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Transfer Window, the Best League in the World and the Start of Something Good at Charlton – Ta

  • Sam Greasley-Machin
  • Jan 14, 2020
  • 4 min read

Various footballs, credit; Pixabay

The whirlwind roller coaster ride that is the January transfer window is well and truly upon us with plenty of activity having already occurred throughout the EFL. The Premier League might be regarded as the best league in the world with the sheer numbers, but is it even the most entertaining league in the UK? One Championship club is now under new ownership, while one clubs owners in the league below begin to really struggle. While League Two has the seen the country’s top goal scorer controversially recalled from his loan. All of this to come in the first 2020 of the Talk the Football League…

Preston North End have signed Celtic winger Scott Sinclair.

January Transfer Window It’s the time of year where Twitter sprouts out more rubbish than ever, the transfer window. A time where each and every club is linked with enough players to fill up their stadiums and while most rumours prove to be nothing more than outsider speculation there are actually some successful deals (although never too many high profile signings in January). Ivan Cavaleiro’s £15m permanent switch to Fulham is the eye catching deal so far in a window that has mainly been supplemented with Premier League loans in the first fortnight. Middlesbrough’s Citizen duo of Patrick Roberts and Lukas Nmecha on-loan seems to be a good move as they begin to rectify their awful start. Andre Green to Charlton and Rhian Brewster to Swansea both on-loan, from Aston Villa and Liverpool respectively, are the other highlight loan deals. While Scott Sinclair is the headline  permanent switch so far, swapping North of the border at Celtic for play-off chasing PNE. The Start of Something Good at Charlton After years of up-roar and protest Charlton Athletic fans can now finally rejoice in the fact they are under new ownership. In a long overdue deal the Addicks are now under the guidance of East Street Investments taking over from Belgium businessman Roland Duchatelet last week.  Immediately as a statement of intent the consortium offered manager Lee Bowyer a new five-year deal and it looks like the good times can finally return to the Valley, with the foundations now there to start the rebuild and return to where they once were.

“I accept the buck stops with me. They should have been paid on time and they were not” – Ron Martin (Southend chairman)


Southend’s Struggle at the Bottom Seven senior players at League One side Southend remained unpaid until chairman Ron Martin met the £140,000 shortfall out of his own pocket. The failure to pay their wages shouldn’t have happened as Martin told BBC Essex, “They should have been paid on time, they weren’t”, but ultimately the players are part of the reason the Shrimpers are struggling financially.  Southend are second from bottom in League One, with the drop to League Two inevitable now, it has caused a huge loss of revenue. While there are contracts to pay and honour, perhaps the players should honour their side better and actually put in some commendable performances for which they are paid for. Ten points from 25 games is a disgrace and the fact Sol Campbell’s side are set to be overtaken by a Bolton side who started the season on -11 points is embarrassing. Perhaps one of the worst teams to grace the division in years. Eoin Doyle Recalled from Stellar Loan Affectionately named the ginger Pele in Wiltshire, star striker Eoin Doyle found the back of the net 23 times in 22 games during the first half of the season. The 31-year-old’s exploits saw Swindon climb to top of League Two, but there was a problem… He wasn’t theirs. Doyle was on-loan from Bradford City, who sat four places below the Robins at the time they recalled the high-flyer. Despite calls from the Irishman that he preferred to remain at the County Ground, the inevitable happened and he was recalled. Bradford naturally done what any club would, but in reality Doyle doesn’t suit their industrious style having scored 11 goals in 46 appearances prior to his loan move away and therefore it seems this is just a move to try and weaken a promotion rival. But that doesn’t seem to have worked so far as Swindon continue to show their dominance at the top.

.@WBA now lead the following pack after they take advantage of @LUFC’s loss to @swfc. @BarnsleyFC’s win over @htafc sees them now just one point from safety! #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/JYHuQVN0Lk — Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) January 11, 2020

The Best League in the World The Premier League for it’s glory and all the numbers it draws in, it just isn’t anywhere near as entertaining as the EFL and particularly the Championship. In a division where anyone can beat anyone and the table can be upside down to what it was the season preceding it, the Championship is a guarantee for an interesting watch (unless you happened to be in South Wales on Sunday).  Currently any side between 3rd and 17th is in with a shot of making the play-offs with only eight points the difference between the last play-off spot and Derby who sit 17th. Similarly just about every team below are all in a relegation scrap where no side is certain to go down. While right at the top Leeds are beginning their annually job of bottling the automatic places with Brentford only six points below the Whites and West Brom only one point further ahead of that. It’s anyone’s game and all to play for, unlike the Premier League.  With plenty more goals, matches and talking points amongst some great historic teams with huge fan bases and a variety of ways of playing the beautiful game, the best league in the world…? Probably.



Why not check out the previous column here discussing the Championship Play-Off race, the Country’s top goal-scorer and Macclesfield’s troubling times. Don’t forget to follow Talk the Football League on Twitter to hear all the latest Football League news and join in on the discussions @TalktheFL.












By Sam Greasley-Machin



 
 
 

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