New chairman tells clubs to cut back on payments to agents

FOOTBALL League clubs paid 12.7m in agents’ fees last season – an increase of 3.9m on the previous campaign.

Middlesbrough spent the biggest amount, nearly 1.5m, but were still unable to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

Leeds United reduced their outlay by nearly 11 per cent but still ranked as the second-biggest spenders in the Yorkshire Post region and secured automatic promotion from League One.

Sheffield Wednesday, under the stewardship of former chairman Lee Strafford, went down from the Championship despite raising investment in agents’ fees to 209,400 from just 5,000.

Doncaster Rovers ‘punched above their weight’ by finishing 12th because their payments to agents were greater than only three other clubs in the Championship, namely Scunthorpe United, Peterborough United and Blackpool.

The latter, of course, won promotion to the Premier League and paid just 40,000 to agents.

Sheffield United, who recruited 19 loan players to fill gaps which were often created by injuries, paid 324,500 to agents – more than double the amount from the season before.

Barnsley were involved in 45 transactions, and were one of the busiest Championship clubs in the transfer market, but were still only mid-table in terms of their spending on agents.

Huddersfield Town doubled their spending on agents’ fees and were the ninth biggest spenders in League One. Manager Lee Clark guided the Terriers to a top-six finish before losing in the play-off semi-finals.

The Football League have been publishing the figures since September, 2003 as part of a bid for transparency and the latest report, released yesterday, showed that out of 2,392 transactions between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, an agent was paid 396 times.

Fourteen of the 72 clubs did not pay anything to agents, while a further 23 clubs paid less than 10,000.

The bulk of the 12,739,867 outlay came from Championship clubs who paid 10,131,314, while 2,241,771 came from League One clubs and 366,781 in League Two.

Apart from Middlesbrough, only Newcastle United spent over seven figures on agents’ fees, with the St James’ Park outfit paying 1,073,076 over 39 transactions.

Southampton (401,248) spent the most in League One, while Notts County (246,483) accounted for over two-thirds of the money spent by League Two clubs.

New Football League chairman Greg Clarke has voiced his concern over the rise, saying: “Given the current economic climate, it is worrying to see such a significant amount leaking from the game.

“This year’s figures demonstrate a considerable increase on those of last season and it is essential that clubs work to reduce this liability over the coming campaign.”

The 14 clubs not to pay anything to agents were Accrington, Barnet, Bournemouth, Chesterfield, Crewe, Dagenham, Darlington, Exeter, Hereford, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Port Vale, Stockport and Tranmere.

Rotherham United slashed their payments by two-thirds and a fifth place finish tallied with their ranking as the sixth biggest spender on agents’ fees in League Two.

Bradford City spent 10,460 on agents last season, a figure beaten by only four other clubs in League Two. The Bantams’ mid-table finish was one of the reasons behind the departure of manager Stuart McCall.