Bristol Rovers almost double spending on agent fees with Derby League One's biggest spenders

Bristol Rovers spent almost double what they paid in agents fees last season during this campaign but remain in the bottom half of League One spenders, paying intermediaries £214,359 over the last two transfer windows.

Rovers spent £112,281 on agents fees between February 1 2022 and 31 January 2023, during which time they secured promotion to the third tier before assembling a squad capable of staying up. Interestingly, that was the 12th highest total in League One at the time while the Gas sit 13th in the latest list covering the period February 1 2023 to February 1 2024 despite increasing their spend by 91 per cent

Last year had seen Rovers reduce their spending on agents fees from the previous season despite being a division higher. While in League Two, the Gas spent £119,817 but managed to reduce that total by 6.3 per cent. However, there has been a significant rise on how much Rovers have paid intermediaries over the past year.

Surprisingly, the total spent by League One clubs has decreased by eight per cent from £5,694,614 during the 2022/23 campaign to £5,230,033 this season with promotion contenders Derby County spending the most in the division with £434,465.

The Gas signed 17 different players during this period but the published list of transactions only states 12 as well as the contract extensions handed to Josh Grant, Harvey Greenslade, Ryan Jones and Grant Ward last summer and Chris Martin's earlier this year. The loan signings of Harvey Vale, Matt Cox, Tristan Crama, Lamare Bogarde and Brandon Aguilera haven't been included for reasons that are currently unknown.

It is interesting that League One is the only division out of the five for which the figures are published that has seen a decrease in the total figure with the highest-spending sides certainly not all sat highest in the division. Bar leaders Derby who sit second in the league table, midtable Reading (£397,788) and relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town (£396,184) make up the rest of the top three spenders.

Alongside the Royals amongst the highest spenders are the other two clubs that were relegated from the Championship last season in Wigan Athletic and Blackpool who sit fourth and fifth respectively. Meanwhile, champions-elect Portsmouth are seventh, closely followed by another automatic promotion chaser in Bolton Wanderers.

Not that it would ever be a direct correlation, and there are some cases where placement and league position such as already-relegated Carlisle United sitting bottom and relegation-threatened Cheltenham Town second from bottom, but generally the list suggests that spending more doesn't necessarily guarantee success.

The likes of Northampton Town, Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Lincoln City all seem to have done well to get to where they are in the league table based on their agent spending while Fleetwood is probably the prime example of where it hasn't worked out for whatever reason.

League One agent spending 2023/24

February 1, 2023 - February 1, 2024

• Derby County - £434,465

• Reading - £397,788

• Fleetwood Town - £396,184

• Blackpool - £395,345

• Wigan Athletic - £391,223

• Barnsley - £379,108

• Portsmouth - £270,965

• Bolton Wanderers - £262,506

• Oxford United - £254,705

• Charlton Athletic - £228,948

• Peterborough United - £218,608

• Wycombe Wanderers - £214,755

• Bristol Rovers - £214,359

• Stevenage - £149,107

• Lincoln City - £145,601

• Burton Albion - £135,766

• Port Vale - £122,468

• Cambridge United - £117,800

• Exeter City - £107,205

• Leyton Orient - £102,122

• Northampton Town - £86,050

• Shrewsbury Town - £79,173

• Cheltenham Town - £63,100

• Carlisle United - £62,682