Scrap the player transfer window and bring in a manager window - John Gregory proposes

While the Reds boss admitted he wasn’t a fan of the wheeling and dealing and last-minute deals that inevitably come on a hectic deadline day (as was evident at Crawley Town last Friday), he believes some sort of transfer window for managers would bring about greater stability in his profession.

“I wish there wasn’t a transfer window. I also wish there was a window for managers,” he said, envisaging a situation where clubs could only part with their managers during a short period. “I’d much prefer that, once you start the season with one manager you stick with them for the whole season, or until January.”

Arsene Wenger has been at Arsenal for 18 seasons but he is the only current manager who has been at one club for more than a decade. Paul Tisdale has been Exeter manager for eight seasons, and next in line is Mark Yates, five seasons at Cheltenham, then Russell Slade, four at Leyton Orient.

Last season a record 63 managers lost their jobs across the Football League and already that figure is set to be broken. Reds sacked Richie Barker in November, and he was one of seven managers to lose their jobs in just eight days as the patience of clubs seems to be getting shorter and shorter.

One crumb of comfort for managers, Gregory says, is they at least now get what they are owed when the axe does fall. “It’s not going to happen but it might make owners settle down a bit and bring a bit more stability,” he said. “Fortunately the LMA is very strong, and managers don’t get abused contractually in the manner the used to.

“Not so many years ago the League Managers Association wasn’t so strong as they are now, and there was many managers, particularly in the lower divisions that sat there for years waiting for their compensation, that in some cases never came, or you ended up getting 20 per cent of what you were owed. It was 20 per cent or nothing.

“Obviously these clubs that went into administration or liquidation, and you just lost your money. But fortunately the LMA is very strong today and managers do get compensated in the correct manner.”

What do you think? Should the player transfer window be scrapped, and would a manager transfer window work and help bring about greater stability?