Stevens enquiry

[Whites man]

Weren't we the victims anyway in that all the malarky meant we were paying over the odds?

 

West Ham cheated and then lied, there is no comparison.

[Guest squidgy66]

Have the club got the right end of the stick and confused the word exonerated with implicated?

 

http://www.bwfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Club/...1053638,00.html

[burndenpaddock]

Interesting statement from the club:

 

Bolton Wanderers are pleased to receive news that the Quest enquiry has exonerated the club and officials still employed by the club in its extensive enquiry into transfers and illegal payments.

 

If that isn't a dig at Fat Sam, I don't know what is...

[Casino]

am i right in thinking fat craig was never actually employed by the club, as such?

[Carlos]

am i right in thinking fat craig was never actually employed by the club, as such?

 

Not in any way, shape or form.

[frank_spencer]

Have the club got the right end of the stick and confused the word exonerated with implicated?

 

http://www.bwfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Club/...1053638,00.html

 

 

Mr Gartside and officials currently at the Club have fully co-operated and the Inquiry has found no evidence or suggestion of any irregular payments to them

 

seems to say BWFC are in the clear to me!

[yardbones]

ok our transfer were a combined fee of about ?2.50 and a packet of crisps

 

surely the massive money transfers of Essien, Luque and drogba could be the more worrying ones?

 

That seems to be the point of the enquiry: that our fees might have been a lot more than ?2.50 and a packet of crisps; at least the big money of the Essen, Luque and Drogba deals ended up at their former clubs.

 

That Kaku deal always stank: a Nigerian signed from an Israeli club who didn't need a work permit because he had a Belgian passport.

[yardbones]

Interesting too that all the transfers mentioned in the Panorama programme are mentioned by Stevens.

[medwaywhite]

Interesting too that all the transfers mentioned in the Panorama programme are mentioned by Stevens.

 

its not all over till fat sam sings

[itk_FACT]

is there now anything to read into allardyce bringing on cesar for his only appearance in the final minute of his last game in charge?

 

why is the transfer of cesar implicated anyway? surely after the panorama show any subsequent bwfc transfer should have been whiter-than-white.

 

in retrospect the israeli's should have paid us to take kaku!

[Mounts Kipper]

Interesting too that all the transfers mentioned in the Panorama programme are mentioned by Stevens.

 

the panorama programme was based on the stevens report, that might have something to do with it.

[Mounts Kipper]

That seems to be the point of the enquiry: that our fees might have been a lot more than ?2.50 and a packet of crisps; at least the big money of the Essen, Luque and Drogba deals ended up at their former clubs.

 

That Kaku deal always stank: a Nigerian signed from an Israeli club who didn't need a work permit because he had a Belgian passport.

 

If any deal was bent this was the one, I think I am right in saying C.A. brokered the deal, the guy was clearly worthless as a player, yet I am pretty sure BWFC paid a fee of about 650 k for him, if this is correct, it would not be too difficult for C.A. to buy kaku's contract out for a nominal fee say 50 k and then broker a deal with his dad for ?650,000 thus pocketing a nice little earner.

Edited June 15, 2007 by Mounts Kipper

[YATESY]

Backs up my thoughts of what a two faced git Freddie Shephard is!

 

How can he have kicked out Kevin Bond within 48 hours of the Panaroma programme because of his very minor part in it, when all along his own son was implicated in it all.

 

He then ofcourse goes and employs Fat Sam - the star of the show!!

[yardbones]

[/b]

 

If any deal was bent this was the one, I think I am right in saying C.A. brokered the deal, the guy was clearly worthless as a player, yet I am pretty sure BWFC paid a fee of about 650 k for him, if this is correct, it would not be too difficult for C.A. to buy kaku's contract out for a nominal fee say 50 k and then broker a deal with his dad for ?650,000 thus pocketing a nice little earner.

 

If true that makes the club the victim rather than the culprit in this and other dodgy transfers.

[Sweep]

is there now anything to read into allardyce bringing on cesar for his only appearance in the final minute of his last game in charge?

I presume they are talking about Julio Cesar, and not Cesar Martin who you are thinking of

[HR]

Interesting statement from the club:

 

Bolton Wanderers are pleased to receive news that the Quest enquiry has exonerated the club and officials still employed by the club in its extensive enquiry into transfers and illegal payments.

 

If that isn't a dig at Fat Sam, I don't know what is...

 

 

I find that stement a little naive to say the least. Whilst Manager of BWFC BSA was representing the club, I dont think its that easy for them to distance themselves from his decisions. Did Gartside not know Craig was involved? As club Chairman he must be responsible in some way, perhaps thats why he's arse licking the FA till he can see his own face in their arses.

[Mounts Kipper]

[

I find that stement a little naive to say the least. Whilst Manager of BWFC BSA was representing the club, I dont think its that easy for them to distance themselves from his decisions. Did Gartside not know Craig was involved? As club Chairman he must be responsible in some way, perhaps thats why he's arse licking the FA till he can see his own face in their arses.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...amp;ito=newsnow

 

This article sheds a bit of light on gartsides comments, it seems BWFC have done an internal investigation into all the deals brokered by Allardyce, this internal enquiry suggest that gartside had no

knowledge of what sam was negotiating and it is quite interesting that gartside says no current club employee has been included in wrong doing, I read into that statement that Allardyce may have been up to something, furthermore BWFC have now employed the bloke from Liverpool to over see transfers and Samy Lee has publicly stated that he does not wish to be involved in transfer negotiations, I think we have not heard the last of this with regards to Allardyce and I guess he will never get the England job due to he muddy waters of his transfer dealings.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Mounts Kipper

[Rembrandt]

That Kaku deal always stank: a Nigerian signed from an Israeli club who didn't need a work permit because he had a Belgian passport.

 

I wouldn't disagree about the Kaku deal, but two points :-

# The Wanderers had to take a flyer on some players they brought in 2001-2005, balancing risk against (low) cost; Kaku may just have been one of those deals.

# Check out how many non-EU young players Arsenal (and other big clubs) own in some way but are playing abroad somewhere 'on loan' because they can't YET play in this country; and also how some EU clubs are importing young players from non-EU countries and acting as 'feeder' clubs. Makes the Kaku deal look a bit less unusual.

[Traf]

I can't believe that Oscar Perez was signed without something shifty going on

 

Quite unbelievable, considering the deal was set up by Craig Allardyce and Dodgy McKay, who acted as joint agents for the Spanish superstar, now plying "his trade" for CD Tenerife. The Wanderersways Tenerife mob would have been better signings.

[Andybwfc]

I quite like this from Gartside:

 

However, Gartside?s private football detectives, who will be furnishing the FA with their findings, discovered no more signs of wrongdoing during that lengthier period than what has been included in the Stevens report.

 

Gartside said: "I?m glad that we found that every person who continues to work at this club has been totally exonerated by our inquiry. It was important to me and for the reputation of the club. That?s why I felt we had to do our own investigation."

 

He added: "I don?t believe it?s my job to talk about individuals working for other clubs."

[Andybwfc]

....I would love it, just love it....

 

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...in_page_id=1779

 

The latest developments came within 24 hours of Lord Stevens unveiling the controversial findings of his Quest team?s ?1.3m probe into Premier League transfers, which made public 16 deals involving five clubs that remain under suspicion and named 15 agents and three managers worthy of more investigation.

 

Investigations into a 17th deal are so sensitive that it has not been identified.

 

With Graeme Souness out of football and the reasons for concern about Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp remaining unspecified beyond his alleged ownership of a bad horse, Allardyce is the figure most damaged by the revelations.

 

Quest?s report recommended further inquiries into the apparent conflict of interest which existed when Allardyce?s son, Craig, was involved in transfers at Bolton, and it is understood solicitors for Allardyce are considering a request for their client to be re-interviewed about up to four deals, involving Julio Correa, Ali Al-Habsi, Blessing Kaku and Tal Ben Haim.

 

And now Allardyce also faces having to explain in court how Bolton came to sign Israel international Idan Tal last year.

 

Unlicensed Israeli agent David Abou has launched legal action against Craig Allardyce in a bid to receive half the ?135,000 commission he negotiated for himself from Tal?s free transfer.

 

It was Abou, through The Mail On Sunday, who revealed how he had acted for Ben Haim, Kaku and Tal in breach of FIFA rules forbidding unlicensed agents from being involved in transfer negotiations, and who then provided Quest and the FA with documentary evidence to support his claims.

 

Abou said that he and Craig, then a licensed agent, received secret payments from another licensed agent, Jamie Hart, after the Ben Haim and Kaku deals in 2004 which fall within Quest?s remit. Abou also claimed that when he acted for Tal in last year?s transfer, Craig agreed to split his ?135,000 commission with him.

 

But having never received what he says is his rightful share, Abou has now launched legal action to obtain it and to recover from Bolton the $1,194.50 he spent on his credit card to buy plane tickets for himself and Tal to fly to England on March 5, 2006.

 

Top sports lawyer Mel Goldberg, of Max Bitel, Greene, who is representing Abou, confirmed "letters before action" had been sent out to Craig Allardyce and Bolton.

 

Goldberg said: "If we do not receive a satisfactory response, legal proceedings will be issued."

 

Allardyce Snr, who is aware of the development, would be a key witness if the case against his son reached court.

 

Abou, who will be in court in Tel Aviv tomorrow for the start of a separate case against Tal Ben Haim, also wants to prevent Bolton paying any further instalments of Craig Allardyce?s commission.

 

The ?135,000 corresponds to the agent?s traditional 10 per cent of Tal?s three-year, ?8,500-per-week basic contract and the first instalment of ?45,000 was paid in October last year.

 

The next tranche of ?45,000 is due in the coming weeks but there are signs Bolton are in no mood to do the Allardyce family any favours.

 

Having backed Sam to the hilt while he was still at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton chairman Phil Gartside has apparently begun the process of distancing himself from his former manager, offering to provide Quest with the results of the club?s own internal investigation into how transfers were conducted.

 

As a member of the FA Board, Gartside has his own future to consider and his comments in the wake of the publication of Quest?s report could hardly have been more pointed.

 

"I?m glad that we found that every person who continues to work at this club has been totally exonerated by our inquiry," he said. "I don?t believe it?s my job to talk about individuals working for other clubs."

 

Lord Stevens? report pulled no such punches, as Allardyce?s new employers are also painfully aware.

 

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has already suffered the embarrassment of seeing one of his sons, Kenneth, named in the document, along with former manager Souness, as having provided evidence which contained inconsistencies.

 

Just as at Bolton, four transfers involving Newcastle remain uncleared by Quest and it was hardly an auspicious week for billionaire Mike Ashley to move a decisive step closer to gaining full control of the club by taking his stake past the 75 per cent threshold for delisting the company.

 

Sources indicate that Shepherd Snr, despite striking a deal with Ashley to stay on as chairman after selling his family?s 28 per cent holding for ?37m, may not stick around much longer to support the manager he appointed.

 

It is also understood that Allardyce would not have been the new owner?s first choice as manager and that the bad publicity about the Bolton transfers, on top of Ashley?s problems with his own company, Sports Direct, has not impressed him.

 

If Allardyce thought his move to Newcastle would draw a line under the past and herald a glorious new chapter of his career, he was mistaken.

 

The day after the fixture computer decreed his new team would begin next season with a match at the Reebok Stadium, the ghosts of Bolton, in the form of the Quest report, came back to haunt him in a potentially far more damaging way.

 

And there is every sign that they will continue to do so for some time to come.

[YATESY]

Interesting article you have posted there Andy.

 

Let's me honest though, about from a few agents having their licenses removed (Fat Craig has already given his up) what is going to come of this.

 

 

Freddie Shephard, in appointing Fat Sam, has already proved that he doesn't give a toss.

[Boby Brno]

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...in_page_id=1779

Daniel King, the guy who wrote this article, has been following this story for months and seems to suggest that he knows more than most. I was begining to think that this was another case of the media bias against us but it would appear that it is Sam that he has targetted and that there is a lot more to be uncovered.

[Mounts Kipper]

I think it is only a matter of time before allardyce is sacked, after reading this report I very much doubt he will see the season out, personally I dont think he will ever recover from this body blow when the inevitable happens, I will not shed a tear, loyallty in all walks of life is precious and Allardyce has shown a scant disregard for people of the town he calls home, and the club that was his to shape as he pleased, I will not shed a tear, but how different it could have been, if he had shown loyalty to the fans and the club.

[yardbones]

I see Zahavi has thrown his toys out of the pram

Football agent Pini Zahavi wants an apology from the Premier League after his name was mentioned in Lord Stevens report into transfer irregularities.

Zahavi was cited by investigators Quest for not co-operating with the inquiry.

 

In a letter to the Premier League, he says the claims are "false, misleading, groundless and legally invalid".

 

Zahavi's letter has been seen by BBC Sport's sports editor Mihir Bose with the Israeli born-agent reserving his right to take legal action.

 

It is understood the response of the Premier League and Quest over Zahavi's demand for an apology will determine whether he takes the matter further.

 

In the key findings of the final Quest report, the head of the investigation unit, Lord Stevens, refused to sign off 17 transfers.

 

The section in the report concerning Zahavi says: "Pinhas Zahavi has failed to co-operate fully with the Inquiry.

 

"There was an initial failure to disclose his involvement in a number of transfers but, more seriously, he has failed to provide the inquiry with complete bank statements due to the confidential nature of them.

 

"There has also been a lack of responsiveness by Zahavi.

 

"There remain questions relating to his relationship with and payments to fellow agent Barry Silkman and Barry Silkman's failure to initially disclose his involvement in all the transactions in which he received fees."

 

Zahavi's response in the form of the two-page letter was addressed to Premier League chairman Sir David Richards and chief executive Richard Scudamore.

 

It stated: "Our client holds the name of the Quest employee who briefed the press on a regular basis, slandering our client for no reason.

 

"This can only be seen as a deliberate attempt to harm our client's reputation.

 

"It seems that Quest's misleading publication concerning our client is a wrongful attempt to justify the nomination of Quest by showing some findings against our client where none actually exist.

 

"Due to this publication of misleading findings, our client's reputation was and is still being badly damaged.

 

"Newspapers around the world are quoting the publication calling for Fifa to investigate 'Mr Zahavi's conduct', whereas his conduct was honourable.

 

"Therefore we expect a prompt and unambiguous statement by Quest and/or the FA Premier League, which would include an apology for the aforementioned publication and a clarification as to our client's co-operation with the inquiry, in particular his consent to provide relevant bank statements.

 

"Our client is reserving the right to hold you (Premier League) and Quest responsible for any damages resulting from the groundless and reckless publication."

 

So Zahavi refuses to co-operate with Quest; Quest notes as such in its report; Zahavi sends a letter threatening legal action. Perhaps he should have written to the Premier League with details of his dealings with Barry Silkman.