Deadline day is an experience that most football fans can't miss, the excitement of a new player and the unknown big transfer of the summer gets football fans across the world buzzing about football once again. The build-up is well prepared by Sky Sports News to get you hooked, and then there is Jim White. Some Scottish fellow who's job it is to read the news and make it sound far more exciting than it actually is, and to pretend there is more deals going on, when the harsh reality is that most of the deals have been agreed hours before.
I know how it works White has to get people interested, and even though I know he exaggerates I can't help but feel like a kid at Christmas. This grey haired fellow gets men and women glued to the TV, and gives you this false hope that something will happen. So how do you think I felt when I was told I had to work on Wednesday, yes deadline day. It suddenly dawned on me that I had agreed to attend a staff training day on Wednesday, even though I was offered a choice of two separate days. It was too late to change and I was going to miss most of the action, and have to refresh my phone every time the lecturer turned a blind eye.
However this action I was missing had nothing to do with Leeds, because Leeds don't ever appear on the transfer day with some MASSIVE capture. The last time we were big news was when we sold another player on the cheap on our slippery slope down the Football League. However I like everyone else had a glimmer of hope that Bates and Gradel would pull off a transfer or two. We had money and Max Gradel had just being sold, so we needed a new face or two.
I awoke yesterday all excited and disappointed at the same time. On my 2 hour journey to training I was checking my phone for any updates regarding LUFC, but I was still confident even though I had suggested we would sign nobody. The first break of the day finally came and I was desperate to get some signal to check the transfers. Plenty of deals elsewhere and nothing at Elland Road.
The tension was building around the country for other clubs and their deals, and Leeds finally announced one. As I clicked refresh on the club website, my heart raced as I noticed a new story. Before I could burst with excitement I saw the boring headline of Grella departs.
Having already known Grella's future I was slightly annoyed, but there was still plenty of time. As the day passed my frustration and disbelief grew, but at dinner there was a little shock. A friend of mine phoned to announce that somebody had made a bid for Paynter. A player who has yet to show any form of talent so far since his time at Elland Road. Although I am desperate for him to succeed at Leeds, I wasn't fussed about his possible departure.
Mid-afternoon and the terrible news that Jermaine Beckford had left Everton for our Championship rivals Leicester City. The thought of Beckford playing against Leeds sickens many, on the final day Elland Road will have to welcome back both Beckford and Schmeichel.
As the final hour of the window approached I had given up, no deals were going to be completed. The most frustrating thing was that I had developed a rather painful headache due to watching the TV too much, so thanks for nothing Leeds. In the final moments Fede Bessone was allowed to leave (which I explained in an earlier article this morning).
Overall the day was a failure not just for me but thousands of Whites fans. My training course went better than expected but the day was ruined with the news that we had failed to spend any money at all. The past few weeks have been a harsh reality for myself, Leeds aren't the attraction we thought they were to players. The club isn't being run properly, instead of going to get a player, Bates and Harvey believe in waiting for him to come to them which has clearly failed once again. Instead we must now wait for the loan window to open in a weeks time. It allows us to sign some real quality, but also allows the parent club to re-call the said player.
A very poor day indeed, but we will just have to keep Marching on Together.
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