Brian Caldwell talks about changes to the Transfer Window
Shrewsbury Town CEO Brian Caldwell has spoken to ShrewsWeb about the EFL rule changes that were implemented yesterday.
The standout change saw clubs agree to an earlier closure of the Transfer Window, which means that the window will now shut at 5pm on Thursday 9th August, rather than the traditional end of August closure.
Brian understands why the change is being made, but is worried that it might have a negative effect on EFL clubs.
“It’s going to be in line with the Premiership, which, I’ve got to be honest, I voted against”, said Caldwell.
“I just think we are following suit with the Premiership in my opinion. There was an opportunity there to have the EFL clubs dominating the headlines in the media, which I think would have been good profile for the EFL clubs when the Premiership clubs aren’t able to sign anybody.
“My concern is also that most leagues in Europe will close on the 31st of August, so whether it’s a club from Scotland or France or Spain, they could potentially now come and take your best player in the second or third week in August and the only way you can get someone else in is through a loan system.
“At the end of the day there are pros and cons for everything. The good side of it is that we know our squad and our squad is settled after the first league game, but I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do and I think it’s just following in the footsteps of the Premiership.”
The decision was made by all 72 clubs in the EFL and Caldwell believes opinion was split on the issue.
“It was actually quite a close vote”, Brian said.
“Off the top of my head about 29 clubs voted against it, so there was still a considerable amount of clubs against it. I know there was a meeting recently of League One and League Two clubs that I attended and one club in particular in League One spoke very strongly against it and I have to say I 100% agreed with them.”
To hear more from Brian on the EFL rule changes, watch the video above.