A restriction of trade.

[Ramrod 258]

One of the reasons the transfer window was created was to stop big clubs buying their way out of trouble. It hasn''t worked, they just buy more players in advance and then loan them.

All it does is create a panic and raise the costs of players, it encourages the wealthy clubs to monopolise and loan so Clubs such as Norwich own less assets and just pay the wages of someone elses.

I agree with (Freddie Shephers I think) who called it a restriction of trade. It must be scrapped.

[Saint Canary 0]

The problem is Ramrod is that it hurts more clubs than it helps.  As you say it was put in place to stop big club''s buying their way out of trouble but in turn it stops smaller clubs selling their assets or at best at the wrong time.

Watching Big Ron Manager last week Barry Fry mentioned the new transfer rules.  He mentioned that 2 seasons ago he could not afford to pay the wages of players, so he sold a striker and avoided a problem.  He could not do that anymore.

The other big problem with these new rules is shown by the mad rush of transfers done on or close to deadline day.  Take Bristol City and the young striker we nearly bought.  They get offers on the last day and although they get a good price for their best player, what good is it to them because they can''t buy a replacement at such short notice.

This rule only harms smaller clubs with small squads, not the big clubs it was hoping to keep in line.  It just means that the majority of PL clubs operate big squads and loan out "lesser" players to keep costs down whilst retaining a safety net.

I say get rid of it.

[Evil Monkey 52]

I agree, it is something of a nonsense.

It has it''s merits, in that it means that certain players who may

otherwise be poached by "bigger clubs" don''t come in and then disappear

after a few games when everything isn''t rosy... no, they now have to

wait until January...  Look at a few seasons ago, when Geoff

Horsfield signed for Wigan from Brum... it was only a matter of about 2

or 3 months before he''d buggered off to West Brom.

But it does artificially inflate prices - Kuqi for £2.5m, even Cotterill for £2m! Ridiculous, really.

[Canary02 0]

I think it encourages the "strike" mentality amongst players as well. They only have a small window to move in so if they want a transfer a la Leon, they have to make things happen quickly by kicking and screaming until everybody decides they''re best rid of a problem player. Before, the player would have carried on, knowing that if they played well enough, offers would come in. Now with inflated prices, anybody who is available is snapped up quick smart as everyone is competing for the same group of players who are unsettled or in the last year of their contracts.