I reckon it would be fair to say that football agents don’t exactly have the best reputation. Viewed by many as machiavellian individuals who greedily take money out of the game with little or next to no interest in what’s happening on the pitch, that is the picture painted of the modern-day agent. Speaking to Brad Halsman however, that lazy assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
‘Likeable, flexible and connected,’ the 27-year-old, owner of InMotion Sports Agency, revealed as the key traits to being an agent in modern-day football.
Having rose through the ranks at Aberdeen, Motherwell and Partick Thistle, Brad’s love of the game didn’t stem from romanticising about the lucrative business and financial gains that can be taken away from the sport, instead, it was his love for kicking a ball and the confidence it gave him.
‘When I was 5 I went to a boys club, Mearns United. I played a year up and straight away knew I was pretty talented at it and wanted to be a footballer straight away.’
Impressing at boys club level, it wasn’t too long before he was snapped up by Aberdeen. Although he was highly rated by all the clubs he had spells at and he, himself, was confident in his ability to make the cut, in hindsight Brad believes that there was a clear reason as to why his career ended at just 20.
‘Mentality. Did I have the ability? Yes, but I’d say mentally I wasn’t strong enough. I didn’t work hard enough. I didn’t look after the body as well as I should have, didn’t sleep right, always wanted to just get away and get home as early as possible. I hate to say it because I say to everybody that I train or represent now, make sure you’re training as hard as you can because this is your one chance. I didn’t though, which is why I’m sat here now and not playing on a Saturday.’
Playing alongside some extremely talented individuals whilst rising through the Pittodrie youth ranks in the shape of Fraser Fyvie, Ryan Fraser and Stephen O’Donnell, it was a particular mirrored situation with Kenny McLean, Brad feels, pointed out the difference in mentality between players who make it to the top and those who don’t.
‘He (Kenny) played with his chest out, strutting about and mouthing off at people. He was a really good left footed player. I missed a penalty against Livingston in the Foyle Cup in Ireland and it was the penalty that put us out and I cried the whole way back to Glasgow. Kenny had done the exact same the season before, but the next week he was hitting penalty after penalty. He cared that he missed, but it didn’t put him off in terms of his mentality. I never hit another penalty again in my life, I’m still mentally scarred! That shows the mentality of him, he knew he’d made a mistake but who cares, get on with it. Whereas, here I am still dwelling on the same mistake when I was a 12-year -old.’
At times as a youngster playing academy football, it feels as if your every move is being judged. That is why it is so easy to fall into the trap of dwelling on things and allowing it to effect your confidence. Brad certainly felt that having an ability to deal with set-backs and disappointments, although oftentimes part of a person and their genetic makeup, is key to how far a player makes it in the game.
‘It’s a personality thing and not a good thing. Some folk will say aw, I’m just a perfectionist and want to make every pass. Nah, it’s an insecurity that you’re worried about what everyone else is saying on the touchline about that one pass. Trent Alexander Arnold, the Liverpool right back, he’s got the most touches in the Premier League this year, the most assists but he’s also given the ball away the most amount of times.’
Brad was keen to reiterate that those who suffer from this tendency to dwell on things can learn lessons and take inspiration from other sports.
‘Because I played tennis, I tell the kids the fact that in that sport you win a point, you lose a point. It’s up, down, up, down. It’s not as if you’re always winning. What the tennis players do, no matter whether they win or lose, they have a routine between each point. Nadal will hit a shot against the net, lose a point. He’ll then fix his shorts, ask for a towel, bounce the ball three times. It’s to reset your body and mind. Think about your routine instead of the point and move on.’
After parting ties with Aberdeen in a bid to play more matches at Motherwell, an initial feeling that the coaching staff didn’t rate him as highly as others never seemed to go away and he left for Partick Thistle. After a positive first season in Glasgow’s west end, the second year proved slightly more disappointing and as the club progressed into the top tier of Scottish football, a meeting with Thistle manager Alan Archibald revealed that Brad again found himself at a crossroads.
‘When I got let go, I remember looking at the manager thinking I’m never going to let this happen again. You’ve just dictated what happens with my career. I’ve always wanted that freedom since leaving football, to make my own decisions.’
After fixing his shorts, asking for a towel and bouncing a ball three times, Brad dealt with the disappointment of being released by Partick Thistle and, instead, turned his focus to starting his own business.
‘I always loved business and wanted to do it. I knew at Christmas time I wanted to start my own business, 4 or 5 months before my contract was even up. I started picking up £400 or £500 a week doing one-to-ones and I was only on £120 a week at Thistle.’
As his one-to-one coaching business began to grow and grow, Brad’s hunger to carve out success for himself saw him enter into the football agency world. It appeared that his selfless personality, something he initial perceived as a weakness during his playing career, proved to be a major strength.
‘I was a good guy in the changing room. If they were going into the trenches they’d have wanted to go down with me, but I’d care more about them than myself. I’d care more if one of my pals made an appearance in the first team than I’d care about myself — not realising I’m being shafted and not getting a contract in six weeks time.’
Although this perhaps didn’t assist his footballing chances, this trait soon translated almost seemlesly into his chosen style of representation.
‘I’m an agent where if you phone me at three in the morning and you’re in jail, if I’m not there myself then I’ll get somebody there.’
Having been a professional footballer himself and been in that environment, speaking to footballers and building relationships with them comes naturally to him. However, after speaking to an ex-Celtic and English Premier League star, it shone the light on the fact that each player requires and expects something different from their representative.
‘It doesn’t always suit everybody. I remember sitting with Aidan McGeady a couple of months ago, talking about the agency and saying to him that I get my players personal trainers, sort my players out with this and sort them out with that. He just said to me “I wouldn’t have wanted that. All I’d want from you is to come in, get me my contract and get me the most money. I probably wouldn’t want you to be my friend.” So that was interesting. I’ve learned from that, understanding that I’m not going to be best pals with all my clients. Some just want me to go in and volley doors down for them and get the best contract.’
Understanding what each player wants is key to building a mutually beneficial and successful relationship, but how does Brad read what a player wants?
‘You gauge that in the first meeting. What are their ears perking up for? Is it the money? Is it the contacts you’ve got? The development plan and being friends and someone they can call? You start to gauge people’s characteristics and tune into that and lean in on certain aspects. You’ll think to yourself, they didn’t seem interested in that so I’ll lay off that bit, I’ll skip that wee bit of the slideshow. The key thing is, I can go from talking to a five year old kid at 3 o’clock in the afternoon to 7 o’clock and phoning the chairman of St Mirren. You have to be adaptable.’
Despite understanding that some don’t require anything more than assistance in contract negotiations, Brad would however prefer to err on the side of doing too much for his clients than too little.
‘I want people to walk away and say, he couldn’t have done any more for me. I don’t want for people to say that once a year I do his contract and then five years down the line they say I’ve only met him five times. I want to make sure that I’ll never have that said about me. I’ll do everything I can. That way, if they do phone up and say I don’t want to work with you any more, I can sleep at night and know I did everything I could.’
Describe yourself in three words?
Motivated, energetic and ambitious.
How would your family and friends describe you in three words?
Kind, unorganised and untidy! Stuff like trousers left in the bathroom and loads of different things cause I’m so busy!
Are you more extroverted or introverted? Extroverted.
What are your main motivations?
Succeeding and financial success. I can’t say I do all of this just because I love it, I’m doing this to live a life. I always want to leave a bit of a legacy.
Biggest mental challenge in your life so far?
Gambling as a young boy. All of us used to do it. Best thing that happened to me was my Mum and Dad seeing my bank statement. Five grand in a day I’d lost. Everybody has to be caught to realise youve made a mistake and I’ve never done it since.
Best moment of your career?
Debut for Partick Thistle against Falkirk.
Biggest personality strength?
Confidence.
Biggest personality weakness?
Too trusting.
Best piece of advice you’d give?
Never have too many mentors. Never listen to somebody that hasn’t done it themselves. If someone hasn’t played football before and thinks they can relate to the life of a footballer, they can’t.
