Why signing too many players in a transfer window is a suicide

Seeing teams get promoted always fills me with joy. They have suffered so much, played so well, overcame all the downfalls, and possibly with a bit of luck, it was enough for them to secure the spot among the league’s best. I was one of many who were eager to see Nottingham Forest FC back in the Premier League. Once a European force was not in the English flight division for some time. But after signing player after player in the summer transfer window doubts began to rise. That can’t work I said to myself. Up to this point, I was right. Let’s see why.

Nottingham Forest FC recently sits in the relegation zone in the Premier League. Quite firmly. This week, they have fired Andy Scott, head of scouting, and George Syrianos, head of recruitment.

They both spent 170 million Euros in the summer for the huge amount of new players. It’s hard to believe, but Nottingham Forest FC has signed 22 new players! It’s the maneuver that was written for disaster.

First thing first. There was a team that got promoted. There were a group of players that achieved such amazing success together. It’s naive to expect that the same line-up will be used in a higher league. A team has to be freshened a little bit and some reinforcements have to arrive in order to improve the squad and boost competition.

However, if practically a complete starting team is changed, all of a sudden last year’s players feel completely useless. A promotion somehow begins to feel like a punishment and not a reward. Seeking a new club to get regular or any game time should not be a burden for the majority of last year's heroes.

Gone are the days when you could simply build a stunning side that crushed the opponents in the lower league and could a year later easily compete on a higher level. Norwich, for example, really frustrates me in that part.

Yet, the right combination between those who have some credit in the bank because of the past and new recruits is essential. After all, all successful entities need a strong core that can be modified with some improvements. Step after step not all of a sudden.

When managers receive so many new players their heads begin to hurt. For a start, they may hardly know them. They may have seen the scout reports, may have watched them before, may have asked about the players around, or may have played against them, but they really do not know their characters. Even if someone says this one is like that it may not be the case in the new environment.

I will always remember Arsène Wenger. In his autobiography, he said that a player, when moving abroad, somewhere where he will probably live alone, needs at least 6 months to express himself.

Nowadays, are Nottingham Forest FC prepared to give even half of these new players that much time to adjust? For a start, Jesse Lingard is the one that didn’t adjust (right away), although the club’s expectations about him were high.

Moreover, with a lot of uncertainty surrounding new players, everything goes further. To the pitch. To football skills. Does that player prefer to be put in space? Does he like to hold the ball? Pass long instead of short? Is he more of a warrior instead of showing finesse? What about when things don’t go his way? Is he a team player?

Players need to learn about themselves, their teammates, their new manager, facilities, and schedules … as they go, far too fast and far too quickly. And there is hardly anyone around that can hold the glue together.

With new schedules, there is also very hard for players to know when to properly train individually. Does a team really wish that there is practically no one there to tell them when is the right moment for it? Imagine 22 players needing months to spot these moments. Indirectly, players regress. Even maybe not knowingly.

The big question. How to build a great team spirit around everything said up to this point? Team building and good results, yes. But what about when a first storm hits? New recruits are not used to playing together, so including difficult moments doesn’t help. By adding the parameter of the best league in the world, the situation becomes even trickier.

After all, who does want an environment that is so difficult to understand on all levels? I must admit, if Nottingham Forest FC does not get relegated, I would be seen as a complete sucker. However, even if they do stay in the Premier League this season their recruitment policy cost them from achieving something more.

Except if the whole purpose of everything was money. If they would sell players for more than 170 million Euros at the end of the season nobody will care. Ups … not really. Fans will care a lot! And that matters the most.