January transfer window not designed for blockbuster

	Liverpool is awaiting clearance from the English FA to add Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano from West Ham. AP
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Earlier this week I spoke to a veteran agent, a guy with a number of high-profile clients. He made no secret of the fact that the January transfer window is not his favorite time of year.

"What kind of clubs go and buy players in January?" he asked. "I'll tell you: the guys who screwed up royally and are now panicking. Now, from my perspective, that of an agent, it's not necessarily a bad thing. But it's kind of depressing. You move overvalued players to clubs that have messed up [and] you try to find homes for crappy players who are no longer wanted. That's what it's all about."

My agent friend was perhaps a bit over the top. The winter transfer market is also about gifted youngsters going on loan to gain experience and playing time and, occasionally, bringing over the odd South American star, due to the different calendar in Brazil or Argentina.

Generally speaking though, he's right: If you spend money in January it's because you messed up earlier.

Real Madrid and AC Milan are the two obvious examples. Real cleared out Ronaldo and David Beckham (though he won't be moving until the summer), while picking up three South American youngsters. Milan tried to fill the gaping hole at right back by buying the highly underrated Massimo Oddo and added Ronaldo to its frontline.

A side note on "The Phenom": The fact that Milan decided to bank on him to turn its season around shows both a lack of cash and ideas. At this stage, Ronaldo can only be described as a gamble, financially and technically. If he recovers even a bit of his lost form, Milan's brain trust will look like geniuses. He certainly seems motivated, having taken a pay cut to make the deal happen.

Those who say he's finished seem to forget a few things, namely that he's still just 30 years old, that he broke the 20-goal mark in the league alone in each of his first three seasons at the Bernabéu and that even in last year's star-crossed campaign, he still notched 14 in 21 starts. The media made a big deal about his weight, but excess pounds are something you can lose, whereas talent is something you can't gain.

That said, Ronaldo is yet another big name veteran on a team full of them. His arrival could negatively impact the performance of Alberto Gilardino who, for better or worse, is Milan's future. And, for all we know, he may drag the problems which plagued him in Madrid to the San Siro as well. Either way, it's a fascinating move and a very risky one at that.

The rest of Europe's royalty did little or nothing during the transfer window. Roma strengthened its bench with Christian Wilhelmsson and Francesco Tavano.

Three of the top four in England did nothing, the only exception being Liverpool, which signed Álvaro Arbeloa from Deportivo to add some depth to the defense and picked up Javier Mascherano in the hopes that Rafa Benítez can get him to settle in England. Contrast this with the likes of West Ham, which blew nearly $30 million on six players in a desperate effort to stay in the Premiership.

The reasons why buying players in January is not good business for the big clubs is obvious: If you want to get somebody good, you generally have to pay a premium. Good players tend to play for good clubs, which means there clubs generally don't want to (or need to) let them go halfway through the year. And so what you get is the odd overpriced deal amidst a big game of musical chairs as lesser clubs move their guys around and around.

Bring on the summer when the real deals get done!

Extra time

And so Dubai International Capital (DIC) has pulled out of a deal to buy Liverpool. As I wrote in December, this is nothing but good news for Liverpool supporters, especially after it emerged that DIC's plan all along was to increase profits and then sell the club, preferably within seven year.

George Gillett Jr., who owns the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, is now in pole position. He's not ideal either, but at least he's willing to be involved long-term which is more than you can say for the Dubai group. As long as he actually pays cash for the club (unlike Malcolm Glazer, who took over by turning Manchester United into the most debt-laden club in all of professional sports), it will probably be a better deal for the fans than what the Dubai folks were offering. ...

Once the epitome of stability and long-term planning, Bayern Munich shocked the game this week by sacking manager Felix Magath and bringing back Ottmar Hitzfeld. There must be more to this story than meets the eye. Magath made his share of mistakes, but Bayern did win the title last season and this year was eight points off the pace when he was shown the door.

Hitzfeld, of course, is a legend, but you've got to wonder why nobody picked him up in the 2½ years he was out of the game, as well as what kind of miracles he can perform in the next few months. Stay tuned. We haven't heard the end of this yet. ...

Lucas Neill was ridiculed by some members of the press for saying he choose West Ham over Liverpool because "West Ham wanted him more," particularly when it emerged that the Hammers were offering him more than twice as much in wages.

Those who accuse him of being greedy are missing the point. Neill has every right to think of his own long-term welfare and security and that of his family. That's not being greedy, that's letting your mind rule your heart, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

It would, however, been even better if he'd just been honest about it and said, "I moved to West Ham because they offered a hell of a lot more money." I, for one, would certainly not have criticized him for it.