at Aston Villa as a hostess on matchdays.

She often spoke of the players she met who complained about the lack of club support in football, particularly for foreign players and their families. I suggested that she contact the Manager, Graham Taylor, to offer her services. He sent a very polite reply saying she had raised an interesting point, but that she was a little young - that someone more mature, welltravelled, with a language background and possibly counselling experience might be of interest.

“Mum – he’s describing you!”, she said.

I immediately wrote to him outlining my experience. He invited me to a meeting to discuss my ideas which turned out to mirror his own. As we concluded he said he would create the role and invited me to apply. “Thankfully the Chairman, Doug Ellis, approved of the plan and I was hired.

Several months later I arrived at Bodymoor Heath Training Ground where Graham introduced me to the team, handed me a phone and some car keys and found me a seat in the Coaches Room.”

“You know what you need to do, Lorna – create the role. You are the first in football, and I trust you to do a good job.”

No pressure, then! The coaches and physios were welcoming regarding me with slight amusement. Women in football were a rarity at that time. This was my own ‘training ground’ in survival in one of the most macho, exciting and sometimes ruthless industries. The world of professional football I encountered was a completely different subculture with its own values, language and calendar.

I learned that one of the most important elements of survival, and indeed success,

is humour – the ability to enjoy a joke (and to deliver one!). I am quite thick skinned and I quickly learned that the highlypressurised environment of a club can boil over into conflict. Humour was a way to diffuse situations which are rarely to be taken personally.

At that time it was still common for a club’s kitman to help in the search for a car, or for the stadium manager to assist players to find a house. Over time, the role of the PLO became both more common and more clearly defined and now most clubs provide emotional and practical support to players.

A lot has changed over the years but the one constant is people inside and outside football who harbour the misconception that a PLO is a ‘nanny’ who mollycoddles the players, when they should ignore their minor problems and get on with life. This was never the role that Graham Taylor and I set out to create neither is it one which I have filled. Nevertheless, it is an attitude which still prevails, albeit to a lesser degree. I have tried to change this perception and continue to do so.

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

”It’s vital to have someone who genuinely cares about individuals and maintains the relationship whatever”

05

06

TYSON FURY

Tyson Fury

mental health champion Fury hopes his return to the ring will inspire people with mental health problems.

“I’ve had massive support throughout all my Tyson Fury is a larger than life character troubles, everybody’s really been helping me and in every sense and the very embodiment of spurring me on,” Fury said.

“This isn’t just me and my team, it’s me and the the phrase ‘the bigger they are, the harder whole nation. I seem to have everyone behind me and I’m coming back and fighting for them.” they fall’. He was on top of the world when He added: “I’m fighting for people he inflicted a shock defeat who need inspiration and help – people who suffer from mental upon Wladimir Klitschko in health problems as well. It’s living “I’ve had November 2015 but his fall proof if I can do it, then anyone can from 27-and-a-half massive support dostoneit. Toandcome into disgrace was equally to get to fighting level for Saturday night, then that is a spectacular. throughout all

my troubles, everybody’s really been helping me and spurring me on”

A series of chaotic public appearances, rapid weight gain and his own public admission of depression and cocaine use were clear signs of a career unravelling before our eyes. In the end Fury was stripped of his boxing licence over a failed drugs test. Within a year of his triumph, he handed back his WBA, WBO and IBO belts to focus on medical treatment and recovery.

“The truth is,” said Fury, “that after beating Wladimir Klitschko, my ambition had gone, the amount of money on offer for the rematch didn’t mean anything to me.

But there are new challenges which have come up,” he added hinting that, at 29, he still fancies his chances against the new clutch of champions.

Now he’s on the comeback trail and fighting for mental health as well as the belts and the other rewards of boxing. Before his first fight, after 29 months in the wilderness, he was characteristically ebullient with the media saying he was confident he is now in good shape, both mentally and physically, as he looks to regain the world heavyweight crown.

statement, isn’t it?”

Fury weighed in under 20 stone and comfortably defeated his first challenger at the start of a multifight contract which he hopes will prepare him for a tilt at Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder’s titles.

Part of his return to fitness he put down to his new coach and trainer Ben Davison saying: “He’s only 25, but he is ambitious for me, and I wanted to give him an opportunity. We hit it off and he has lived in my house for the past five months.”

If Fury still felt disappointment at losing belts he felt legitimately still belong to him, he wasn’t letting it show.

“Everyone loves a comeback story so I’m not here to dwell on the past, I’m here to move forward,” he insisted. “That is all in the past so let’s move on to the next chapter - the new Tyson Fury, the people’s champion.

The king is back.”

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

07

08

RYAN BERTRAND

Top Flight Advice Southampton and England defender Ryan Bertrand is keen to share the many lessons he has learned in his career Ryan Bertrand’s football career has taken him from Gillingham and the Chelsea Academy to the first team at Southampton and playing for his country. Now he is in an ideal position to reflect on player care along the way and how it could be different for today’s up-and-coming footballers.

“The journey from signing for Chelsea at 16 all the way to the first team was an amazing experience,” he says.

“It had everything I needed as a young professional to learn; from going on loan to playing with some of the best stars in the world. Under coaches like Brendan Rogers and Jose Mourinho I was learning both the tactical and mental side of the game very early on and that allowed me to develop a lot of things that stood me in good stead for the rest of my career.”

As a teenager Bertrand spent several seasons out on loan with different clubs around the

country but he looks back on that time very positively.

“Your goal is to become a professional footballer and you need to be prepared to travel wherever it takes you and I certainly was. In terms of the care and support, there wasn’t much back then because it was a very new route; we were one of the first crop of players to really utilise the loan system. Now they have refined it, Chelsea now has a dedicated loan team/loan support officer that check the infrastructure of the players, caring for their welfare on and off the field along that journey.

“Even though you moved far from home, you didn’t look at it as moving from home; it’s your job, career and your passion. Your main objective is just to play; at that age you don’t really get the right to determine where you want to play.”

Although he made it to the Chelsea squad Bertrand made the decision in the end to sign for Southampton so what prompted that move?

“When I made it to the first team at Chelsea, in the beginning, it’s great to be there, being around world-class players.⬊

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

09

10

RYAN BERTRAND

You’re still learning, you’re absorbing so much on and off the field at such an elite level but there comes a time where you need to take your destiny into your own hands. As soon as I felt that the progression at Chelsea wouldn’t continue I knew that it was time to change things. For my journey as a professional footballer it was time to move to a club where I could continue to develop.”

Throughout his career Bertrand has always had extensive business interest off the field and feels strongly that players should prepare for their futures after football.

“The business side has always been a part of me, it comes naturally and I’m always thinking of new ideas and possible businesses. If I can create business and secure my path or career strategy post-football, whilst I am still in the game, then I will do that.

“It’s well documented that a high percentage of players go bankrupt after football. That can be a consequence of a lack of support and education where players fall into the dangerous scenario where they assume their career earnings are going to last forever and haven’t considered the steps ahead. I like to be five steps ahead when I’m planning my future.”

Having experience many agents over the years Bertrand has just signed to a new Sports Management agency First Access Sports which he’s also advised on infrastructure and the services it should offer. He suggests there is room for player care to take a step up.

“It is important that players have people working for them off the field, just as hard as they are working on it. First Access Sports is more than just an agency; it is an overall 360° management operation which will provide all the necessities that players will need in their careers.

“I have been in football for over 15 years going through the highs and lows that come with being a professional athlete. Being able to advise and shape how players’ needs are supported is why this company will be a major success.

The company’s goal is for the athletes to be able to leave their respective sport mentally and financially sound, knowing that every facet of their career has been maximised.

“In today’s system,” he feels, “the football clubs do a lot for the players. They provide a lot of care, player liaisons, mental help and a very strong support structure But the onus is on the player to select a management team and choose people who have the resources and credentials to add value to your career.”

“In my experience agencies in today’s market simply don’t have the resource or the capability to understand the demands of modern-day players and elite athletes. They need to be represented at a level where, come retirement, they have full stability and can enjoy their next chapter without any worries or concerns. In order for this happen, management must provide multiple people with different skills who can combine knowledge to reach the most productive outcome for the athlete not just for the agency.”

”It is important that players have people working for them off the field, just as hard as they are working on it” First Access Sport (FAS) is more than just a sports agency; it’s an overall 360 representation A partner of First Access Entertainment (Len Blavatnik & Sarah Stennett), FAS is built to serve a dynamic range of elite athletes FAS are industry leaders with all the required skills to represent our clients in every discipline performance, brand development, welfare, media and social communications, financial planning and more Email: info@ firstaccesssports.com

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

11

ADVERTORIAL: WITHERS LLP

Top tips to protect reputation in a crisis

BY LIBBY PAYNE & ANDREW FREMLIN-KEY The top-three most popular English players on social media between them have over 13 million followers which is an asset and a risk Figures released as the England team headed to Russia showed that Harry Kane (4.76m), Marcus Rashford (4.74m) and Raheem Stirling (3.69m) are the most followed players in the squad. That gives them more influence than all but the very largest media outlets and can provide a valuable source of revenue for the players.

Data consultancy Captiv8 has put a value on posts from celebrities with over 4 million followers at $93,000 for Facebook, $75,000 for Instagram and $30,000 for Twitter. Social media posts are also a key

part of personal sponsorship deals so it is no surprise that players are taking their online presence very seriously.

Most will have received media training but law firm Withers also advises athletes and their clubs and agents to prepare for the kind of social media horror shows that have regularly affected stars to date.

Here are their five top tips: Act quickly – delete offensive posts immediately, react to criticism and apologise Don’t forget automated posts – many posts are pre-arranged according to a schedule but when something happens, make sure they are changed or cancelled Leave the phone behind – everyone needs some downtime but posting when drunk is never a good idea

Consider reputation insurance – losing reputation can be extremely costly as can the expense of going to court to protect it by fighting defamation or other reputational attacks. Insurance is a lowcost way to protect against these risks Finally, don’t forget to show some personality. Media training can mean players come across robotically when it is really their individuality that fans want.

12

BREXIT SPECIAL

Leap into the Unknown Transfers signed in this and the next window will be the last before Britain leaves the EU so what then?

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

There has perhaps never been a subject about which so many words have been spoken or written with little or no light shone on the topic than Brexit. By March 2019 we are supposed to have left the European Union and ‘taken back control’ of immigration from mainland Europe.

But, with around a third of Premiership players holding European passports and new rules likely to hit up to 150 Championship players too, what will be the impact on English football.

The drop in the value of the pound has already seen clubs having to pay more to match earnings offered elsewhere but will even this be enough to continue the flow of foreign stars to Britain? As it stands Brexit will mean rules covering players from outside Europe would apply to those within it at least in the early days.

There is a current requirement that players coming from outside the EU must have played for their national teams. A player from a FIFA ranked top-10 nation must have played in 30% of their games in the two years prior to the date of application to be granted a work permit and a player from a nation ranked 11-20 must have played in 45% of international games. That percentage rises to 60% for the next 10 countries, then 75% for nations ranked 31-50.

Brexit is likely to mean that players from the 27 countries still in the union would need to meet these criteria in order to ply their trade in the UK. That means the days of plucking an unknown gem from obscurity in France or Belgium, who can travel freely between EU nations, could be under threat.

Future Anthony Martials and N’Golo Kantes are likely to be off limits from now on as it will be tougher for clubs to snap up young stars from EU countries.

FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players pre- Brexit allowed the “transfers of minors between the age of 16 and 18 the EU or EEA” but now the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Hector Bellerin, who both signed for Arsenal from Spain at 16, could end up elsewhere. As in many other areas, it is the smaller clubs who are likely to be hit hardest.

Dr Gregory Ioannidis, a senior law lecturer

13

from Sheffield Hallam University, believes the rules could be relaxed when the UK leaves the EU. If that happened, then he said he did not “envisage any problems for clubs”.

However, he added that it may be difficult for such an agreement to be put into place because footballers “are considered workers in law and it may be the case that they cannot be treated as a special category”.

Many experts think the work permit rules will be watered down. For example, non-EU countries like Norway and Switzerland have both made concessions to gain access to the single market.

Club v Country

As the governing body for the sport, the English FA is likely to be the body to spearhead attempts to carve out optouts from restrictions on a free trade in footballers but their motivation is not entirely aligned with that of the league.

The FA could attempt to use Brexit to create more opportunities for English players by restricting opportunities for all but the best EU and EEA footballers seeking to play in England.

This will very likely be met with opposition by Premier League clubs, who naturally wish to be able to cast the widest possible net for which to capture talented players.

The government has consulted the FA and Premier League asking what they considered the impact of Brexit would be on an industry which accountants EY have found contributes a great deal to the UK economy.

The Premier League alone in 2015 was worth £6.2bn a year to UK economic output, £3.4bn to UK GDP while generating £2.4bn in taxes to the Exchequer and supporting more than 100,000 jobs. Their responses have not been made public but they are unlikely to have pulled their punches.

Whilst there have been reassurances about clubs’ continued ability to recruit the best talent from overseas, it is unlikely to be a government priority when there is so much else to occupy parliamentary time.

Stoke City’s chairman Peter Coates said: ‘We would expect footballers to be included in the exempt list. But we have to wait and see.

“I think the Government’s got more on its hands than worrying about the Premier League. They’ve no more idea than I have of what’s going to happen. But hopefully football will find a way of looking after itself when it finally happens whenever that will be. It could be years down the line.”

”I think the Government’s got more on its hands than worrying about the Premier League. ”

14

NEWS

Fast but not Furious Whether it’s players arriving from overseas of youngsters wanting the get behind the wheel passing the driving test can be quick and safe.

Emmanuel Eboue given legends lifeline Troubled former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue was picked to play for an Arsenal legends side to face Real Madrid. The 34-year-old appeared alongside greats such as Nicolas Anelka, David Seaman, Sol Campbell and Ray Parlour for the star-studded charity match at the Bernabeu.

Eboue made 214 appearances for Arsenal between 2004 and 2011 but his life started to unravel after a messy divorce and 1-year playing ban left him on the verge of losing his home. He revealed that his riches-torags story has left him at times contemplating suicide after spending his post-football life dodging bailiffs, sleeping on the floor of a friend’s home and washing his clothes by hand because he cannot afford a washing machine.

The player told the Sunday Mirror: “I can’t afford the money to continue to have any lawyer or barrister. I am in the house but I am scared because I don’t know what time the police will come.

“Sometimes I shut off the lights because I don’t want people to know that I am inside. I put everything behind the door. My own house.

I suffered to buy my house but I am now scared. I am not going to sell my clothes or sell what I have. I will fight until the end because it is not fair.”

Having seen a number of footballers go on to become television pundits, Eboue admits that seeing former teammates – such as Thierry Henry – leaves him “ashamed”.

“When I see Thierry I feel happy for him but ashamed of my own situation,” he said. “When I see friends on TV that I played with or against I say to myself ‘I should still be there’. It’s hard to watch them.”

If there’s one thing we know about young sportsmen it is there obsession with high powered cars. So if the combination of youth, inexperience, a competitive instinct and a set of fancy wheels brings out the prefect in you then look no further than 5Day. Whether it’s a Love Island winner, a Hollyoaks star or a Premier League player (or a regular member of the public) 5Day delivers intensive 1-2-1 tuition on both the theory and practical parts of the test to make sure that pupils qualify quickly and safely.

“People don’t necessarily know that an international driving licence only allows you to drive in the UK for a year,” says 5Day director, Jo Minkler. “Driving here is also very different from what players from overseas may have experienced. The UK test is also one of the toughest in the world so even those who have been driving for years will need help to pass.”

As a test centre themselves 5Day pupils can sit the theory test during the week of training and they can also jump the queue for the practical test.

“We have a team that’s constantly looking for test slots around the country so we can promise that 5Day pupils get a test up to 75% sooner than they would if they simply applied themselves. And if they don’t pass, we offer unlimited free correctional lessons until they do.”

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

15

Arise Sir Kenny Most Player Care Managers readily admit that a caring culture starts at the top so it was heart-warming to see Kenny Dalglish, one of the greats of the game, receive a knighthood in the Queen’s birthday honours.

Dalglish was recognised for his services to football, charity and to the Hillsborough victims. A formidable footballer and manager, he won nine league championships at Liverpool – three as manager – three European Cups and three FA Cups. He remains Scotland’s most capped international and he led Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995.

He was Liverpool manager at the time of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and selflessly made himself available to the families of the bereaved, attending funerals, hospital visits and memorial services held at Anfield. He supported the families throughout their search for justice and was granted Freedom of the City of Liverpool in recognition of his work. After his wife Marina was diagnosed with cancer the pair set up the Marina Dalglish Appeal, which has raised over £10m for cancer care.

The title ‘Sir Kenny’ will not sit entirely comfortably with a man who claimed to be surprised and slightly embarrassed by the honour. Ever the perfect gentleman, he preferred to focus attention on the family and friends whose contribution over the years has been so important to everything he has achieved.

Loris Karius Kiev nightmare raises important issues Goalkeeping mistakes in the Champions League final against Real Madrid cost Liverpool the title and turned the full glare of the media spotlight on Loris Karius. From a Player Care perspective the case highlights three important issues.

First, in the hours following the match and the players’ heartfelt apology to teammate and fans he is reported to have received death threats via social media. The club reported the posts to Merseyside Police who took the posts seriously promising to investigate and issuing a reminder to social media users that they would be look into all offences including malicious communications and threatening behaviour.

Then, in the days after the game, the player was widely reported in the media to have been diagnosed with concussion caused by a firsthalf collision with Sergio Ramos. Whatever the actual status or cause of any injury, the case brought calls for a review of way head trauma is dealt with during games.

The Headway charity called for decisions on whether a player with suspected concussion should stay on should be taken out of club officials

hands. Neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart said: Football is operating in the last century in terms of brain injury management. In its immediate pitchside management and the way the medics are left to deal with this, they are handcuffed.

“Football doesn’t allow an interchange for a player to be assessed to see if he has a brain injury; doesn’t allow significant time for the medics to assess the player. It’s unacceptable in 2018 that it should be this way.”

Finally, attention focused on how the player would recover from such public errors with Professor Cary Cooper of Manchester Business School saying he would need time and help to come to terms with his performance.

“He made a couple of big mistakes but he has got to see that as irrelevant now, otherwise his career’s over,” said the psychology professor.

“It is all about the bounce-back factor. The really successful people in sport as in business are the ones with the biggest bounce-back factor, because everybody makes mistakes along the way.”

16

INURY CARE

Supporting injured players

Injuries may be an inevitable part of professional sport but the injured player is uniquely vulnerable to depression and addictive behaviours.

Danny Rose’s recent admission to having suffered depression when he was injured was widely hailed as a brave one.

His decision to speak out took many by surprise but what shouldn’t be surprising is that injury affected him so deeply. In fact, data on player welfare shows that periods spent out of sport due to injury are key moments of vulnerability.

Dr Misia Gervis, a leading sports psychologist who works with Queens Park Rangers, has found that more than half of injured players report moderate to severe depression or suicidal thoughts.

She also found that a quarter of those affected display addictive behaviour with dependence on pain medication the biggest risk.

Gervis led a study into long-term injury support which found a worrying lack of support from clubs.

“We found that the majority of clubs had no psychological support at all,” she says, “with only 5% of clubs employing a full-time psychologist despite close to 100% of injured players reporting anxiety, isolation or some other kind of disruption to their mental health.”

“At QPR we have found it’s helpful to recognise that injury is a psychological trauma as well as a physical one. We know there is a mental health vulnerability so we focus on steps to help prevent it rather than waiting until players fall off the edge of a cliff. Some things we do are really simple like covering mental health on medical insurance, but it’s also about working closer with the physios and coaches.”

Gervis gives an example of a 12-year-old in the QPR Youth Academy who was out with a cruciate injury saying it shows why all members of the backroom team should collaborate. The club physios felt he was physically ready to return to training but she did some tests that found the boy was terrified of re-injury. His return to training was postponed to allow Gervis time to help the boy to overcome his fears and three weeks later he came back in good all round shape to return to football.

George Swan is a former footballer who, at 14, was bought for £500,000 by Manchester City from Leeds United. He was a hot prospect but struggled with a series of injuries from the age of 17 up to his retirement from the sport at just 22.

The whole process was very badly managed which meant he was completely unprepared for his career to be over.

“The club was great but all the support I got was for when I got back fit. I was working on my physical fitness but there was nothing to help me get through 12 months injured. I was self medicating pain killers and, if I’m honest, I was addicted at times. I lost relationships, friends and in the end I knew I wasn’t coming back again.

“At 22 I had to completely rethink what my life was about. I really struggled mentally feeling like I never got to where I wanted to

in my career. I lost my whole identity and I didn’t know who I could turn to.”

Now 30, Swan has reinvented himself and carved out a successful career as a football agent where he is putting his experience to good use to support the young players he works with but his story is sadly all too common.

Misia Gervis says: “If you think of long-term injury as a journey, the challenges are different depending on where you are along that journey.

After an operation a player comes out feeling helpless and dependent on people.

Then they go back to training and see everybody zooming past and they’re thinking: ‘They are all better than me.’

The next stage is the fear of re-injury and the uncertainty – people change their movement patterns, maybe carry a bit of tension and are not moving as freely.

There are a whole range of things before a player is ready for competition. There are particular transitions and milestones we need to be aware of and support players through that.”

The bottom line is, with the health and future of their multi-million pound assets at stake, clubs need to take all aspects of rehabilitation during and after injury much more seriously.

”It’s helpful to recognise that injury is a psychological trauma as well as a physical one”

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

17

18

PROPERTY

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation...

With the summer transfer window wide open, it is high season for the property companies helping players to settle in.

The press release announcing the signing of a new player triggers a chain of events that invole a small army of people. There can be travel and visa arrangements to make and personal belongings to move but one of the biggest decisions concerns property.

Knight Frank is one of the few estate agents with a dedicated sports desk and its head, Alexander McLean spoke to On The Front Foot about what’s involved.

“We have good relationships with clubs and agencies so when a player is looking they message us and we identify a property

which matches their requirements. We act as a single point of contact rather than being contacted by 20 annoying estate agents. We help with either the rental or the purchase of a property depending on what the player wants.

“Most players arriving from overseas rent at first and find an area they want to settle in. Even when they are more established many still rent with the changes to stamp duty. You can rent for a long time before you reach the same threshold as you would pay in tax so unless they’re planning to stay for 5 years it doesn’t make much sense to buy.

“British players generally buy and then we can help them expand and build a property portfolio. There is quite a big

MAKE THE RIGHT MOVE THIS SEASON

WITH KNIGHT FRANK

difference in working with sports people compared to other wealthy individuals.

They tend to be very private, not wanting people to know where they are living and how much they are spending. We have to be extremely flexible around the hours that we set up viewings with Sunday evening one of the busiest times.

“We started the Sports Desk two years ago and it is growing. I find if you do a good job they generally come back and introduce you to their teammates.”

Alexander McLean,Senior Business Development Executive, Knight Frank, T: +44 20 7861 1577, email: alexander.mclean @knightfrank.com

RESIDENTIAL INTERNATIONAL SALES LETTINGS INVESTMENTS MORTGAGES AND INSURANCE INTERIOR DESIGN

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

19

MENTAL HEALTH

A Route Back from the Edge

Fear of reprisals prevents players admitting to their challenges but a new service aims to change that There has never been more awareness of mental health yet it still remains taboo within the world of sport.

David Steward, MD of The Sober Advantage says: “The vast majority of players we see privately express a reluctance to speak to their club or the PFA as it’s still ‘all in football’. This is no reflection of the great work the PFA and Clubs are doing individually; it’s the fear of not knowing what impact it will be. ‘if this gets back to the gaffer he will bench me; I’ll be a liability’.”

Sober Advantage was founded by Dr Bunmi Aboaba as a way to help high profile individuals find their way back from addictions. They use the very tools that helped Bunmi overcome her own dependencies. As a high flying

professional who felt the need to hide her daily mental struggles, she well understands the pressures faced by those in the sports and entertainment industries.

“We were going to continue our work in the Music and Entertainment industry,” says Steward.

“However, we began to see more players from Premier League clubs referring themselves to us privately, mainly for addiction recovery coaching and support, online gambling being the most prevalent. We knew we needed to do something on a larger scale.

“Our Addiction & Mental Health Recovery Coaching programme incorporates one-to-one sessions every two weeks with the players, monthly talks from well-respected footballers who have all battled with their mental health, workshops and

psychoeducational sessions as well as an unrivalled Crisis Management Service which has already been proven its value as an actual life saver.”

This is a reasonably new approach in the UK but has been practiced widely in the US for decades. Rehab is a welltravelled route but it is what happens next which is critical, he says.

“We build a personal support network around the individual to protect them from external stressors, environmental triggers and help them acclimatise to their new life after treatment. Often a ‘Sober Companion’ is used on a 24 / 7 basis immediately following discharge to further mitigate the risk of relapse in that critical period.”

With a route to full recovery more available, he hopes that more players will feel able to seek the help they need.

20

MONEY

Planning a financial future With a huge number of professional sports men and women experiencing financial problems we asked Burnley Midfielder, Jeff Hendrick and advisors Tilney how he plans to avoid joining them.

As a professional footballer for club and country Jeff Hendrick is all too aware of the risks of ending a playing career in dire financial straits.

“I’ve seen pros I’ve played with who’ve been hit by injuries or had to stop playing for other reasons,” he says. They haven’t got anything to fall back on or they’ve lost a shed load of money through gambling and they’re in real trouble. Sport isn’t a long career so I was determined from the start to put money aside for the future.”

Jeff turned to Adam Osper, Director of Financial Planning at investment management firm Tilney, who started with education. “With footballers that I work with I spend time building trust and do mini educational sessions on how investing works,” he explains.

“Players have a window of opportunity that lasts at most 15 years. They think in terms of weeks – they talk about earning £XXX per week – so we try and give them a programme that works with that mindset and still gets them to where they need to be when that window closes.”

When taking on a young player Osper is keen to tell them it’s not about sacrifices.

“I say they can do anything they want, have the life they want and still plan for the future,” he says.

That programme involves putting money away in the good times.

“Sportsmen and women are often more comfortable leaving a lot of money in the bank than a businessman who’s used to investing to get a return. Once we can persuade them to invest it then the money is out of the bank and they don’t need to think about it any more.”

“The hardest thing is meeting players who are in the late stages of their careers and who have to undo what they’ve got themselves into, whether that’s excessive

spending or patterns of gambling.

Sometimes I have to be brutal and tell them ‘in three or four years’ time your income is going to be zero. What are you going to do?’”

So what does he do? “We go back to basics and strip out quite a lot of unnecessary stuff. We do a detailed expenditure analysis but whether they’re in trouble financially or not you have to be honest.”

Osper says that footballers often fall prey to snake oil salesmen. “There is a lot of bad advice around – tax schemes, film schemes – but you don’t need to do any of that. It’s really just about making good decisions.”

Property is one area where choices players make can have a big impact on the financial outcomes.

“I’ll often advise clients that renting is better than buying especially in a place where you’re only going to live for a year or so,” Osper says. “They can end up with a large, expensive property for which there is a very limited resale market. It’s no good if you’re in a place that you can only sell on to another footballer.”

Jeff Hendrick has the last word saying: “I’m just pleased I’m not going to have to take a job that I don’t want to do when my playing career is over. A lot of players don’t talk about money and don’t like being told what to do, but if someone asks me for advice then it’s good to know what direction to point them in.”

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

21

22

TOURING TALES

WHAT GOES

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

23

ON TOUR...

With the World Cup in full swing in Russia we look at lessons from cricket to see how players might cope with the pressure of life a long way from home.

An Ashes tour to Australia is about as tough as it gets for an England cricketer.

It often lasts three months right through the festive season when players are away from family and friends. The pressure of touring, especially if results are not going well, can be draining and has accounted for many a player and coach. There are the inevitable injuries, losses of form and confidence seized upon by a local media that is second only to the British red tops in its terrierlike grip on a story.

Former England wicketkeeper, Geraint Jones said: “You get the feeling the whole country is against you.

You know it from the minute you get there. If you get a cricket fan at passport control, then there’s a good chance you’ll have a comment made to you.”

Jones, who was part of the England squad in 2006 said their opponents went out of their way to create a hostile atmosphere saying: “They made a point of not making the cricket game comfortable, and they did that very well.”

If it’s not the Australian fielders getting in a batsman ear, it’s the wall of noise created by the crowds at venues like the ‘Gabbattoir’ Spending your working day avoiding cricket balls flying towards your head at 90mph, all while having your self-esteem picked apart by opposition players and copping endless abuse from the crowd can affect even the toughest player.

Andrew Flintoff, England skipper for the 5-0 whitewash in 2006-07, recalls: “I was having a drink with my dad on Christmas Eve and as we made our way home I started crying my eyes out.

“Unity really goes a long way. You need to rally round and pick each other up”

I told him I’d tried my best but that I couldn’t do it any more.” Flintoff never captained England again.

England’s implosion on the 2013-14 tour was nothing short of spectacular. Jonathan Trott returned home early with a stress-related illness after Alastair Cook saw him with tears in his eyes as they went out to bat in Brisbane. Graeme Swann retired mid-series, Kevin Pietersen never played for England again and team director Andy Flower quit after the tour.

Swann describes the team meeting after Adelaide, where England lost by 218 runs, as the worst he was involved in. It became “a fingerpointing session”, he says, with batsmen blaming bowlers and vice-versa. “The wheels had fallen off.”

The closeness apparent in this year’s England football squad will be a key part of surviving and maybe even enjoying the World Cup. Before England’s successful Ashes series in 2010-11, the players took part in a boot camp in a German forest which the players said helped them become closer. The closeness showed on the pitch as James Anderson recalls.

“Steven Finn was bowling – he was a 21-year-old at the time – and every time he walked back to his mark, Brad Haddin was giving him some stick.

No-one else was aware of it but when we came in at tea Finn said, ‘It’s getting to me’. The minute we went out there after tea, all 11 players went straight at Haddin with variations of ‘stop picking on the young guy’. He was really taken aback and he soon shut up.

“That sort of unity really goes a long way. If things aren’t going well, you need to rally round each other and try and pick each other up. We created spaces after a day’s play where players could vent and joke and tell stories to ease some of the tensions and share the load with team-mates.”

Graeme Swann adds: “What you need is someone who is a good tourist like Steve Harmison, who didn’t take his blue one-day pads on tour so he could fit more cash-and-carry sweets in.

“His room used to be called The Harmison Arms.

He’d have a dart board up, fill the bath with ice and get 50 beers and put them in for the end of play.

You’d help yourself to sweets and play darts.”

24

AGENT’S ANGLE

Life on the Road

Tom Keane with footballer brothers Micheal, above and right and Will, below.

Player’s representative Tom Keane tells On The Front Foot that the world of football agency is not all glamour The phrase ‘a cold night at Stoke’ conjures up images of football played away from home against a gritty opposition, driving rain and a hostile crowd. That sounds a world away from the glamorous life of a football agent but it’s nearer the truth than many would imagine, according to Tome Keane registered intermediary with New Era Global Sports.

The phrase ‘a cold night at Stoke’ conjures up images of football played away from home against a gritty opposition, driving rain and a hostile crowd. That sounds a world away from the glamorous life of a football agent but it’s nearer the truth than many would imagine, according to Tom Keane FA registered intermediary with New Era Global Sports.

“Since deregulation there has been an influx of people who think being an agent is an attractive and lucrative career choice,” he says. “But what many don’t see is the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. It is very competitive and sometimes lonely traveling to watch games up and down the country in the evenings and at weekends when you’ve got a family at home.”

Keane wouldn’t deny that the big deals bring

big rewards but they are often the result of a lot of work.

“Recruitment of players is very difficult. I was lucky in that I had a route into the game through family so I didn’t have to go out and sign my first player. But even now and with New Era behind me, I can sit down with a whole host of players and not sign any of them.”

Once a player is signed with Tom, the real work begins.

“Transfers can be triggered by three things,” he says. “The ones that make the headlines, where players are doing well and attracting interest probably happen the least.

More often a player becomes surplus to requirements and the club contacts you saying he’s not part of plans for next season. Finally you get the situations where the player becomes unsettled for whatever reasons and asks to see what can be done.”

“My first contract negotiation was for my brother Will with Sir Alex Ferguson.

“What many don’t see is the hard work from the agent that goes on behind the scenes.”

www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork

“When the football ends even if they are secure financially players still need a purpose”

25

It wasn’t easy but it gave me confidence.

I thought if I can do it with him I can do it with anyone. The agent is the middle man who gets the deal over the line and tries to get the best deal for the player. In most cases it is possible to get to a point where all parties are satisfied.”

Once the deal is done and the all-important unveiling ceremony is over there is still a lot to do to help a player make a successful move.

The agent will play a part but the Player Liaison is important here too, he confirms.

“It’s important to have good relations with the Player Liaison Office but it’s up to everyone at the club to make a player feel welcome and help them settle into a new environment. Like everyone when they change jobs they need time to settle in and get used to the situation.”

Clubs are generally good at helping players settle but are not so interested as they come to the end of their careers.

“Clubs probably don’t do enough to support players as they reach the end of their careers,” says Keane. “Clubs are football businesses but agents, especially if they’ve been there through the good times, have a moral duty to help guide a player to that next stage. There is a responsibility on players too who sometimes think it will never happen but a playing career is a short shelf life and they should realise it won’t last for ever.”

At New Era they sit down with players at an early age to discuss with them what they’re interested in.

“We find out what ideas they’ve got and start to put some things in place to make that achievable. What a lot of people don’t appreciate is that when the football ends, even if they are secure financially players still need a purpose as people.”

All in all, Keane is convinced that there will always be a need for football agents.

“The way the game has gone financially and commercially I can’t see a time when agents won’t be needed. For a player to take on the burden of all that stuff themselves would have a huge impact on their game. It’s too much for them to take on alongside their training and playing commitments.”

And that means he’s going to have a lot more cold nights in Stoke in the future.

0208 4191100 enquiries@premiersportsnetwork.com @PSportsNetwork premiersportsnetwork.com