In football (or as the Americans call it soccer) in the UK there are two highlights to the season, pre season and the January transfer window which is odd given that results are everything and winning the league is the goal.
So why are these two events such big parts of the season well I will start with preseason…..
Preseason is the time of the year when the big name signings come into your club and as a fan you are convinced that no matter how bad your team were the previous season you actually stand a chance to win the league. Then come the preseason friendlies against random clubs you have never heard in parts of the world you have to check the globe to find and it dawns on you that even though you have these new players you still support a team that’s going to struggle.
The season then kicks off for real and you see your team struggle in the league, dropping points against smaller teams they should beat and then getting beaten comfortably by better teams……..its continues over the next few weeks then months…..but there is a glimmer of hope……the january transfer window!
Having watched your team battle away picking up the odd point here and there the january window is like that last glimmer of hope (unless your team is one of the lucky ones at the top of the table when its the time to add depth to the team).
The january transfer window is chaos, teams buying and selling at massively inflated transfer fees, rumours of players being linked to clubs and people getting excited about possible signings.
The best part of this chaotic window is the way that Sky Sports in the UK have made the window to be the best thing since Star Wars. They glam it up to be the most exciting bit of TV of the year with deadline day being almost something that the Mayans predicted.
The have a panel of experts normally made up of old players or managers who are out of work that give their opinions on the goings on or rumours.
Then the Sky presenters having phone calls from their “sources” within clubs or in the know about potential moves about to happen.
The funniest part of deadline day has to be when they “go around the grounds” checking with their roving reporters what the fans think about potential or confirmed signings. The reporter then struggles to report on the transfers and get a fans opinion while all around him the fans go mental and try to out do one another.
The final part is the close when they review the window and always seem to claim that its been the most exciting day ever and the most exciting window ever !
MilezAway 