Loan system explained

Covered End

World football's governing body FIFA has scrapped the emergency loan window in a bid to protect the "sporting integrity of competitions", with these measures affecting English football at the start of the upcoming season.

Until now, emergency loans had allowed clubs in the Football and National Leagues to sign players on deals ranging between 28 and 93 days in two periods outside of the regular transfer windows.

The new proposal, however, means clubs are no longer permitted to do so, severing what has rapidly become a vital tool for clubs and players up and down the country.

"If my washing machine breaks, I shouldn’t have to wait until the end of the year to fix it. It’s madness. What happens if I haven’t got enough money to have two washing machines? Newcastle will have two or three, so they’ll be more efficient and I’ll be walking around in dirty clothes looking like a tramp" said Ian Holloway.

Those who were most active in the emergency loan market tended to be so by necessity. Small squads and small budgets meant clubs lower down required a back-up option when injuries or suspensions struck.

"It's horrendous," Holloway told Sky Sports. "This rule change will be a disadvantage to the clubs with smaller budgets. It means you have to have your squad assembled by the end of the first window, which is going to suit the bigger clubs with the bigger budgets.

"You'll have to spend more before the window closes as you're not allowed to add to it if you get injuries, suspensions, loss of form to players and so on. It's going to make things tougher for the smaller clubs and hands the bigger clubs an advantage - end of story."

It's worth noting that, in certain situations to help ease the transition into the revised arrangements, measures are in place that allow clubs to access the emergency loan market like they used to.

Transition-easing measures

Clubs are permitted to sign a goalkeeper on a seven-day ‘emergency loan’ basis if they do not have a senior goalkeeper that has made five first-team apps.

Clubs will be able to recall a goalkeeper at 24 hours’ notice from a loan at another club if they are unable to field two fit goalkeepers in their 18-man matchday squad.

A player registered on a standard loan may continue to play non-first team football for his parent club during the term of his loan period.

Confronted with a season in under-21 football, where the standard failed to develop their talent, or a season on the first-team bench that yielded a mere handful of appearances, the option of a loan in the Football League provided games, experience and, in some cases, silverware for budding young professionals.

Holloway added: "I don't think I'd have got Blackpool promoted that season if I wasn't able to sign Seamus Coleman in the emergency window. We won nine of the last 11 games when we took Coleman to replace Neal Eardley who had got injured. A loan signing can change a season and a player's career."

vff

Holloway is a bit of a talker but explains things well regarding the loan system & the new rules.

Covered End

I love Holloway's washing machine analogy.

Johnnysummers5

I would like to introduce Ian Holloway to Dot Cotton

cafcfan

Helpful to see it spelt out.
One wonders what clubs with no academy will do. Brentford will be an interesting situation. Will the lean bunch of youth players with perhaps a fair chance of progress be an attraction or a hinderance to recruitment quality?

Could the Brentford experiment be behind the stalled works at the training ground? We are waiting to see how it pans out, maybe?

Will anyone consider taking FIFA through the courts on some sort of restraint of trade case?

Lincsaddick

I have always thought that the loan system was a cop out .. managers should stand and fall by their player recruitment and not b o g o f bargains or trial and error signings ..
the toning down of the loan system will stop rich premier league clubs from stockpiling youngsters and using the lower divisions & smaller clubs as testing grounds ..
if the Newcastles & such can afford to keep two washing machines, a tumble drier and a spinner or two in the garage for a 'rainy day' then so be it ..
AND if my washing machine broke down I would BUY a new one, not borrow one from the rich family who have bought too many and want to get rid of a s a p

C_Jensens_Love_Child

Lincsaddick said:

I have always thought that the loan system was a cop out .. managers should stand and fall by their player recruitment and not b o g o f bargains or trial and error signings ..
the toning down of the loan system will stop rich premier league clubs from stockpiling youngsters and using the lower divisions & smaller clubs as testing grounds ..
if the Newcastles & such can afford to keep two washing machines, a tumble drier and a spinner or two in the garage for a 'rainy day' then so be it ..
AND if my washing machine broke down I would BUY a new one, not borrow one from the rich family who have bought too many and want to get rid of a s a p

Well you'd actually be renting it as most loans come with a fee or players wages being paid and you can't buy a new one till January, so like Holloway said, you'd be wearing dirty clothes. I'd prefer to rent a Washing machine rather than wear dirty clothes but each to their own.

SDAddick

I get the objections to the emergency loan window, but ironically, it is something that can benefit all parties involved. Club getting player get a player to fill a need. Loaning club get a player playing and potentially a bit off their wage bill, and the player being loaned gets to play.

Football is blatantly an arms race, we don't need to be churlish about that. The thing with short term or emergency loans is that at least they help spread players around. It's not ideal, it's dealing with a symptom, not the cause, but to deal with the cause at this point would be a monumental task.

Alwaysneil

Is anyone else a bit worried about the ability for a loan goalie to be recalled with only 24 hours notice if the lending club can't field two fit goalies in their 28 man squad?

So if our main keeper is on loan, we could lose him immediately if lending club only has two keepers with >5 first team games and then one gets injured.

That's sounds really shit.

Garrymanilow

Lincsaddick said:

I have always thought that the loan system was a cop out .. managers should stand and fall by their player recruitment and not b o g o f bargains or trial and error signings ..
the toning down of the loan system will stop rich premier league clubs from stockpiling youngsters and using the lower divisions & smaller clubs as testing grounds ..
if the Newcastles & such can afford to keep two washing machines, a tumble drier and a spinner or two in the garage for a 'rainy day' then so be it ..
AND if my washing machine broke down I would BUY a new one, not borrow one from the rich family who have bought too many and want to get rid of a s a p

It won't really though will it? It will just mean that rich PL clubs get all their loan deals sorted out before the transfer window closes. The thing is, in your analogy you're not allowed to buy a new washing machine either. You have to wait until January. And if you can't afford to bring another one in? Well then tough. All this will do is widen the gap between the richest and poorest teams. Most teams won't allow a fringe player to be loaned out just to sit on the bench, and most FL teams can't afford to have a loan player just sat their so the emergency loan window is a rare thing in football that suits all parties; it suits the parent team seeing their player play, suits the team getting the player in by strengthening their team and suits the loan player in getting football.

addickfanatic

Johnnysummers5 said:

I would like to introduce Ian Holloway to Dot Cotton

Covered End said:

I love Holloway's washing machine analogy.

Thanks guys.
I now have a very dodgy image of Holloway, Dot and a washing machine. Please make it stop!!

Talal

Alwaysneil said:

Is anyone else a bit worried about the ability for a loan goalie to be recalled with only 24 hours notice if the lending club can't field two fit goalies in their 28 man squad?

So if our main keeper is on loan, we could lose him immediately if lending club only has two keepers with >5 first team games and then one gets injured.

That's sounds really shit.

I wouldn't worry we'll either stick with the kids or loan someone so shit they won't want him back anyway.