The location Jon Smith suggests for this interview is a hotel a mile or so north of Cockfosters. On emerging from the very end of the Piccadilly tube line, there are hedgerows and massive houses one after another, the homes of Premier League footballers among others. After a while, the pavement comes to an end but the hotel is still not in sight. Then, from behind a row of trees, a helicopter takes to the air. Oh, it must be in there then.
Smith, using air commas, which he acknowledges using as he does so (“Who does that?”), calls himself football’s “original super-agent”. At different times the representative of Diego Maradona, the entire England football team and James Beattie, Smith – 65 going on 45 – has witnessed the Premier League explosion from the inside. In recent years he has stepped back from the frontline, to act more as an adviser to people keen to invest in the game. These people invariably have a tonne of money. That might be why the hotel Smith calls his local has a helipad outside.
An hour in Smith’s company flies by. Digressions from the agreed topic include Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn, China’s influence on North Korea and the moral values of taekwondo. He not only has anecdotes – like the time he followed Jeremy Paxman to the urinals to gain a psychological advantage ahead of an interview – but also acuity and a massive amount of energy. He may not be a super-agent any more, but he is not short of things he wants to talk up.
One of these is his latest scheme, the Fans Agency. The plan is to open a player agency in which fans hold a stake. Raising its capital via crowdfunding – more than £500,000 is currently pledged on the platform Crowd Cube – investors will take a stake in the company and its profits. They will also, according to Smith, be able to trade shares in represented players and even have a chance to influence which individuals the company represents.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
