Time to scrap this transfer circus?
Every single transfer window, supporters in the Premier League seem to crave signings, expecting a number of players to come into the club and take them on to the next level. Players that come into a side in a transfer window always feel they have something to prove, whether it be repay the price tag or prove the doubters wrong.
If a club is playing well then what is the need for mid-season signings. I can understand a side in the bottom three feeling the need for something new but shouldn’t the summer signings and existing players be given a season to prove their worth? Historically, January signings are not as influential as the summer signings and there are many reasons for that.
A summer signing will have a pre-season with a new club behind him and time to get to know his new team mates and club before competitive matches, where he is ultimately judged. A January signing will have less than a week to train with the first team squad sometimes and learn how the club is run, something that is tough in any line of work, especially football with thousands of people watching you each week.
The price of a player will also increase during January as clubs become desperate to land their preferred signings. An example of a signing such as Andy Carroll moving to Liverpool for £35million last January should be brought up in every board room after Christmas, highlighting the dangers of the January transfer market. Carroll’s lack of form could be to do with anything from moving to a new city, feeling the pressure of the price tag or getting used to the style of a different club.
Supporters should not expect big singings at the start of the New Year as it is not always a good idea to disrupt and add to a squad throughout the season. Is the grass always greener when new signings arrive? Spending money is becoming rare for some Premier League clubs and it should not take spending to satisfy fans who demand new blood in the dressing room.
The future of English football could also be in danger from transfer window’s that let clubs bring in players for two months of the season, seemingly dismissing youngsters looking to break through into the first team. If the January transfer window did not exist, I guarantee that more youngsters would be a success in English football. Long term injuries and poor form could prompt clubs into making unnecessary big money signings in January, whereas it would be a lot more refreshing to see youngsters getting a first team chance at the highest level.
If the club allows youngsters to play as cover for the 25-man squad that is registered then that is surely enough players to not have to indulge in spending money half way through a campaign. Give the youngsters a go and get rid of the January transfer window to enable English football to be fair through the season and giving youngsters a well earned break.
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One major flaw in your arguement is the fact the so many of the youngsters you wish to give a chance to are not actually English. A player qualifies as a “home grown” player if he spends 3 years in the Academy. So Cesc Fabregas was a home grown player. Take a look at Man City’s EDS squad. How many English names do you recognise?
Goalkeepers
Eirik Holmen Johansen
Tom Halsall
Defenders
Chris Chantler
Courtney Meppen- Walter
Ellis Plummer
Frederic Veseli
Karim Rekik
Kieran Kennedy
Luke Coulson
Reece Wabara
Sean Tse
Thomas Smith
Midfielders
Albert Rusnak
Alex Henshall
Andrea Mancini
Bradley Robinson
Denis Suarez
Gai Assulin
George Evans
Jeremy Helan
Paul Clowes
Forwards
Devante Cole
Harry Bunn
Joan Roman
Less than half are English.
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Brad Pinard Reply:
November 16th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
The idea is not particularly aimed at Manchester City, they will always buy instead of playing youngsters in the league. The amount of money they have they don’t even need an academy. The majority of clubs who will be spending money and looking to bring players in after Christmas will have English players in their youth systems who should be given a chance. If they can’t get their transfer deals correct over the whole summer, then that is a really poor effort from the clubs and they should have to wait till next summer to try again.
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At the risk of being accused of heresy, IMO it’s about time the transfer windows were left permanently open. It would at least stop this frenzy twice a year, together with the ridiculously inflated prices being touted due to the
limited time available for business. Like Bosman, the windows have a lot to answer for in the failings in our national game.
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” Like Bosman, the windows have a lot to answer for in the failings in our national game.”
???????????????
From that statement, prior to 2002-03 (when the windows became mandatory), England were winning all the international tournaments! Or are you talking about the time of utter dominace that ended in 1995?
Please, the failings of the national game is completely the result of an inability to develop/produce players good enough to perform on the international scene.
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Kevin, You have missed my point entirely. The failings to which I referred mainly involve meaningless contracts, the greed of players’ agents and the gradual takeover of Clubs by foreigh investors. Nothing to do with the antics of the national side.
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i like your point, if there wasnt a january transfer period then teams would play their youngsters in time of need. but some one here also said that if the transfer window were always open then it would help to reduce unecesarry and harmfull price inflation. but if u closed the january transfer window then u dont need to be a genius to tell whats gonna happen in the summer window, massive inflation driven by pure desperation and stupidty. wenger is the only man who truely understands this and refuses to play this absolutley stupid game in transfer periods. i can tell u that no one likes to spend more money than they should but when u want something so badly or dont want ur competitor to have it then all logic goes out the window and it’s all brawns which is just stupid. if everyone had a self sustaining model then not only transfer periods but football on a whole would be alot more interesting. and it’s prety interesting already
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oh and it’s because of these transfer period antics that many players are wasted. many youth or promising players dont get the chance to play cause they are bought to keep them off other teams squads. some players are bought purely on hear say coupled with the fear that another team will buy them. this is also due to financial might. if every team had to stick to a self sustaining model then any transfers would have to be meaningfull to the team and viewed as an investment (long or short term) rather than a kind of showpiece to put in the locker rooms. teams would not be able to buy players in surplus just to give the investors a kind of safety net, u are wasting people’s lives just so u can feel more secure.
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Nicky,
Thanks for clearing that up. While I do not disagree with the comment about the greed of agents and would agree that contracts are becoming ever more irrelevant, I do have to question how the Bosman ruling can be blamed for that. Would you be happy to have players “controlled” by clubs, even after a contract has expired?
Also, I have to completely disagree with your position that the Bosman and Transfer windows have been responsible for the increase in foreign ownership. That, IMO, is down to the increased money coming thanks to the creatino of the Premier league, and the number of clubs that went public to raise money.
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Kevin, my point is that in the final year or two in a player’s contract, it forces his Club into a panic mode because of the Bosman ruling. Contracts now mean very little as no sooner they are signed than, via the agents, moves begin to obtain better terms.
On the subject of “sugar daddie” investors I need only refer you to Man Citeh or Chelsea where money is no object and crazy prices are being paid,
which inevitably has an adverse knock-on effect on those in the EPL, who attempt to be self-sustaining.
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Have you stats to back up your first argument? How many players are bought in June, July and August with regards to how much pre-season training they get with their new colleagues? The ‘window’, that was introduced, is really the period from Sept to Dec that you CANNOT buy players. And if I remember, you could buy until March time, roughly, whereas now it cuts of again for Feb. This was introduced to stop wealthier clubs gaining advantage by being able to cover injuries for most of the season when skint clubs couldn’t. Also to stop weaker teams having their best players snapped up any old time, therefor weakening them. There’s no issue with the Jan window. Some of your points are valid – the price, not much movement, etc, but I do think all clubs can potentially benefit and should be allowed to make changes if they wish. For those who get wrapped up in the desperation? Tuff. Grow some. Be stronger. Get better.
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Actually, it’s another joke that FIFA need to justify its existence. There should be NO transfer widow of any kind. Free market will decide who joins who and when. How come top managers/CEOs/Bankers/Stockbrokers etc etc can all move around freely from country to country and Co to Co??
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