I’ve worked on a fair few transfer deadline days and the buzz in the newsroom is something else.
The very premise of the day is just perfect for us journalists. It allows us to flex our muscles by breaking news first, showing the rest of the industry just how good our contacts are and really make a name for ourselves.
I’ve broken a few transfer stories and can tell you it is pretty awesome. Especially when you feel like you’re swimming against the tide and the club is denying your information is on point.
However, there is a humungous down side. Getting it wrong – and I’ve been there. A shoddy look to say the least.
My one moment of shame came a couple of seasons back when the agent of a player told me, that despite the rumours, his client would definitely not be moving. I took him on his word. He was a great contact who had come up trumps before. But moments after I had smugly told the world this news, the competing broadcaster had footage of the said player entering negotiations with a club.
This is where I saw the worst of transfer deadline day. I couldn’t look my colleagues in the eye. I genuinely felt that I had let my team down. I had.
I later found out that what happened was the player had left the agent I was speaking with that day – as he was unable to get him a move. He found another agent, who got the deal did! My contact had lied through his teeth to save telling me a difficult truth.
So I can tell you from experience that when you see those journalists breaking news, they will be seriously sweating on those deals going through. You can be made or broken in 24 hours of unpredictable transfer madness. Only the strong survive…
HOPE POWELL WORKED MIRACLES
Following her sacking as the England women’s boss, Hope Powell has taken a fair bit of stick.
To be a black person in football is tough. To be a black woman in football is tougher than tough. So to stick around for 15 years and develop women’s football like Hope did is miraculous.
– This column first appeared in The Voice Newspaper