AFC Fylde owner David Haythornthwaite on the 'necessary evil' of agents

It comes after FA figures showed that clubs in the Premier League spent £265m to agents in the 12 months to January 31 of this year. Fylde paid just £9,550.

“It is bizarre because it’s the only business where we pay fees in this way and some substantial fees,” Haythornthwaite said in his latest video for the club website. “If you think about what £265m could do to help non-league football or even teams in League Two.

“A lot of the grounds we go to are pretty rundown and need capital investment but the owners can’t do it. £265m would go a heck of a long way.

“It’s a pretty horrific number but we have nothing like that at our level. The highest in our league is Notts County. That makes sense – big club, just got relegated.

“Agents are not my favourite people and I’ve made no bones about that.

“In most cases they are a necessary evil. They will tell you they are interested in the welfare and the wellbeing, but once they have got their player at the club you never see them again. They have got their cut of the deal and they move on.”

Haythornthwaite added: “Invariably if you go to a player he’ll say ‘talk to my agent’, then the agent will come in and negotiate the fee.

“There was a belief Fylde were paying big money to players. A lot of people thought Danny Rowe was on £2,500 a week. It’s nonsense.

“Our wage cap is £1.000 to this day. Nobody gets more than that.

“Once the agents find that out they don’t even bring players to you who want £1,200 or £1,500 a week because they know we’ll not move.

“But you have to deal with the agents with probably every player we’ve signed at this level bar Danny Philliskirk, who does all his own stuff. His dad’s his adviser and we had no problem.

“Danny Rowe played without an agent and was as good as gold, then he got an agent agitating a move.”

“Danny was a happy lad, happy with his wages. People always want to earn more, it’s natural, but agents agitate. The principle is wrong.”