Monday, September 18, 2006

For those who missed it...

For those who didn't get to read the official Inquiry report into the meeting between our dear friend Ashley and Chelsea, here are a few highlights:

From an early stage JB indicated that AC and he were looking for £60K per
week and that AC would settle for nothing less...

Negotiations continued in the following months but by the autumn they had stalled. JB had not budged from £60K. Moreover JB was insisting that as agent he should continue to
receive commission on the old contract as well as on the new contract.
This did not find favour with AFC.


Can you believe it - Jonathan Barnett wanted to double up his commission by claiming the commission on a now defunct contract!

On 20 December DD met JB over breakfast at Claridges. JB’s recollection
is that he and DD struck a deal on £60K per week, they shook hands on it
and exchanged compliments of the season. DD denies that any deal was
done, or that he had authority at that time to make such a deal. His
recollection is that they were not far apart about AC’s salary and the
conversation was mainly about the agent’s commission.

Yet again, it seems the subject of the Agents commission is holding things up. And just to make the point again:

On 13th January 2005 DD informed the Board that AC’s advisors were
insistent that a new contract at £60K per week was their “minimum starting
point with agent’s fees in addition”.

After turning down Arsenal's offer, David Dein spoke directly to Cole:

DD spoke to AC (who was driving) and tried to explain the figures and that
the offer represented a total increase of £3.5 million and asked AC to meet
him so that he could explain in more detail. AC agreed but the meeting
never took place as other events overtook them.

And then onto the infamous meeting:

JB and AC went together and met PZ and a discussion took place about AC’s prospects and
conditions with a foreign club. Without any warning and to AC’s and JB’s astonishment there was a knock at the door and in walked JM and PK. They both assumed that JM and PK were there for a pre-arranged business meeting with PZ. Introductions were made followed by an inconsequential conversation and after 6-10 minutes AC and JB were uncomfortable to be in
the presence of such senior and important men from CFC that they departed leaving JM and PK with PZ.

The Commission concluded that it was inconceivable that:
(1) PZ did not inform JB of the arrangement to meet CFC.
(2) That JB did not inform AC and
(3) That JB and AC were unaware that PK was about to arrive – but they may not have known that he was to be accompanied by JM.

My main worry now is that Barnett represents other players on the books at Arsenal, including Nicklas Bendtner - lets just hope he doesn't turn them into money grabbing arseholes like Cole.

Mercenary Cole's Book flops

Ashley 'I didn't move for the money' Cole's classic tome was out today - and what a response from the nation at large.

It doesn't even make the Top 100 bestsellers list at Amazon.co.uk, which is pretty poor, as a book such as this will surely notch up its highest sales the first days of release. Indeed, when I checked on Sunday, the day before release, its sales rank was a miserable 452nd!

It is currently being outsold by such classics as IEE Wiring Regulations: BS7671, 2001 Incorporating Amendments No. 1 & 2, 2004, Oxbridge Entrance: The Real Rules and Marley and Me:Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog.




Update: On the evening of the 19th, the book is languishing at 150 in Amazon's chart. Compare this to Steven Gerrard's Autobiography, sitting at number 8. I think this proves the link between plonkers and poor book sales, often talked about in the literary world ;->