It was revealed earlier this month that Cheltenham Town FC have the fourth least amount of money spent on agent fees in League One, with only Morcambe, Exeter and Accrington Stanley having less.
The Robin’s have spent £79,811 on agents and intermediaries’ fees for player transactions in the year from February the first 2022, to January the 31st of this year.
This is an increase of over 40,000 pounds since the previous year but is still a very low amount for a league one club. Cheltenham’s spending has massively increased in the past four to five years with the club’s recent success and promotion being the main factor, in 2016 they only 3,000 pounds, so we can see there is a clear correlation between the performances on the pitch improving and the amount of money being spent.
Agents are often said to be difficult to work with and are described as wanting to extort as much money from clubs as possible for their own personal gain. So for Cheltenham to be where they are whilst operating on a microscopic budget compared to some other clubs is quite the achievement. The Robins have secured survival after beating Gloucestershire rivals Forest Green Rovers at the weekend and staying in League One means it’s likely Cheltenham’s spending will increase again.
Cheltenham’s budget compared to some of the division’s top sides is not even comparable, Derby county has the highest amount of agent fee spending at just north of a million pounds with Ipswich town having the second most at around 800,000 pounds.
For Cheltenham to be competing with these big spender sides and securing survival in the division, it really points to how the shrude spending and sensible business decisions have been a major part of the club’s recent success. Cheltenham occupies one of the smallest markets in the division and does not have the same pulling power as some of these other clubs so them being able to keep the spending relatively low and seemingly improve season after season is definitely something that chairman David Bloxham and the rest of the board can be proud of.
With another season in League One guaranteed the spending will most likely increase as more and more players begin to see Cheltenham as an attractive destination and Bloxham and the board will be hoping the trend continues and the increased spending leads to increased success. Cheltenham could be said to be punching above their weight a little, prior to promotion from League 2 the club had never reached League 1, and whilst the football this season hasn’t always been where the club and fans would like it to be, it’s a promising sign that they are still able to compete despite such low spending.
