Would football benefit from the introduction of a managerial transfer window?
In this blog Adam Lovatt looks at the possibility of a managerial transfer window being introduced in English football and asks if it is realistic with reference to the current player transfer window.
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- Tags: Football | Football League | Managers | Player Transfers | Players Rights | Premier League | UEFA
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Chris Duffy
Interesting post. I am all for more job security and stability but don't think we should lose sight of the fact that, unlike with players, a team will only have one manager on their books at any one time. They therefore cannot 'bench' a manager if things are not going well so any absolute restriction on hiring a replacement could be massively prejudicial to the club overall - i.e. would Sunderland currently be in the Championship but for their actions last season? I wonder if it would be at all possible to find a happy medium? Possibly drawing on the precedents with regards goalkeepers and emergency loans etc.???
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Adam Lovatt
It would be interesting Chris to see how an emergency loan type situation would work. Personally I do not see that as feasible due to the difficulty in defining what an 'emergency' would be. I think in theory the idea of a restriction on when managers could move is a good one. In practice, the policing of of it would be almost impossible.
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Matthijs Lambregts
Chris what would be weird about a (second) coach on the bench? Clubs have reserve teams, U23 teams etc, and it is not uncommon that one of these coaches moves up in the event a first team coach is sacked.
There is one argument not mentioned in the article above and that is a sports argument, i.c. the importance of a fair competition during a season. For that reason most federations do not allow the registration of free players after a certain date in the season. A club whose players fail after such date have no other option than to wait for the next transfer window. When we assume that a coach is part of a team should the fair competition argument than not lead to the same rule (ban) that applies to players?
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