Spend, spend, spend...no, no, no

With a few weeks now passing it seems a good opportunity to reflect on ???????? January window. One of the quietest transfer windows turned out to be one of the most interesting, while this may not be a popular view supported by fans or my media friends. It unintentionally presented an opportunity for owners/ownership groups to revise forward-planning strategies in this area, while encouraging greater administration and understanding of the global financial parameters clubs operate within.

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Working within the football industry over many years, and being involved in different transfer experiences and scenarios, afforded me the unique opportunity to '???????? ???????? ?????? ??????????'. How do clubs approach a transfer window and decide which players they will attempt to recruit?

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Naturally, it’s an exciting time for supporters with news of their club linked or "?????????????? ???? ???? ????????????????????" player X performing in league Y. The media, as is customary then adds to the necessary excitement by reporting on his “????????????????????”, “?????? ???? ???????? ???? ??????????” ?????? “???? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??”.

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In my experience, many of these transfers are proven to fall flat and disappear, sometimes at minimal disruption and cost to the club (phew) others however, adding financial legacy burdens (ouch).

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English supporters have become accustomed to news hype and huge transfer sums being paid out by clubs (???????? ???? ????!), particularly within the Premier League (PL). Arguably fans have been spoilt. Should there be a limit or continual free rein? Yet the looming spectre of an independent regulator seems to have concentrated minds within the PL.

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The seriousness of how clubs acknowledged the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over January, (its previous incarnation known as Financial Fair Play (FFP)), was followed by negative comments from media and managers alike, seemingly upset about the restrictions. "?????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ???????????? ?????? ????????” was a paraphrased concern regarding multiple teams January's transfer ability. On a separate side note, it could be argued with January generally providing complicated expensive transfers, with not necessarily the top-level player availability to justify, PSR was a good smokescreen for clubs to downplay their movements while focusing on a more strategic summer recruitment program.

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Matt Slater, in the Athletic, wrote an article titled “?????????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ???? ???????????????? ???????????? ?????? ??????????” within his piece, he shared an interview with one club executive surrounding the potential availability of a PL player. The executive noted a transfer as ‘????????????????????’ adding that ‘?????? ???? ???????????????????? ?????? ????????’, which on the face of it, appears a little strong.

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Can clubs be more aligned strategically in this area? Is the only option to continually bloat the squad adding to costs, without a thought towards where clubs can scale down losses and therefore future consequences? Is it possible to appreciate some form of increased strategy in this area if only to help ‘???????? ?????? ????????’? Otherwise, how will clubs compete without spending heavily and increasing their liquidity risk, this also applies to clubs competing within the PL competing against the commercial juggernauts ???? ?????? ???????? ??????.

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Additionally, due to this spend spend nature academy players, who were once seen as the potential heartbeat of the club and future teams who '???????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????????', are being sacrificed to generate as much clean profit as possible to offset previous spending and sit within PSR.

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Buying strategically, for example, young players with the perceived resale value, has been evolving in clubs' strategies throughout the leagues over the last few years however, what about the selling? Making a strategic call due to financial regulatory risk should not be seen as a negative. It should ?????????????????? your people to increasingly think multiple steps ahead. Being able to identify and move a player 1 or 2 windows ahead of what the club may have preferred (one step back) to be able to buy and regenerate (two steps forward) for a better fit; need; requirement of the squad; operate within financial parameters and remain competitive. Indeed PL Brentford in their most recent financial statements note the following: ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????????????????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????????.?

The rules may soon be changing but in the interim, we may see January become an interesting month with clubs forced to sell assets earlier, to accommodate an upcoming June 30th deadline - with their bargaining ability severely diminished, trying to sell to clubs with little pressure to beat a summer transfer window deadline.

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