This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Willie McKay is a Scottish football agent, based in Monaco. With his business partner an italian based -swiss agent Walter Palombo ,they were the agent of many top-level footballers, mainly based in England and France, specifically the Premier League. His clients include James McFadden, Joey Barton, Henri Camara, Scott McDonald, Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé, Charles N'Zogbia, Tyrone Mears, Amdy Faye, Ross McCormack, and Pascal Chimbonda. He was Scott Brown's agent [1] and his twin sons' agent, Jack and Paul McKay. [2] His elder son Mark McKay is a registered football agent. [3]
McKay was one of the agents investigated by the Quest team, led by Lord Stevens, which looked into allegations of "bungs" and fraud in transfers. The Daily Express claimed in December 2006 that the £8.5 million transfer of Jean-Alain Boumsong from Rangers F.C. to Newcastle United was one of the deals being examined by Quest. However Quest said of Graeme Souness, who was manager of Newcastle at the time of the Boumsong transfer, "We wish to make it clear that inconsistencies did not exist within the evidence given by Graeme Souness to Quest concerning his role in transfers covered by the Inquiry during his time as manager of Newcastle United FC and neither the Premier League nor do Quest have any concerns in this regard". [4] In the final report of the Stevens inquiry he was criticised for his failure to co-operate with the inquiry. However, Quest later issued the following statement: "Further to the key findings from the final Quest report published on 15 June 2007 by the Premier League, Quest would like to emphasise that, in that report, it was clear that no evidence of irregular payments was found in the transfers in the inquiry period which involved the agent Willie McKay. Quest would also like to thank Mr McKay for his cooperation with the inquiry". [5] On 1 February 2008 McKay won substantial libel damages against the Daily Express over false claims about his transfer dealings. [6]
On 28 November 2007, it was reported by BBC News that McKay – together with Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp and Managing Director Peter Storrie, former Portsmouth and then acting Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric, and former Portsmouth footballer Amdy Faye, on loan at Rangers – had been arrested by City of London Police in relation to the ongoing inquiries into allegations of corruption in football. [7] [8] Mckay was never charged and police bail was dropped after 2 years.
In Doncaster Rovers' 2011–12 season they struggled for form, failing to win any of their first seven matches. Then manager, Sean O'Driscoll, was sacked, with Dean Saunders being brought in to replace him. [9]
With the help of McKay, Doncaster Rovers brought in several "big–name" players in on loans and short-term contracts to try and rescue the club's Championship status, [10] including El Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, Herita Ilunga, Carl Ikeme, Frédéric Piquionne, and Habib Beye. [11] Other players linked with the club included Robert Pires and the ex-Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra. In the end, Doncaster were relegated to League One with three games still to play after a highly controversial match against Portsmouth. [12] Many supporters blamed the failure to stay in the Championship on McKay's involvement. At the end of the 2011–12 season, chairman John Ryan deemed the McKay "experiment" over as it "didn't work" and "wouldn't work in the third tier" anyway. [10]
Willie McKay and his son were involved in the events surrounding the tragic death of Emiliano Sala. [13]
Jean-Alain Boumsong Somkong is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began his senior career with French club Le Havre in 1997 before joining AJ Auxerre in 2000. His performances at Auxerre earned him a move to Rangers in 2004. One season later, he signed with Newcastle United. where he spent two seasons. In 2006, he joined Juventus, freshly relegated to Serie B and helped the club return to Serie A. He returned to France with Lyon in 2008. His last spell was at Greek Super League side Panathinaikos before ending his career in 2013. Between 2003 and 2009, he made 27 appearances scoring 1 goal for the France national team.
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit.
Henry James Redknapp is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup. At the conclusion of the 2009–10 season, he guided Tottenham into the UEFA Champions League. Redknapp announced his retirement from football management in 2017.
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American businessman who has owned a string of businesses and association football clubs, including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He was born near Gospić, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and grew up in Novi Sad, Serbia.
James Michael Smith was an English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of the Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the Northern Premier League. He began a long managerial career with Boston United, and went on to take charge of top division clubs such as Birmingham City, Newcastle United and Derby County. Smith served as a member of the board of directors of Oxford United for three years from 2006 to 2009. He served as the League Managers' Association's chief executive and was inducted into their Hall of Fame for managing over 1000 matches. He was nicknamed "The Bald Eagle".
Kevin John Bond is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He is currently first-team coach at Bristol Rovers.
Dean Nicholas Saunders is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer.
Pierre Laurent Robert is a French former professional footballer who played as a left winger. He was known for his powerful shot, particularly from free kicks.
Pascal Chimbonda is a French football coach and professional player who is the player-manager of English non-league club Skelmersdale United.
Fabrice Fernandes is a French former footballer who played for several clubs, most particularly Southampton.
Amdy Moustapha Faye is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and could also play as a centre back.
Sean Michael O'Driscoll is a former professional footballer and manager. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Walsall. He was known by the nickname "Noisy" in his playing days at Fulham. He represented the Republic of Ireland as a player.
In 2006, several allegations were made of corruption in English football, by sources both inside and outside the game, including a BBC Panorama investigation. In response, the Football Association commissioned a report from Lord Stevens, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and subsequently an investigation was carried out by the City of London police, leading to many arrests.
Peter Storrie is the Executive Vice-Chairman of A-League club Central Coast Mariners. He was also a former director and Chief Executive Officer of English team Portsmouth, and had formerly worked for West Ham United, Southend United and Notts County.
During the 2005–06 season, Newcastle United participated in the Premier League.
During the 2004–05 English football season, Portsmouth competed in the FA Premier League. It was Portsmouth's second consecutive season in English football's top-flight.
Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker.
Paul McKay is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Queen of the South. McKay has previously played for Doncaster Rovers, Leeds United, Cardiff City and Airdrieonians. McKay has also had loan spells with Ilkeston, Gainsborough Trinity and Morecambe.
A Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala crashed in the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands on 21 January 2019. It had been travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales. Sala was due to begin his career at Cardiff City.
The association football transfer of Emiliano Sala from FC Nantes to Cardiff City F.C. occurred on 19 January 2019. After month-long negotiations between the two clubs, Welsh-based Premier League club Cardiff City agreed to pay French Ligue 1 club Nantes a club record £15 million transfer fee for Emiliano Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker. Sala was Cardiff manager Neil Warnock's prime target in the club's attempt to stave off relegation during the 2018–19 season.