I forget what football was like before transfer windows. It must have been calmer, with clubs quietly going about their dealings under far less media scrutiny, making carefully-selected purchases of players they actually needed, not having to contend with the inflated greed of agents and finding out that their best player had been sold before Sky Sports News. It must have been a lot less exciting.
In the next 24 hours, clubs across the country will simultaneously hold and be held to ransom in last-minute deals for players who are either desperate to move or will only consider doing so if their wages are doubled. Managers know that if they don’t act now, they will face the anger of a fan base that expects new arrivals at every available opportunity. Many will throw money around in a panic, needlessly disrupting their squads by selling or introducing a player to ‘change the way we play’ and others will take no action, through stubbornness or poverty, in many cases jeopardising the club’s chances of success on the pitch.
Although ridiculous in many ways, the transfer window does make a fair degree of business sense. By creating a limited time period for transactions to be made, the most agile, organised and flexible teams will be rewarded. In the past few years, Wolves have made six or seven signings in the first two weeks of August, kept their best players locked in a safe, and sat back to watch the month’s madness unfold. New captain Roger Johnson, who was bought for £7million, would be worth probably double that if he were still available today.
Inevitably, therefore, there are those who are slow to act, and will be punished tomorrow for their profligacy. And rightly so. Football is an industry that cannot be seen to be standing still; fans want new names to go with their new strip, and need to feel that their club is keeping up with the competition. Failing to take necessary steps to adjust the squad could destroy a season, and the presence of the window is a good way of rewarding impetus and punishing dalliance.
Having played 3-5 games already, many will have made their minds up about the changes that need to be made at their clubs. In my view, the window should be closed before a ball is kicked, so as not to pile needless pressure on managers and torture fans with the notion that their team may not be this crap in two week’s time. Nevertheless, the current system does help managers to see where the faults lie – and in my view the following should be busiest until 11pm tomorrow evening:
Swansea City
Needed: Striker
Top-tier football rewards strong defences, and this is the hardest goal to achieve. Having seemingly done so, newly-promoted Swansea have only one major concern – they have failed to find the net in three games, including two very winnable home matches. Danny Graham, brought in from Watford, has missed a number of sitters and last season’s top scorer Scott Sinclair has realised that Premier League defenders can actually mark. The difference between the Welsh side sliding out of the league or finishing in respectable mid-table is, for me, dependant on unearthing a natural finisher before close of play tomorrow.
Manchester City
Needed: Selling
The country’s most exciting squad is ridiculously bloated, and simply by having this level of personnel at the training ground, murmurings of discontent are likely to take their toll on squad morale. Some have already left on loan, but to fall in line with financial regulations and give some of the youngsters a glimmer of hope, City will need to be rid of many on a permanent basis. The likes of Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Nedum Onuoha are unwanted and easily good enough to fit into most other Premier Leauge lineups, while Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli are the type of personalities that no truly great side would ever put up with.
Leicester City
Needed: Loan star
How much money has Sven spent? And on what? David Nugent? Despite being the Championship’s big spenders, Leicester do not look like they have a squad that can compete at the top of the league. Solid, yes, but the starting lineup is anything but exciting. What did make them a decent watch last year was the presence of Yakubu for a few months in early 2011. Finding another unwanted Premier League performer, of which there are a great deal, would probably deliver the promotion charge that this club feels it deserves.
Chelsea
Needed: Creator
It’s fair to say that the big northern clubs have stolen the Premier League headlines so far this season. By contrast Chelsea have looked old, tired and very beatable. With five top class forwards on board, you’d expect goals not to be an issue, but the lack of service from midfield leaves the likes of Fernando Torres worryingly isolated. Throw Luka Modric, Yoann Gourcuff or Wesley Sneijder into the equation and the picture would very definitely change.
Blackburn
Needed: New owners
The farce of Blackburn’s season keeps getting more extreme. Missing two penalties against Everton, only to concede one in injury time, was followed by the board blocking transfers that the manager wanted to make. The same board honestly thought that Raul would join earlier in the summer. The sooner Rovers allow someone who understands football to make the decisions, the quicker they can halt what looks like an alarming slide down the football league pyramid.
Arsenal
Needed: Cesc Fabregas
Arsenal’s keeper is not yet good enough. If they had a defence, they wouldn’t be good enough either. No team with genuine title aspirations has ever conceded eight in a single match. Ever. It appears likely that one or two defenders will come in that will prevent that embarrassment from reoccurring, but what Arsenal will miss most this season is the superstar who recently departed to Barcelona. You cannot replace a player like Cesc Fabregas, and to compound the issue Arsenal have sold their second best player into the bargain. In terms of heart, creativity and rapport with the fans, there will be a loss, and a reduced points tally come May. Replacements for Fabregas and Samir Nasri should have been secured long ago, sure in the knowledge that the two would move on, and with the 60 million they received there are players available to help fill the void. But it will take a stunning day of activity in order to secure them.
Stoke
Needed: Physical presence
Wilson Palacios. Peter Crouch. Carlton Cole. Jonathan Woodgate. Romelu Lukaku. Matthew Upson. The players Stoke have been linked with and have bought this summer are exclusively either 6ft plus or over 14 stone. Preferably both. So should revolutionise their long-throw, ten-in-the-box, essentially wrong brand of football. Will be refreshing to see.
And the rest…
Reading – Full backs. Andy Griffin and Ian Harte have as much pace as the old woman I found passed out on the road yesterday.
Bristol City – Centre-backs. Club legend Louis Carey is no longer cut out for this level.
Norwich – Wingers. Grant Holt is a very un-glamorous footballer but will get goals if provided for by wingers with genuine pace. Without them, he probably won't.
Swindon – Striker. With new arrival Alan Connell injured, finding a goalscoring replacement for recently-departed Charlie Austin will be key to the success of Paulo Di Canio’s first season in management.
Spurs – Central midfield. Likely arrivals of Scott Parker and Yossi Benayoun would be a welcome addition, with or without Modric’s presence.
West Ham – Keep Scott Parker. Come on Scott, it’s Portsmouth at home next….
