Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston quit Wednesday, four days after his club won its Premier League debut, in an apparent protest at the influence players' agents have over topflight transfers.
Blackpool did not give the reason for Oyston's resignation, which takes effect immediately, but a local newspaper quoted him this week as saying he would step down because he was unwilling to deal with agents he considered to be acting against the interests of players and the club.
Blackpool, which won its first topflight match for 39 years 4-0 at Wigan on Saturday, said no one connected with the club would comment upon Oyston's resignation.
''I'm not sure I have the right approach to be in this division,'' Oyston was quoted as saying by the Blackpool Gazette on Tuesday. ''The more I speak to other people at other clubs, the more I realize I am a lone voice.
''There was some support for things I did and said in the Championship but there doesn't seem to be any in this division. Everyone else seems to subscribe to the way that business seems to be conducted and it is a way I find unacceptable.''
Blackpool spent just 40,000 pounds ($62,500) on agents' fees last season, when it won the League Championship promotion playoffs. Only one other club in the 24-team division paid less, with the average 422,000 pounds ($659,300).
Manager Ian Holloway had expressed his frustration at the difficulty in attracting players to such a small club of limited resources, but the northwest England side has been unwilling to sanction the sort of spending that led to huge financial problems for teams including Hull.
Hull spent heavily on wages and transfer fees in an effort to stay in the lucrative Premier League but was left in debt, with players on long-term contracts, when it was relegated anyway at the end of last season.
''We are the ones who are the employers,'' Oyston told the local paper. ''We are the ones offering the terms and the contracts. It is up to us how we go about things. I don't think any deal should be about the agent.''
Oyston will stay on as chief executive until the end of the season or until a replacement chairman is appointed.
''He will continue to work closely with manager Ian Holloway,'' Blackpool said in a statement. ''The club would like to emphasize that there will be no interruption in the recruitment of players or the work required on the stadium.''
