Llambias “more than happy” to be probed on Barton deal (Updated)

Posted on September 14th, 2011 | 29 Comments |

Llambias: Nothing to hide.
Owlheed: Nothing to hide.
As question’s are asked over the alleged £2.5 million in agent’s fees involved in Joey Barton’s transfer to Queen’s Park Rangers, Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, washed his hands of the affair, insisting that he is “more than happy” for Newcastle United to be probed by the FA over the deal.

According to the Sun newspaper (I know, I know), The FA have been “urged” to probe Barton’s transfer to the west London “Hoops”, more specifically, the issue of alleged fees paid to Barton’s agent, Willie McKay, and a mystery company brought in to represent Barton. There has even been specultion that this mystery company may even be Barton himself, or someone else very close to the player.

To explain: In this case according to the Stun, rather than McKay acting for Barton as his agent, as would usually be the case, he is alleged to have acted for Queen’s Park Rangers instead, with the above mentioned mystery company acting for Barton’s interests.

There fees were said to be £1.3m to McKay, and £1.2 million to the mystery company who acted as Barton’s representative. The newspaper also alleged that a £1.5 million signing on fee was paid to Barton himself on a four year contract with £40,000 per week salary. Beisdes this, it also said that Barton would be paid a £250,000 end of season bonus if QPR avoid relegation at the end of the season.

When grilled by a Stun reporter on the unconventional arrangement, McKay said of the deal:

“There’s a lot of people act for Joey, you know. He has a lot of people acting for him.”

Though in an earlier interview when Barton was still on the market, McKay gave the impression that he was the party who was acting for Barton, saying on the interest shown in the feisty midfielder:

“We’ve been inundated with interest.

“I’ve probably got the easiest job of any agent in the transfer window.”

Meanwhile, Llambias distanced himself from the Joey imbroglio. When he was quizzed, he “stressed” to the Stun:

“We are more than happy to be audited by the FA.”

Meanwhile, Queen’s Park Rangers manager, Neil Warnock, was said to be “shocked” by the revelations, when he heard of the sums involved in the player’s move, he “gasped”:

“No chance! No chance!”

However he then admitted that he knew nothing about the details of the exchange adding:

“All I know is he (Barton) was on a Bosman and he’s a lot cheaper than Scott Parker but I don’t know the details. I know nothing about it.”

When QPR’s chief executive, Peter Beard, was grilled on the matter, the Stun alleged that he “vehemently disputed the £2.5m figure, insisting it was way off the mark” and added that the club did not believe any rules have been broken. However the only thing they quoted from Beard was:

“I am not going to confirm any of the club’s private transactions.”

Finally, the Stun reported that the FA “doggedly refused to confirm or deny that the governing body had begun an inquiry into the transfer”, but quoted one the ever ubuquitous “source” as saying:

“The FA has been given certain details regarding the deal and on that basis we believe they will have no alternative but to investigate, to ensure all the rules have been fully complied with.”

Of course the issues of inflated agent’s fees in supposedly “free” transfers was previously raised by Mr Llambias, and also Alan Pardew when he “marked the card” of griping fans who were curious over how the Andy Carroll £35 million was being invested. They explained that free transfers such as Demba Ba and Sylvain Marveaux can cost more than they seem to. Firstly, Llambias said on the subject:

“I can assure everyone that not a single penny of the £35 million has left the club and neither will it. It is all going back in.

“We have acted early and we have got the players we wanted, but none of them have been cheap. We have paid good prices for them. They certainly weren’t free transfers, there are fees and wages to consider.”

And Pardew with considerably more verbosity, as is his wont, remarked to a fan in a phone-in on BBC Radio Newcastle:

“I was listening earlier when you was talking about the money being spent and I just want to sort of make something clear. When you sign someone like Demba Ba and someone like Marveaux there’s huge fees involved in that, it isn’t just tranfer fees. This is unfortunately how the Premier League works and alot of money in those deals doesn’t come back through the system. Ideally, in the old days we would sign someone from the Championship and it would go back into the English game but this money’s going out through agents and stuff like that. But we spent a fair amount this Summer on those three players in particular, more perhaps than the fans realise and I need to mark their card on that because if you’re going to start adding up the money and thinking ‘Oh we ain’t spent that £35 million’ you’re going to be way off the figures, you really are. Mike promised to put all that money back in, I know what the figures are, I know what we spent on the training ground and everything will go back into the club. We’re trying to locate one or two development players that cost perhaps more than you think as well. Now, I want to say that because I think Mike and Derek’s backing has been very strong this Summer and I’m very pleased with it so far. The noises we’re making on perhaps the last signing, or perhaps the last two are still very very good and it bodes well.”

Personally, to myself, this begs the question, and has for some time: Did Joey Barton and Willie Mckay engineer this move through his rambling about Ashley and Llambias on Twitta? (running an NUFC Blog can turn one into a very sad individual in time). After all, it would have been unlikely for Barton and his agents to have obtained such genoerous signing on fees etc if he had signed with a transfer fee attached, and he would have had to wait until the end of the season to become a free agent, and thus be able to negotiate similar “perks” on a deal.

Update

One aspect of this, which I missed, and the Independent newspaper didn’t in their later story is that IF McKay was working for the club and not for Joey Barton, then Barton won’t liable for any benefit-in-kind tax payment for his services.

Meanwhile, in an interview for “Talk Sport” radio, McKay spoke of the deal, claiming that the figures were not as high as as those quoted, and added:

 “I regard Joey Barton as a £10m player. So whatever fee I got, working on behalf of Queen’s Park Rangers, was fair to say the least.”

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1092 articles on this blog.

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29 Responses

  1. I’m not so sure i get the implications of the deal, is there some kind of fee being returned to the selling club sugested, and could that possibly involve our esteemed owners top yes man ?
    Is this possibly a private piece of the action going to a specific NUFC employee or is the club it’self involved ?
    Some very murky circumstances, especially as Llambias has apparently welcomed a probing ?

  2. There fees were said to be £1.3m to McKay, and £1.2 million to the mystery company who acted as Barton’s representative.

    If there was any wrongdoing – and I’m certainly not saying there was – then clearly this ‘mystery company’ would need to be uncovered.

    A cynical person might suggest that the £1.2 million paid to it is a ‘backhander’ to someone.

    It’s fortunate then that I’m not a cynical person, particularly when lawyers are watching.

  3. chuck says:
    September 14, 2011 at 7:45 pm

    “I’m not so sure i get the implications of the deal, is there some kind of fee being returned to the selling club sugested, and could that possibly involve our esteemed owners top yes man ?”

    Chuck, well most of what I might be suggesting, well speculating, is what I’ve thought for some time in my more cynical moments (ie most of the time).

    This is that Barton and McKay may have done Ashley up like a kipper with Barton’s Twitta ramblings on our esteemed owner and Managing Director. In other words that he wanted his free transfer, and all the contract negotiation benefits which went with it, sooner rather than being sold for a fee, or playing out the season until he became a free agent.

    But what do I know?

  4. Ah well!

    As i suspected.
    ;)

    The daily fail one i posted this morning suggested that JB represented himself.

    Canny little earner?

  5. In my opinion after meeting joey bartons grandfather on numourous occasions at away games it clear to me who the mystery company is.

    if you ever had the pleasure of bumping into Joeys grand father all i could say is, joey is a chip off the old blocks’ block if you know what i mean.

    although don’t get me wrong he was a very nice guy, but obviously with his family being quite notorious in Liverpool i.e. him grandson hacking to death a man a few year ago in a racist attack, you could see why the company is a mystery.

    this is my opinion of course but i definitely spotted Joeys Grandfather stepping out of the car they were traveling in when the posse turned up at QPR.

    it would not surprise me if this is the case. at away games there was always a fair few of his cousins and uncles knocking around. so it would not surprise me that they would want to cut in on the deal and secure their own futures. they are family after all. and if i was Joey Barton i suppose it is the least i could do for my family. its not like hes going to miss £2.5 million. and if they are anything like my family it might stop them from asking for handouts every five minutes when they think you have cash in your pocket.

  6. Stephen C says:
    September 14, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    “this is my opinion of course but i definitely spotted Joeys Grandfather stepping out of the car they were traveling in when the posse turned up at QPR.”

    Top notch gossip Stephen!

    Thanks for sharing as they say on Chuck’s side of the pond.

  7. “it would not surprise me if this is the case. at away games there was always a fair few of his cousins and uncles knocking around. so it would not surprise me that they would want to cut in on the deal and secure their own futures. they are family after all. and if i was Joey Barton i suppose it is the least i could do for my family. its not like hes going to miss £2.5 million. and if they are anything like my family it might stop them from asking for handouts every five minutes when they think you have cash in your pocket”

    and all, of course, alleged and/or spurious. After all this is how rumours start !!!

    Funnily enough it is noted with more than a shovel full of irony that “the arrangement has surprised Newcastle, who are understood to have made their concerns known to the FA” Presumably because they didnt get a back hander ? :)

  8. Can’t see willie mckay doing owt wrong like.
    Pillar of society that bloke & football agent to boot.

  9. please note this is my opinion.

    and as for gossip i definitely did spot Bartons grandfather stepping out of one of the vehicles shown on sky sports news, so i assume he would have had some influence in joeys decision. which he is entitled to.

    like i said i don’t think joeys family are by any way after his cash, but what family wouldn’t be when someone comes into cash. most families seem to fight about cash than any other factor, although most wait until one family member has deceased.

    my observations are more on families in general and it doesn’t take too much to slightly link the behaviour of some of the more un-admired families to work out what may or may not be that case. joey doesn’t have a simple family background. his step brother is serving life in prison for murder. so it might well be the case that his family want to turn their lives and reputations around. and in all fairness £2.5 million would probably come close to changing a lot of joeys family.

    personally speaking i think i would do the same, it hasn’t been easy for them and it certainly hasn’t been easy for joey.

    like i said putting into perspective when taking into account joeys behavior and that of his step brother it wouldn’t take too much guilt to repay the faith your family showed by standing by you, by letting them represent you in any deal and thus gifting them £2.5 million as a result.

    but that is my opinion.

    and after all we are commenting on the current bun for inspiration.

  10. Stephen C says:
    September 14, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    “and after all we are commenting on the current bun”

    Aye Stephen, correct. But if they quote the likes of Owlheed, Neil Gobshite, Willy Gobshite and Peter Beard, it has to be right, otherwise they have to reach for the ubiquitous “source” as they did for the last bit.

  11. Non story from an nufc point of view – Joey obviously did well out of it as did his agent, bizarrely I agree with llambias – completely free of blame as we recieved fook all in fees – and to be honest I dont give a flying about qpr

  12. the mystery company was barton himself, he got two fees for signing basically, and his agent got a nice slice representing qpr.

    it was clearly newcastle (dekkadolittle) who grassed them up

  13. yeah but the ubiquitous source roughly translates to ” suspicion paranoid over active imagination” followed by. ” how can i express these thoughts to my shrink without sounding like a deluded fruitcake”
    often mistaken for “sources” voices in ones head seems to be an adequate term to use.

    if only i had know this many years ago i could have saved myself years within the mental health act.

  14. Stephen C says:
    September 14, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    “often mistaken for “sources” voices in ones head seems to be an adequate term to use.”

    Almost certainly in Anal Oliver’s case Stephen! :-)

  15. well it could be worse his Ronny gill replacement doesn’t seem much use either.

    he seems to replace fact with over reached opinion and banter.

    I’ve stopped reading the Ronny gill lately. seems like they’ve gone for a more tacky approach rather than a well “sourced” individual.

    what you think Worky?

    “sourced” often confused but often similar to “juiced”

  16. Stephen C says:
    September 14, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    “well it could be worse his Ronny gill replacement doesn’t seem much use either.

    he seems to replace fact with over reached opinion and banter.

    I’ve stopped reading the Ronny gill lately. seems like they’ve gone for a more tacky approach rather than a well “sourced” individual.

    what you think Worky?”

    If you’re referring to Ryder, I’m banned from his blog for politely pointing out that one of his stories was completely innacurate, then politely asking why my comment was almost immediately deleted.

    On the Ronnie Gill – taken over, and taken downhill by the Mirror group. This also explains Anal’s move to The People, which is now a ‘sister’ publication of the Chronic as I like to call it nowadays.

  17. Sorry for being a bit of a thicko but has this deal cost us any money, it would be kinda ironic if we snitched on JB & Co.

  18. I’d like to probe him…with a cactus…

    Ryder is a douche.

    Barton is no longer our concern.

    That is all.

  19. Worky….

    if the story about Edward the Second and the red hot poker’s a myth, then an alternative would be to force Llambias to listen to Edward the Second and the Red Hot Polkas!!

  20. Yeah, no doubt Joey is a street smart scouse and had the hammer from day one.
    So if the family got a couple of bob outta QPR, rather than Ashley or Sancho Panza, i got no problem with that.
    Think your right in your assumption, Joey and Mckay worked a scam on Ashley, by threatening to collect for another year and leave as a free agent.
    How did they allow it to happen ?
    Dummies !