10 May 2018 10:44:26
Hi Ed001.

Ive see you buzzing about on here mate this morning as always, thought I would try and engage with you lol. Does our Summer transfer targets have any baring on if or not we finish in top4?

Do you see us looking to get our business done early doors before the world cup?

And as it seems as though we have all sh#t out on any Sharkopod, will you be doing or can you do a general summary or targets and possible outs please?

Appreciate its a big ask as your always busy, just thought you might have time seens as you don't need any sleep lol.

{Ed001's Note - no mate, though getting top 4 might have a bearing on which of them we can actually get.

All Prem clubs will be looking to get business done early, due to the stupidity of deciding on a shortened transfer window.

No, I don't do those, too much effort to keep track of when I have not established a database to use.}


1.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 10:57:04
Fair enough mate. Have a good day.

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate you too.}


2.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 11:46:02
Out of interest Ed001, is the shortened window something being trialed and re-voted on or is it just how things are now? Just wondering how long we will be stuck with having players we can't replace go on strike and force through moves to Spain and Germany.

{Ed001's Note - they set the window each season, so they can easily change it if they realise that it is not working. However, considering the problems caused by shortening the window they are trying to fix by shortening it further, I doubt anyone involved has the intelligence to realise what a Fowler almighty mess they are making of things.}


3.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 12:28:54
All the deals can be done in a week and personally I think the shorter window the better. No doubt people will still wait until the last day to try and hold someone to ransom but perhaps now there will be more give and take in the rush? Everyone will get all their work done and everything will be nice and settled early on. Perfect. Obviously people might miss out as they do already but other than that there’s no downside. No waiting around, no sagas, no agents billing for weeks of work, just a few weeks of constant hard work for those behind the scenes getting the brown stuff done.

{Ed001's Note - all deals cannot be done in a week and the only people that benefit are the big clubs as the little ones are the ones who struggle to get deals done quickly. It will not stop speculation, the speculation is worse outside the window than during it. All it does is ramp up deadline day even further.}


4.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 12:34:27
😂 😂 Love the Fowler reference.


5.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 13:13:48
Ahem.


6.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 13:15:20
Jezza - clubs in Europe will have 3 weeks to buy players from EPL clubs when EPL clubs cannot replace those players. Who could possibly benefit from that decisions except the clubs who can strengthen themselves and weaken their opposition without reply?


7.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 13:51:46
Two excellent points there about the stupidity of this decision. Some players will still want to leave if big European clubs come in for them after the window has shut. And for clubs without big wads of dosh this will only be a further disadvantage. Wheelin and dealin and movin and shakin takes time and they often have to wait for some other dominoes in the market to fall before it becomes clear which of their targets are attainable and which are not.

{Ed001's Note - the smaller the club, the more badly affected they are. Things worked fine before when the window was open until March. Teams didn't need such big squads, for one thing, so all these youngsters that are not getting game time at the big clubs were able to get games with the smaller ones. You didn't need to have a huge amount of cover for injuries as you could go out and buy some players if you were hit by injury problems. That gave all the smaller teams a chance to hold onto their better players and play them, levelling out the league a little.}


8.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 14:25:30
Have any leagues reverted to having no window, Ed001?

There must be a few sensible people left int he world of football?!

Keep the 2 (or is it 3?) club maximum in a season so players don't hop around every couple of weeks, but otherwise an open window until March would be great, imo.

Would save so many careers, not just the youngsters who would get a chance, but also the 'bench fodder' who get bought "just in case".

{Ed001's Note - I don't know of any mate, but it was the most sensible solution.}


9.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 14:42:51
Personally I quite like the change, to me it seems right to get your transfer dealings done before you start playing. I'd rather avoid situations like we had with Couts last summer and utd had with DDG a few years back.

{Ed001's Note - you don't get those situations when players know that the window is open for longer, as they can afford to wait a bit longer.}


10.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 14:52:23
Couldn't agree more. The 'transfer window' should be a short and limited period whereby no transfers take place than what it is currently. And there are so much benefits to it:

1) less inflated market as the supply of players are available for longer periods

2) better squad harmony as unhappy players (for whatever reasons) can move on more quickly

3) youngsters have more chances (if after being given chances and are deemed to be not ready, the club still has the option to bring someone in. now, they are pushed down the pecking order before the season begins)

4) better professional players as clubs no longer need to stock pile and players have to perform and really contribute to stand a chance of getting a contract. Imagine what that would do to motivation, standards demanded, professionalism. you simply can't settle being a 'squad player' or being a complete ass who refuse to train well or play when called upon; you got to fight for your place whole year round otherwise you're off!

5) players have lesser power. while some might think this system will allow players to hold clubs to ransom (pay me more or i jump ship now), i think the clubs will actually have more power and options (you're ans ass, off you go, we can replace you any moment, perhaps with a better and less costly player anytime)

I could go on but these for me are some of the key positives that can emerge.


11.) 10 May 2018
10 May 2018 17:45:27
I would argue that there should be no transfer window and no “transfer” allowed at all. Players can only move after their contracts are up - or when the club has decided to release them.


12.) 11 May 2018
11 May 2018 04:19:12
I think the approach to transfer should be that players can be bought and sold 365 days a year but the eligibility restrictions are tied to each competition. Therefore a player will have to wait to play for his new club at certain arbitrary dates. Eg: Start of league season and 1st of Jan and only in a cup competition if his new team hasn't started in it yet. This would see more players signed in advance for their new team but left in their old team until the end of the season. Supporters would get used to it as it would become the norm. This would get rid of the hyper over inflation agents create as they use the "finite transfer window" to drive up transfer fees.


13.) 11 May 2018
11 May 2018 17:19:53
So knightza, what happens if several big players get injured, they still have a year or 2 left on their contract and you have nobody to play? And then trying to find a replacement would be impossible because targets would still have at least 1 year on their contract.

Also this way, the players will have more power on how much wage they want, and how on earth is a club supposed to make any money by letting everybody go for free?


One thing I would like to see - since transfer windows keep getting shorter and shorter - is the loan window being extended to pretty much all but the last month of a season. Heck, no actually, all year round. No more 'loan window'.

I can also see a lot of other leagues being quiet about purchasing players from the premier league until AFTER our window closes. That'll cause some MAJOR upsets.