Fun and games on transfer deadline day (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Fun and games on transfer deadline day

9:50am Saturday 4th February 2012 in Simon Parker Column By Simon Parker

It might have been the absence of Harry Redknapp hanging out of his car window at the training-ground gate.

Or maybe it was the lack of car-park gurning surrounding reporters trying to announce the latest snippet of a baby Bentley bombing by.

But something was not quite right about Redknapp, sorry I mean deadline, day this week.

Fans are used to the final countdown not living up to the hype. After a month of wall-to-wall feverish speculation, there is only so much “could, might, should, may” that you can stomach.

But the manic presentation on Sky Sports News remains gripping viewing, even if most of the time they are trying to make a very big something out of very little nothing.

Presenter Jim White, who has become a legend in his own transfer window, was bouncing around like a kid who had been force-fed Red Bull all night.

But even the regular shots of Big Ben inching towards the bewitching hour of 11pm seemed forced. It didn’t feel right.

I’ve realised what the problem was. They actually let football get in the way.

Instead of devoting the evening to transfer tittle-tattle and wild speculation, we had to endure proper matches with proper results. Football scheduled for the same night – will they never learn?

“It becomes a bit of a circus,” said Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, who left his best player on the bench at White Hart Lane because of the rumours that he might get sold to the opposition. Possibly during half-time.

“It’s a huge day of speculation but it should never be bigger than the celebration of the game, which is playing football.”

Try telling that to Jim White …