BBC NEWS; Exeter City deserves a lot of respect for their tough bargaining strategy with Swansea City, which resulted in a seven-figure payoff.

Like him or dislike him, Paul Tisdale accomplished incredible things for Exeter City Football Club.

The long-serving Grecians manager’s reign came to an end on a sad note in 2018, but few managing careers finish in triumph.

On the football, he led the team from obscurity in the Nationwide Conference to successive promotions and an eighth-place finish in League One in 2010/11.

Despite relegation, Tisdale maintained City’s competitiveness in League Two, leading the team to two consecutive play-off final defeats in his last two years.

In a recent interview, the 51-year-old revealed that results were not everything at Exeter, and that the club’s long-term prosperity and financial health normally came first.

Matt Grimes’ £1.75 million transfer to Swansea City in 2015 was his biggest achievement, transforming the club from survival to potential success.

Ollie Watkins was the reigning EFL Young Player Of The Year when he was sold to Brentford two years later. Pep Guardiola was not the only one who saw his potential for success.

City’s hard work behind the scenes has ultimately helped improve matters on the pitch, and the club is in the greatest shape it’s ever been in, with Gary Caldwell hoping to accomplish something Tisdale never could and lead the Grecians to their fourth consecutive League One season next season.

During an hour-long interview with Business of Sport, Tisdale discussed his tenure at St James Park, including negotiating the Grimes move from an initial £300,000 bid to a final transaction of £1.75 million.

He explained: “We used to divide any incomings three ways: one-third to the playing budget, one-third to the club, and one-third to the academy.

“The money for the playing budget was spread out over three years, so we didn’t reach a cliff edge.

“If you think about it, just one-ninth of any charge goes into this year’s budget. I recall selling Matt Grimes to Swansea for £1.75 million, which started our new economic cycle.

“I was selling him for £1.7m but only about £650,000ish was coming into my budget, split over three years, but it was enough to kick off the next cycle.”

Tisdale had complete control over Exeter moves.

This was definitely not going to be an ordinary transfer for Exeter City, and Tisdale knew it. The fact that the board put complete faith in him and then sports director Steve Perryman to do the best thing for the club says a lot about how the company is operated, and they usually get it right when it comes to departures.

“When it came to player sales, it was left to me and Steve Perryman, and we’d go back to the board [when we were satisfied with the fee],” Tisdale explained, defining his authority.

“We were so close to the product and the players. That only happens when there is trust, which you gain over time, when you have a manager and a director of sport who always have the club’s best interests at heart, which is unusual.

“Had such information [about clubs interested in players] reached the board, the pressure to sell would have risen too swiftly.

“For Matt Grimes, the initial offer we had from Swansea was between £300,000 and £400,000.

“Seven weeks later, I approached the board with an offer of £1.1 million to £1.2 million. It lasted for seven weeks. Even if you have a strategy, you must adapt since each year is unique.”

Matt Grimes’ agreement took seven weeks to complete.

Getting Grimes’ cost from roughly £300,000 to just under six times that much is incredible, especially considering it was a League Two team negotiating with an established Premier League outfit.

Of course, a top-tier team would have had more money to play with, but Tisdale refused to be pushed, and the transfer fee established a high bar for all future outgoings.

Tisdale understood it was a big situation for the club, so he opted to take a break from football management to focus solely on the discussions.

It proved to be a brilliant option that, while detracting from short-term effectiveness on the field, paid out in the long run.

“It’s very unusual but it was a moment in time and it was completely different,” he told me.

“What I did, at the time, was take every Tuesday off from work for seven weeks to take the Swansea call.

“I’d sit in my home study, leave the football to the football people at the club, and wait for the phone call.” I’d prepare for it, plan what I’d say to Huw when he phoned, and it took seven weeks.”

No Matt Grimes sell-on clause.

Tisdale also answered the issue of whether City would miss out on a sell-on windfall since Grimes was still at Swansea.

However, he said that he risked on cashing in on the sell-on early, adding that City will earn “no extra money” if the midfielder leaves in the future.

“That was the only time that I sold the sell on [fee up front] at the time,” according to him. “I asked [former Swansea chairman] Huw Jenkins for £1.5 million for seven weeks, and he went from £300,000 up and up and up. Matt is still at Swansea and doing quite well.

“I asked for £1.5 million plus a 20% commission on all sales. He eventually came through and said, ‘Right, £1.5m with a 20% sell on.’ I responded, ‘It’s now £1.75 million.

“I believe we chatted every Tuesday for seven weeks and came to that position, but I felt at the time that [an additional] £250,000 was more essential than jam tomorrow, some sell-on in six or seven years. At that point, we gave up on selling to acquire the money.”

Everything about this arrangement was ideal for Exeter, down to the rare decision not to include a sell-on fee.

Grimes is a terrific player, and Swansea has undoubtedly benefited from his presence, yet even that choice has shown to be correct.

Tisdale may have had a falling out with the supporters, but there is no doubt that he was a clever operator who strove to get the most value out of every pound spent by the club – and he took delight in doing so. Grimes is, and always will be, an excellent illustration of this.

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