The beginner's guide to the transfer window

[Annihilate Now!]

Transfer warchest: I have no idea why they call it this. Because of the way transfer fees, wages, signing on fees and agents' fees will be taken from the same pot, it'll never be as simple as just plucking a figure of out of your arse and saying "That's what you have to spend this summer. Not a penny more or less". Like some sort of deranged version of The Price is Right.

I've always wondered what sort of budget equates to a warchest. I always think something over 50m = Warchest, but that number might have increased with the fees nowadays to somewhere in the region of 75m.

Anything below 50m and i'd say the "chairman has backed the manager and is prepared to spend..."

 

[Siorac]

I've always wondered what sort of budget equates to a warchest. I always think something over 50m = Warchest, but that number might have increased with the fees nowadays to somewhere in the region of 75m.

Anything below 50m and i'd say the "chairman has backed the manager and is prepared to spend..."

I like the idea of a war handbag for that.

 

[Skywarden]

The prophets: A selected group of people who know the outcome of any transfer dealing, or so they claim. They will, regardless of information, tell you that "This will not happen, how does this thread has so many pages?!" or simply "I can't see this transfer happen". These are definitive statements, the hammer and the law, which means that any interest you had in the transfer should be directed elsewhere.

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

The 100+ pager for a player in the transfer forum on the Red Cafe - The higher the pages typically correlates to the smaller the chance of actually signing a player! If it gets to 500 pages it simply will never happen... ever!

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

Player denies deal - Player probably got agent to leak deal in aim of getting an enhanced deal and then denied to show loyalty (means more cash), whilst also potentially encouraging buying club (if there is one) to offer more!

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

Manchester United to sign player for £40m+ - Fabricated story crocked up to make us seem more financially powerful than we actually are. This will not happen.... FACT!

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

Manchester United in Protracted Negotiations - Near no chance of us signing the player, but incredibly high chance of someone else offering a very small amount more than us to ensure they do sign the player! By small, we will literally lose out on world class talent for £1-2m!

We will almost always regret this when the player turns out to be just as good as we thought. However we will not learn from it, except when buying average players, where suddenly we feel to pay often twice their actual worth!

 

[Kinky Melinky]

So I guess we were closing in on Juan Mata

 

[JustAFan]

Other things to be aware of.

A player making a comment about being flattered by a clubs interest is not a "come get me plea" no matter how big the headline is. Players say this all the time and then sign for some other club.

Read the actual articles and quotes (if there are any) not just the headline. In fact forget the headline, just read the article and deduce your own meaning from what is there, it is usually far less than the headline is claiming.

 

[rcoobc]

You don't slam windows shut, you close windows. Only doors can be slammed shut.

If they want to continue to use that term, they need to call it the transfer door in future.

For feck sake

 

[rcoobc]

My mate keeps telling me he's ITK. Yesterday morning he told me about Mata. Then yesterday evening he said "yes, see I told you before anyone else knew this morning".

Pls stp

 

[Moonwalker]

Transfer warchest: I have no idea why they call it this. Because of the way transfer fees, wages, signing on fees and agents' fees will be taken from the same pot, it'll never be as simple as just plucking a figure of out of your arse and saying "That's what you have to spend this summer.

While I agree wholeheartedly on all the other elements of your guide(which is great, though perhaps too terse), I don't understand why you and many others think this bolded part is true. This is exactly how we operated under the PLC, according to what Fergie wrote in Managing my Life. Though it's entirely possible that the Glazers have turned a new leaf and this is now scrapped, I'm not sure why you'd think it's a given with such conviction, unless you're privy to some secret the rest of us are unaware of.