Jim White, Juan Cuadrado and Dogs in Cars: How Deadline Day Unfolded on Twitter

In the fifth season of the classic sitcom Happy Days, an improbable scene unfolded where Henry Winkler’s Fonzie character jumped over a shark...

It was a moment when a much-loved television spectacle was deemed to have declined in quality and made its way out of the public zeitgeist. Does that sound familiar?

Fonzie's marine antics came to mind on Monday when, judging by the reaction of football fans on Twitter, the much-hyped January deadline-day coverage on Sky Sports News HQ may have had its own "jumping the shark" moment.

Last year’s bouts of fan misbehaviour and the boisterous use of purple sex toys meant the coverage lacked the excitement and unpredictability of supporter interaction, while many noted that an evening spent glued to the news ticker is becoming passe in a world dominated by social media...

"

I can understand entire evenings TV devoted to #TransferDeadline - after all there's no other way we can receive instant minor info today.

— Danny Baker (@prodnose) February 2, 2015"

The most problematic issue with January #DeadlineDay 2015, however, was the utter lack of transfer action on offer.

Most clubs had conducted their business early or refrained from entering the last-chance saloon of the winter market, leaving many folks dejected by a boring conclusion to the window…

"

Such a dull #DeadlineDay. Where are the last-minute big buys?

— N'aina Rasly (@aina_rasly) February 2, 2015"

"

Actually it's not even quiet ... it's the most boring #DeadlineDay since football began

— JⓂ (@JuniorMasandi) February 2, 2015"

One can always rely on a few lower league clubs to bring some wry cheer to the proceedings, however, and Macclesfield might have given us the best laugh of the day...

League One’s Crawley Town also waded in on the action…

And non-league Sholing shared the hysteria at their stadium…

Despite the relative lack of action, the “banter” continued to flow from familiar sources (or "sauces")…

"

Deadline day gets better and better every year. Too much banter! #SSNDeadlineDay https://t.co/jc2EHosKyH

— g a b r i e l (@GabrielJoseph_) September 1, 2014"

And it was hard to tell if Chelsea fans were being serious when they hinted that the #CampaignAgainstChelsea was continuing through the deadline-day coverage…

The true quietness of the deadline day became apparent when Harry Redknapp failed to put on his usual performance…

In the absence of the Queens Park Rangers manager, however, a large number of images of dogs leaning out of car windows surfaced…

The QPR coach finally emerged a little over an hour before the window slammed shut. He was without his car, presumably because a dog had taken it for a joyride…

Sadly, Redknapp failed to sign Niko Kranjcar, Jermain Defoe or anyone at all. 

The not-a-wheeler-dealer manager isn’t the only man/personified dog who is synonymous with the deadline—Jim White was also trending for much of the day...

"

Transfer Sources Jim White Transfer Deadline Day Drinking Game! pic.twitter.com/ShjVOSLobY

— Transfer Sources (@TransferSources) February 2, 2015"

The man with the yellow tie also inspired a sensational dance routine last seen in 1990…

White could not inspire Gary Neville to put on a yellow tie, though…

Thierry Henry also made his deadline-day debut in the Sky studios and made his views on proceedings fairly clear from the outset…

The Frenchman attempted to liven things up with talk of a move to QPR…

Henry’s most notable moment, however, was his forgetfulness over Arsenal’s big north London rivals. Need some ice for that burn, Spurs fans? 

Ultimately, the transfer deals that were processed were underwhelming and unsurprising. Even Robert Huth could barely disguise his lack of excitement when he made a move to Leicester…

"

CONFIRMED: Robert Huth has completed a loan move from Stoke to Leicester. He's clearly buzzing. #DeadlineDay pic.twitter.com/O4AOpfmguM

— Transfer Daily (@TransferDaily) February 2, 2015"

But the German centre-back—who is serving a ban for remarks made on social media—used his Twitter account to sign off from Stoke in amusing style…

Yakubu made his return to English football with Reading, with many wondering how he had managed to get younger since leaving Blackburn in 2012…

"

I see that "32-year-old" Yakubu has signed for Reading. He's been 32 for about 10 years now, surely! https://t.co/AohHwHz2Tg

— GeoffPetersTalkSPORT (@talkSPORTgeoff) February 2, 2015"

The news that Tim Cahill has left the New York Red Bulls put several clubs on alert but depressed fans who realized that the Australian might be the subject of one of the biggest surprise deals of the day. He wasn't, though. Which is even more depressing...

The man himself did later make an announcement about an announcement, in which he actually hashtagged his own name. He eventually revealed he was moving to Shanghai.  

As the clock moved closer to 11 p.m., #RonaldoToManUtd started to trend. Could this have been the workings of an absolutely sensational last-minute deal? Nope, sorry. It was just a hoax that was apparently started by a YouTube gamer with a large Twitter following…

"

When you see that #RonaldoToManUtd is trending... https://t.co/bKQ09uKYFn

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) February 2, 2015"

The biggest action of the day ended up being the confirmation of Juan Cuadrado’s move to Chelsea (per BBC Sport), a deal that has been in the making for several days but that was contingent on the departure of World Cup-winning substitute Andre Schurrle to Wolfsburg…

"

Buying Cuadrado to replace Schurrle on the bench pic.twitter.com/V2EqQlIipm

— Football Trolls (@Footballltrolls) January 31, 2015"

Jim White was optimistic that this £23.3 million move (as per the BBC) would cause an avalanche of big deals to come tumbling down…

But he was ultimately wrong. Aaron Lennon went on loan to Everton, Wilfried Zaha ended his association with Manchester United, Darren Fletcher was loaned to West Brom, and Southampton permanently signed Ryan Bertrand. 

There was a glimmer of excitement late in proceedings when it appeared that Carlton Cole was on his way to West Brom, with Emmanuel Adebayor apparently filling his shoes at West Ham... 

Chairman David Gold even told fans to stave off their pyjamas and hot cocoa for a few hours...

However, as the clock struck 11 p.m., neither Adebayor nor Cole had made any moves. 

Gold ended up apologising for keeping the Hammers' faithful up so late...

A few minor deals trickled in after the deadline, such as Andy Kellett, who signed for Manchester United on loan from Bolton, inspiring many Red Devils fans to head to Google to find out who Andy Kellett is...

Ultimately, it was one of the least eventful deadline days in years. No one even jumped over a shark.   

Follow me @RyanJayBailey