Sir Bobby attacks transfer restraints

Last updated : 05 November 2002 By Martyn Elliott

Despite spending heavily over the last two years Sir Bobby is adamant that if he wants to change his way of playing or has an injury crisis he should be able to bring somebody in.


True to form Sir Bobby uses some of his own special metaphors to make his point to the League Managers’ Association website.

“In my opinion football in this country is a great market-place – if the market is open.

“My wife goes to the shops, she goes to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, every day. Football, I think, is like that.

“It’s a great market-place, it’s the best in the world, and we should be allowed to trade whenever we want, buy and sell – why not?

“Why restrict the game? Why tie down a situation which is thriving financially? It helps the team that needs money, it helps the team who have money, so why change it for some guy in a suit who works in some office and says this is what should happen?

“So I don’t agree with the system. I did my buying at the start of the year for the season, but I’m lucky because I’ve got a big club here. There are other managers, who are less lucky than me, who need to buy and who need to sell.

“Why shouldn’t we open the market-place in football every day? I just don’t understand it.

“It was great before. It wasn’t broken, so why change it?”