Transfer Centre

Sam Allardyce slams "out of control" transfer window

By Liam Power, Reporter | 12 January 2013

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce brands the current transfer system as "out of control" and insists that the old way of doing things kept unfair added pressure off struggling coaches.

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has slammed the current transfer system and revealed that he will have been offered 1,000 players by the time January ends.

The Hammers have been busy in the transfer market this month, signing Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh and Wellington Paulista in a hectic 12 days in East London.

Allardyce believes that the short window allocated to conclude deals heaps unfair pressure on managers trying to bolster their ranks.

He told The Mirror: "It's a really difficult period for us all and we're all glad when it's over. It's been out of control since it started and has never been under control, it has never been an ideal situation in any way shape or form.

"You cannot tell people how much better that system was than this one, it was 100 times better. Mistakes cost you your job, don't they? Now, if I make mistakes in the transfer window and bring in players that fail, it costs me my job. It gets me the sack.

"I pass everything on to Martin Glover, our head of recruitment. The chairman gets a whole load of players thrown at him as well - he passes them on to us. At the end of the window, Martin will sit down and tot up and say we have had 1,000s of contacts probably."

Allardyce gets the chance to turn his attention to on-field matters this afternoon as West Ham travel to Sunderland.