Figures to reveal agents' influence

A leading football agent has defended his profession on the eve of a new report which will reveal a huge rise in the level of transfer payments made by clubs to third parties.

The Football League’s second half-yearly Agents Report is expected to show its clubs paid £5m (€7.1m) to agents over the past six months – an increase of £3.6m (€5.1m) on the total for the equivalent period up to June.

Football League chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney has insisted the report – which includes an individual club-by-club breakdown – is necessary for reasons of transparency and accountability.

But its publication has been heavily criticised by First Artist chief executive Jon Smith, who insists agents continue to be made all too convenient targets to mask the real problems facing the modern game.

Smith said: “There are good agents and bad agents but we are not the catch-all for all the sins of the football fathers.

“Mr Mawhinney should spend more time helping improve his clubs’ financial circumstances and protecting the future of the Football League instead of worrying about third-party commissions.

“Why does he think he is helping clubs’ plights by highlighting agents’ fees? Each club is big enough and grown-up enough to manage its own finances instead of being lectured by a former politician.”

Smith rejected claims made by some club bosses that the increasing influence of agents is a problem which is leading players astray and driving much-needed money out of the game.

Smith said: “I am not surprised by the figure because agents have a job to do, and it has to be good for football because it shows how many transactions are going on, and they are the lifeblood of the game.

“I can’t see why it is bad for the game.”

Leeds, who were relegated from the top flight last year, are expected to be named as the biggest spenders on agents over the last half year, with local reports putting the figure at around £1.6m (€2.3m).

But chairman Gerald Krasner defended the club’s policy today, insisting the payments were essential in order to slash the wage bill after losing Premiership status.

Krasner said: “These costs were incurred in sorting out the players that left Leeds. We have saved many times over the amount spent on agents’ fees."

Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan hit out at agents this week after highly-rated winger Wayne Routledge turned down a new contract offer with the Eagles.

But manager Iain Dowie said dealing with agents had become a necessary part of the transfer process within the game.

Dowie said: “They are part of the modern world and you have to use them. Players don’t want to sit down and talk terms with you – he wants his agents to do that.

“I am a realist, so let’s get on with it. If we are going to get players to the club, we are going to have to deal through agents.”

Smith believes the answer lies in ongoing talks with various governing bodies which could result in tighter regulations governing the activity of agents.

Smith derided the FIFA-introduced licensing system as “ludicrous”, and said: “What is needed is for a supervisory body such as the Professional Footballers’ Association to exercise their authority.

“If the PFA announce that so-and-so is a disreputable agent who doesn’t act in his clients’ best interests then that is immediately going to kill so-and-so’s career stone dead.

“We are currently meeting with governing bodies to this end in an attempt to enforce greater regulations and make the profession more transparent.

“What Mr Mawhinney needs to do is sit down with us and talk about it – rather than make a cheap attempt to grab the headlines.”