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Transfer Window History
The History of the January Transfer Window
James Goyder
When the transfer window was first introduced to English football by FIFA in 2003/04 the new regulations were expected to make for a hectic month's trading. The majority of managers decided not to reinforce their existing squads or sanction any player departures but Arsenal did splash out £10.5 million on Jose Antonio Reyes.
Jonathan Woodgate's £9 million move to Newcastle United and Robbie Fowler's £6 million move to Manchester City were the only other significant pieces of business. Both moves were precipitated by the impending financial implosion at Leeds United who simply could not afford to wait until the end of the season to start cashing in on some of their playing assets.
In the 2005 winter transfer window Chelsea and Manchester United were the sole big spenders. Chelsea signed Scott Parker from Charlton for £10 million while £12.8 million was enough to persuade Fulham to sell Louis Saha to Manchester United.
Clubs losing more than an average of £19.6 million a year over the course of the previous two seasons will not be allowed to enter European competition in the 2013/14 season. Clubs losing more than an average of £13 million a year over the course of the previous three seasons will not be allowed to enter European competition in the 2013/14 season.
In the third installment of the January transfer window the pace picked up a little bit. Manchester City spent £6 million on Georgio Samaras, West Ham United signed Dean Ashton for £7.25 million while Arsenal signed Theo Walcott for an initial £5 million and Emmanuel Adebayor for around £3 million.
Liverpool spent £5.8 million on Daniel Agger and Manchester United brought in Patrice Evra for the same figure. Benjani Mwaruwari signed for Portsmouth for £4.1 million and Nemanja Vidić joined Manchester United for Nemanja Vidić for £7 million.
The 2007 January transfer window was particularly quiet with Ashley Young's £9.65 million move to Aston Villa and Matthew Upson's £6 million move to West Ham United the only notable pieces of activity. The following season saw an even more uneventful transfer window with only Nicolas Anelka's £15 move to Chelsea making the headlines.
Harry Redknapp has never been afraid to try his luck in the transfer market and January 2009 was his first opportunity to do so after replacing the inept Juande Ramos. Even by Redknapp's standards it was a busy month as he attempted to redress some of the damage which his predecessor had done.
Jermain Defoe returned from Portsmouth for £15 million, substantially more than he had been sold for. Tottenham did get a bit of change out of another old boy, Robbie Keane, who cost a bargain basement £12 million. Redknapp spent another £17 million persuading Premiership clubs to part with the likes of Pascal Chimbonda, Carlo Cudicini and Wilston Palacios.
Like Leeds United before them Portsmouth needed to cull their expensively assembled squad and Lassana Diarra was sold to Real Madrid for £20 million. Meanwhile Manchester City 's new owners were starting to make their presence felt and Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong and Craig Bellamy were all recruited at a combined cost of around £48 million. Arsenal also brought in Andrey Arshavin for an estimated £16 million.
There were a combination of factors which conspired to make this the busiest transfer window ever. It was the first real opportunity for Manchester City 's new owners to flex their financial muscle, Tottenham had undergone a change of manager since the closure of the previous transfer window and Portsmouth were in financial dire straits.
Portsmouth lost a couple of players again the following January with Younes Kaboul joining Tottenham for £5 million and second string goalkeeper Asmir Begović moving to Stoke for £4 million. Manchester City also shipped Robinho back to Brazil on loan and Arsenal snapped up out of contract former defender Sol Campbell on a free transfer.
The factors which dictate to what extent the transfer merry go round springs into action in January are very much circumstantial. If a team has changed manager, or has new owners, then money will often be made available. If a team is performing well below expectations they will often invest to save their season and if a team is struggling financially than players will be unceremoniously moved on.
Liverpool football club might have changed hands but the new owners have gone on record as saying that they want to save their transfer funds for the summer. Doubtless manager Roy Hodgson will look to bring in a player or two but he probably won't be given a substantial budget in order to do so.
Avram Grant might well find himself out of a job by January but whether there are any funds available with which a successor can attempt to regalvanize the side remains to be seen.
While few of the circumstances for a busy January are in place I suspect that the next transfer window will be one of the most intruiging yet because five teams could still conceivably win the title.
Chelsea have their noses in front at present but for the first time their squad is starting to look a little thin, particularly in defence. Manchester United are still in the hunt but have not been playing well this season and Ferguson is being forced to accommodate a number of underperforming players.
It is an accepted wisdom that Arsenal are only two good defensive players away from winning the title. Wenger has stubbornly resisted the urge to sign an outstanding goalkeeper or world class centre half but if the title is still within his reach in January he might break the habit of a lifetime and but a couple of experienced players.
Manchester City need to reduce their spending but the prospect of actually winning the Premiership will probably have the owners reaching for the cheque book once more. Meanwhile, with at least another round of Champion's League football to look forward to, Tottenham will probably make more funds available to their manager in January.
The mid table teams will all be hovering around the superstars currently languishing in Manchester City's reserves and a number of peripheral players will almost certainly agitate for a move away from Eastlands.
With the Financial Fair Play regulations imminent clubs are supposed to be reigning in their spending but old habits are hard to break. The January transfer window could go a long way towards deciding the destination of the title in the most open Premier League race in recent memory.
© James Goyder & Soccerphile.com
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