Ruddock: It really doesn’t do football clubs any favours

Neil Ruddock now writes exclusively for FootballFancast.com. Read his column below. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.

As the transfer window slammed shut on what was a rather eventful deadline day, clubs are left to reflect on whether they have done enough to secure their club’s passage to success or ensure their safety. Supporters will be debating whether their respective clubs did enough in the January window, or if they have missed a golden opportunity.

I have to confess that I am not a great lover of the transfer window and will be championing the call of Richard Bevan and the LMA in having the process scrapped. The current transfer set-up, especially the January window, creates a state of panic among football clubs who on some occasions buy players simply for the sake of it, despite the added premium that is added to the price tag.

The problem is when there is a set time frame like the January window, it is the selling club that holds all the cards. That is why so many chairmen leave it so late to conduct all their business as the final few hours sees the guard generally slip and suddenly move into a buyer’s market. Unfortunately it doesn’t leave much time for deals to be completed and ultimately clubs are left disappointed. It is a vicious circle that chairmen find themselves in and in my view will always be the same while we continue with the current set-up. Scrapping the window will stop these acts of brinkmanship from club chairmen and bring a lot more common sense back to the game.

One of the key aspects to provide a sane transfer window is for every club to be sensible. Unfortunately that is never the case and Aston Villa ensured that there will be fun and games this January with a £24m deal for Darren Bent. While that fee could now be seen as a relative bargain in comparison to yesterday’s sales of Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll, it initiated the proceedings as clubs reviewed their own pricing policy and used Bent’s fee as a reason to justify it. Would Newcastle ever have got any offers close to £35m for Andy Carroll at the start of January? I think you know that particular answer.

There is no doubting that what the transfer window does bring is an element of excitement to the proceedings and I am sure that there were many who spent all day listening to the radio or watching Sky Sports News in the hope that your club was linked with a big move. Like all windows there were plenty of rumours and hot air about, but ultimately very few transfers actually took place as clubs ran out of time to secure deals, leaving managers frustrated and no doubt supporters alike. Unfortunately I fear it will always remain that way as the selling club holds all the cards and that is why the sooner football authorities look to scrap the window the better. Deadline day may provide a good day of entertainment, but ultimately it doesn’t do football clubs any favours.

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