Ex-Swindon Town chairman on how to master loan transfers |
I have noticed that a few Robins fans seem concerned about the status of the loan players at the County Ground. When you’ve been lucky enough to borrow talented players from a bigger club it’s always a worry that you might not be able to keep them, and even when the loan is technically “season long” they might get recalled by their parent club.
Some people don’t believe in the loan system and feel that it makes them vulnerable, while others thrive on it. But for me, I think it’s one of the best things in the football pyramid because it helps everyone, clubs and players alike, and for the lower league teams, it can be both a lifeline and an opportunity.
The EFL rules limit the number of loan players that a club can have, and there are complications to do with age and emergency goalkeeper loans, but effectively, it limits the number of players to a maximum of five in the matchday squad.
So why is it such a good idea?
We really don’t need to care too much about the benefits for the parent club, particularly the larger clubs. While the objectives were good, the burgeoning academies of the Premier League can do as much damage as good (and I’ll return to that subject in a later article). They are stuffed with young talent from both home and abroad, most of whom will never get to play for the club that has looked after them, sometimes even since they were small........