The time has come to scrap the transfer window. What was introduced as an attempt to bring standardisation and clarity for clubs throughout the football pyramid has degenerated into a month-long showcase of bad planning and chaotic business that now only serves the social media rumour mill and drives managers, players and fans to distraction.
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Yes, it can be entertaining, but largely for the wrong reasons: fans celebrating a rival club's failure to get a deal done before the deadline, or a player travelling to his proposed new team only to find that paperwork issues prevent the transfer getting done and forcing a return to a team they wanted to leave.