Should transfer windows be swerved?

[Bjornebye]

Sick of them now. Disrupts clubs big time in the last few days, causes inflated pricing, gets cunt agents rich and keeps Jim White on my fucking telly.

[Mil-ing Around]

Keeping Jim White off our screens and in the job centre would be perfect

 

I agree they need changing but i "think" they were brought in because the big clubs just kept buying players throughout the year which fucked over the smaller clubs and kept the big clubs at the top because they could constantly address weak spots or injuries in they're squads

 

What could be done to stop this?

[Jairzinho]

I'd bin the January transfer window and shorten the summer window so it finishes before the games actually start.

 

I'd also ban agents, and Jim White.

[Mil-ing Around]

Why the fuck do players need agents anyway?!

 

Surely all they need is a phone, an email address and the ability to say "no i want more"

 

Piss easy this agent stuff

[Original202]

I'm not arsed about there being a window and it's preferable to having even more transfers and speculation throughout the season. It should close a few days before the season starts though so teams can actually concentrate on the matches they're playing rather than pissing about with the transfer merry go round and having this daft situation where players refuse to play or are really unsettled by it all.

 

I'd bin off the January transfer window too. All clubs have youth teams, if they have an injury crisis then it's not like there are no players available to them.

 

I mentioned it on another thread before that most teams have a huge turnover of players each summer but very few actually come out of it any better off. Loads of teams outside of the elite few are just swapping players between themselves which only benefits the agents and skysports news. Makes me wonder why most clubs even bother, Liverpool perhaps more so.

[Harry Squatter]

Banning stupid loans would help, then clubs will just have to be more careful with their money and only buy players they actually need. It will stop the likes of us and Chelsea buying tons of players and just constantly farming them out year after year then just letting them fade into obscurity.

 

You should only be allowed to loan out a maximum of five players a year with the added clause that they must be sold after 2 years or go to a tribunal to be sold for a nominal fee.

 

If players knew that they would go on the merry go round and just end up loaned to Vitesse Arnhem or Besiktas then fade into obscurity they would stay at their clubs for as long as possible and only the big clubs would buy them if they really need them. It might even level out a bit instead of all the best players being stockpiled by English clubs. Didn't Watford have about 17 players on loan a couple of seasons ago?

 

It would also stop mingebag Italian clubs abusing the system and wanting every cunt on loan before they buy.

[Original202]

 

If players knew that they would go on the merry go round and just end up loaned to Vitesse Arnhem...

 

Yep, the loan system needs a massive shake up. Vitesse Arnhem have 5 players on loan from Chelsea this season. Udinese loaned Watford about half a dozen a couple of seasons ago too and last year Mike Ashley sent 5 Newcastle players on loan to Rangers. There's also the murky issue of financial fair play, what's to stop New York City signing more players like Lampard and loaning them straight to Man City?

 

We've 17 players out on loan and I'd be amazed if any of them play for our first team in the future.

[Harry Squatter]

Buying a player and immediately loaning them back to the club you have just bought them from is ridiculous. Also having a player sign a new four year contract then loaning him for a third year running is also stupid.

 

It also come down to the player though, do they ever think that they are going to be a regular at the club that they have just signed for and are they happy with just being constantly loaned out?.

[Russ Atmosphere]

January - 1 week

July - 2 weeks

 

No intra-league loans, 4 loans a year in/4 loans out. No loans over the age of 23.

 

I made this shit up in a second. It's obvious isn't it?

[Babb'sBurstNad]

No January window.

 

Summer window ends before the season begins.

 

Limit number of players a club can have on its books.

 

Limit number of loans.

 

No immediate loans.

 

All transfers paperwork must be sent by carrier pigeon. 

[Redder Lurtz]

One window per year, which closes well before the season starts.

A limit on the number of loan players you can have out.

No loans in the same league.

 

I know we've got Wisdom out at Norwich but I still think it's wrong. Chelsea have five fucking players on loan in the premier league and around 30 on loan in total across Europe. It stinks.

[Trumo]

Apologies for another long post.

 

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I can understand the need for 2 transfer windows in the year as in theory, it avoids having regular and/or ad hoc upheavals at clubs. They were intended to provide a measure of stability but have been shown to do anything but. That said, the system is ripe for an overhaul or at least a tightening of some aspects. Here are things that I would like to see done, and expanded Europe-wide:

 

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- stick to 2 windows but have January be just a fortnight from the 1st to the 14th (adjusted to account for bank holidays etc). I'd have the summer window cover the whole of July only since nobody - barring a few European qualifiers - will have started the season before August

 

- have a stipulation that only the players pay the agent's fees, not the club. It's an unnecessary expenditure by the club, and another corporate example of bollocks expenses to write off against tax liability

 

- only actual employees of a club can act as a club's representative during transfer and contract negotiations, so a player's agent can only get involved for his player after the club's themselves have made direct contact over a transfer proposal

 

- abolish the signing-on fee for both new signings and contract extensions as it is money being spent that does not actually represent anything tangible. Another needless expense that the fans are ultimately footing the bill for

 

- abolish add-ons from transfer fees as well as add-on bonuses for the player

 

- 50% of any transfer fee must be paid up front with the remainder payable over the following 2 years, even if the player's contract is longer than 3 years, and even if the player is sold within that period. The idea is to aid consistency, transparency, remind clubs of their obligations and assist with their budgeting

 

- abolish loans with an option to buy, whether it's merely an option or an agreement for a definite sale

 

- abolish loyalty bonuses

 

- abolish release clauses

 

- abolish sell-on clauses

 

- abolish buy-back clauses

 

- if a player requests a transfer, it must be put in writing to the club and the player must forfeit any right to having the remainder of his contract paid up

 

- players are not entitled to any cut of a transfer fee

 

- if a club is looking to move a player on, they must inform the player in writing. The player will only be entitled to the difference in annual salary between his existing contract and the one he signs with his new club IF his annual salary at his new club is lower. If he will earn the same or more at his new club, he is not entitled to any pay-off of his existing contract

 

- any such pay-off will be based on how long is left on the player's contract - to the nearest 6 months - so, if he has 2 years left on his deal, then he can only claim 2 year's difference between his current contract and his deal with his new club

 

- loan deals can only be for 6 months, 1 season or 2 seasons

 

- no loans to clubs in the same league

 

- a player can only go out on loan twice for the duration he is registered with his parent club. This prevents clubs from sending players out on endless loans, and by specifying it as the duration they are registered to their parent club rather than by contract, it prevents the situation where the players keep signing new contracts just to restart the loan cycle from scratch each time

 

- if a 2-year loan deal is agreed, the player cannot go out on loan again while he is registered to his parent club

 

- if the player has already had one loan spell, he cannot have a 2-year loan spell elsewhere as this will mean he has been away from his parent club for longer than 2 years

 

- if loan deals are terminated early, the originally agreed loan spell still counts. Clubs cannot take the piss out of the loan system, and the player has an incentive to not fuck things up at the club he's been loaned to

 

- once a player has exhausted the amount of time (or 2 spells) he can spend out on loan, he must be registered to his parent club's 25-man squad list. Clubs are unlikely to fill up these spaces with players they've got no use for

 

- if he doesn't qualify to be named on a 25-man list because he is under 21, but has already exhausted his loan spell(s), he must be named in at least 10 Premier League matchday squads by his club and must make at least 2 appearances, whether starting or as a substitute

 

- the club has to terminate and pay up the remainder of the contract for any player whom they've already loaned out for the maximum 2 occasions or 2-year duration, IF they decide not to involve the player in their matchday squads afterwards. The club will not be entitled to a fee for youth development compensation either

 

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I might have missed some aspects of what I would look to change, and I'm certain EU law could throw a spanner in the works for a lot of the above, but my suggestions are designed to prevent player stockpiling by clubs, minimise financial mismanagement by clubs, as well as preventing players and their agents from taking clubs for a ride. In theory, you would see far fewer transfers taking place, particularly of young players, and a lot more stability in the transfer system, club's squads, the teams themselves. In theory you'd also see a slowdown - if not a reversal - of the rampant hyperinflation and chase for cash that is ruining the game and pricing too many fans out.

 

As ever, the ideas are open to criticism whether they be a pipedream or unworkable in reality, but there is no doubt a change is needed. The hope is that the wealth and quality starts to get redistributed more evenly and that we no longer see the very wealth swallow the game up. If you take away the possibility of winning trophies or having good teams and players that fans can support and identify with, then what is the point of those teams?

[G Richards]

The transfer window adds some excitement to proceedings, albeit manufactured excitement. So I'm in favor of keeping it. But it needs reform. In particular, the window should close when the action starts. That's the biggest thing that needs to happen. It's too disruptive otherwise. 

 

I can take the January window with a pinch of salt. If you are doing poorly, or you have changed manager, I like the idea that you can refresh things mid season. 

 

Beyond this there should be strict guidelines on the size and composition of squad, along with reform of the whole loan system. Too many clubs snap up players with no real intention of ever playing them. It's a trading thing, and a way to keep rival clubs from strengthening. The whole loan system is a bit of a sham and needs reform. 

[Torvald Utne]

Shouldn't really be able to sell people and then stop them choosing their own place of employment after

[TheHowieLama]

You can't.

[Guest Super Sub]

Close summer transfer window a couple of days before first match of season. Get shut of January transfer window. As has already been said it will force clubs to use their youth and reserve teams and it will also bring back the element of skill through squad development.

[Megadrive Man]

Close summer transfer window a couple of days before first match of season. Get shut of January transfer window. As has already been said it will force clubs to use their youth and reserve teams and it will also bring back the element of skill through squad development.

 

This would still cause problems as some leagues start later than others. Just make the summer window 2 months, June and July.