The hysteria around 'winning' the transfer window is at a fever pitch - and needs to be turned down a notch

There's plenty to debate over whether certain football sides are good enough to win trophies. But winning the transfer window? Come on now.

Cristiano Ronaldo makes sensational return to Manchester United; Credit: Twitter@ManUtd
By Shayne Dias | Sep 2, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The 2021 football transfer window has been bonkers. That much cannot ever be doubted, simply due to the sheer insanity that has been served up to football fans. And this is during a time of the year when insanity is almost the norm. Still, if someone told you that Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos would all change clubs in the same summer, you’d doubtless ask them to turn off FIFA Career Mode. Yet, as things stand, that is indeed the reality of the situation. Some big names got their big moves, while many others didn’t. Yet, the general consensus is that the summer of 2021 will not soon be forgotten by football fans.

Of course, it wouldn’t be football without an element of competition. And the battles aren’t just waged on the field either.

Nowadays there is competition over things like sponsorship money, social media reach and even net spend. Net spend!

Most fans would not have even known that term in the old days, now it’s bandied around as an indication of a well-run club. Which is necessarily isn’t but hey ho, that’s besides the point. The point, of course, is never-ending one-upsmanship.

This, inevitably, leads to chatter about which clubs ‘won’ the transfer window. It might seem ludicrous but it’s true. There will now be endless debate over which clubs did well, which teams did badly and who could have maybe done better.

And while that is well and good, what makes no sense whatsoever is any talk about ‘winning’ a transfer window.

Transfer window success no guarantee of on-field success

Now before we analyse why this is the case, it is worth pointing out that transfers are an integral part of football as a whole. As such, how a club does in the transfer market can set the tone for a season.

Bring in the right reinforcements and a club can go from solid performers to a side with an outside chance of European football. Fail to strengthen where required, however, and even secure mid-table sides can be embroiled in relegation battles.

And, contrary to popular belief, any transfer work is easier said than done. Yet the idea of winning the transfer market is, of course, ludicrous at any level.

For one, lets start off with the obvious – there’s no trophies or points for ‘winning’ the transfer window. For the other, a good or bad transfer window is no guarantee of success.

A good recent example would be Chelsea in 2020. They were widely seen as having ‘won’ the transfer market due to their massive summer splurge. That they did so at a time when other clubs were more circumspect aided that perception.

Yet a string of bad results saw the club plummet in the league table and then-manager Frank Lampard eventually lost his job.

His successor Thomas Tuchel did eventually win the Champions League, yet the reality is that the Blues added names who would need time to become a cohesive unit.

An even more recent example would be Arsenal of 2021. The London side spent the most among all of the Premier League clubs yet are currently last in the league table.

Of course, ‘winning’ the window isn’t always down to parameters this simple.

No parameters for this ‘supposed’ success

For instance, many Manchester United fans believe they ‘won’ this window when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s an argument that has at least some merit.

Yet the fact is that United signed another offensive player when a midfielder was a key priority. Will having attackers like Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo hide the fact that they are still playing Fred as a defensive midfielder?

Similarly, many see Paris Saint-Germain as having ‘won’ the window due to them signing Messi, Ramos as well as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giorginio Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi – with four of those five being free signings.

Again, it’s an argument that holds some water. Yet given PSG pretty much walk the league anyway – last season being the exception – does this talent hoarding really make sense?

It’s debatable how much their Champions League chances are helped here too. PSG currently have three forwards in Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe whose defensive output is next to nil.

Can their combined creative impetus have an impact in bigger games against opposition who press relentlessly and defend like a team? It remains to be seen.

Another argument says that Chelsea won the transfer window because they strengthened in areas that matter. However, they are short in defence having sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham and having failed to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla.

To sum it up…

The old improv stand-up comedy show ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ started with hist Drew Carey spouting his patended catchphrase – “Welcome to the show where everything is made up and the points don’t matter!”

That phrase, ironically, sums up any transfer ‘winners’. The rules for who wins are made up. And the points? Of course they don’t matter!





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