Loan Market
This is the key for me; the loan market does need looking at in my humble opinion. I know we haven’t done badly out of the loan market before, but if the Premier League continue to hoard players and charge for that talent, then we’re going to have a situation like that of Lewis Baker who has got to his mid-twenties and still not reached his early potential. I know that Premier League clubs don’t want to raise talent and then give it away for free and in the case of senior players I don’t think they should have to, but what of an untried, untested youngster. Look at Conor Coventry; who has done who the biggest favour there? Conor needs regular football, West Ham need him to develop and won’t play him in their first team; are we the only ones who benefitted from that? I’m not so sure we were.
Gary Neville suggested a draft system in which the top clubs give players away for a season for free. Any season-long loan should be locked in if a player hits a number of appearances; I’m not moaning about Tyler Walker again here, but a deal is a deal and there should be no clauses, no exemptions, nothing. If we borrow a player for a season, he should be here for a season if he hits (let’s say) 60% appearance rate in the league. However, a draft system might be hard to implement, even though it sounds great in theory. Category A academies put forward two or three players they want to get senior football and then each club who is interested goes in for an American-style draft. It sounds awful in principle, but in practice, it might work and prevent some clubs charging huge loan fees for players. For the record, I do not know if we have paid big fees or not, that’s not my suggestion here.
Clubs do need to retain an identity though and I believe that four loan players (maximum) on the field at any one time for a club is imperative. We lost our soul in 2010/11 to a stream of endless fresh faces and a maximum per season must also be firmly imposed.
Transfer Window
My only comments here pick up on Thommo’s thoughts are having just the summer window. I can’t see that being workable, whilst I understand the sentiment. His reasoning is that a manager should have to live and die by his decisions, not make changes as he sees fit if his judgement of one player was wrong. However, transfer money is a big boost for clubs and in our division, it can change a season. So can football fortune and whilst Tranmere are looking at being relegated now, had the season played out I firmly believe they would have stayed up. Why? One big cup tie and increased spending ability. That is part and parcel of the game; it helped get our tired National League winning squad over the line as well.
What I don’t agree with is football taking place during such situations. Again, look back to 2016/17 with Theo Robinson leaving and the Solihull game. It was a farce, as this year was for Oxford who lost two players within hours of kicking off a game. Clubs make big mistakes and overspend when they’re under pressure and somehow the final day window should be managed. I wonder if the staggering loan and permanent market might be a better idea, but with restrictions on ‘loan to buy’ workarounds? If we were to have a winter break (I’m thinking Jan 2nd for a couple of weeks), we could have the hiatus there. We get our Christmas football, ten days for permanent deals from January 2nd and then a further three or four days for League One and Two clubs only to make a further one or two loan deals if they’ve missed out on targets. Also, let’s end the day at 5pm, as I get sick of sitting up until 11 waiting for news to report on one of the sites and nothing happening. I could be spending that time far, far better.
The same applies in the summer; I think there should be a clear week between the end of the window and the start of the season. It does nobody any good preparing for a game and still wheeling and dealing as well. Let’s make it much clearer, for managers and fans, so when football is on players know they’re going nowhere.
“From our current position we are excellently placed to benefit from the loan system,” notes Clive. “Michael is an extremely well-regarded coach who top teams want their players to be coached by. Michael also has some great connections with the top teams. Jez has also been building relationships with the top sides and has been making presentations to reinforce what Lincoln City can offer.
“It would be nice to know if you take a player on loan at the beginning of the season that he will stay for the full period but if you stipulate that then there might be fewer players available for loan especially with regard to the better ones.”
The EFL Trophy
Controversial opinion maybe, but I am not against the EFL Trophy in principle, not one bit. I have put forward suggestions before about splitting the U23 and senior sides in leagues but still having them playing each other. Here is the thing; Premier League clubs want something back if they’re going to keep propping up our game. We need them to keep propping up our game, whatever the method by which they do it. For me, the EFL Trophy is the trade-off. It’s like swapping Panini stickers and having to give four or five away for the one shiny you want; it’s not a trade you want to do, but forget what you’re giving away and take what you’re getting.
It does need reform, and if it were to continue I think the League Cup might be at risk, but who really bothers about the League Cup now? There’s no money in it, little prestige and it’s nothing more than a reserve tournament for clubs. The EFL trophy might be the same, but the Premier League big guns get to play some of those kids they hoard, whilst we have to suck down a handful of ‘meaningless’ matches. They’re a great chance for some of the fringe players to get a run out though and frankly, I don’t mind them. If the B team argument is firmly off the table, then why not indulge the bigger clubs in this way and take whatever money it generates? People say it is football selling its soul, but they said that when Admiral put their name on the England shirt, when stadium sponsorship came in and when Sky destroyed our four-tier system for good. When compared to what happened in 1992, I think seeing the Imps’ fringe players get 90 minutes against a load of kids on a cold October night is an easy pill to swallow. Besides, we won it once and as long as it is always a viable route to Wembley for two lower-league teams, then it is alright by me. I’d rather go to the final in that and face Port Vale or Gillingham than I would beat Derby reserves in the league cup then get thumped 6-1 by Aston Villa’s second strong boasting five £10m+ misfits they regretted signing in the summer.
If you want to read my loose outline for the EFL Trophy from last year, you’ll find it here. If, as I suggested above, a two-week break were implemented (making it easier on all our wallets in January) then this might be even more pertinent.
Conclusion
Football is very much at a crossroads and unlike much of life, which is clearly going to revert to normal when this crisis ends, football cannot. The retained lists of clubs is proving uncertainty is causing clubs to cut their cloth differently and make tough decisions based around financial survival. What new regulations must ensure, should they come in, is that the market cannot be affected by unfair elements which drive up wages and push clubs closer and closer to the edge as they try to keep up with their peers.
Really interesting article. Common sense and thought provoking.
Clive’s comments are astute. Clubs need to agree to make changes and all of these suggestions will have strong supporting clubs and vice versa.
Cannot see meaningful change apart from minor adjustments In regulations.
However, many clubs will enforce their own changes because of finances – very small squads, much lower wages, more loan players, fewer transfers therefore effectively reducing the windows, maybe increased attendance costs.
Some very interesting thoughts there Gary. Two things you didn’t mention which I think are pertinent to the financial survival of lower league clubs.
Control over agents. Stricter control over Premier League clubs, manage squad limits, no of foreign players. If nothing changes in premier league, it is going to be very difficult to make the necessary changes in the EFL.
Thought provoking article although I don’t agree with much of it. It is taking a backward step. For a start the salary cap. It would have to be throughtout the leagues up to the premiership as clubs are too transient. Portsmouth were still getting parachute payments in league 2 because they fell so quickly. They would have to adjust caps quickly. Sunderland would have had to pay off players to leave their books as couldn’t pay them but you can’t just kick them out for free. It also puts the English leagues at a disadvantage to other leagues. Alan Power going to Scotland could have been earlier if they could pay him a lot more than we could afford. When things like this are done in isolation they cause competitive problems.
I don’t have any issue with a wealthy backer bankrolling a team. FGR have just as much of a right to be in League 1 as someone like Sunderland. The owner has worked to make them sustainable. I have an issue with ones like Max Griggs or George Reynolds who come through and push a club up and leave them high and dry. But then we could level the same at someone like Gaydamark at Pompey who did the opposite and stripped them taking them down, or even Marcus Evans who is fabulously wealthy but spends none of it so Ipswich are coming down. Dale Vince is not the problem, he is a wealthy man who has worked hard to make FGR sustainable. It is bad owners who are the problem. It doesn’t help that Vince chooses to not eat meat and therefore makes his club vegan.
Squad limits is interesting but don’t see the point if you have the other restrictions in. But assuming this is to bring through youth, I think it will lead to poorer football. Mark Hone was on the radio a couple of weeks back saying there are too many academy players these days as many will not make it. If we are just pushing them through into the team to fill gaps then what is the point if they will never really be good enough? will the magically become better through more games? Someone like Shane Clarke or Martin Pembleton, Leon Mettam etc just weren’t good enough. And now you have a poorer side because you have a few injuries and only have young lads to put in. In a relgation dog fight and you have had a series of injuries and have to play two 18 year old centre backs in a high pressure game against the side below could ruin them forever. Danny Hone made some good points on how it is so hard for defenders but any young player to come though and take the abuse. They need to be allowed to earn their spot I feel.