For anyone that has not read the rancid .
READING between the LIES – Motherwell are about to replace Stuart McCall with Walter Mitty.
A false flag operation is under way at Fir Park you see.
You can usually spot the tell-tale signs a mile off – football is a business riddled with rogues, chancers – and Craig Whyte.
Every now and then it’s easy to sniff out a blatant example of agents fibbing to gain leverage for a vacancy elsewhere. Step forward Uruguayan coach Guillermo Almada and former Newcastle star Nolberto Solano.
There’s telling a porky and then there’s River Plate’s Almada who claims he has already been offered the job after being briefed by a Fir Park delegation that flew to Buenos Aires on Monday.
The intricate details of the meeting are impressive ... he’s even been urged to answer an SOS from the Lanarkshire club, God bless him.
He said: “Motherwell aren’t in a good position this season so they are calling on me to keep them up. The idea would be for me to rebuild the squad for the following season.
“We spoke about the sporting project and what they want if they hire me and my assistants.
“It was a long and extensive meeting. They offered us an 18-month contract but there are major financial differences.”
The only problem for Almada is the whole thing is a figment of his imagination as sources of impeccable integrity within Fir Park have confirmed they haven’t broken bread with the South American never mind flown to the Argentine capital.
As for Monday night?
Motherwell’s movers and shakers were at the club’s youth match.
Then there’s Noddy Solano and an agent who has offered up some Fir Park fantasy of his own.
Juan “Pinocchio” Pinieri would have us believe Solano is in advanced talks to become the new Motherwell manager.
He said: “Nolberto is currently in negotiations to take charge at Motherwell. The discussions are ongoing.”
So in true pantomime style
– oh no he isn’t.
Of the 54 candidates under review for the post, serial applier Ardiles is on the list.
Unfortunately, the Tottenham Hotspur legend’s appearance among the usual runners and riders for managerial vacancies is akin to having milk and bread on your shopping list.
Bogarde is another exotic offering from the scattergun approach by foreign agents trying to get their man in the door.
One recent vacancy in Scottish football had agents falling over themselves trying to get their man into the frame.
More than 80 “serious” applicants went for the Ross County job – former Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert was apparently keen on moving to Dingwall but was beaten to the post by the much more realistic Jim McIntyre.
It’s just another example of why the likes of Winston and wee Nobby will need to look elsewhere for work when it comes to Motherwell’s next manager – it’ll either be one of the usual native suspects or current caretaker Kenny Black.
Here’s an insight into the unscrupulous dark arts of how a false flag managerial manoeuvre works.
An in-work manager, lets call him Guillermo, may need his profile raised. New contract negotiations may be around the corner or he’s looking to broaden his horizons on to a bigger stage.
In steps the agent with a quote about an approach from a bigger club wishing to speak to his man and all that. Sometimes the club involved will be complicit and turn a blind eye as a favour.
And suddenly the “in-demand” tag is applied to his client without there being any truth in the story.
The second scenario is applied to the out-of-work boss. Let’s call him Nobby. He’ll have his agent bombarding every available job at home and abroad and throwing out a few quotes about bogus progress being made by his man in filling the position.
It’s in the hope that something else comes up at the same
time and the haste to beat
the fabricated clamour for
his client helps shoehorn him into position.
The giveaway clue to the category which Solano falls
into can be found in the second
part of agent Pinieri’s statement about his man’s priorities which are preceded by the usual cock and bull.
He said: “The discussions are ongoing but his first wish is to manage a club in South America.”
Honestly, shameless rubbish which should be enough to make you blush claret and amber.
