So that’s it, it’s all over, the excitement and tedium of the summer transfer window has finally come to an end, as the window slammed shut late last night leaving managers and fans everywhere either jumping for joy, or crying themselves to sleep.
The end of the transfer window represents the beginning of the season proper as managers now have to get on with things with the players at their disposal. No more unsettled players, no late helicopter flights, no more rumour and no more Harry Redknapp hanging out of his Range Rover, thank god. But lets not forget that the end of the transfer silly season also represents a huge milestone for FIFA 12…
Now that the dust has settled the FIFA 12 database team will go in to overdrive to amend each and every transfer and loan deal in the land, with a total of £466,000,000 spent in the Premier League alone this summer, they have quite a task on their hands. There are just 30 days until the release of FIFA 12 which makes the time-scales for the game to become “gold” and then be readied for distribution to retailers around the world very tight. Of course, there’s the FIFA 12 demo to think about too.
But for us FIFA gamers the transfer window matters not, because the opportunity to right the wrongs of your clubs summer spending strategy is just around the corner. With Career Mode looking like it’s going to deliver more than it ever has in FIFA 12, this really could be the year for offline FIFA gaming. And with Career Mode sporting it’s own Transfer Deadline Day feature this year too, a chance to relive the suspense and drama of what unfolded last night is something we should all look forward to.
Arsenal were without doubt the busiest club last night netting Santos, Mertesacker, Benayoun and the uber late deal for Arteta. Following on from the Park Chu-Young deal that represents pretty good business for Tom’s Gooners but I know deep down he’ll be itching to fill the void left by Cesc and Samir with some genuinely world class signings in Career Mode.
With Meireles, Bellamy, Crouch, Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole, Poulsen, Hargreaves, Jenas, Hutton, Jerome, Beckford, Drenthe, Ruiz, Bendtner, Diego, Ellia, Hleb, Forlan, Bradley, Ngog and Zarate all on the move the FIFA landscape has changed dramatically over the last 24 hours along with our own priorities for FIFA 12 when we take the managerial hot seat.
Special mention has to go to AS Roma though, who managed to sign Pjanic, Gago and Kjaer showing that there really is value in the transfer market. Top work I’m sure you’ll agree.
So that’s it, FIFA 12 now heads in to its final pre-flight checks before the UK release on September the 30th but what we want to know, is who will be your first player IN and first player OUT in Career Mode?
The floor is yours.
