JOHN CROSS COLUMN: The Saudi Pro League transfer window, closed on Thursday of this week - almost a week after the Premier League - but don’t expect any radical changes
Liverpool have managed to fend off interest in Mo Salah from Saudi Arabian clubs
The transfer window has been a torturous process for several big clubs.
Not least because the Premier League window shut before the likes of Saudi Arabia, Portugal and Turkey, putting English teams at a massive disadvantage. Liverpool have been sweating on keeping Mo Salah from the clutches of the Saudi Pro League while knowing that if they did lose him this week they would not be able to buy a replacement.
Prem clubs have lobbied to have one uniform global window and they say FIFA have looked into having standard deadlines for the winter and summer. But do not expect this to change any time soon - despite Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp being one of the most outspoken voices on the issue.
Klopp said he was “not comfortable” and it was “not cool” that the Saudi window remained open after the Premier League. That has allowed Salah to become one of the transfer sagas of the window because of the fear he could move even after the Prem window shut.
Bizarrely, even clubs thought that it shut on September 20 only for the Saudi Pro League to put round an advisory this week to clarify it was September 7. But the issue is the football calendar and the differing start dates of seasons, differing climates and there is no sign of compromise any time soon. Mind you, that would be a benefit of FIFA chief Arsene Wenger’s vision for a global calendar.
However, one thing is for sure, the Saudis will be back for Salah next summer and they are confident they will get their man. Liverpool resisted huge sums this time knowing that Salah could still be the difference between them getting into next season’s Champions League and it is still hard to put a value on that.
Pushing the boundaries
It was interesting to see Roberto De Zerbi interviewed at half time of Brighton’s clash with Newcastle last Saturday.
Sky’s excellent touchline reporter Patrick Davison was able to put a couple of questions to the Brighton boss and, while his answers were hardly revelatory, it does give viewers a fascinating and different peak behind the curtain.
Sky have also been able to show dressing rooms before and after games and the next experiment could be to interview players when they are substituted. Some clubs are more receptive than others but the broadcasters are pushing for more behind-the-scenes access in the next TV deal.
Mirror Sport revealed last season that broadcasters want more for their buck but there is still opposition from some managers - rather than the clubs who are generally happy to oblige in exchange for extra millions - about access.
The Brighton boss was grabbed at half time of their win over Newcastle (
Image:
Sky Sports)
Billericay baffled
Non-league Dulwich Hamlet are currently in the seventh tier of the English game - but have still had to postpone their game this weekend because of international call-ups.
They will be without Montserrat duo Craig Braham-Barnett and Adrian Clifton plus Guyana’s Miquel Scarlett and that prompted their game with Billericay Town to be called off. It has caused some disbelief at Billericay - perhaps highlighted by an exclamation mark on their website - and annoyance because the lack of Premier League and Championship games might have swelled non-league gates this weekend.
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Sky is offering six months free Sky Sports for anyone who buys a Sky Glass TV.
It includes eight sports channels, a Netflix subscription and of course the shiny Sky Glass TV set (a smart TV fitted with the Sky Stream box).
It’ll cost £14 a month for the first three months and then rises to £40 a month on an 18-month contract.
Changing the game
A new start-up in Leeds has launched an app called Sentr which is aimed at allowing players at grassroots level to play fantasy football based on their own performances.
They are launching the new “Cold Wet Tuesday Night In….” campaign to promote the app which may just help a few more grassroots clubs survive as the players will have another incentive to carry on playing. Incredibly, 2,600 clubs folded last year as a result of Covid and the rising cost of living and the app’s CEO Tom Furber says there are a further 6,000 clubs at risk this season.
Furber said: “Around 5,000 footballers used Sentr last season and we’re expecting thousands more when the new season kicks off next month. Most importantly, 89% of our users reported improvement across commitment, team spirit, motivation and having more fun.”
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