Andrew Fifield On the Premiership: 'The problem with the transfer window," observed a well-known director of football as the dust settled on a frenetic summer of spending last week, "is the terror it creates. Everyone's frightened of not doing any deals so you end up making ridiculous panic-buys."

He should know, for his club spent almost €5 million in the twilight of transfer-deadline day, including one deal that wasn't registered with the English Football Association until 11.55pm. Yet that outlay is a tiny of fraction of the jaw-dropping €450 million frittered away by league clubs since the end of last season, comfortably the most since Fifa attempted to regulate the spending of clubs by introducing fixed periods of transfer activity in 2002.

Good old Fifa. The transfer window is one of those typical Sepp Blatter brain-waves, taken seriously mainly on the basis of having a snappy title. In reality, it is pure guff, and scarcely less ludicrous than his proposal to introduce giant goals to up the sport's scoring rate, or to force women footballers to wear skimpier shorts.

The idea behind the transfer window, lest we forget, was to restore a sense of equilibrium to football, making managers and coaches rely on their tactical tinkering rather than the quick-fix option of big-money signings. It was also supposed to save lower-league clubs from the disruption of losing their best talents in mid-season.

So much for the good intentions. In reality, the system has plunged football's transfer market into utter chaos, with prices inflated to absurd levels by clubs who know desperate buyers will do anything in an effort to beat the clock.

The evidence is all around. Michael Carrick can pass the ball neatly enough and be relied upon to keep his nose clean, but could anyone argue a midfielder who has scored 10 goals in 253 senior appearances since 1999 is really worth almost €30 million? The fee paid by Manchester United smacked more of desperation to appease supporters disgruntled at seeing Chelsea dwarf their club's spending power since the arrival of Roman Abramovich.

It is not Carrick's fault he is overpriced. Nor is he alone. Even Kevin Kilbane himself would probably have scoffed at the €5 million Everton demanded for his services, and yet Wigan proved more than happy to cough up.

The market is just as warped further down the food chain, Crystal Palace stumping up an eye-watering €3.75 million for Blackburn's Shefki Kuqi, a forward whose movement can best be described as "limited" and who turns 30 in November.

But it is not simply the clubs who are to blame: they have been hamstrung by their world governing body. Any manager attempting to sneak in early through the transfer window is almost certain to be spurned, as the selling clubs are well aware the longer they wait the more money they are likely to receive.

As a result, almost all the major business of a two-month summer transfer window is conducted in the final, frenzied hours of the last, delirious day: it happened in 2004 when Wayne Rooney left it late to join Manchester United; it happened last year when Michael Owen persuaded Newcastle to part with €28 million; and it happened 11 days ago as West Ham completed the remarkable signings of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez. The Premiership has become football's answer to lastminute.com.

The whole scenario makes a mockery of Fifa's supposed eagerness to help the game's minnows. Instead, clubs with prize assets are left fretting until the clock has ticked past midnight on August 31st; they then have four months of serenity before the whole process begins again on New Year's Day.

The biggest sufferers have been Preston North End. The Premiership vultures have been circling their highly prized forward Dave Nugent ever since his impressive performances in last season's Championship play-offs, and for much of the summer it seemed a question of when, not if, one would swoop.

Middlesbrough, Everton, Portsmouth, Fulham and Newcastle were all linked with moves, offers ranging from a puny €4 million to a whopping €7.5 million, but nothing was finalised. Nugent remained a Preston player and the Lancashire club were left to reflect, angrily, on 60 days of needless concern.

"It's an awful time for clubs," Derek Shaw, the club's chairman, said. "If there has to be a window then let it close at the end of July, before the season kicks off. I don't think it should go into August at all. Everyone is looking over their shoulders and the whole thing is very distracting."

If Fifa had any sense they would listen to Shaw's concerns - which are echoed throughout the lower leagues - and revise their ill-conceived system.

With Blatter's track record, few are holding their breath.