Eric Hall: Legendary former football agent has died at 73

Eric Hall, the flamboyant football agent who was part of the explosion in big money deals at the start of the Premier League, has died at the age of 73.

Known for his outlandish fashion sense and his “monster, monster” catchprase, Hall was initially a music promoter for acts such as Queen, Marc Bolan and the Sex Pistols.

He later went on to manage some of the biggest names in football during the 80s and 90s, following a chance meeting with former Tottenham Hotspur player Steve Perryman.

Players represented by Hall included Neil “Razor” Ruddock, Dennis Wise and John Fashanu, as well as former England manager, Terry Venables.

Hall claimed to be the first football agent to get goal bonuses written into his players’ contracts.

While representing Newcastle United goalkeeper Dave Beasant, he secured a goal bonus for the player, apparently unaware of his client’s position on the pitch, leading his new club to happily sign on the dotted line.

In an interview with The Telegraph earlier this year, he recounted the deal, and said: “He told me he was moving from Wimbledon to Newcastle and asked if I could do the deal, so I said I would and I travelled up to meet the club.

“I’m giving it all my shtick – ‘This player’s great and I want bonuses of £9,000 a goal and after 10 goals an extra £100,000.’

“Newcastle said, ‘Our pleasure, Eric’. I came out of the meeting and Dave said: ‘Eric, do you know what position I play? Goalkeeper’.”

He operated for years without an official agent’s licence, but was eventually awarded the £30,000 certification for free by the FA’s chief executive at the time, Graham Kelly.

In 1997, Hall had to take a break from work after contracting E.coli – essentially ending his football agency career.

Later in life he turned his talents to the airwaves, and hosted on local radio stations in Essex, where he played music from the 50s and 60s.

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Lord Alan Sugar, who owned Tottenham Hotspur while Hall was active, tweeted to say he was a “real character”, while former Liverpool and Tottenham striker Paul Walsh added: “Very sad to hear of the passing of monster monster Eric Hall a real character. My thoughts are with the family, a monster RIP to Eric.”

It is believed that Hall was suffering with underlying health issues, and died peacefully on Monday with his nephew by his side.

(c) Sky News 2020: Eric Hall: Legendary former football agent has died at 73