absolutely correct.
I've said myself that showing players the stadium, the support is a big pulling factor but for some strange reason some people disagreed ..........
Not only do Ferguson's personally guided tours of Old Trafford add the midas touch to any sales pitches arrowed at potential signees, they've also become a tradition over there. Something i've raised before, and KK - ie. a charismatic figure in his own right - and the 'SJP Factor' you speak of is the closest thing we can offer from a 'club selling' standpoint.
But then again everything is fine according to many here, with regard to the suit-orientated 'selling team' led by Jimenez, and as always we're posting s****.
Although you are ignoring the fact that the following people took part in the negotiations for Modric: Mike Ashley, Chris Mort, Tony Jimenez, Dennis Wise, and Kevin Keegan, who tried to charm the Mamic brothers with his Hamburg tales.
James, the term 'too many chefs operating in one single kitchen' springs to mind. Too many amateurs - ie Mort and Ashley in particular - trying to play Football Manager.
Keegan in this new-age set-up is a peripheral figure, whereas there is nobody who can sell the club better than Keegan, afterall he personally oversaw Asprilla's transfer and prised away a player of undoubted ability from a then high-flying Serie A club in the form of Parma. Parma were at that stage the 2nd or 3rd ranked/placed team in Italy, so Keegan - and this is just one higher profile example - has the track record when it comes to sealing deals for in-demand 'stars' when there are clubs at a comparable level to ours competing for these same signatures, and surely Spurs fits into this category at the minute.
The club at the moment needs every advantage it can get at the moment, and while i have reservations about Spurs' continental set-up i'm prepared to acknowledge that Spurs will have a headstart on us - ie. sealing deals - because their 'selling team' headed by Commolli and Levi have been in caper longer than Wise, and longer in the English set-up than Jimenez and as such can sell the pros of English football more plainly as opposed to a high-powered, suit-oriented team issuing contract offer with a higher number ahead of the 0's, afterall we have offered more money in the way of contract offers to both Woodgate & Modric yet we've come up well short on both counts. As such he should be the central player in this regard, Jimenez and Co. should only enter the fray when personal terms need to be put on the table & signed by the relevant parties.
There's nobody better than the manager/Keegan who can illustrate the club's on-field direction, and the pros of the English game with regards to tempo. The Croats, based on what i've seen of them, employ a spread-wide midfield line and they're largely a rapier-like counterattacking side. With the defensive bodies around him, and Modric is no shrinking violet either/he hasn't shyed away from a challenge when he's found himself defensively isolated in his often criticised 'deep role' for Croatia, he's ready-made for the EPL imo.
Keegan should be the only 'player' within the football front-office, when selling the club & the EPL to prospective targets.... whether that be the player himself or the players' representatives. Right now, at the minute, our prospective targets are hearing too many voices when having the club pitched at them........ especially from blokes who know bugger all about football ala *Ashley & Mort. The 'miss' involving Modric fits into this category imo, as you've implied there were plenty of voices/pitchers in on the act. It's overkill imo.
*and this is pertinent when considering that Ashley is supposedly going to be more 'hands on' from now on, whether this extends to transfer dealings/sealing deals, or providing assistance, is another matter. This will be discovered in due course.
Keegan ran our transfer business/the front office, up to the point of SJH putting the 0's on the contracts, once before and he managed that task just fine. Over a decade ago we were at the forefront of what was the beginning of the Age of the Super Transfer, and Keegan was a spearhead in what was as a then ambitious drive in the transfer market.
Wenger & Ferguson run there footballing front-offices with iron fists......... and likewise they've being doing just fine, especially when competing against the millions being thrown about by Abramovich, Kenyon & Arnesson.
Like Wenger & Ferguson, Keegan is our top asset in the football front office, and it's a bloody shame that Mort & Ashley didn't take this on board by installing their continental set-up prior to seeking Keegan's services. He should not be restricted to being a peripheral figure in the front office, as opposed to being just the continental-style 'head coach' who is responsible for what takes place on Saturdays & Sundays & out on the training paddock. And this extends to the hiring & firing of coaches as well, because by going on a recent coach sacking he allegedly has little input & knowledge with regards to movement on this front as well
Another article from this morning would suggest that Keegan still takes an active role: http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2008/06/17/keegan-takes-active-role-in-recruitment-61634-21085566/
I think the game has changed though since Keegan was brokering deals for Asprilla, and it is suggested by many that the many agents taking over the game was one of the things that most alienated Keegan from the game when he was at Manchester City. However with the team in place it creates a system where we can use the best bits of Keegan, and leave the murky stuff to others.
Not sure that Spurs have any headstart given that Jimenez has been brokering high-profile deals as a super agent for years, while Wise has plenty of contacts himself.
