Agent fees

[Arthur]

Here is a link to the report on agent fees last yr.

 

http://www.football-league.co.uk/staticFiles/75/be/0,,10794~179829,00.pdf

 

Vale spent just shy of 60k. Bit more than we used to.

[robf]

Blimey! Bournemouth spent just shy of £700k in League One. Explains their promotion.

 

And Blackburn - £3.5m. Flipping 'eck!

 

I must say, I do like Crewe's no agent fee approach - good on them for sticking by that year after year.

[Arthur]

700k in league 1 is ridiculous.

[Arthur]

Coventry, competely skint but still managed 250K for agents.

[EricHamesis]

Didn't we used to have a "no payments to agents" rule?

 

Is there any other business where the agent is paid other than by taking a percentage from his client, i.e. the player?

[robf]

Didn't we used to have a "no payments to agents" rule?

 

Is there any other business where the agent is paid other than by taking a percentage from his client, i.e. the player?

 

I think V2001 did. They're not in charge any more.

 

I suspect if we want to see the likes of Purse,Hughes, Jones at the club then some agent fees are inevitable. But as long as they are reasonable and justifiable (and I think 60k is) then I think that's fair enough.

 

But unless we're being massively bankrolled for a promotion push, I cannot see any justification in Vale's fees being in the hundreds of thousands area.

[Arthur]

I think V2001 did. They're not in charge any more.

 

I suspect if we want to see the likes of Purse,Hughes, Jones at the club then some agent fees are inevitable. But as long as they are reasonable and justifiable (and I think 60k is) then I think that's fair enough.

 

But unless we're being massively bankrolled for a promotion push, I cannot see any justification in Vale's fees being in the hundreds of thousands area.

 

Was this an actual rule or did they not spend on agents because they didn't have a pot to **** in?

 

I agree we shouldn't be spending hundreds and thousands on agents, but as Rory has said to attract decent players to the club we will have to pay agents. 60k for the players we had last year is a fair amount, especially considering it got us promoted.

 

It will be interesting to see how much we spend on them this season.

[NellyTheValiant]

Didn't we used to have a "no payments to agents" rule?

 

Is there any other business where the agent is paid other than by taking a percentage from his client, i.e. the player?

 

Eventually turned into a no payments to anyone rule before going into admin where they got their 20p in the £ if lucky.

[bookworm]

£1.2 mill didn't help wolves much did it, still think agents are a boil on the harse of football, easy money lowlives.

[robf]

Slightly off topic but the Blackburn figures lends weight to the Football Agent conspiracy theories.

 

Agent Jerome Anderson was closely involved in the takeover (and represented the much-maligned Steve Kean) and was used as a "consultant" by the Venkys.

 

The conspiracy mongerers have it that part of the deal Anderson brokered included future hefty agent fees for himself.

 

Those latest Football League figures appear to support it.

[bobbymanc]

I don't see the point in publishing these stats. The agents will get paid one way or another regardless of whether a club has a no agent fee policy or not. Choosing not to pay agents at this level only prevents you from signing certain players, and those who you do sign will probably be for an inflated wage as the fee will end up coming out of the players wages, costing the club more money in NI contributions in the long run.

 

I don't like the percentage setup of agents, as this just inflates the figures disproportionately at the top level when in reality the representatives of players who are less valuable end up having to work twice as hard for peanuts. 600K seems like barely anything in league 2 when you consider the number of players the 24 clubs bring in over the course of a season. I know that when I got my first job after graduating which was via an agency they got a 2.5K "finding fee" for basically putting me forward for an interview. I know this because I had to process the purchase order a month or so into the job.

[bobbymanc]

A "normal" company will spend 10s of thousands during the recruitment process of an executive earning 100K a year. 600K across 24 clubs recruiting over 100 people on wages between 30k and 200k a year seems like nothing to me...

[bobbymanc]

One last point on Crewe...

 

I'm sure they don't mind their players agents working their ******** off to secure a move away from the club for big money. Hypocritical scummers they are down the road.

[For Us All]

Gareth Bale's agent is £5m richer.

[robf]

Gareth Bale's agent is £5m richer.

 

Same delightful chap (Jonathan Barnett) who had a pop at Vale when McPhee moved on.

 

"Port Vale are a two-bob operation and we are a major company. Their concerns, they can stick up their ****."

 

—McPhee's agent Jonathan Barnett.