Man United boss banned agent

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he has banned an unnamed agent from Manchester United's Carrington training complex for tapping up young academy prospects.

The role of players' representatives has been under the microscope for some time and Red Devils skipper Gary Neville has called for agents to be removed from the game.

The England right-back, who claims not to know many good ones, said: "I'd like to see the removal of agents from the game - make players not so reliant on them. We've got the PFA - and they want to give, not take."

And when asked if there were any good agents, Neville, who has been at Old Trafford for his entire professional career, responded: "I don't know many. There is a concern for me, and it always has been.

"Our guy can go in (to a deal) and expect to be giving hundreds of thousands or, in this day and age, even millions (to an agent) - and that money is going out of the game. The clubs should keep that money - or, if they're earning it, the players."

Ferguson went public on his fears that talented youngsters are being preyed upon by unscrupulous agents aiming to make a fast buck.

The 65-year-old Scot, who has previously spoken out against the influence of agents, said: "We had a situation recently with an agent coming to the academy and tapping up young players from 12 years of age.

"We barred him - so he started to wait outside the academy picking out the cars of the parents, stopping them and tapping them up."

Neville thinks that change will only come about through the direct action of the players themselves, adding: "It won't change until players become more responsible for their actions. They think they need them - but it's not the case.

"They need good advice and good accountants - but they don't need people taking hundreds of thousands off them."

Top agent Mel Stein defended his profession, claiming: "It's a free country, with freedom of choice. If a club are willing to pay an agent on behalf of a player why should they not pay it?

"We need a bit of a charm offensive to educate the public about what we have to do. There are a lot of good agents in the game who put money back into it.

"Agents source young talent, not on the pitch but off it. They provide a professional service - agents who represent tennis players are not pilloried."

And former Derby, Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder turned agent Darryl Powell, who went to the 1998 World Cup finals in France with Jamaica, has questioned Neville's credentials to speak about the issue.

Powell told reporters: "Gary hasn't got a clue. He is a very good football player but he has been at Manchester United from the age of 10 or 11 and he's never moved. In terms of agency, he doesn't know what it entails.

"The guys (I have worked with) have been happy with the moves, the clubs have been happy and the former clubs have got paid. Be it houses, commercial property or stock dealing, there's always a middle man. Football is a business."

Players' union chief Gordon Taylor shares some of Neville's concerns and has questioned the work done by agents with players who failed to make a success of their football career.

The Professional Footballers' Association chief executive said: "I worry they trawl their nets too wide sometimes for youngsters in the hope they can pick one up - and then don't give enough care.

"Of the 600 youngsters who enter the game at 16, five out of six will be out of it by the time they are 21.

"So I'll be interested to see how many agents help young players to get through university, or job re-training, or look after their operations in later years."

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