Thought all the transfer wheeling and dealing had ended? Think again... the Emergency Loan Window has opened!
It isn’t going to attract anywhere near as much analysis or as many column inches but, just a week after the main transfer window slammed shut, there’s another window being propped open to let some revitalising air into the squads of the Football League.
Today sees the start of the 'Emergency Loan Window' - a period of time where players can be begged and borrowed, and the 72 squads of the League and many more beneath, can be fine-tuned - but what on earth does it all mean?
Sportsmail talks you through it all...
Another window you say? Haven’t we had enough of this transfer jiggery-pokery?
Oh no, not by a long chalk. The 'Emergency Loan Window' which swings open today has for many managers in the Football League become every bit as important as the 31-day period for permanent transfers that ended amid much frantic negotiation a week ago.
While they can’t exchange any money to secure a permanent transfer, they can improve their squads with as many emergency loan moves as they like. Ostensibly, they are to cover injuries or suspensions - hence the use of the word 'emergency' - but they are increasingly used strategically by cash-strapped clubs to try and turn their seasons around.
With more and more Football League clubs struggling financially, the loan window is likely to be another important few weeks this season.
Who can take advantage of this borrowing bonanza?
Not the Premier League clubs - their squads have been written down on paper and placed in a sealed envelope until the summer (figuratively) - but the 72 clubs of the Championship, League One and League Two can take advantage. Non-League sides can as well.
The 20 clubs of the Premier League can loan players out to the Football League sides though, which could prove mutually beneficial. The top flight side’s players gain valuable on-field experience, while the Football League teams could get an undiscovered gem to help them gain promotion or avoid relegation.
You can’t loan in players from overseas either during this window.
When can players be signed on loan?
During the designated transfer windows in the summer and January, obviously, but also during the two annual 'Emergency Loan Windows'. The first starts a week after deadline day on August 31 and lasts until the fourth Thursday in November. The other one starts today and runs until the fourth Thursday in March, which this year is the 28th.
How long can these loans be for?
They can range from 28 days to 93 days. The upper end of the scale is over three months, so it is likely the player will be with their new club until the end of the season. The two clubs may also decide to introduce a break clause, in accordance with section 53.3.8 of the Football League regulations, which means the player can be recalled any time after the 28 day mark.
In extenuating circumstances, the League can agree to extend the loan beyond 93 days but, normally, you can’t keep the same player for more than this period of time (i.e. a club can’t keep signing him on loan over and over again).
Help! Help! All my goalkeepers are out injured!
In the worse case scenario of a club having no recognised goalkeepers as a result of injuries or suspensions, they can apply, with the appropriate medical certification, to the League for a short-term Emergency Loan. This enables them to sign a goalkeeper for a period of seven days to cover the shortfall. It can be extended if the crisis continues.
What are the advantages?
For the top clubs, it is a valuable opportunity to send player who would normally be on the bench or stuck in the reserves out on loan to gain that all-important first team experience. Many top players, including David Beckham at Preston and John Terry at Nottingham Forest, benefited from short spells at lower league clubs.
They are normally up-and-coming talents who are attractive propositions to the lower league club and their supporters, who could be seeing a star of the future. They can also maintain their fitness levels and build confidence.
For the Football League clubs, the loan signings could potentially change their season for the better - who knows if that young loan player will score the goals that win a play-off berth, or even save the club from relegation. In these austere times, it’s also part of sound financial planning for the club, since wages are typically covered by the loaner club.
For many clubs lower down the football food chain, loan signings are not only useful, but essential, to maintaining a full squad and staying afloat financially.
Have there been many success stories?
Yes, many. For example, Blackpool brought in DJ Campbell on loan from Leicester City in 2010 as they chased promotion into the Premier League. He scored 11 goals in 18 appearances and help them to promotion via the play-offs, securing a permanent move that summer.
A year later, Swansea made it into the top division after taking Fabio Borini on loan from Chelsea, while Newcastle were able to bounce back from the Championship in just one season partly because of emergency loanees Marlon Harewood and Mike Williamson.
Are there any drawbacks?
Of course. Those clubs with a revolving-door policy can never achieve a settled and cohesive squad. As soon as the team starts gelling and playing well together, a loan will expire and it’ll be back to the drawing board. The fleeting nature of these loans mean the fans can never build the same kind of bond as with a permanent signing.
There’s also a big danger that clubs become too dependent on them - especially those struggling to make ends meet - and there is a chance all this could be coming to a close (more on that in a minute).
So what can we expect this year?
Well, a number of managers, even in the Championship, who were not active in the January marketplace, have already gone on record to say they will be strengthening in the loan window. Derby manager Nigel Clough said last week he has his eye on 'two or three' names and will give them the full 93 days to prove whether they’re worthy of a permanent move.
At Hull City, Steve Bruce has been promised he can bring in some loanees - including the very same DJ Campbell mentioned earlier, having missed out on him last month. But Bruce may have some competition from Michael Appleton at Blackburn, who is also interested in getting West Bromwich winger Jerome Thomas in for a little while.
And West Brom's Peter Odemwingie, who memorably drove down to QPR on deadline day in the belief he would be moving there, could end up in London anyway, as Crystal Palace are keen to take him there on loan to help their promotion chances.
Sounds hectic then...
No doubt about it. The poor admin staff at Football League HQ who thought they were in for an easy ride until the end of the season will be disappointed to learn that the fax machine will still be beeping with loan registration documents coming through. There could be as many as 20 loan moves a day for the next six weeks. After all, in the six years between 2005 and 2011, 2,400 players have moved under the system.
What does the future hold?
If the bigwigs in the Ivory Towers of FIFA get their way, this could be the last 'Emergency Loan Window'. They ruled recently that emergency loans ruin their neat and tidy bi-annual transfer window system and so they should be scrapped. The world governing body has started a long consultation to see whether to keep it or not.
This would dramatically change the shape of the Football League landscape. Quite frankly, many clubs that depend heavily on loans would either have to battle on with shrunken squads after January or be crippled financially by the necessity to sign new players and pay their wages.
When the news came out, Carlisle manager Greg Abbott, who has developed strong ties with Manchester United, Manchester City and Sunderland for the purpose of loan acquisitions, went as far as to say the club would be 'crucified financially.'On the flip side, an end to loan moves would allow greater opportunities to youth and academy players on the books of the League sides, make things more neat and tidy administration-wise, and create a level playing field for everyone.
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Last edited by Sluffy on Mon Mar 11 2013, 18:10; edited 2 times in total
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