QPR Report Tuesday: Magilton Player Selection...Loanee Turns 21...Football Agents Fees: Premier League Spending Figures...QPR at Soccerex

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Dave McIntyre/BBC 606 November 30- Magilton's defensive choice
- Jim Magilton was as angry as I’ve seen him after Saturday’s draw against Coventry.
- His post-match press conference lasted only a few minutes, and most of his answers only a few seconds – if that.
- He was in a more reflective mood when I spoke to him on Monday, again stressing that he was pleased with most of Rangers’ play but frustrated by some sloppy defending from set-pieces.
- His omission of Kaspars Gorkss against Coventry raised some eyebrows.
- Gorkss, who was fit and available to play, was left on the bench and Fitz Hall recalled after recovering from his latest injury.
- Magilton likes Hall. That was obvious as early as pre-season, when Hall featured prominently and showed plenty of composure on the ball – something that carries a lot of weight with the Rangers manager.
- The fact he put Hall back into the side when he was passed fit says a lot.
- Magilton’s view is that, especially at home, Rangers need to turn the heat up on opposing sides and a large part of that involves playing the ball out decisively from the back.
- While stressing the good points of all his four main centre-backs, he made it clear that he felt Hall and Matt Connolly are the most composed on the ball and he wanted to utilise this against Coventry.
- It’s an interesting perspective given that most of Rangers’ best performances this season have been with Gorkss looking to pass the ball out from the back, as well as being their most dominant player in the air.
- Two very poor goals conceded from set-pieces – the first involving Connolly being beaten cleanly in the air – might suggest that Magilton got it wrong on Saturday.
- But it is also the case that Rangers have been guilty of some shoddy defending and shipped goals from set-pieces even with Gorkss in the side.
- Magilton has made some excellent judgement calls this season and deserves credit for the job he has done so far.
- What is arguably a concern, though, is that it is now December and Rangers do not have what resembles a settled back line.
- Magilton has tried several combinations at centre-back and his team are still prone to the odd aberration.
- Most fans will have their own view on what QPR’s best defensive pairing is, and I sense Hall would probably come bottom of the ballot.
- Personally I’d play him ahead of both Damion Stewart and Connolly, who I don’t think is yet strong enough to play regularly at centre-back – a position he has the potential to eventually establish himself as a top player in.
- What is interesting is Magilton’s criteria for choosing centre-backs.
- It won’t please everyone, especially after a game like Saturday’s, but ought to please most of those with misty-eyed views - mainly based on past Rangers sides – of what QPR teams should represent.
- How much would Glenn Roeder be worth to Rangers were he playing in today’s team?
- Like Gorkss, was Tommy Williams was left out on Saturday.
- Williams played at Doncaster instead of Gary Borrowdale and by all accounts had a shocker.
- But Magilton was quick to remind me that it was the first time Williams had played in almost a month.
- Williams could get another chance during his loan spell, especially if Borrowdale becomes unavailable.
- A deal in principle seems to have been agreed to sign him permanently from Peterborough, but Rangers are not locked into signing him in the way they were with Borrowdale a year ago.
- One player Magilton definitely does want to sign on a permanent deal is Ben Watson.
- He is at QPR until the end of December and there is an option to extend the loan.
- That option is with Wigan, not Rangers, so it’s them who will ultimately decide his future.
- But all the signs suggest Watson will remain at Loftus Road, either on an extended loan or as a permanent signing.
- Rangers will certainly make Wigan an offer, and the intention since he arrived in September has always been to sign him outright when the transfer window re-opens. BBC606


PREMIERSHIP SEPENDING ON FOOTBALL AGENTS

Guardian/David Conn
Premier League clubs revealed to have spent £70m on agents• Figures published for last two transfer windows
• Manchester City pay out most in fees at £13m

The first publication by the Premier League of the amount its clubs spend on agents revealed that more than £70m was paid out in the year from 1 October 2008 to 30 September this year. That period takes in transfer windows in January and this summer. The figures also included any amounts paid to agents on deals done in previous years.

Manchester City, who spent around £170m in transfer fees during the year, under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, were by some distance the largest spenders, paying out £12.9m in agents' fees. Chelsea were the next highest, having paid £9.6m, while Liverpool, surprisingly given Rafael Benítez's relatively quiet transfer dealings, paid £6.7m. Other big spenders were Tottenham Hotspur, at £6.1m; Wigan, at £5.5m; and Arsenal, at £4.8m.

All the clubs were asked by the Premier League to publish their figures on their websites but few were accompanied by detailed explanations and none included breakdowns of the total figures or named individual agents or deals. The Premier League explained that the payments were made by clubs directly to agents for bringing players in, renegotiating their contracts or for facilitating their sale.

Payments to agents for negotiating salary packages must come out of the players' wages, under Football Association regulations, but clubs can pay the agents on the players' behalf as an administrative service. The Premier League made it clear that the total included such payments made by clubs.

City issued a fuller statement than most other clubs – their spending largely explained why they topped the list. City's chief financial officer, Graham Wallace, said the figure related to payments for 35 players and included instalments paid on deals signed in previous years.

"The level of player acquisition over the past year has been unprecedented as we have sought to rebuild our playing squad," Wallace said. "Squad building at this level and within such a short time frame is unlikely to be repeated."

Chelsea issued a brief statement but declined to make any further comment or provide an explanation. Most clubs similarly issued details on their websites, as agreed with the Premier League, but despite the publication of the list, none contained an explanation of how the level of agents' payments is arrived at.

The Football League has been publishing the amounts paid by its clubs to agents since voting to do so in September 2003, in a move aimed at promoting transparency and reducing the amounts paid. Premier League clubs are understood to have been motivated by similar considerations now. The overall figure is certain to raise concerns about financial excess in England's elite league and questions about what agents actually do for their money.

The Premier League clarified that the £70.7m represented the total instalments paid on 803 separate transactions carried out by its 20 clubs, but released no further explanatory detail. As with the Football League's method of publication, there was a club by club list of amounts paid to agents, but no breakdown of payments according to which deals they related to, or which agents were paid.

All transfer fees and payments to agents must be made through the FA, but almost no detail finds its way to the wider public. Of the deals done during the period, only the £900,000 which Chelsea said was paid to Pini Zahavi when Wayne Bridge moved to Manchester City in January has been publicly confirmed. Guardian

Premier League Official Site

Premier League statement Figures have been published regarding payments to agents for the period 1st October 2008 to 30th September 2009.

The figures published below are inclusive of:

• Fees paid to agents by Clubs in respect of acquiring and/or renegotiating Player Registrations.

• Fees paid to agents by Clubs on behalf of players in respect of acquiring and/or renegotiating Player Registrations.

• Fees paid to agents during the defined period relating to previous transaction costs (i.e. Player Registrations prior to 1st October 2008) that have been amortised over the length of a Player Contract.

• Fees paid to agents by Clubs to facilitate the outward transfer of Player Registrations.

Player Registrations (transactions) include:
• Domestic permanent transfers.
• International permanent transfers.
• Domestic temporary transfers (loans).
• International temporary transfers (loans).
• Extension of existing Player Contracts.
• First professional registration.
• Free transfers.

Premier League
Arsenal £4,760,241
Aston Villa £1,708,374
Birmingham City £974,982
Blackburn Rovers £1,610,885
Bolton Wanderers £3,166,611
Burnley £468,398
Chelsea £9,562,223
Everton £2,008,407
Fulham £1,469,258
Hull City £1,599,188
Liverpool £6,657,305
Manchester City £12,874,283
Manchester United £1,517,393
Portsmouth £3,184,725
Stoke City £716,042
Sunderland £2,007,040
Tottenham Hotspur £6,066,935
West Ham United £5,527,548
Wigan Athletic £3,576,972
Wolverhampton Wanderers £1,235,703

Total (across 803 transactions)
£70,692,513 Premiership

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