WHY I LOVE TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY BY ANDREW A.
And so it begins. Transfer Deadline Day (TDD) is the closest adults get to that Christmas Day feeling they used to experience when they were kids. Instead of Santa Claus in his red and white get up, we’ve got Jim White in his yellow tie ably assisted by glamorous side-kick Natalie Sawyer.
Big Jim White is the star of a day that is a deluge of hope, anticipation and, more often than not, crushed dreams. The familiar and reassuring Scottish brogue goes an octave higher with each passing hour until the orange-tinged oracle transforms into an electrified conduit of hyperbolic frenzy. His catchphrases are the stuff of legend… “This one will go down all the way to the wire”; “It’s on, it’s off, it’s on, it’s off and now it’s on again”; “The ship cannae take it captain, she’s breaking up!” (OK, maybe not the last one).
It’s not all about Jim White though. We also have all the set-pieces too. Harry Redknapp leaning out of his Range Rover having a television interview while simultaneously talking to his wife on the phone. Arsene Wenger doing his little smug smile while saying… “I’m off to Rome to see the Pope.” Then there’s Brendan Rodgers signing the new Luis Suarez who inevitably turns out to be the new Iago Aspas six months later.
Mysterious sources, the over-worked fax machines whirring into action and Peter Odemwingie driving around the country looking for a new club are all part and parcel of TDD. A day full of sub plots with more twists and turns than Santi Cazorla.
TDD is bonkers but that’s just the way I like it.
WHY I DON’T LIKE TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY BY DOUGLAS E.
Oh, it’s deadline time again? Oh, not for that work presentation? Deadline Day? Oh, sigh.
Now, before you get out the torches and pitchforks, let me explain myself, using the Christmas example of my esteemed colleague.
Like at Christmas, the days beforehand are an emotion-sapping, hair-pulling, teeth-grinding period as you fret over the purchases you deem necessary, and what you may get in return. Like at Christmas, you (or your club) end up spending way more money than you intended to, all in the name of ‘getting into the spirit’ of it, or trying to convince the world that you aren’t cheap.
Like at Christmas, you wake up the next day with a sore head, wondering where all the money went and what on earth went on the day before. Think how Carlo Ancelotti felt on ‘Transfer Deadline Boxing Day’, when he woke up with Fernando Torres and a bill for £50 million. Puts those six Jager bombs into perspective, ey?
And, like at Christmas, the whole event has ended up consuming itself. A frenzy of hype, hyper characters and hyperbole means that we build ourselves up for these extraordinary days, only to be left feeling a little underwhelmed by the end. The same things happen year after year e.g. Nanny falls asleep on the sofa/Harry Redknapp buys Nico Krancjar.
Of course, there are exceptions. There have been some stunning years, when way more money has been splashed than you thought possible – that Thunderbirds cave for example. However, these experiences serve only to raise our expectations. In reality, Transfer Deadline Day, like Christmas, leaves us all feeling a bit jaded.
And yet, I will be up all night waiting for Santa Claus (Jim White) to deliver me some excellent presents and exciting additions.
Transfer Deadline Day, you often disappoint me, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win me over. When it comes to this most special of football days, I am a bit of a Scrooge but, like with old Eboneezer, there is time for me to change my mind.
