In his latest blog for the PFA, Management Committee member Zesh Rehman discusses the decisions and dilemmas players face when weighing up transfer options ...
The last few weeks saw many moves in the transfer window, some high profile Players like, Demba Ba, David Beckham, Joe Cole and of course the controversial Balotelli. It was not a surprise to see a lot of activity at my former club QPR - I hope the club can stay in the top flight and with Harry Redknapp at the helm the club has a better chance of beating the drop. There were also several loan deals in which young lads will get the opportunity to showcase themselves in competitive games, a few unattached players now found a new home and also a few players who have been released to search for new clubs. It's a merry go round which can be a good springboard for some players or on the flip side, an emotional roller coaster full of uncertainties which can leave players with the daunting prospect of not knowing where their immediate futures lie.
I was 18 when I had my first taste of competitive action in the Football League on loan at Brighton from Fulham. At the time, Brighton were in the old Second Division, which is now of course League One, under the guidance of the astute Steve Coppell and his assistant Bob Booker. Coppell was a terrific man manager who understood players, had an aura about him and led the seagulls to promotion that 2003/2004 season. My debut was one to remember as I scored in a comfortable win against Rushden & Diamonds and then celebrated with Fish and Chips sat at the Brighton Pier with my family. The next day was back to reality as I was scratching my thumbs sat in the laundry preparing my training kit – players need to have these experiences if they are to really appreciate what they have in the game.
Young players at Academies are to some degree very pampered so when I went down to the south coast for a few months the experience of washing my own kit, training on a less than perfect field, fighting for second balls in midfield against Stockport County on a freezing Tuesday night at the Withdean Stadium, and having to compete in a very physical league did my development wonders. My Premier League debut for Fulham followed soon after that introduction to the 'real' world. A young player on loan from my first club at the moment, Marcello Trotta is playing at Brentford in League 1 getting exposure to competitive football every week and also recently enjoyed scoring against Chelsea. He will go back to Fulham a man because at that level players are busting a gut for the win bonus because it contributes to paying the mortgage - you don't get taught these things in academies or reserve team football where the emphasis is more on development and rightly so.
Through my career to date, there have also been a couple of loan moves which have not worked. A bad loan move or a move at the wrong time can be a disaster for a player. In 2005 I went on loan to Norwich while they were in the Championship, having been relegated the previous season from the Premier League. The manager at the time, Nigel Worthington, was under severe pressure from the Canaries fans and I joined a club where the confidence and morale was low and after 5 games I did not play again and spent 3 miserable months in East Anglia pondering my decision to go there.
Players need to weigh up everything before they go on loan or make a permanent move. I knew of several good young players at Premiership clubs who refused the opportunity of going on loan in the lower leagues so they could hang on to the kudos of being associated with a top flight team. Many of those lads a few years later found themselves in their mid 20’s with only a handful of cup games under their belts searching for a club at any level. Younger Players need the right advisers and people around them who have their best interests at heart - especially at the crucial decision making time of making a permanent or loan move.
Players often talk about gut feelings and sometimes it pays off and sometimes not but usually the moves that work everything seems to fall into place at exactly the right time. I suppose an element of luck is also needed and I have certainly penned some moves based on the 'gut feeling'. The transfer window also presents many cases where players want to move and the clubs feel they are being bullied and stand their ground. In the case of Peter Odemwinge at West Brom, I agree with the chairman’s stance because players need to respect the contract they have in these challenging economic times. However, it’s never good to have a player at the club who has not hidden his intentions to leave as it will no doubt affect the group dynamics. The bottom line is football is a business and the contract is there to protect both parties so both must remain professional and honour it if a mutual agreement can not be reached.
It was interesting to see Newcastle sign five French speaking players in the window. The toon players and fans have certainly welcomed them all and they will have fun with the language barrier. Alan Pardew mentioned recently one of his players buying a French CD to communicate better with the new arrivals which is brilliant. This a classic situation for the need of my Football Talk Application which is now free of charge on the apple store. ‘Football Talk’ helps those new players to settle, the existing players, management and fans engage with the new lads better to create an enhanced atmosphere all around the club.
There were also a few moves that may have gone largely unnoticed, firstly former Middlesborough and Hull City Captain George Boateng moved to T-Team in The Malaysian Super League. George contacted me to see if anyone in Asia would be interested in him and despite being 37 he is a fantastic pro with an amazing attitude to the game who will now pro-long his career in South East Asia.
As I touched on in my first blog, Asia has a window of opportunities for players at all ends of the spectrum. A player who I played with at QPR, Pat Kanyuka slipped down to the non league football circuit but decided on a change of direction and is now playing in the 2nd division of Thailand. There are several other PFA members who I’m in contact with and are now on the radar of clubs in Asia and hopefully in the next window there will even more success stories.
This blog can not be complete without a mention for old Club Bradford City who went on an amazing run of games to reach the Capital One Cup Final. It is certainly a fairytale story that shows anything is possible in football with the right attitude and belief. Whatever happens in the final the cup run has been a huge success not only for the manager Phil Parkinson and his squad but for the whole community of Bradford and in deed West Yorkshire.
Having spent two years as Club Captain of the Bantams I know how impactful that cup run is for the engagement of the vast cultural backgrounds in the surrounding areas and the club financially. It was pleasing to see many young Asian boys and girls support the team and mixing with the fans. The work of my Foundation started there in 2010 and hopefully that has contributed a little towards improving relations amongst all.
A massive congratulations is in order to the Chairmen Mark Lawn/Julian Rhodes and CEO Dave Baldwin who all work tirelessly everyday to get the club back to where it belongs. I'm sure it will be a great day out at Wembley for the loyal Bradford fans and I for one will be tuning in from here in Hong Kong.
On a personal note my team is second at the moment in the league with the business end of the season approaching, so all very much still to play for. In July I am relishing the prospect of playing against Manchester United here in The Hong Kong stadium which will be a 40,000 sell out as it was against Arsenal last year. Along with Man Utd, Sunderland, Spurs and Manchester City will also be in Hong Kong for pre season. It's great to see those clubs reaching out to their fans in East Asia because they are so widely followed. Who knows after they experience the atmosphere out here there could be some interesting moves come the next January transfer window!
Finally congratulations to fellow PFA Management Committee member Darren Moore on his appointment at Blackburn Rovers as first team coach, I'm sure he will go and become a top manager in future.
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