Luton Town manager Mike Newell wants a clampdown on the agents he believes are ruining the game.
The former Birmingham City, Everton and Blackburn striker, who has never employed an agent, hit out at the amount of money that players' representatives are obtaining from transfers and contract negotiations. He wants clubs to stop paying agents in transfer dealings.
"Agents are the scourge of the game," Newell said. "I read comments from an agent recently saying that the introduction of the transfer window had been a nightmare for them.
"I was delighted to read it. They have had it easy for the last four or five years. They've been making money like it's going out of fashion without working for it.
"I've seen the money they make at Championship level and I can only imagine what they make at the top level.
"So many players have come and gone who have been absolutely no good to the game or the clubs who bought them.
"But the agents will have made money once again and the game in this country will have suffered. Millions of pounds have gone out of the game that will not be seen again."
A Football League report said Championship clubs spent nearly £7 million on agents' fees last season before chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney called for tighter regulations governing agents.
He indicated the League might take a different stance from the FA over the issue if the governing body did not make more stringent rules - but Newell is not holding his breath.
He said: "Nothing is ever done. Why is it taking people so long to realise what is happening? It needs someone high-profile to make a stance.
"When you renegotiate a player's contract who is already with you, you are still expected to pay the agent.
"We signed a player for free and 18 months later offered him a good contract but his agent came from nowhere and asked for ridiculous money. His justification was that we had never really paid for the player and should pay the agent. The player still hasn't re-signed.
"I'm not suggesting every agent is bad, and I have no problem with players having agents. But if the governing bodies don't eradicate some of the things that are happening it will kill the game." ..SUPL:
