Of course it's a factor

If Laudrup is interested in a player, he calls his agent or another agent that he's worked with at the top level. Or he calls Barcelona's secretary directly or he talks with an ex-teammate who is now also a prominent manager. In Spain they call it enchufe and it's massively common, much more so than in the UK. Almost no deals of significance happen with out it. Same in most of southern europe I would guess.

Neil doesn't have these contacts, so he's an outsider. It's a lot harder to seal a deal when you don't have agents or other influential people in football putting in good words and recommendations on your behalf.

Posted By: Mecagoenti, Sep 2, 11:13:03