Work Permit Imants Bleidilis 21/01/99

[Master Bates]

Somehow stumbled across this, didn't know if anyone might find it interesting. I'm pretty sure 10years on a lot has changed since with how they deal with work permits.

Application by Southampton Football Club for a work permit for Imants Bleidilis

The Club submitted written evidence including testimonials from Gary Johnson, Latvian National Coach and Nils Johan Semb, National Coach of Norway. The Panel also considered oral evidence from Brian Truscott, Club Secretary, Dave Jones, Team Manager and Marian Pahars, current work permit player with Southampton and Latvian International.

Mr Truscott began by stating that, in the Club's view, the use of FIFA rankings to determine the quality of a player was flawed as there were a number of ways of interpreting the FIFA rankings which would give varying results in terms of an individual team's position. The Club had commissioned Leeds University to carry out a study of the way the FIFA rankings were collated and averaged out. A copy of this report was given to Panel members for information. The Club were informed that Overseas Labour Service would examine the information to ensure that the way the FIFA rankings are collated are fair and transparent. (We will seek expert opinion within the Department and advise the Minister of their recommendations.)

Dave Jones then explained the Club had originally sought to sign Mr Bleidilis last season when they signed his compatriot Marian Pahars but lacked the finance to do so. They judged Mr Bleidilis to be a player of similar quality to Mr Pahars who had been highly successful since his move to the UK and compared him to Andrei Kanchelskis who was a successful player with Manchester United, Everton and Rangers. Marian Pahars stated that Mr Bleidilis was a very skilful International colleague with more caps than himself. They felt they had to sign him now as other clubs in Europe had shown an interest. Marian Pahars' success had also proved to be a factor. Mr Jones explained that the Club had a comprehensive scouting system in place covering Clubs in all Divisions of the Football League in an effort to recognise talented players. He had attempted to sign a number of British players but the price had been prohibitive with many, in his opinion, grossly overpriced. This was a concern to the Panel members but John Bramall stated you could not control market forces. The Club were convinced that Mr Bleidilis was a skilful right winger who would be an immediate asset to a Club currently struggling near the foot of the Premier League.

John Bramall and John Young felt that Mr Bleidilis would not make a sufficient impact on the English game as he was, in their opinion, an addition to a squad rather than a genuinely gifted player in his own right. However, the rest of the Panel were convinced that Mr Bleidilis was a player of high quality, a regular Latvian International who at 28 was in his prime. Therefore on a majority decision it was recommended that a work permit be issued.



https://publications.parliament.uk/p...18/0021628.htm

[Turkish]

One of those times we wish it was turned down

[VectisSaint]

Somehow stumbled across this, didn't know if anyone might find it interesting. I'm pretty sure 10years on a lot has changed since with how they deal with work permits.

Application by Southampton Football Club for a work permit for Imants Bleidilis

The Club submitted written evidence including testimonials from Gary Johnson, Latvian National Coach and Nils Johan Semb, National Coach of Norway. The Panel also considered oral evidence from Brian Truscott, Club Secretary, Dave Jones, Team Manager and Marian Pahars, current work permit player with Southampton and Latvian International.

Mr Truscott began by stating that, in the Club's view, the use of FIFA rankings to determine the quality of a player was flawed as there were a number of ways of interpreting the FIFA rankings which would give varying results in terms of an individual team's position. The Club had commissioned Leeds University to carry out a study of the way the FIFA rankings were collated and averaged out. A copy of this report was given to Panel members for information. The Club were informed that Overseas Labour Service would examine the information to ensure that the way the FIFA rankings are collated are fair and transparent. (We will seek expert opinion within the Department and advise the Minister of their recommendations.)

Dave Jones then explained the Club had originally sought to sign Mr Bleidilis last season when they signed his compatriot Marian Pahars but lacked the finance to do so. They judged Mr Bleidilis to be a player of similar quality to Mr Pahars who had been highly successful since his move to the UK and compared him to Andrei Kanchelskis who was a successful player with Manchester United, Everton and Rangers. Marian Pahars stated that Mr Bleidilis was a very skilful International colleague with more caps than himself. They felt they had to sign him now as other clubs in Europe had shown an interest. Marian Pahars' success had also proved to be a factor. Mr Jones explained that the Club had a comprehensive scouting system in place covering Clubs in all Divisions of the Football League in an effort to recognise talented players. He had attempted to sign a number of British players but the price had been prohibitive with many, in his opinion, grossly overpriced. This was a concern to the Panel members but John Bramall stated you could not control market forces. The Club were convinced that Mr Bleidilis was a skilful right winger who would be an immediate asset to a Club currently struggling near the foot of the Premier League.

John Bramall and John Young felt that Mr Bleidilis would not make a sufficient impact on the English game as he was, in their opinion, an addition to a squad rather than a genuinely gifted player in his own right. However, the rest of the Panel were convinced that Mr Bleidilis was a player of high quality, a regular Latvian International who at 28 was in his prime. Therefore on a majority decision it was recommended that a work permit be issued.



https://publications.parliament.uk/p...18/0021628.htm

Messrs Bramall and Young proved right.

[Pamplemousse]

£650,000 for two games.

Not as bad signing someone for £19 million for seven games...

[Bakovnetski]

20 years on i think

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Thanks Master Bates, interesting stuff. I wonder what he is up to these days as his trail has gone quiet since he quit playing in 2008.
Amazing that he got over 100 caps, he can't have been as bad as all that. It didn't help that Jones had departed by the time the permit came through.

[sfc1976]

Not sure if memory serves me right but I seem to recall him being a 2nd half sub away at Tranmere one fateful night...only to then get subbed himself as things started to take a turn for the worse.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Not sure if memory serves me right but I seem to recall him being a 2nd half sub away at Tranmere one fateful night...only to then get subbed himself as things started to take a turn for the worse.

Your memory serves you well

[John Boy Saint]

Wasn't all this going on around the time we had a lad from or with a Russian connection in the Academy can't even begin to type his name but certain it began a P (no it wasn't Tim Sparv who was Finnish from the Russian speaking part of Finland). From memory this lad was a bit useful often featuring well in Academy games and was potentially on our version of the "pathway" at the time. We had a block from the home office with him getting a work permit for the step up as I think he could be in the Academy on a Student Visa but couldn't play in or near the first team on it............................that said the more I type this the more I am thinking my chronology is up the spout, and this lad in particular was around the time of WGS as I have recall of him going into bat for a lad in similar circumstances.
I remember thinking the whole system stank, as at the time Manchester United had picked up a couple of players from an obscure corner of the planet without the then required international games for their country quota under their belts, but were signed and presented to the press just like they had been lads from Oldham.

[Sheaf Saint]

Not sure if memory serves me right but I seem to recall him being a 2nd half sub away at Tranmere one fateful night...only to then get subbed himself as things started to take a turn for the worse.

Was that the infamous 4-3 game where we were 3-0 up at half time and Paul Rideout scored a 2nd-half hattrick for Tranmere?

[Whitey Grandad]

Didn’t he join around the same time as Pahars? Sometimes a club will sign two countrymen as an aid to settling in.

[John Boy Saint]

Didn’t he join around the same time as Pahars? Sometimes a club will sign two countrymen as an aid to settling in.

Yeah we did that with Delgado - brought that lad Chala-la-la-la or name to that effect - often referred to as Delgados personal shopper in The Beautiful South Fanzine (The Ugly had become boorishly militant and living up to its title by then).

[vin]

Wasn't all this going on around the time we had a lad from or with a Russian connection in the Academy can't even begin to type his name but certain it began a P (no it wasn't Tim Sparv who was Finnish from the Russian speaking part of Finland). From memory this lad was a bit useful often featuring well in Academy games and was potentially on our version of the "pathway" at the time. We had a block from the home office with him getting a work permit for the step up as I think he could be in the Academy on a Student Visa but couldn't play in or near the first team on it............................that said the more I type this the more I am thinking my chronology is up the spout, and this lad in particular was around the time of WGS as I have recall of him going into bat for a lad in similar circumstances.
I remember thinking the whole system stank, as at the time Manchester United had picked up a couple of players from an obscure corner of the planet without the then required international games for their country quota under their belts, but were signed and presented to the press just like they had been lads from Oldham.

This fella:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrejs_Perepļotkins

Couldn't get a work permit so we loaned him to Bohemians in Ireland.

[John Boy Saint]

This fella:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrejs_Perepļotkins

Couldn't get a work permit so we loaned him to Bohemians in Ireland.

Thats the one, pleased he managed to put food on the table through playing the game after the fun and games he had with us. Certainly been about a bit. him being 34 now just shows how time flys.

[once_bitterne]

Wasn't Bledelis Pahars' handler in much the same way that Kleber Chala was Delgado's?

[John Boy Saint]

Wasn't Bledelis Pahars' handler in much the same way that Kleber Chala was Delgado's?

I think initially, (probably loaded by Gary Johnson prompting - wanting to perk up his Latvian national teams performance too) having done well with Pahars we thought we had tapped into an obscure cheap crock of Gold alas it out to be a crock of something else. And Imants fell into the role of Pahars bosom buddy. Delgado and Chala came as a pair one wasn't coming without the other. On what we were paying all 4 of them taken back home that was a hefty wedge.

[percy windham]

The great man’s birthday today. Surely time for him to take his rightful place on the SaintsWeb banner?

[VectisSaint]

This fella:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrejs_Perepļotkins

Couldn't get a work permit so we loaned him to Bohemians in Ireland.

Didn't really fulfil the promise, did he.