Agents are, by and large, seen as an unnecessary evil in the modern game. At the top level this is, by and large, very true - there are effectively no transfers in the Premier League that will go through without a hefty fee being paid to a middle man. However, is it really necessary to be paying significant fees to agents when you're a League One club, as it appears Notts have done over the last twelve months?
The Magpies paid out £167,040 to agents during the reporting period - the seventh highest figure in the division. The highest fees were paid by Sheffield Wednesday, who splashed out over £400,000, whilst Hartlepool United were one of just a handful of Football League teams who did not pay agents a penny during the twelve month period. Despite this, Pools finished above Notts and just a single point behind the Owls. This would appear to indicate that paying agents huge amounts doesn't guarantee you good players or, by association, a successful season.
It is true that the top three, Brighton, Southampton and Huddersfield, were the second, third and fourth highest spenders in the division. But that correlates directly with the amount of actual transfer money they splashed out - all three spent heavily on expensive transfers and, as such, it is to be expected that 'cuts' of this will be paid to agents. It is when comparing those clubs, such as Notts, who didn't splash out heavily on transfer fees that things start to get interesting. The only player who Notts spent a fee on during the reporting period was Alan Judge, who's undisclosed fee is believed to be around £50,000, less than a third of the total fees paid to agents by the club. Quite simply, that is not a healthy position to be in.
The reason that it has worked out this way is simple and the same as why we struggled last season and appear to be hamstrung this season. The club seems to have an obsession with going after the wrong kind of player. Ben Burgess, Jon Harley and Liam Chilvers, as examples (who are all linked..) were on free transfers, but are relatively 'big name' players who would command an agent fee as a result of being available on a free transfer. There are, of course, numerous other examples of this at the club. It is why the likes of Exeter City, Rochdale and Leyton Orient, all of whom had highly successful seasons, paid considerably less than Notts in fees between them. They are clubs who looked to secure young, talented players who would command a fee but, crucially, low agent fees and wages. A similar trend is seen throughout League One, with Wednesday, Swindon and Charlton being the other serial offenders when it comes to paying high agent fees and, crucially, signing dead wood.
The most damning evidence when it comes to transfer policy and how it is reflected in agent fees comes from last season's play-off teams, however. With big spending Huddersfield discounted, Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Bournemouth paid less than Notts in agent fees comined. They all have much more talented squads than us (or did last season, in Bournemouth's case) but spent less because they looked to secure young, talented footballers who aren't able to command large agent fees. Peterborough are an extreme example, they aren't afraid to shell out a large fee for an unproven but talented player, Lee Tomlin from Rushden being the obvious example from last season, but due to this are able to maintain a relatively low wage bill. Put simply, it is by far the best way to run a football club and that's without taking into account the profits they acquired from selling on the likes of Aaron McLean, Craig Mackail-Smith and, surely at some point, George Boyd.
So, do we think Notts have learned their lesson this summer? Well, not really. We suspect that the likes of Jeff Hughes and Alan Sheehan will have commanded decent agent fees, being experienced Football League players available on free transfers. If the club's seeming obsession with signing a 'name' striker continues then things are probably just going to keep going in the same vein. To put things into perspective, with Notts seemingly willing to bid £150,000 for their new forward, they could have had double that with a more sensible approach to signings and agents last summer. Of course that is without taking into account the obscene wages that these players are collecting whilst the club is lumbered with them. Enough to secure a young, talented forward with plenty of sell-on value? We reckon so.