Windows of Opportunity
From my own recollections of when “I were a lad”, footballs and windows are two things that should remain mutually exclusive. It took me until Monday to realise that this was not the case.
I was one of the “dedicated” (read sad) few who watched the final day of the transfer window with the dedication usually reserved for Soccer Saturday’s ticker tape. Would Arsenal replace Flamini? Would Spurs find another Berbatov? Would Benitez sign a player naturally capable of playing wide? Would Davie Moyes spend any money at all, or just keep selling? Who was the player “similar to Sone Aluko” that Jimmy Calderwood wanted to bring in at Aberdeen (the answer was… Sone Aluko). The minute by minute reporting on the immenent/probable/ludicrous deals only made it more like a real life version of Hungry Hungry Hippos- how many players can you grab before the timer runs out and the transfer window slams shut?
First things first. The transfer window has never slammed shut. On Monday we were led to believe that every manager in the league was squabbling around for players with time running out, like Indiana Jones fumbling under the door for his hat. The transfer window is open for 3 months. Managers know when it is going to open, and they know when it is going to close. From the moment it opens in June, the transfer window starts to shut- slowly, deliberately and with plenty of opportunity for managers to freshen up their squads. When it comes September 1st (or 2nd as it was this year) the transfer window closes reassuringly, firmly and with minimal noise.
That is until this year. For the first time that I can remember, the echoes of deadline day are still being heard two days later. What is even more remarkable is that the biggest transfer of the day was not Berbatov, or even Robinho. It was Manchester City. The Blue side of Manchester could well be the richest club in the world thanks to their takeover by Dr Sulaiman and his Abu Dhabi United Group. They have already stated their intent to gatecrash the Premiership Quadropoly by gazumping Chelsea’s bid for Robinho- a deal Chelsea were so sure of they had already started selling shirts with his name on the back. It might be a season too early for City to Challenge for the title, but the takeover not only represents a massive opportunity for the Blues, but a worrying time for Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. What would cost be if one of them fell out of the Champions League spots? A certain League 1 club knows all about gambling on the Champions League…
