The transfer window - a false, cornered market?

Every Saturday I write a column about football in English newspaper, The Argus. Here is an excerpt from my musings this week:Hull City manager Phil Brown recently brought up some interesting points about the transfer window, saying agents and players have created a false, cornered market that is unfairly weighed in favour of the seller. This prompted Manchester City boss Mark Hughes to bemoan the inflated prices and heightened expectations that come about because of the limited time clubs have to conduct their transfers.

It’s hardly surprising Hughes has got the hump, as surely any club that he approaches will stick a few million quid on any player’s asking price in the knowledge that Manchester City are swimming in cash since their takeover. A case in point was the Shay Given transfer. Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear described City’s original bid of £5m as “insulting.” This translates as, “Do me a favour. If you could afford to offer a hundred million for Kaka, you can at least throw us another £3m.”

I think the transfer window favours the big clubs who can afford to start the season with a massive squad. While everyone else suffers because of injuries and suspensions, the likes of Manchester United have players such as Tevez chomping at the bit to get a game. Mark Hughes stated in a recent interview that he couldn’t remember why the transfer window was brought in, and neither can I. Presumably it was for the benefit of the game, but how can such a melee where silly money is spent in a state of panic be anything but detrimental to football? Sure, it’s a fun spectacle for fans, but in these worrying economic times, shouldn’t more measured financial decisions be encouraged, rather than clubs desperately throwing money around and hoping some of it will stick?