Michel Platini makes a perfectly reasonable point about the transfer system when he points out the absurdity of a player scoring against a team one week and for them the next.

It is patently daft that a club can buy a player from one of their rivals halfway through the season and put him to work for them. It distorts the competition in several ways and is clearly unfair.

And yet… I think it would be a shame if we threw out the current system entirely, or failed to come up with another version that would still give clubs the option of buying a ‘get out of jail free’ card once it’s clear things are going wrong.

There’s just something immensely comforting for fans at the thought of your whole season changing if you make the right signing during the transfer window (or before deadline day in the old money).

More often than not the clubs get it wrong — think Real Madrid spending five million euros on Antonio Cassano in 2006 – but Liverpool fans will remember Ronny Rosenthal coming in to inspire a title charge in 1990 and more recently Henrik Larsson, Emmanuel Adebayor and Patrice Evra have done well after arriving in the January transfer window.

If we do away with the transfer window clubs will still have the lifeline of their youth teams as the season reaches its climax; indeed, it may even give homegrown talent more of a chance.

I still think it would be a shame, though. If your team is bottom of the league with half the season gone at least there’s a chance, however small, that a couple of astute signings could make all the difference.

And that feeling that there is still hope is a large part of what being a football fan is all about. Don’t you reckon?

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Antonio Cassano reacts after missing a chance against Real Betis at the go Bernabeu, March 19, 2006. REUTERS/Felix Ordonez

If you had told Rivaldo a few years ago that he would end up playing in Uzbekistan, it is doubtful he would have believed you.

Playing in Greece with Olimpiakos and AEK Athens was already an unusual place for the ageing former World Cup winner to wind down his career. Gary Lineker went to Japan, David Beckham to the U.S. but the Brazilian signing for Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor is something else.

At least Rivaldo has been totally open about his reason for going: Money. Uzbek clubs obviously have a lot of it. Kuruvchi managed to persuade Samuel Eto’o to go there last month to discuss a move before he ended up staying at Barcelona.

The Times has found another place where players who are probably past their best tend to head — Serie A. Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko are on the list but the proud Italians will point out that AC Milan shipped out Rivaldo long ago.

If former Milan striker and fallen idol Ronaldo appears at Manchester City, the (English-based) Times may have to eat some humble pie.

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AEK Athens forward Rivaldo heads the ball against Getafe during a UEFA Cup match, Feb 21 REUTERS/Susana Vera

Standing in the reception of a Heathrow hotel watching a roll call of British gold-medal winners file past, the overriding impression was just how normal they all seemed.

There was something wonderfully natural and down-to-earth about these luminaries of Britain’s finest Olympic effort in a century.

Hearing them articulate their thoughts about the last few weeks in Beijing, it was hard to avoid making comparisons with Premier League footballers.

Of course, these Olympians were relishing their moment in the sun — whereas top-level footballers facing the media spotlight day in, day out may become understandably more guarded.

One Times writer made the point that if the rowers received “120,000 pounds a week, a team of flunkies, a 10-page spread in Hello! and more groupies than they know what to do with”, they too might find their priorities blurred.

It is evident that the massive earnings of top soccer players have set them apart — and ensured they are considered fair game for criticism by both media and fans. Yet their own behaviour — be it snarling indiscipline on the field or excessive salary demands off it — does not help their image either.

Some are also guilty of believing their own hype — as evidenced by the sight of ears glittering with expensive jewellery when they pass through mixed zones after matches.

Arguably the epitome of this came at the 2006 World Cup in Germany when England’s footballers shut themselves away in an exclusive Baden Baden resort. The only thing ordinary about the Golden Generation was their performance level.

For the unassuming sportsmen and women on view at Heathrow, the only gold on view was that dangling from their necks.

PHOTO: Britain’s Olympic gold medallists arrive back from the Beijing at Heathrow Airport in London, Aug 25 REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

Andriy Shevchenko has completed his move back to AC Milan but unlike Ronaldinho’s arrival in July, there was no fanfare from the Rossoneri.

Milan fans looked on with shock, pity and a small sense of ‘we told you so’ as Shevchenko struggled to fit in at Chelsea during two forgettable years in England.

Expectations at the San Siro are not particularly high. Supporters and media are not sure if he will consistently be in the starting XI given the recent injuries which have clearly cut his pace. They also know that not many players succeed when returning to a former club.

But the Ukrainian may surprise a few people if he can stay fit. Milan finished fifth in Serie A last season and just a flash of his old genius could make all the difference. The 2004 European player of the year spent seven stunning seasons with Milan and certainly knows where the San Siro goals are.

We should not underestimate the power of going home.

A Steve McClaren tribute band. Wasters. Shapeless, aimless and hopeless, tactically chaotic and technically stunted, a mess from start to finish.

These are just some of the examples of the stinging criticism dished out by the tabloids after England’s turgid performance in a 2-2 friendly draw with Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Fabio Capello has a reputation as a tactical master yet still Steven Gerrard is shunted out on the left. Wayne Rooney runs all day for the good of the team but has he lost that bit of magic that made him a boy wonder?

In the video above, vlogonthepitch host Owen Wyatt talks to David Beckham before mulling over yet another drab England display with Pedro Redig. Let us know your views.

Watching a rudderless Italy at Euro 2008 was like having my teeth pulled out.

Wednesday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Austria in Marcello Lippi’s first game back in charge since winning the World Cup was less painful, but serious problems persist.

Gone are the days of a rock solid Italian defence. Sure Fabio Cannavaro is still injured having missed the stuttering run to the Euro quarter-finals, but even he is not the player he was.

Fellow centre back Giorgio Chiellini, Italy’s sole success story from June, is crocked for their opening World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Georgia next month. That leaves Andrea Barzagli, who now plays in Germany with Wolfsburg, as an almost certain starter despite being at fault for both Austria’s goals.

At the other end things are still not right either. Former coach Roberto Donadoni was obsessed with a three-pronged attack in the run-up to the Euros but as soon as the Azzurri lost to Netherlands in the opening match he ditched it.

Lippi reinstated the trident on Wednesday but Alessandro Del Piero is still not suited to the left hand side. Both Italy strikes were own goals, even if the first was charitably credited to hit-and-miss forward Alberto Gilardino.

The midfield was average to say the least.  

Lippi has a lot to ponder if he really believes he can lift the World Cup again in two years time. He may also wonder why a game between Italy and Austria was played in Nice in France? (No one has properly explained.)

He probably hasn’t got as much thinking to do as compatriot Fabio Capello, though. England were totally outclassed in a 2-2 draw with the Czechs by all accounts.

Mark Meadows, Reuters Italy Sports Correspondent 

PHOTO: Italy coach Marcello Lippi watches his players during their friendly match against Austria in Nice, Aug 20 REUTERS/Pascal Deschamps

The usual new season optimism was in short supply at Everton on Saturday.

Never mind the last-minute defeat by Paul Ince’s Blackburn, that was merely salt in the wounds for a club whose preparations for the 2008/09 campaign could barely have been worse.

After recording sixth and fifth-placed finishes in the previous two seasons, Everton’s hopes of continuing that momentum look doomed already when you consider the scant options available to manager David Moyes.

If modern football is a squad game then what hope does Moyes have when he could call on only 10 senior players for the first game of the season?

The Scot had no option but to give a first start to a 17-year-old in central midfield and later introduced a 16-year-old debutant upfront, plucked from a bench filled with untested teenagers.

How could a team in the so-called richest league in the world be so ill-prepared?

The absence of a handful of injured players - plus another away on Olympic duty - has not helped Moyes but the real question is why Everton have not signed a single player during a close season where five first-teamers departed, including defensive midfielder Lee Carsley and England striker Andrew Johnson.

The economic downturn has affected Premier League clubs with spending down notably on last year - even Everton’s neighbours Liverpool have had to sell before they could buy - but Everton’s case is the most extreme.

Unfortunately, the future looks increasingly uncertain for a club who, on limited resources, have gone as close as anyone to threatening the dominance of the ‘big four’ in recent seasons.

Their planned move to a new stadium in Kirkby looks in doubt after the government’s decision to call a public enquiry, owner Bill Kenwright has declared he is willing to sell up to a “billionaire” and Moyes himself is stalling on signing a new contract.

If new signings do not appear soon, the Goodison gloom could well deepen.

PHOTO: Everton coach David Moyes and Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Ince watch their English Premier League soccer match, Aug. 16. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Manchester United and Bayern Munich opened the defence of their respective league titles with draws, prompting worried looks among supporters.

Normally it would be silly to judge a side on the first match of the season, but in United’s case there was clearly something missing in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle…a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

United fans will be relieved that he is only absent through injury and not because of a departure to Real Madrid. 

However, the lack of a cutting edge in the final third and Chelsea’s impressive 4-0 drubbing of Portsmouth has heralded renewed calls for United to up their efforts to sign Tottenham’s Dimitar Berbatov.

Bayern were equally unconvincing in a 2-2 home draw with Hamburg in Juergen Klinsmann’s first league match in charge. Supporters are already counting the days until injured duo Luca Toni and Franck Ribery are back fit.

Real Madrid, who start their title defence at the end of the month, lost the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup 3-2 at Valencia.

Is the world order about to change? Let’s leave it a few more games to decide.

Frank Lampard’s decision to sign a new contract with Chelsea and shun the advances of Inter Milan was hardly a surprise.

The midfielder made a wise choice if he based the decision on the previous experiences of English players in Italy.

Only David Platt at Sampdoria was really a success. Ian “it’s like living in a foreign country” Rush lasted just a season at Juventus while the likes of Luther Blissett, Lee Sharpe, Ray Wilkins, Des Walker, Paul Ince and Jay Bothroyd hardly set Serie A alight.

Paul Gascoigne was injured for much of his time at Lazio. Rather than his stunning play, he is best remembered here in Italy for shocking the nation by burping into a microphone.

In recent years only David Beckham at Real Madrid can claim to have done well away from English shores. That’s largely because he was one of the few who dared to try something new.

I actually think Lampard would have been a success at Inter, especially playing under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The Italian champions, and Serie A in general, are crying out for a goalscoring central midfielder.

Instead Lampard will start another English season this weekend, admittedly with packed stadiums and bags of money in his pocket. Stuttering Serie A can’t quite compete with that. 

Mark Meadows, Milan

Manchester United fans once popularised the old Monty Python song ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ as a stadium chant but it is their neighbours at Manchester City for whom those words have become almost a way of life during the past 32 years without a trophy.  

It looks like City supporters may need to draw on their famed reserves of black humour once again given the current uncertainty surrounding the future of their club.  

When former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived at Eastlands during the 2007 close season — having passed the Premier League’s ‘fit and proper person’ test for club owners — there was bold talk of City playing Champions League football in the not-too-distant future.  

Hopes of a bright new dawn were enhanced by the installation of Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager and a spending spree of around 40 million pounds. 

Although the fans may not have liked Thaksin’s treatment of Eriksson — the Thai dismissing him for his failure to achieve a top-six finish - the appointment of the highly-rated Mark Hughes in June went down well (despite Sparky being a former United hero and often mentioned as a possible successor to Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford). 

The new man’s vow to “challenge at the top table, not only in this country but in Europe” persuaded many fans that further progress lay around the corner.  

Two months on and Hughes must be wondering just what he has got himself into. His arrival after a successful stint at Blackburn Rovers came at a time City were spending a record fee on Brazilian striker Jo and making loud noises about signing Ronaldinho. 

The former Barcelona man is now at AC Milan and City appear to be in limbo. Thaksin’s announcement that he has gone into exile in Britain may spare his wife Potjaman a jail sentence for tax fraud — she had been freed on bail pending an appeal — but it also means most of his assets remain frozen in Thailand.  

Where this leaves City’s spending plans remains to be seen.   

“I was at Blackburn for four years and I knew exactly how things were done, the lines of communication, what have you. At the moment, it’s not quite as it was at Blackburn,” Hughes was quoted as telling the Telegraph. 

PHOTO: Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin and his wife Potjaman Shinawatra wade through an army of photographers at criminal court in Bangkok. July 31 REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang