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James Beattie's goals last spring helped keep Stoke in the big time

But the January window gives managers the chance to bring in some new blood if things aren't going right and fresh impetus is needed. The classic example last season was and it could be argued that his goals kept Stoke in the Premier League.

Without that opportunity, Stoke would not have been able to move for Beattie, they may have been relegated and that would have been a nightmare for the club. So if you ask Tony Pulis, I'm sure he would say the January window is a good thing. But if you ask other managers - those who lose key players in the window period for example - they might say the opposite.

When I first started playing, there was no transfer window and players could move at any time of the year. If that system was in place now, there would be a real danger you would see players moving all the time and it could be chaos in the transfer market, with managers struggling to find continuity. The profile of the game has never been higher and there have never been so many agents in football. Can you imagine the frenzy if there was no transfer window? Managers would barely have time to manage!

In many ways, the January window is a necessity and it would be vastly unfair if that opportunity to strengthen wasn't there, particularly for clubs with smaller squads. If you have injuries and need to bring in someone to fill the gap it's important. Not every club uses it but the important thing is that the facility is there.

From a player's perspective, I think most would rather move in the summer. Going into a club at pre-season stage is like joining with a clean slate, it's a fresh start ahead of a new campaign. You go on the pre-season tour, which is a fantastic way to get to know your new team-mates, you go through all the pre-season training together and you gel as a squad.

If you move in January, you are basically thrown in at the deep end, and that's whether you are brought in to boost a winning team or be the lifeline for a struggling side. The pressure is there either way. You might get two or three days training before you're expected to start performing miracles.

The manager will know everything about the player's ability before he arrives, but does he know his mental strength? Will he gel straight away, because that's what he will have to do. Will he make the impact expected of him? How will he react if he doesn't?

These are all relevant questions on the back of any transfer but they are magnified in the January window. So without question, there is far more pressure on players moving in January than those that move in the summer.

But what if a player is unhappy at a club, say just a couple of months into the season? Is it right to hold him to that club for a whole season when his career - and a short career at that - could suffer drastically as a result, in turn affecting his earning power? The January window offers a way out and many players have taken it.

On the other hand, the player might want to stay but the manager will effectively force his hand by saying, "you can stay but you're not going to be involved". What does a player do then? If you have anything about you, with a desire to play first-team football, you have to try and go, even if it's initially on loan.

I have a lot of admiration for players who are willing to move on loan. It's not easy going into a completely different working environment, especially when you are expected to make an instant impression when the fans automatically think you are better than the club has already got.

The first time I moved was in 2003. Sunderland were suffering financial problems at the time and from what I remember, I would say six to eight players, who were on what was considered to be a high wage, were taken into the manager's office and told it was going to be difficult to keep us at the club.

It was taken out of our hands and I had the opportunity to go to Celtic, which turned out to be absolutely fantastic. Through that move came the chance to , so it worked out pretty well for me. I'd been at Sunderland for over 12 years playing in the first team but I absolutely loved it at Celtic. I considered myself fortunate because it could easily have gone the other way for me and through no fault of my own.

If a player is unhappy at any situation, he can put in a transfer request. There do not seem to be so many transfer requests reported these days and I think that is because transfers can be engineered in different ways by different people without handing in an official request.

But it does happen and naturally, the lads are going to talk - a player can't keep that to himself! Questions will be asked in the dressing room, of course they will. Not in a nasty way, but you do ask the questions and whether a player gives you the right answers or not, that's entirely up to him.

It can be upsetting in the camp if a popular player or one of the best players wants to leave. Or vice versa, if the player who has put in a request doesn't get on with the rest of the lads, then it might be a good thing. I haven't experienced that personally but it does happen.

So there are many things to consider before passing What does the future hold? Who knows, but what is for sure is that transfers are part and parcel of the game and help the football world go round.