The Retain and Transfer System: An Alternative Perspective

Abstract

Presented as the “linchpin of the footballer's labour market”, the retain and transfer system in English professional football is recognised as the major mechanism by which players are distributed between the ninety‐two clubs of the Football League (F.L). Despite the scope for investigating the numerous aspects of the system, however, much academic discussion focuses narrowly upon its function in preventing a concentration of playing talent into an “elite” core of clubs, a prospect viewed with alarm by most commentators on the industry. Such an overriding concern with this aspect stems primarily from the adoption of a “unitary” perspective of organisation which, inter alia, views all the organisation's members as striving towards the attainment of some commonly held objective. In football, “playing success is the objective of all relevant participants in the Club”.

Citation

Stewart, G. (1986), "The Retain and Transfer System: An Alternative Perspective", Managerial Finance, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 25-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb013559