Corney explained, “What a lot of people don't realise is that you have to pay agents for players leaving as much as arriving. And over the 12 month period we had a lot of transfer activity, both incoming and outgoing. If you divide the money we have spent by the number of deals conducted, the sum we have spent is small. We recognise agents are part and parcel of the game. We would prefer not to deal with them and pay money, but by not dealing with them you risk not getting the players you want. John Sheridan is our fourth manager in the last three years which is an extremely high turnover. All managers want to bring in their own players so there has been a lot more transfer activity than we would normally have envisaged.”
In the Coca-Cola League One league tables for agents fees, the Latics sit in seventh place. Nottingham Forest top the league with a total of almost £250,000 being paid to agents. Eight clubs in the division did not pay any money at all to agents.
It's time that agents were done away with. If professional footballers can't negotiate their own contracts it's a shame. They are on the whole overpaid and should be honoured that they are in the privileged position of getting paid, and well, for doing what is a hobby pastime for the majority of footballers. Loyalty is a thing of the past. Anything for a quick buck seems to be the watchword now. The old timers must be turning over in their graves!