January transfer window carries perils for football clubs, says Gerald Sinstadt

AS IF football management wasn't sufficient test of a man's nerve, they invented transfer windows. To twist the knife, they made one window the month of January.

The dilemma is easy to identify. The league season is more than half over.

JANUARY SALES: Gary Cahill went from Bolton to Chelsea, Nikica Jelavic from Rangers to Everton and Bobby Zamora from Fulham to QPR.

Your team is near the top/bottom (delete whichever doesn't keep you awake at night). Maybe one big signing would be the answer. Even one you can't really afford. What do you do?

There is no easy answer. Otherwise, we would all be managers.

In January 2010, Premier League clubs gambled £43.5 million. With hindsight, Stoke City's £4m for Asmir Begovic, Tottenham's £5m for Younes Kaboul and Manchester City's £7m for Adam Johnson all look like good business.

A year ago, the total was £223.4 million. Liverpool handed over £35m for Andy Carroll and £22.7m for Luis Suarez. Chelsea paid £50m for Fernando Torres and £21.3m for David Luiz.

Whether those were wild gambles or shrewd investments is still largely unproven.

Canny deals were scarce, though Sunderland bought Stephane Sessegnon for £6m, while Stoke sold Tuncay for £4.5m.

Now here we are again. This week the window closed on what, by general agreement, seems to have been an unexciting market.

Even allowing for the fact that many of the quoted figures are estimates, it's been quiet. Not a deal in double figures. That's double figures of millions, of course, but let's not quibble about trifles.

By comparison with last year it was almost sane. More loans than cheques.

Our local clubs haven't spent anything. Not a euro. Tony Pulis is doing better than could be expected with what he has – or was until Tuesday night.

A game-changing magician might have tempted him to have a conversation with the chairman, but a Messi or a Modric doubtless feature only in his dreams.

Port Vale had no money for transfers. Supporters say they fear Vale may have no money, full stop. Handing back players they had borrowed wasn't a good sign.

Crewe Alexandra are a special case: a prudently-run club with an average attendance below 4,000. They survive by having a brilliant eye for raw potential, a reputation for nurturing it, and a sense of when to sell. It is a model many envy.

This window has been a test. There has been no significant transfer income at the Alexandra Stadium since May 2010 when John Brayford and James Bailey moved to Derby County.

That's why fans have had their fingers crossed that Nick Powell would see out the season in an Alex shirt.

This is a player who won't be 18 until next month. England thought him good enough to take to Mexico for the Under-17 World Cup.

Crewe let him learn from the bench last season, and now he figures more often from the start. Already he has a career record approaching 50 appearances.

Powell's sixth senior goal, against Dagenham and Redbridge, was scored with a flourish at the very moment the public address announcer was naming him man of the match. Anyone watching would have been tempted to believe this was a player for the future at a higher level than League Two.

There have been rumours. Somewhere there would have been clubs re-reading their scouting reports and wondering. The signs are promising. Is this the moment to make a bid? In the event, no one did.

Thus the years pass and the dilemma doesn't go away.

On Tuesday evening Manchester United joined Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

With 26 minutes of transfer time remaining, City's website announced the loan signing of David Pizarro, from Roma.

Roberto Mancini knows the Chile international from having worked with him at Inter.

Mancini may be less familiar with what happened to Manchester City at a similar stage of the 1971-72 season. Those were the days of two points for a win and the only transfer deadline falling in March.

City's line-up featured goalkeeper Joe Corrigan, good enough to be capped by England in the era of Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence.

He was shielded by a solid back four, Tony Book and Willie Donachie the full-backs. Mike Doyle provided bite, Colin Bell ran with the drive and stamina that earned him the nickname Nijinsky (after the horse not the ballet dancer). Mike Summerbee delivered from the wing, Francis Lee scored 33 goals.

On March 18, City beat Chelsea to lead the First Division by five points. They were not only successful, they were entertaining.

Joe Mercer and his ambitious assistant, Malcolm Allison, loved an entertainer. Just before the deadline they paid QPR £200,000 to acquire one: Rodney Marsh.

Like kids with a new toy, they couldn't wait to see how it worked.

Although City had just won four in a row, Marsh was shoe-horned straight into the team.

He scored four goals in the last eight fixtures, but only three games were won.

Derby were crowned champions, City were one of three clubs beaten by a point.

Sleep well, Roberto.