Walsall’s Paul Taylor Blacklisted

In a hard-line crackdown by the FA, 22 ‘agents’ have had their names put on a list and circulated to clubs, telling them they cannot be dealt with.

The list was a closely-guarded secret, with club officials sworn to secrecy about its very existence, according to the Mirror

A copy of the fax, sent out on headed paper from FA headquarters, is in the mirror’s possession. It was distributed just before the transfer deadline with instructions that none of the 22 could be paid for any deals.

Others on the list include Dave Abou, Pat Devlin, Barry McKintosh, Rob Moore, Mitchell Thomas and Paul Taylor – who have all been involved in the transfer market before.

Abou was in on the controversial Bolton signings featuring former manager’s son Craig Allardyce, and paid a slice of proceeds from transfers despite being unlicensed.

Devlin found Damien Duff for Blackburn and has been his close friend since in moves to Chelsea and Newcastle.

Moore advises Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy and has other clients in the South African national side

However it is the inclusion of Paul Taylor who acts as consultant and Director of Football at Walsall and of course has close links with many agents one being his own son. So where does this leave Paul Taylor, does this in effect make it impossible for Paul to do his job, Can the FA put such restrictions on trade without prior notification which seems to be the case….I suspect that we have not heard the last of this.