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At 11.00pm last night, yet another transfer window was firmly closed and I noted with some astonishment that no less than £490million had been spent by football clubs buying players.   Most of that money was spent by clubs in the Barclay's Premier League and most of it, at least 90% I would guess, spent on foreign players.

The whole thing is reminiscent of a cattle market, with players coming and going, sometimes with little or no prior notice and it`s all supposed to be in the cause of strengthening the club squads.   This might be true in most cases, but too often I hear the phrase `good business` which kind of gives the game away and confirms that the commercial interests of the clubs come way ahead of the personal interests of the players.  There is also the discomfort of hearing the announcements of just how much money has been spent in the transfer window, as if that in itself is a yardstick for success in the chest beating triumphalism of the Premier League.

There are, of course, some players who move happily and willingly to take their places in the highest echelons of the game in this country but there are, sadly, others who are `moved on` with all the disruption to family life that is involved.   A good example is Billy Sharp, bought by Southampton from Doncaster Rovers as recently as last January.   He came to St. Mary`s with a good goal scoring record but also on the back of a family tragedy with the loss of his young son shortly after he was born.

The Saints fans took to Billy not just for the goals he scored but also for the man he was and I for one had hoped that he might have found some life enhancing stability on the south coast.   However, late in last night`s proceedings, he was shipped out to Nottingham Forest where he must try once more to adjust, to settle and forge a new future for himself and his family.   I suppose there`s no room for sentiment in the ruthless results driven business in the `best league in the world (tm)` but sometimes it seems as if some attention by the animal rights activists, if not the Professional Footballers Association, might not come amiss.  

I`m afraid the culture of the livestock market is yet another reason why I am more and more viewing life in the Premier League with some distaste.   It`s not the game itself that I have played, refereed and watched for over half a century that gives me a problem, it`s the grievous bodily harm done to it by rampant commercialism, arrogance and assumed entitlement.