AFCB's agent topping payouts shows its rising stock

While the BBC's report on agent's fees from last season has some startling results for AFCB fans to consider I expect most fans bemoan agents taking vast sums of money out of the game as payment for their services. The good news is that these substantial fees have been coming down because most club's either can't afford them or won't pay them anymore. 

Last season's League One figures though do reveal that AFCB paid out a staggering £688, 666 in fees to agents over player transfers, loan deals, contract negotiations and terminations. In total, the League One's spending on agents' fees was £2.2 million. AFCB were the top payout merchants for agents in League One which perhaps shows you why other clubs were so quick to call us money bags. Still, if it was a gamble to pay out on rebuilding the squad it certainly paid off. The BBC report says the Cherries outlay was the ninth highest in the football league for agent fees. If you overhaul your team, expect to be hit by the agents working on the transfers. Not all of the agent's work goes noticed by the fans but they have to be rewarded for the work they do, it's the rates that perhaps need to be looked at.

We were told that financial fair play regulations would impact on the Cherries spending this current season and yet AFCB has still managed to break its record transfer fee by bringing in Tokelo Rantie. In a way I see it as the more successful you are the more you are likely to spend on such things as agent fees, because when you look at the Championship last season those teams spent £18.6 million on agent's fees. 

While AFCB may not look to strengthen any further in January one would expect some players to leave and come in next summer. The trend is for agent fees to be dropping, but it is not known how AFCB will look to make its future signings and if it can start to at least reduce the amount of agent fees it has been handing out. Eddie Howe told the Bournemouth Echo that it would seek to lower its payments to agents in future. 

The players that have come in are certainly more valuable than previous squads. However, Matt Tubbs is out in loan at Rotherham, Ryan Allsop, Ryan Fraser and Brett Pitman have featured more regularly, but Matt Ritchie is another big signing that fans are still waiting to see this season.

AFCB's assets are rising on the field and a successful season could see some big money moves for some of the players. It will then be down to the owners to ensure the fees agreed are not excessive and that the club can either produce its own replacements or find new faces again without paying through the nose.