Allardyce hits out at Premier League for scheduling games on Deadline Day

Everton take on Leicester City on Wednesday, the last day of the January transfer window, widely known as ‘Deadline Day’. It has always been puzzling when clubs have to play with the window slamming shut barely hours later, with players getting yanked off squad lists and firing up all sorts of speculation when teams should be focusing on the games at hand.

Manager Sam Allardyce was asked what he will be doing on 31st January with the Blues hosting Leicester City at Goodison Park.

”I’ll probably be here [USM Finch Farm] in the morning until probably mid-afternoon and then put it all to bed and get focused to meet the players and prepare for the game.

“To be on site is important, you could do it at home if you wanted to because the phones and technology are just the same but you’re probably better all together here to make any decisions that may come in rather than me sat at home on my own.

”I’ll need the opinion of the coaching staff when something comes in on whether we’ll let a player go, or is there someone to bring in and will they make us better.”

That is a refreshing change from previous manager Ronald Koeman, who chose to go off on vacation on deadline day after the summer transfer window.

Allardyce then went on to criticize the Premier League with their scheduling -

“I would expect that my focus is not on the transfer window because unfortunately yet again the Premier League have decided to play a game right on the transfer window deadline.

”I think we had to suffer this last season, clearly at the AGM they didn’t think it was worthy of not doing it this time around.

”I’ll give you an example, if I pick a team today and tomorrow it’s splashed in the paper that one of those players is going to be sold before the window shuts, how is that player going to approach the game against Leicester?

“Is that right? It certainly isn’t, but we have to cope with it.”

Sounds like Everton could well be busy off the pitch as well come Deadline Day.