Secret agents?

Following the introduction of a new set of regulations, the Premier League has for the first time revealed how much clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea pay to agents involved in player transfer deals. The money paid out between October 2008 and September 2009 is £70 million, an average of around £360,000 per transaction. What has the public disclosure of these sums revealed? Are they going to allay fears amongst some people that the dealings of agents are too secretive and shrouded in mystery? Will will see a more open, transparent approach to agency emerging? Is it an example of good governance? But does the publication of the figures actually change anything? What do they tell us about why the money was paid to the agents, where the money has gone, or what it has been used for? Isn't regulation or legislation a better way to exercise the kind of control on agents that is required in order to bring a much stronger set of principles to the player transfer market? And what about the European Union? The Lisbon Treaty has now been ratified; sport is one of the competences within the Treaty; the regulation of agents is part of this competence; a report is due from the EU in which recommendations for monitoring/regulating/legislating on agents are made. When will we see it?