*Official* English Football Season 2015-16

[sledger]

Sigh.

 

[Furball]

Would definitely have taken Reus for the reported £60m mind.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I am sure you will, all being well you could make another million out of him in a couple of years time. Happy this has gone through, am all for picking up players from Europe but there was a danger of not having enough with experience of English lower league football.

I think you will sell him on for a big fee in a couple of years time. The Blackburn fans said it was like a game of ginger whack-a-mole when we beat them in the cup, he was everywhere.

 

[Cabinet96]

ON DEADLINE DAY, BANTER AND ALL-OUT GREED

Pretty much my thoughts.

 

[Furball]

Haha spot on.

Sky's disappeared up its own arse, they had a 'best of deadline day' segment yesterday to cover up the fact that nothing happened. Tossers.

 

[sledger]

I don't actually blame Sky too much for the whole thing tbh. The whole day is just an easy way for them to fill the schedule. I don't condone the fanfare they give the transfer deadline in any way, but when you have an entire channel dedicated to sports news this kind of **** is probably inevitable. Especially when so many sports fans are drooling idiots who buy into the whole thing and lap it up.

Edit: Actually, having thought about it, it's probably a bit of a chicken and egg/catch 22 thing. No doubt Sky produce this crap programming because they think there is a demand for it, but there probably only is a demand for it because Sky have fed the self-indulgent tossers this sort of programming for more than a decade now.

 

[GIMH]

Why did transfer windows get brought in?

Not that we didn't have deadlines before, but.

 

[Furball]

Because allowing clubs to buy whoever they want up until April was a bit ****.

 

[GIMH]

Because allowing clubs to buy whoever they want up until April was a bit ****.

It was March tbh

I can sort of understand that logic in it, but why did FIFA introduce them on a global scale

Also they are another thing that have shafted smaller clubs over the past decade and a half. Not that the utter ****sticks that run football give a **** about that (or half the people who follow it)

 

[Cabinet96]

So for someone who has only grown up in an era of the window, give some background on what it was like before and the consequences of a window coming in.

 

[Furball]

Back in the days when Rangers were an elite club financially it meant that if we had a bad run of form or an injury crisis we could just go out and sign someone.

Hard to say if it's good or bad. The likes of the Berahino saga wouldn't really happen the way it has because West Brom wouldn't really have an end point to hold out until, likewise de Gea at Utd.

 

[GIMH]

So for someone who has only grown up in an era of the window, give some background on what it was like before and the consequences of a window coming in.

You had transfer deadline at 5pm on the last Thursday in March. The pitfall is as laid out by Furball in that sides could buy their way out of injury troubles. Though I suppose if you had no windows but still a 25 maximum that would be a way around it (e.g. No de registering players unless you've sold them but you can leave space in your squad)

Tbh I think at the top level it does make sense. It existing in the football league is silly and at non-league bordering on ridiculous.

Because one of the big gripes I have with it is the 'emergency' loan market which is such a heap of **** it's unreal. Pre-transfer window, a side with a smaller budget in the championship (such as, in, Tranmere) would take a player on loan for a month or two and if it worked out they'd buy them. That may actually still be allowed now but it doesn't seem to happen and instead clubs that don't have 20 full-time pros are loaning round the clock because that's all they are allowed to bring in between October and November. Aside from unattached players (as long as they were unattached by the transfer deadline). If you're unattached in October you're probably a bit ****.

I mean theoretically Furball is right about big clubs being able to splash out but:

1. They still had two European deadlines which would cover both of these off
2. There wasn't the utter panic or chaos you get twice a season now, but at the same time players weren't exactly switching all season long. You'd have some summer sagas run into late August/September (Dwight Yorke to Man U is one that stands out) and the March deadline always brought some chaos but didn't cause the same level of panic buying that January does.

I dunno. Pros and cons I guess. If they must exist I would ban the January window, or at least cap the number of transfers in that window per club. And I would abolish them outside the top division. Top two at a push.

 

[GIMH]

Back in the days when Rangers were an elite club

Like Cabinet is gonna believe anything you say after you started with that

 

[Uppercut]

It should definitely be moved to before the season starts.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah I don't know how I didn't mention that. Have it on the Wednesday before the season starts or something

I guess the argument against is that other countries' seasons start later so in theory it disadvantages English clubs versus those, as they'd still be able to buy players from English teams.

 

[Furball]

Like Cabinet is gonna believe anything you say after you started with that

True though. 1990s were such a wasted decade.

 

[Furball]

It should definitely be moved to before the season starts.

How do you harmonise that though? European qualifiers start at the end of June/beginning of July, Rangers season started July 25th, Premier League was August 8th and Spain's even later. Unless you're harmonising all the winter league's start dates then the way things are just now is about the best compromise there is.

 

[GIMH]

How do you harmonise that though? European qualifiers start at the end of June/beginning of July, Rangers season started July 25th, Premier League was August 8th and Spain's even later. Unless you're harmonising all the winter league's start dates then the way things are just now is about the best compromise there is.

They don't have to be harmonised. It's up to the individual nation when the specific dates fall. But yeah, this is basically what I was getting at.

 

[Tangles]

BBC Sport - From World Cup winners to prison: Football's costliest teenagers

3 of the top 4 most expensive teens are United buys. Martial now tops the list. He will probably take a season to get used to the league and the club if he's up to it. He won't get a season though. The descriptions of someone who likes to cut in from the left to score sound like Memphis. So hopefully he has more to his game.

Maybe if he starts well by at least stretching teams with pace we can bench Rooney.

 

[duffer]

I do think Arsenal were in a weird position this window though. They've got genuine quality throughout the squad. Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Gabriel, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Chamberlin, Rosicky, Walcott, Welbeck; Flamini and Campbell is pretty good backup set of players. Arsenal didn't need a striker who was better than Giroud for two months of the season , or even a slightly different option. We've got Walcott, Welbeck and Alexis for that. All the people complaining that we didn't buy Dzeko or Mandzukic are simply bored. Same with Jackson Martinez. Arsenal needed a forward who was a level up on Giroud, and couldn't get it. I think a good defence for them is to look at the other strikers that moved this window. Benteke for £32m. Martial for £36m. Arsenal had a budget of around £50m from my understanding, who would've they have been able to buy with that who is elite with that going rate? I'm struggling for names.

Definitely should've signed a midfielder though. Would've taken any of Illaremendi, Cabaye, Carvalho etc. I would've been content with that window.

I don't believe that but if true I can understand Wenger keeping his powder dry and making sure he has available money in case another Ozil, Cech or Alexis type of deal comes up. If that's all we have to spend after a decade of having to sell and our new sponsorship deals of last season then it's pretty depressing.