Town chairman David Sheepshanks has commented on the £90,000 the club outlayed on agents' fees during the second half of 2004. A Football League report released today revealed clubs' agent expenditure.

Sheepshanks told the club site: "We have contracted £90,000 for transactions that include new signings, contract renewals and one departure payment. I am satisfied that this is proportionate and to gain a perspective, it represents less than 1% of our expenditure on player costs.

"It is important to remember that these figures are those contracted to be paid to agents over the period of players' contracts, no matter how long, not only what was paid in the previous half year.

"I think we have to be very careful about jumping on the bandwagon of castigating all agents. Many of them do a good job for their clients, and a necessary one.

"In the acting or music professions you wouldn't dream of not having an agent - nor should footballers be denied that right. The problem surrounds the unscrupulous minority, the few excessive settlements and the scope that the current lack of control provides for suspicions of fraud and insider dealing.

"The Football League has led the way in publishing figures in an effort to name and shame those paying the highest amounts, thereby serving as some sort of limiting factor.

"I think it certainly helps and at least provides some transparency. It is something which I would like to see the Premier League replicate. Alone, this is no remedy but it does bring into focus some excessive amounts still being paid by our clubs and money that goes out of the game for good.

"I am still of the view that the best control would be to require all players to pay their own agents (as many do even today) and permit clubs to only pay agents when they are working exclusively for them.

"The clubs already have to declare any payment made on behalf of a player on his P11D tax return, but I have always felt that the agent would be unlikely to be paid as much if the player always had to cough-up, rather than the clubs.

"One problem is that there are no controls in mainland Europe and so anything introduced unilaterally in England, it can be argued, would jeopardise our biggest clubs in their international trading, and possibly put them at a disadvantage in securing players over their European rivals.

"Supporters need to recognise that agents can exert a great deal of sway over where their client goes and who he signs for and, in fact in some countries abroad, agents are now buying the registration of players so that, to acquire a player, you have to buy him from the agent.

"It is not a simple area to regulate but one where improvements can and must be made."

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