Graham Cummins: Is the summer window a good time to move clubs? Not for me

Clubs spend so much time doing due diligence on new signings, but I'm not sure the same can be said about players vetting a new club

RIGHT DECISION?: Graham Cummins during his time at Shamrock Rovers . Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

With the transfer window now open in the League of Ireland, is it a good time for players to switch clubs? We often hear managers talk about the ‘right player being available’. They don't just mean a gifted footballer joining their team. They are also referring to a player with the right character that is going to interact in the right way with the players already at the club.

Managers spend more time researching the type of player they are bringing to the club than watching video clips. They are busy on the phone ringing former and current teammates and of course the player’s current manager. Clubs spend so much time doing due diligence, but I'm not sure the same can be said about players when it comes to vetting a potential destination.

There are two reasons a player makes a move in this window. One; because they are not wanted by their current club. Two, they have had a successful first half of the season and have the chance to join a bigger or better club. In both scenarios, a player's desperation to seize the moment often means they move without doing roper research.

Moving in the summer window rather than winter one poses more difficulties anyway. New teammates are often less welcoming because the new arrival is seen as a threat and there is immediate competition for places. In winter, players tend to stick together and encourage each other through a tough preseason. There isn’t that intense competition or bitterness between teammates because starting in friendlies doesn’t really matter.

If you are moving now, it does help if you're not the sole arrival. Friendships have already formed in the team and it can be difficult for a player to force his way into a group in the dressing room. If there are a few arrivals it is only natural that they gravitate to one another which does make it easier to settle in new surroundings.

Ultimately though, players making a switch now must make an immediate positive impression. They will be given two or three games at most to make a difference, otherwise the manager will revert to players he has worked with a lot longer and trusts more. 

Teams that move in the market now are chasing glory or trying to avoid relegation. Clubs with nothing to play for aren’t going to waste their budget on recruiting new faces. A new arrival now isn't going to be afforded the same patience they would have got six months ago.

I fell foul of not doing the required due diligence when I joined Shamrock Rovers during the summer in 2019. I had been told a few weeks before by Cork City that it would be better if I left the club. I was in such a rush to get out of City that I jumped at the chance to sign for Rovers when I knew of their interest.

Did I visit the club to see what sort of accommodation I would be in, what their training ground was like, and what conduct was expected at the club? 

No. my due diligence was a five-minute phone call with Stephen Bradley and former Hoops’ player Greg Bolger. 

I should have taken the time to make a trip to Dublin to investigate everything. That I didn’t was partly down to laziness but also a bruised ego. 

At the time, City were struggling in the league whereas Rovers were challenging for the title. To outsiders, it looked a great move for me. I was hurt by the rejection in Cork, but because Rovers wanted me, I convinced myself City were wrong. 

It turned out to be the wrong decision. I had other options, probably better options for me in terms of playing more games and spending more time at home with my family. But my ego got the better of me because it just looked and sounded better for me to join Rovers.

So, it's risky now for players, but new blood at a club can bring vital fresh energy to what can be a stale dressing room halfway through the season. 

By summer, some players are already counting down the days to the end of season. It has been the same faces and set routine for six months and a new addition can shake that up. 

Even if the new signing isn’t full of energy, others can feel threatened and up their games. Training becomes more intense because players want to show-off to their new peers.

So there will be always be movement in this transfer window. But my advice for any player making a switch is to take their time and carefully weigh up their options.