da apostaganha： With the start of the new season just over 2 weeks away and the transfer window nearing its climax, clubs are busy making their final preparations for the season ahead. Some clubs have been extremely busy in the transfer window, whereas some have seemingly taken no action-though there is still time-but is it beneficial to play a waiting game before shopping in the transfer window?
da 888： On the plus side it can work out cheaper if you leave it until the last minute. Spurs got Rafael Van der Vaart for a snip at £8 million last year. If clubs are willing to offload then you could get a bargain, but if they aren’t willing to sell, it could ultimately push the price up. Before late August clubs can demand a lot of money, even if they player wants to leave, but the price will drop daily as we near the closing of the window. If a player wants out from a club, then the side have to sell, there is nothing worse than having an unsettled player on your books who would rather be somewhere else.
However, playing a waiting game means there are no guarantees that you will get your man. With time running out, you could perhaps be forced into transfers which in reflection may not be wise. You could also be left with money to spend, but no-one to spend it on. Look at Tottenham who sold Dimitar Berbatov for a great price late in the 2008 transfer window, but subsequently couldn’t get anyone in to replace him.
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Also leaving it so late could be damaging for the squad in the short term. The player will have missed out on valuable squad gelling time, not just on-field, but off-field bonding time. Pre-season will have been lost, and the season may have already got under way, which means the player might not be ready to slot straight into your side. It is a technique which could cost you valuable points at the early stage of the season, which come the end of the season, could prove crucial. At the beginning of the 2008 season when Spurs lost Berbatov and Robbie Keane they subsequently took 2 points out of 18, and it resulted in the sack for Juande Ramos, highlighting that last minute wheeling and dealing is not always a good thing, and can be highly detrimental to the team and the season ahead.
A team needs to be strong from the start of the season, and buying a player so late, means they might not have time to settle in, or be ready to go when the season starts. Manchester United have struck early, got the players they wanted, which means they have plenty of time to bed into the squad with time to gel and play cohesively from the start of the season. Small margins such as late or early action in the transfer window, can prove to be the difference between sides over a Premier League season.
It’s a tough choice for clubs, do they hold out for a bargain at the risk of the player not being ready to play or settled at the club, or do they pay over the odds early in the window, giving the player time to settle into the side with a strong pre-season behind them. Whichever way clubs look at it, the transfer window waiting game is certainly a tricky one to get right.
Let me know your thoughts below, or follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter.
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