Summer madness

Today, the 31st August, is when the summer transfer window slams shut. It always slams shut. And, so the BBC tells us, 2016 is the first year that the 20 Premier League clubs have spent £1 billion between them. And then the BBC says this like its a good thing. A billion pounds. in two months. Jeez.

And, we know, from past history that most of that money will be pissed against the wall, with almost every club and the players they buy will be a colossal waste of money. Players who may or may not be international class, but for the most part they will stay for a year or three and then move on, and the clubs will lose their money. But TV brings in £5 billion a year, so who cares?

Maybe the hundreds of young players who dream of playing in the first team know that with each of these multi-million pound players signed pushed them even further down the pecking order, having to go out on endless loans to clubs in lower divisions, or other Premier League clubs or even clubs around Europe. They will never get near to playing for the club that actually "owns" them. Take Patrick Bamford, now in his fourth season with Chelsea, and yet to play for them, and now heading out on another season long loan, whilst his parent club signs more players today.

It is madness. And fans and the media just cheer the madness on, like this is part of the game. My club spent £85 million! well mine spent £120 million! Like some kind of sporting who has the biggest dick competition, as if winning games isnt enough now, its about how big your reach is, how much money you can afford to spunk on some 3rd choice left back from the Bundesliga. All the while hundreds of young players have their careers stagnate and fall out of the game. Thing is, fans don't care if the club captain was born in sight of the ground or on the other side of the world, as long as the team wins.

The Premier League clubs have been complaining that there are no chances for their young players to play competitive games, so the Johnstone Paint Trophy was thrown open to 16 development teams, to play games with teams from the lower two divisions. Only the clubs complaining the loudest have declined to take part, and it has been a still-born competition with fans, with many of last night's games having less than a thousand supports, some having less than 500.

Chelsea currently have 34 players on loan and a 26 first team squad, and two more players coming in today. On top of that they have 18 players in their development squad, some quick maths make that 78 players; they can only play 11 at a time, and a squad of just 18. And yet they buy more players to go straight into the first team squad. And this is just one team, the easy one to point fingers at, but other clubs are just as bad.

And then I pretend to myself its all about the game.