The last day in January is pretty much life as normal to much of the world’s population, but to fans of the English Premier League, as well as some other higher profile leagues, it’s anything but. Simply put, it’s a crazy day of market trading between football teams covering every inch of continent Europe. The “window” closes at 11pm UK time, which is when somewhere a little bell sounds marking the end of trading until a new window opens at season’s end.
Twitter, Facebook and other media outlets were on fire yesterday night, as fans were eagerly refreshing every few minutes at the remote chance of catching wind that their favorite club have signed that special player to ignite the spark needed to redirect their whole season. For the truly desperate, even rumours are a welcomed sight.
Even up until to the final moments before the window closes, teams are hustling and bustling to get players in or out. Some teams are so desperate to improve their league position that they’re willing to overpay to get a difference maker or talent that they hope will help them avoid relegation or assist them in making the coveted Champions League spots, which these days is an absolute must for any “big” team.
The Premiership’s bottom side, Queens Park Rangers and their Manager Harry Redknapp, have shelled out a fortune acquiring the talents of Loic Remy, Chris Samba, Jermaine Jenas and Yuk Suk-Young to try to help them survive and avoid the dreaded and very costly relegation from the top-flight of English football. Redknapp is one of game’s biggest trade-maker, so this day is perfectly made for him as it puts him right in his element. Ole ‘arry loves the attention – doing the interviews with the media, buying and selling like he was on Camden Market. After signing Samba he said, ” Chris is just what we need. He’s a monster. Great in the air, quick, a leader, strong, fantastic in both boxes, hard as nails”. Harry will be praying Samba can help keep QPR in the Premiership after costing the club a vast fortune getting him from Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala for an undisclosed fee .
Deadline day always starts calm, but slowly during the day the excitement reaches a fever pitch (yes, pun intended). Whether you’re watching it on Sky Sports News or any other football media centers, you could cut the tension with a knife as teams gamble in the high stakes of the football transfer market. Fans love it, and the media loves it, because it’s just pure entertainment. Dissecting the false or ITK stuff from good info isn’t easy and can just down right piss you off, but it’s still entertainment. Take Twitter for example; there are made-up accounts tweeting rubbish stories basically pulled from their backside to get followers. This is sad, but very true at the same time. Players moving here or moving there while chances of either coming to fruition are a shade above absolute zero. But people jump on the bandwagon, dreaming that some way, somehow, the rumours are true. It’s a crazy part of football, but few would give that up for anything.
Deadline day really is the equivalent of football roulette, so spin that wheel baby, and hope you get lucky.
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Main Photo Credit: Рыбакова Елена, Wiki Commons, CC,
