Transfer Window Summary, Grading the Transfer Window

[Oncy]

Oh sure, it should work out ok. I just find it a bit irritating, that in the worst case scenario we find our perfect long term RB but then lost him for peanuts and there's nothing we can do about it. I know on paper that's not how it is - he's not our player - but somehow it just doesn't feel like that. From the start it felt like we'd signed him and that the loan part was just a formality.

And maybe psychologically it's hard to get out of that way of thinking about it.

I see what you mean, obviously ive always looked at it as a loan. But as I said we dont know the ins and outs, we may well have an option to buy in place.
Either way we can surely agree that Johnson out the team for the next 9 months is a good thing.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Err, the one thing that struck me is how many of the also rans spent a hell of a lot. Hull, Everton, QPR, Newcastle, West Ham all spent over £20m, a couple spent more than £30m.

From what I can find in transfermarkt, I think the expenses for some of these clubs are (surprisingly) somewhat in line with what they spent last season. This is comparing their total expenses from both windows last season to this summer window only though (I'm assuming there isn't much activity generally in the winter window):

Everton - 28m to 35m (yes, I'm surprised with how much they spent last season; some of it actually in loan fees)
Hull - 27m to 38m
West Ham - 21m to 27m
QPR - 44m to 37m (they spent 10m in the Championship last season; 44m was their spend from their season in the EPL before relegation)

Newcastle is the one with the giant leap - 3m+ last season to 29m this season.

 

[rurikbird]

The one on Eurosport is the most complete one (and controversial, because of the grades).

ARSENAL
PLAYERS IN: Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona, £35m); Danny Welbeck (Manchester United, £16m); Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle, £10m); Calum Chambers (Southampton, £16m); David Ospina (Nice, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona, £15m); Nicklas Bendtner (released); Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea, free); Park Chu-young (released); Bacary Sagna (Manchester City, free); Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad, undisclosed); Ignasi Miquel (£1m); Zak Ansah (Charlton, free); Johan Djourou (Hamburg, undisclosed); Chuks Aneke (released); Daniel Boateng (released); Wellington Silva (Almeria, loan); Thomas Eisfeld (Fulham, undisclosed); Carl Jenkinson (West Ham United, loan); Austin Lipman (Borehamwood, loan); Benik Afobe (MK Dons, loan); Ryo Miyiachi (FC Twente, loan)
NET SPEND: £46m
Arsene Wenger acted with uncharacteristic haste in the early stages of the window and succeeded on a number of fronts: deadwood like Johan Djourou and Nicklas Bendtner were finally cut from the squad; Chambers brought potential and versatility; Debuchy was a like-for-like replacement for Sagna; and Sanchez was the kind of star acquisition who can transform a team. However, the sale of Vermaelen and an injury to Olivier Giroud made the squad look vulnerable again and though Welbeck could be a good signing to strengthen the attack, Wenger perplexingly failed to sign another centre-back, leaving the club short in a key position as they fight on four fronts.
GRADE: B-
- - -
ASTON VILLA
PLAYERS IN: Joe Cole (West Ham, free); Kieran Richardson (Fulham, undisclosed); Philippe Senderos (Valencia, free); Aly Cissokho (Valencia, undisclosed); Carlos Sanchez (Elche, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Marc Albrighton (Leicester, free); Jordan Bowery (Rotherham United, undisclosed); Nathan Delfouneso (released); Nicklas Helenius (Aalborg, loan); Yacouba Sylla (Kayseri Erciyesspor, loan); Jes Steer (Doncaster Rovers, loan); Antonio Luna (Verona, loan); Samir Carruthers (MK Dons, undisclosed); Daniel Johnson (Chesterfield, loan); Aleksandar Tonev (Celtic, loan); Janoi Danocien (Tranmere Rovers, loan); Gary Gardner (Brighton, loan); Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, undisclosed)
NET SPEND: £6m
Aston Villa's early manouveres indicated Paul Lambert had stumbled across a collection of scouting reports from 2008 as Cole, Richardson and Senderos failed to garner much excitement, but at least Cissokho and Sanchez, who starred for Colombia at the World Cup finals, are rather more interesting acquisitions. Villa's problem last season was a lack of experience and quality. The first of those shortcomings has been addressed, but the jury remains out on the second.
GRADE: C+
- - -
BURNLEY
PLAYERS IN: Stephen Ward (Wolves, undisclosed); Matt Gilks (Blackpool, free); Lukas Jutkiewicz (Middlesbrough ); Michael Kightly (Stoke, undisclosed); Steven Reid (West Brom, free); Marvin Sordell (Bolton, undisclosed); Matt Taylor (West Ham, free); Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea, loan); George Boyd (Hull); Michael Keane (Manchester United, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Chris Baird (West Brom, free); David Edgar (Birmingham City, free); Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth, free); Brian Stock (released); Keith Treacy (released); Joseph Mills (Oldham, free); Nick Liversedge (released); Micah Evans (released); Luke O'Neill (Scunthorpe, loan)

NET SPEND: £8m
The Clarets made a game attempt to bring in Premier League experience and ended up with three new midfielders in Taylor, Reid and Kightly. However, the suspicion remains that they failed to exercise the superior financial muscle granted to them by the huge Premier League TV income to have a real go in the transfer market. They look to be building a side capable of winning promotion again next season. At least Leicester signed Esteban Cambiasso. Still, at least living within your means should be applauded.
GRADE: C
- - -
View gallery
.

CHELSEA
PLAYERS IN: Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid, £32m); Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, £30m); Didier Drogba (Galatasaray, free); Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid, £16m); Mario Pasalic (Hajduk Split, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: David Luiz (PSG, £50m); Romelu Lukaku (Everton, £28m); Fernando Torres (AC Milan, loan); Demba Ba (Besiktas, £4.7m); Ashley Cole (released); Samuel Eto'o (released); Frank Lampard (released); Henrique Hilario (released); Sam Hutchinson (Sheffield Wednesday, free); Christian Atsu (Everton, loan); Ryan Bertrand (Southampton, loan); Thomas Kalas (Cologne, loan); Bertrand Traore (Vitesse Arnhem, loan); Wallace (Vitesse Arnhem, loan); Mario Pasalic (Elche, loan); Lucas Piazon (Frankfurt, loan); Oriol Romeu (Stuttgart, loan); Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough, loan); Gael Kakuta (Rayo Vallecano, loan); Josh McEachran (Vitesse Arnhem, loan); Marko Marin (Fiorentina, loan); Milan Lalkovic (released); Daniel Pappoe (released); Thorgan Hazard (Borussia M'gladbach, loan); Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland, undisclosed); John Swift (Rotherham, loan); Stipe Perica (NAC, loan); Billy Clifford (Walsall, free); Victor Moses (Stoke City, loan); Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough, loan); Marko van Ginkel (AC Milan, loan)
NET SPEND: £7.8m
Not only did Chelsea complete the vast majority of their transfer business at a very impressive pace, they also recruited some superb players while making only a minor loss. The acquisitions of Costa and Fabregas are already paying off handsomely while Luis is also a fine player. Remy adds potency to an attack strengthened by the loss of Torres but Chelsea's finest piece of business has to be somehow convincing Paris Saint-Germain to part with £50m for David Luiz.
GRADE: A+
- - -
CRYSTAL PALACE
PLAYERS IN: James McArthur (Wigan, £7m); Brede Hangeland (Fulham, free); Martin Kelly (Liverpool, undisclosed); Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff, £900,000); Chris Kettings (Blackpool, free); Wilfried Zaha (Manchester United, loan); Zeki Fryers (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Kevin Doyle (Crystal Palace, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Jose Campana (Sampdoria, £1.4m); Neil Alexander, Osman Sow (Both Heart of Midlothian, undisclosed); Kagisho Dikgacoi (Cardiff City, undisclosed); Glenn Murray (Reading, loan); Dean Moxey (Bolton Wanderers, undisclosed); Aaron Wilbraham (Bristol City, undisclosed); Jonathan Parr (Ipswich Town, undisclosed); Ross Fitzsimons (Bolton Wanderers, undisclosed); Alex Wynter (Portsmouth, Loan); Kwesi Appiah (Cambridge United, Loan); Jack Hunt (Nottingham Forest, Loan); Stephen Dobbie (Fleetwood Town, Loan); Danny Gabbidon (released); Ibra Sekajja (released); Quade Taylor (released); Derek Tieku (released); Tom King (released); Alistair Gordon (released)
NET SPEND: £8.2m
Palace spent most of the summer contending with managerial chaos and indeed arguments over supposed transfer targets were reported to be behind the exit of Tony Pulis. It was said he did not want to sign Wilfried Zaha on loan, but the capture of the winger looks a canny move and Zaha is the best of an uninspiring bunch of new signings at Selhurst Park - though record signing and deadline day capture McArthur is a decent enough player for the midfield.
GRADE: C-
- - -

View gallery
.

EVERTON
PLAYERS IN: Samuel Eto'o (free transfer); Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, £28m); Gareth Barry (Manchester City, free); Christian Atsu (Chelsea, loan); Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros, £4m); Brendan Galloway (MK Dons, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Magaye Gueye (released); Apostolos Vellios (released); John Lundstram (Blackpool, loan); Mason Springthorpe (released); Ibou Touray (released); Matthew Kennedy (Hibernian, loan); Shane Duffy (Blackburn, undisclosed)
NET SPEND: £34m
The Toffees used to be a club who operated at the lower end of the market so paying £28m for Lukaku was a bold statement of intent. Sadly, though, it didn't technically improve their team given he played last season on loan at Goodison Park. The capture of Barry, too, sustained the status quo, but Besic looks an interesting capture and Eto'o adds some grandeur to the squad - though quite how effective he will be remains to be seen, even on a two-year contract.
GRADE: B

- - -
HULL CITY
PLAYERS IN: Abel Hernandez (Palermo, £9.5m); Michael Dawson (Tottenham, £3m); Tom Ince (Blackpool, tribunal); Jake Livermore (Tottenham, £8m); Robert Snodgrass (Norwich, £6m); Harry Maguire (Sheffield United, £2.5m); Andrew Robertson (Dundee, £2.85m); Karim Rossi (Stoke City, undisclosed), Mohamed Diame (West Ham, undisclosed); Gaston Ramirez (Southampton, loan); Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Matty Fryatt (Nottingham Forest, free); Paul McElroy (Sheffield Wednesday, free); Conor Henderson (Crawley Town, free); Cameron Stewart, (Ipswich Town, free); Robert Koren (released); Abdoulaye Faye (released); Matthew Fletcher (released); Conor Townsend (Dundee, loan); Mark Oxley (Hibernian, loan); Nick Proschwitz (Brentford, free); Shane Long (Southampton, £12m); George Boyd (Burnley)
NET SPEND: £18m
Steve Bruce spent big this summer, breaking his transfer record no less than three times with the purchases of Snodgrass, Livermore and then, on deadline day, Uruguay international Abel Hernandez, who went to the World Cup finals. It all added up to an expensive summer but plenty was recouped by the sale of Long, which represented good business. Have Hull spent wisely? Only time will tell, and plenty rests on how Hernandez fits in, but Gaston Ramirez is an interesting punt too and if he can prove his fitness, Hatem Ben Arfa could be an excellent addition to the squad.
GRADE: B+
- - -
LEICESTER CITY
PLAYERS IN: Leonardo Ulloa (Brighton & Hove Albion, £8m rising to £10m); Danny Simpson (QPR, £2m); Matthew Upson (Brighton & Hove Albion, free); Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa, free); Jack Barmby and Louis Rowley (Both Manchester United, free); Ben Hamer (Charlton Athletic, free); Esteban Cambiasso (Inter, free); Nick Powell (Manchester United, loan); Tom Lawrence (Manchester United, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Lloyd Dyer (Watford, free); George Taft (Burton Albion, free); Zak Whitbread (Derby County, free); Neil Danns (Bolton Wanderers, free); Ben Frempah (Ross County, free); Paul Gallagher (Preston North End, Loan); Conrad Logan (Rochdale, loan); Sean St Ledger (released); Kieran Kennedy (released); Ryan Watson (released); Adam Dawson (released); Jak McCourt (released); Marcel Barrington (released); Jacob Blyth (released); Michael Cain (released); Harry Panayiotou (released); James Pearson (released); Alie Sesay (released); Adam Smith (released)
NET SPEND: £11m
Ulloa scored on his Premier League debut and looks as though he could be a good signing, but the most exciting Argentinian pitching up in Leicester this summer was certainly Cambiasso. His free transfer arrival from Inter was in the best traditions of the Premier League and on a par with some of the most unexpected signings in the vintage summers of 1996 and 1997. Okay, so he might not have that much of an impact, but at least Leicester gave it a go. A late move for Jermain Defoe did not materialise.
GRADE: B
- - -

View gallery
.

LIVERPOOL

PLAYERS IN: Mario Balotelli (AC Milan, £16m); Alberto Moreno (Seville, £12m); Adam Lallana (Southampton, £25m); Dejan Lovren (Southampton, £20m); Lazar Markovic (Benfica, £20m); Divock Origi (Lille, £10m); Emre Can (Bayer Leverkusen, £9.75m); Rickie Lambert (Southampton, £4m); Lawrence Vigouroux, Kevin Stewart (Both Tottenham Hotspur, free); Javier Manquillo (Atlético Madrid, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Luis Suarez (Barcelona, £75m); Daniel Agger (Brondby, £3m); Sebastian Coates (Sunderland, loan); Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace, £1.5m); Oussama Assaidi (Stoke, loan); Conor Coady (Huddersfield Town, £375,000); Pepe Reina (Bayern Munich, Undisclosed); Villyan Bijev (Slavia Sofia, free); Jakub Sokolik (Yeovil Town, free); Michael Ngoo (Kilmarnock, free); Luis Alberto (Malaga, Loan); Iago Aspas (Seville, Loan); Andre Wisdom (West Bromwich Albion, Loan); Brad Smith (Swindon Town, Loan); Tiago Ilori (Bordeaux, Loan); Joao Carlos Teixeira (Brighton, Loan); Yalany Baio (released); Yusuf Mersin (released); Michael Ngoo (released); Craig Roddan (released); Stephen Sama (released); Jordan Ibe (Derby, loan)
NET SPEND: £30m
A summer which witnessed the sale of Suarez and the signing of Balotelli cannot be described as anything other than eventful, and Brendan Rodgers signed another 10 players for good measure as well. Fears of repeating Tottenham's scatter-gun approach to replacing Gareth Bale are understandable but probably misleading: Liverpool have recruited good players in positions they needed to strengthen and brought in some promising youngsters too. They won't be as good as they were with Suarez, but crucially, with Champions League football to contend with, they have far more strength in depth all over the pitch.
GRADE: B+
- - -
MANCHESTER CITY
PLAYERS IN: Eliaquim Mangala (Porto, £32m); Fernando (Porto, £12m); Willy Caballero (Malaga, £6m); Bacary Sagna (Arsenal, free); Frank Lampard (New York City, loan); Bruno Zuculini (Racing Club, £3m)
PLAYERS OUT: Alvaro Negredo (Valencia, loan); Javi García (Zenit St Petersburg, £12m); Jack Rodwell (Sunderland, £10m); Gareth Barry (Everton, £1m); Costel Pantilimon (Sunderland, free); Joleon Lescott (WBA, free); Micah Richards (Fiorentina, loan); Bruno Zuculini (Valencia, loan); Alex Henshall (Ipswich Town, free); Ellis Plummer (St Mirren, free); Reece Wabara (Doncaster Rovers, free); Marcos Lopes (Lille, loan); Emyr Huws (Wigan Athletic, loan); Greg Leigh (Crewe Alexandra, loan); Jason Denayer (Celtic, loan); Devante Cole (Barnsley, loan); Thomas Agyiri (released); Kieran Kennedy (released); George Swan (released); Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely (released); Emyr Huws (Wigan, undisclosed)
NET SPEND: £32m

Like Chelsea, City benefitted from having a focused and well-executed transfer strategy and, like Chelsea, they did most of their work early on, upping their defensive quota with the additions of centre-back Mangala and defensive midfielder Fernando. Lampard is a signing who will have little to no impact but Sagna and Caballero increase competition for places and City are a more effective proposition as they look to improve on their title-winning campaign. There was no superstar signing this year - despite late talk of a move for Falcao - but City can be pleased with their business nonetheless.
GRADE: A
- - -

View gallery
.

MANCHESTER UNITED

PLAYERS IN: Falcao (Monaco, loan); Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid, £59.7m); Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon, £16m); Luke Shaw (Southampton, £30m rising to £31m); Ander Herrera (Athletic Bilbao, £28.8m); Daley Blind (Ajax, £14.2m); Vanja Milinkovic (FK Vojvodina, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Nani (Sporting Lisbon, Loan); Alexander Buttner (Dynamo Moscow, £4.4m rising to £5.6m); Patrice Evra (Juventus, £1.2m rising to £1.5m); Bebe (Benfica, £2.25m); Jack Barmby (Leicester City, free); Feredrico Macheda (Cardiff City, free); Nemanja Vidic (Inter Milan, free); Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, loan); Louis Rowley (Leicester City, free); Rio Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers, free); Charni Ekangamene (Zulte Waregem, free); Vanja Milinkovic (FK Vojvodina, Loan); Angelo Henriquez (Dynamo Zagreb, Loan); Sam Byrne (released); Ryan Giggs (released and taken on as assistant manager); Jack Rudge (released); Nick Powell (Leicester City, loan); Michael Keane (Burnley, loan); Tom Lawrence (Leicester City, undisclosed)
NET SPEND: £122m
Where to start? Well, United must be applauded for breaking the British transfer record to sign Di Maria from Real Madrid and he is a necessary addition to the squad, bringing pace and penetration. Falcao - a shock signing on deadline day - is also a fantastic, show-stopping addition, but is he really worth the truly staggering reported £350,000-a-week wages he will receive while at the club? Herrera and Shaw are bursting with promise while Rojo is versatile and Blind should add steel in midfield and cover in defence. United went on the second biggest spending spree of all time - second only to Real Madrid's splurge in 2009. Still, there remain glaring holes in United's squad, particularly if they persist with 3-5-2, as they are still lacking a top-notch right wing-back and possibly two new centre-backs. So not a perfect window by any means.
GRADE: A-
- - -
NEWCASTLE UNITED
PLAYERS IN: Remy Cabella (Montpellier, £12m); Karl Darlow, Jamaal Lascelles (Nottingham Forest, £7m combined); Emmanuel Riviere (Monaco, £6.3m); Siem de Jong (Ajax, £6m); Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord, £5m); Ayoze Perez (Tenerife, £1.5m); Jack Colback (Sunderland, free); Facundo Ferreyra (Shakhtar Donetsk, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Mathieu Debuchy (Arsenal, £12m); Hatem Ben Arfa (Hull, loan); James Tavernier (Wigan Athletic, £900,000); Dan Gosling (AFC Bournemouth, free); Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Roma, loan); Jonathan Mitchell (Derby County, free); Conor Newton (Rotherham United, free); Romain Amalfitano (Dijon, free); Shola Ameobi (Gaziantep, free); Steven Logan (Annan Athletic, free); Adam Campbell (Fleetwood Town, loan); Sylvain Marveaux (Guingcamp, loan); Karl Darlow, Jamaal Lascelles (Nottingham Forest, loans); Brandon Miele (released); Jonathan Mitchell (released); Michael Richardson (released)
NET SPEND: £24.9m
It was a remarkably competent summer window at Newcastle - proving what can be done without Joe Kinnear with his hand on the tiller - as the Magpies entered the European market again and made good signings in Cabella, De Jong and Janmaat. Domestically the cheeky free transfer signing of Colback and the additions of Forest duo Lascelles and Darlow also caught the eye. It was an expensive summer's work, but a good one too.
GRADE: B+
- - -

 

[rurikbird]

QPR
PLAYERS IN: Sandro (Tottenham, £10m); Leroy Fer (Norwich City £8m); Steven Caulker (Cardiff City, £8.5m); Jordan Mutch (Cardiff City, £6m); Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev, loan); Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, free); Mauricio Isla (Juventus, loan); Jack Robinson (Liverpool, undisclosed); Eduardo Vargas (Napoli, loan); Alex McCarthy (Reading, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Loic Remy (Chelsea, £10.5m); Julio Cesar (Benfica, free); Yossi Benayoun (Maccabi Haifa, undisclosed); Esteban Granero (Real Sociedad, undisclosed); Danny Simpson (Leicester City, £2m); Tom Hitchcock (MK Dons, free); Aaron Hughes (Brighton & Hove Albion, free); Mo Shariff (Bradford City, free); Gary O'Neil (Norwich City, free); Angelo Balanta (released); Hogan Ephraim (released); Andrew Johnson (released); Stéphane Mbia (released); Jack Robinson (Huddersfield, loan); Luke Young (released)
NET SPEND: £20m
Transfer windows are never boring when Harry Redknapp is around and Rangers made some bold acquisitions for a promoted team. Early signs were not encouraging with a 3-5-2 formation struggling to get off the ground, but in Fer, Ferdinand and Caulker they have at least strengthened their spine and deadline day brought eyecatching deals for both Niko Kranjcar and Sandro. It remains to be seen whether Redknapp's shotgun approach to recruitment will serve QPR well but his two final deals are both real coups.
GRADE: B-
- - -
View gallery
.

SOUTHAMPTON
PLAYERS IN: Shane Long (Hull City, £12m); Sadio Mane (Red Bull Salzburg, £11.8m); Dusan Tadic (FC Twente, £10.9m); Fraser Forster (Celtic, £10m); Graziano Pelle (Feyenoord, £9m); Florin Gardos (Steaua Bucharest, £6m); Saphir Taider (Inter Milan, swap); Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea, loan); Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Luke Shaw (Manchester United, £30m rising to £31m); Adam Lallana (Liverpool, £25m); Dejan Lovren (Liverpool, £20m); Calum Chambers (Arsenal, £16m); Rickie Lambert (Liverpool, £4m); Gaston Ramirez (Hull, loan); Tom Leggett, Isaac Nehemie (Both Aston Villa, undisclosed); Billy Sharp (Leeds United, £600,000); Danny Fox (Nottingham Forest, free); Andy Robinson (Bolton, free); Lee Barnard (Southend United, free); Matt Young (Sheffield Wednesday, free); Jonathan Forte (Oldham Athletic, free); Dani Osvaldo (Inter Milan, swap); Jordan Turnbull (Swindon Town, Loan); Lee Barnard (released); Joe Curtis (released); Guily Do Prado (released); Andreas Sony (released); Jos Hooiveld (Norwich, loan)
NET SPEND: -£35m
An exodus on a scale not seen since Moses parted the Red Sea had everyone fearing for Southampton, and while they have made a healthy profit there is no doubt the squad is weaker than it was last season. Forster solves their intermittent goalkeeping concerns and Long and Pelle strengthen the attack, along with supporting cast Tadic and Mane, but the sheer weight of talent drained from St Mary's means this was a troublesome window. Lots of new faces arrived, but few have Premier League experience.
GRADE: C
- - -
STOKE CITY
PLAYERS IN: Victor Moses (Chelsea, Loan); Bojan Krkic (Barcelona, £3m); Dionatan Teixeira (Banska Bystrica, Undisclosed); Mame Biram Diouf (Hannover 96, free); Phil Bardsley (Sunderland, free); Steve Sidwell (Fulham, free); Oussama Assaidi (Liverpool, loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Michael Kightly (Burnley, undisclosed); Cameron Jerome (Norwich, undisclosed); Ryan Shotton (Derby, loan); Jordan Keane (Alfreton Town, free); Ed Sanders (Sheffield Wednesday, free); Karim Rossi (Hull City, free); Kevin Gomez-Nieto (Helmond, free); James Alabi (Accrington Stanley, loan); Jamie Ness (Crewe Alexandra, loan); Juan Agudelo (released); Lucas Dawson (released); Matthew Etherington (released); Ben Heneghan (released); Jordan Richardson (released)
NET SPEND: £1m
Stoke did not lose any key players and made some exciting signings, most notably former Barcelona youngster Bojan. Though their new attacking additions have not clicked as yet, this was nonetheless a productive window's work for Mark Hughes, though they could have done with a couple more bodies.
GRADE: B-
- - -
SUNDERLAND
PLAYERS IN: Jack Rodwell (Manchester City, £10m); Ricky Alvarez (Inter, loan); Will Buckley (Brighton & Hove Albion, £2.5m); Patrick van Aanholt (Chelsea, Undisclosed); Sebastian Coates (Liverpool, loan); Jordi Gómez (Wigan Athletic, free); Billy Jones (West Bromwich Albion, free); Costel Pantilimon (Manchester City, free); Santiago Vergini (Estudiantes, Loan)
PLAYERS OUT: Carlos Cuéllar (Norwich, Free); Ignacio Scocco (Newell's Old Boys, £2.1m); Phil Bardsley (Stoke City, free); Jack Colback (Newcastle United, free); Craig Gardner (West Bromwich Albion, free); Alfred N'Diaye (Real Betis, £2m); Billy Knott (Bradford City, free); John Egan (Gillingham, free); Kieren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday, free); Louis Laing (Nottingham Forest, free); Reece Noble (Durham City, free); Oscar Ustari (Newell's Old Boys, free); David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest, free); Jordan Pickford (Bradford City, Loan); Carlos Cuéllar (released); Andrea Dossena (released); Jordan Laidler (released); Alejandro Rodriguez Gorrin (released); Jordan Watson (released); Valentin Roberge (Reims, loan)
NET SPEND: £8m
Sunderland needed a good, logical and generally non-ridiculous transfer window after a year or so of manic turbulence overseen by various managers and directors of football, and by and large they got one. Gus Poyet cut a lot of the dross from his squad and made some signings which made sense, with Rodwell the key addition in central midfield after his disappointing time at Manchester City. Still, outright quality - Jordi Gomez's passing and the temperamental talents of Ricky Alvarez excluded of course - was lacking, and the loss of Colback to rivals Newcastle on a free transfer was borderline insulting.
GRADE: B
- - -

View gallery
.

SWANSEA CITY

PLAYERS IN: Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon, free); Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal, free); Raheem Hanley (Blackburn Rovers, undisclosed); Marvin Emnes (Middlesbrough, undisclosed); Gylfi Sigurdsson (Tottenham Hotspur, undisclosed); Jefferson Montero (Monarcas Morelia, £4m); Modou Barrow (Ostersunds FK, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Michu (Napoli, loan); Daniel Alfei (Northampton Town, loan); Gwion Edwards (Crawley Town, undisclosed); Michel Vorm (Tottenham Hotspur, £5m); Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur, £10m); Alejandro Pozuelo (Rayo Vallecano, undisclosed); Chico Flores (Lekhwiya, undisclosed); Pablo Hernandez (Al-Arabi, undisclosed); David Ngog (released); Leroy Lita (released); Jose Canas (Espanyol, free)
NET SPEND: £1m
Bringing Sigurdsson back to the club was one of the finest pieces of summer business judging on the way he has started the season, while Gomis also looks an astute capture on a free. Losing the talented Davies was undoubtedly a blow - as was seeing Michu join Napoli - but Swansea had a productive summer in the market despite a number of departures and it shows in their early-season form.
GRADE: B+

- - -
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
PLAYERS IN: Federico Fazio (Sevilla, £8m); Ben Davies (Swansea City, £10m); Michel Vorm (Swansea City, £5m); Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon, £4m); DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders, £2.5m); Benjamin Stambouli (Montpellier, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Sandro (QPR, £10m); Michael Dawson (Hull City, £3m); Jake Livermore (Hull City, £8m); Iago Falque (Genoa, £4m); Heurelho Gomes (Watford, free); Zeki Fryers (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Lawrence Vigouroux, Kevin Stewart (Both Liverpool, free); Darren McQueen (Ipswich Town, free); Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City, swap); Grant Hall (Birmingham City, Loan); Alex Pritchard (Brentford, Loan); Kenny McEvoy (Peterborough United, Loan); Shaquile Coulthirst (Southend United, Loan); Jordan Archer (Northampton Town, Loan); DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders, Loan); Giancarlo Gallifuoco (released); Cameron Lancaster (released); Roman Michael-Percil (released); Jonathan Miles (released); Cameron Lancaster (Stevenage, free)
NET SPEND: £12m
Tottenham spent a not-insignificant amount of money this summer but have not improved their first XI in any significant way. Dier has started well but Fazio and Davies may not make an impact straight away, Yeldlin has been loaned out, Stambouli is a rather unknown quantity and Vorm is a sub. Could have done a lot more.
GRADE: D
- - -
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
PLAYERS IN: Georgios Samaras (Celtic, free); Silvestre Varela (Porto, loan); Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kiev, £10m); Sebastien Pocognoli (Hannover 96, £1.5m); Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo, undisclosed); Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg, undisclosed); Craig Gardner (Sunderland, free); Joleon Lescott (Manchester City, free); Chris Baird (Burnley, free); Andre Wisdom (Liverpool, loan); Sebastian Blanco (Metalist Kharkiv, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: George Thorne (Derby County, £2m); Billy Jones (Sunderland, free); Liam Ridgewell (Portland Timbers, free); Steven Reid (Burnley, free); Cameron Gayle (Shrewsbury Town, free); Donervon Daniels (Blackpool, Loan); Scott Allan (released); Zoltan Gera (released); Diego Lugano (released)
NET SPEND: £12m
The Baggies signed no less than 11 players as new manager Alan Irvine overhauled the squad, with the most expensive being club record signing Brown Ideye, whom Ivrine admitted he had never seen play. With so many arrivals, the success of West Brom's summer work will come out in the wash, though early signs are not particularly encouraging.
GRADE: C
- - -
WEST HAM UNITED
PLAYERS IN: Enner Valencia (Pachuca, £12m); Aaron Cresswell (Ipswich Town, £3.75m); Alex Song (Barcelona, loan); Cheikhou Kouyate (Anderlecht, undisclosed); Mauro Zarate (Velez Sarsfield, undisclosed); Diafra Sakho (FC Metz, undisclosed); Diego Poyet (Charlton Athletic, compensation); Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal, loan), Morgan Amalfitano (Marseille, undisclosed)
PLAYERS OUT: Mohamed Diame (West Ham, undisclosed); Ben Sheaf (Arsenal, Undisclosed); Joe Cole (Aston Villa, free); Matt Taylor (Burnley, free); Stephen Henderson (Charlton Athletic, free); Robert Girdlestone (Chelmsford City, free); Raphael Spiegel (Crawley Town, Loan); George Moncur (Colchester United, Loan); Jack Collison (released); Alou Diarra (released); Callum Driver (released); George McCartney (released); Jordan Spence (released)
NET SPEND: £30m
With a focus on attacking football having been thrust on him from above, Sam Allardyce welcomed a number of new forwards with Mauro Zarate making a good early impact and big things expected of Ecuador World Cup star Enner Valencia. Alex Song became a figure of fun at Barcelona but there is no doubting he has quality and he should be a good addition in midfield. There was certainly enough to get excited about for Hammers fans.
GRADE: B
- - -

 

[Modo]

 

[FoxForceFive]

Good summary this. Chelsea are now an extremely well run club, FFP isn't going to do too much damage to them anytime soon. Utd absolutely out there on their own in terms of net spend.

Yep, Chelsea have attempted to, & imo succeeded in, getting round the ffp restrictions by buying as many assets/players as they could do in the last few seasons.

 

[leftpeg]

@Modo that graphic is ridiculous. We paid over the odds for Moreno but Arsenal paid the right price for Danny Welbeck...really? These relative comparisons are completely meaningless as they take no account of the buyers' need in the overall valuation of the player. Moreno to Liverpool being another good example.

 

[leftpeg]

Take Suarez out of the picture and we really didn't make much from our sales this window. As has been mentioned elsewhere, we do seem to struggle to offload players.

 

[HC]

How did we over pay for Moreno?

Every cunt And his dog quoted the fee all summer long at £20m and we eventually got him at 12m or potentially less?

 

[Modo]

@Modo that graphic is ridiculous. We paid over the odds for Moreno but Arsenal paid the right price for Danny Welbeck...really? These relative comparisons are completely meaningless as they take no account of the buyers' need in the overall valuation of the player. Moreno to Liverpool being another good example.

Just thought Id post it, doesnt really reflect my opinion

 

[leftpeg]

Just thought Id post it, doesnt really reflect my opinion

I didn't express an opinion on your opinion. I expressed an opinion on the graphic...which in my opinion is utterly meaningless.

 

[localny]

According to that article, united had a better transfer windows than us!

Goes to show that pundits and journalists know less than fans,

 

[Holle]

According to that article, united had a better transfer windows than us!

Goes to show that pundits and journalists know less than fans,

I was about to say the same.

Fucking journos.

 

[Mystic]

The article was fairly decent and on the money until the A-, hilarious rating, C+ is probably what they're on.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

According to that article, united had a better transfer windows than us!

Goes to show that pundits and journalists know less than fans,

In fairness, we sold one of the best players in the world, and replaced him with lots of players with potential, none of them are proven at the top level. Balotelli the only one that comes close.

The got two 50m players(assuming Falcao is worth at least that) who are considered some of the best in their positions in the world.

If you asked someone outside of the England who had the better window, they'd pretty much all say United.

 

[Mystic]

In fairness, we sold one of the best players in the world, and replaced him with lots of players with potential, none of them are proven at the top level. Balotelli the only one that comes close.

The got two 50m players(assuming Falcao is worth at least that) who are considered some of the best in their positions in the world.

If you asked someone outside of the England who had the better window, they'd pretty much all say United.

United also sold their entire back line and replaced it with two players.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

United also sold their entire back line and replaced it with two players.

Yeah, they did, and ageing one that wouldn't have been much use anyway.

I'm not going to get into an argument about it, it should be pretty obvious why, on the face of it, United look like they've had a better window than us. Time will tell if that really is the case, I suspect it won't be.

 

[Mystic]

Yeah, they did, and ageing one that wouldn't have been much use anyway.

I'm not going to get into an argument about it, it should be pretty obvious why, on the face of it, United look like they've had a better window than us. Time will tell if that really is the case, I suspect it won't be.

There defence is much weaker than last season, they failed to address that. On the flip side, we addressed all our weaknesses, the only reason people would say that is because they're blinded by glamour signings. I suppose I'm agreeing with you, anyone who takes a cursory glance would probably say they did, but anyone who spends a few minutes analysing the teams should realise that they've left themselves incredibly short and unbalanced, where as our squad is very very solid and balanced.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

And there's no way any of us on here are being in anyway biased about it. That couldn't happen.

 

[peterhague]

On what basis is the window being judged? I'd say that except in terms of star names being brought in, Utd have had a mixed window at best. Hugely inflated fees, very questionable priorities, business done too late.

You'd have to be about 15 years old to not look at their dealings and have serious misgivings.

 

[Mystic]

And there's no way any of us on here are being in anyway biased about it. That couldn't happen.

You're right, it couldn't.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

I'm not sure why people are writing off two 50m players as irrelevant to the discussion.

They are a team that finished 7th last year and have spent 150m this summer, including two of the best players in the world. If Southampton or Everton had done it, we'd think it was. People are judging United on the team they were, not the team they are.

Yes, they could have spent more and in some ways better. They have loads of problems to solve, but they've gone a good way to resolving some of them.

But how that can't be seen as a good window for them, is beyond me. I expected they'd sign no one of any note.

 

[ChastenedMUFC]

United also sold their entire back line and replaced it with two players.

Vidic is a loss no question and would have been good to have around this season. However, he was getting more injury prone and although never fast getting slower. He only played 25 games for us last season.

Rio was a bit part player last season with just 14 appearances. He was a liability last season and most of us thought the 14 games were 14 too many. No downgrade this season from last.

Evra we have replaced with Shaw which is a pretty solid change.

We are weaker than last season in defense but we are far stronger in midfield. With Blind replacing Carrick, Herrera replacing Cleverly and Di Maria replacing Young.

 

[peterhague]

I'm not sure why people are writing off two 50m players as irrelevant to the discussion.

They are a team that finished 7th last year and have spent 150m this summer, including two of the best players in the world. If Southampton or Everton had done it, we'd think it was. People are judging United on the team they were, not the team they are.

Yes, they could have spent more and in some ways better. They have loads of problems to solve, but they've gone a good way to resolving some of them.

But how that can't be seen as a good window for them, is beyond me. I expected they'd sign no one of any note.

Well then there's your answer, I'd say. Why you'd expect that is what's beyond me. All the talk for months before the window opened was that they'd spend at least £100m net and quite possibly up to £200m. Did you just miss that or something?

I'd been braced for them to sign 4 or 5 world class players addressing all their main concerns: Kroos, Pogba, Hummels, people like that.

I'm pretty damn relieved at the business they've actually done. It's haphazard and short-termist: they're seemingly throwing everything at things working in the next couple of years, because if they don't they're in real trouble.

I can live with that. It's much better than I expected, and much worse than they should have done - that's how to judge the window: compared to what was needed and what was possible.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

Well then there's your answer, I'd say. Why you'd expect that is what's beyond me. All the talk for months before the window opened was that they'd spend at least £100m net and quite possibly up to £200m. Did you just miss that or something?

I'd been braced for them to sign 4 or 5 world class players addressing all their main concerns: Kroos, Pogba, Hummels, people like that.

I'm pretty damn relieved at the business they've actually done. It's haphazard and short-termist: they're seemingly throwing everything at things working in the next couple of years, because if they don't they're in real trouble.

I can live with that. It's much better than I expected, and much worse than they should have done - that's how to judge the window: compared to what was needed and what was possible.

Are you guilty of the same thing, basing it on expectations?

The reason I thought they'd fail is because that's exactly what happened last year, they huffed and puffed and ended up with nobody of note. I never believed for a second they'd sign any of the big names mentioned, and they didn't sign any of the players rumoured all summer. They two they did sign were out of nowhere.

At the end of the day, they're a team with no CL, and no chance of winning anything. They addressed some issues emphatically, they have a good few more to address. They were never going to address them all in one window. Only the likes of Chelsea and City can do that, as they're already at that highest level. United will need about three or four windows to fix everything, but it's a great start for them.

 

[peterhague]

Are you guilty of the same thing, basing it on expectations?

The reason I thought they'd fail is because that's exactly what happened last year, they huffed and puffed and ended up with nobody of note. I never believed for a second they'd sign any of the big names mentioned, and they didn't sign any of the players rumoured all summer. They two they did sign were out of nowhere.

At the end of the day, they're a team with no CL, and no chance of winning anything. They addressed some issues emphatically, they have a good few more to address. They were never going to address them all in one window. Only the likes of Chelsea and City can do that, as they're already at that highest level. United will need about three or four windows to fix everything, but it's a great start for them.

What issues have they addressed 'emphatically'? Falcao is brilliant but I'm genuinely at a loss as to who he'll replace. You'd think Rooney but the idiots have made him captain. If it's RVP then it's only a small upgrade on something that wasn't a problem in the first place.

Di Maria is brilliant too but again I'm not sure what issue he solves, especially if they play the 3-5-2. What's certain is he'll replace another big money signing when there are still dregs being played in other positions. He's also at least £20m overpriced.

Everyone knew their problems were the back 4 and central midfield, and they've done remarkably little to address those.


As for my opinion being based on expectations? Of course, but the point is that my expectations were reasonable and correct, and yours weren't.

 

[ChastenedMUFC]

What issues have they addressed 'emphatically'? Falcao is brilliant but I'm genuinely at a loss as to who he'll replace. You'd think Rooney but the idiots have made him captain. If it's RVP then it's only a small upgrade on something that wasn't a problem in the first place.

Di Maria is brilliant too but again I'm not sure what issue he solves, especially if they play the 3-5-2. What's certain is he'll replace another big money signing when there are still dregs being played in other positions. He's also at least £20m overpriced.

Everyone knew their problems were the back 4 and central midfield, and they've done remarkably little to address those.


As for my opinion being based on expectations? Of course, but the point is that my expectations were reasonable and correct, and yours weren't.

I don't think we will be playing 352 think it will be some form of 433.

Blind, Herrera and Di Maria will be be playing in that middle three and it a significant upgrade on what we had last season.

We could have done more to strengthen the central defense with the loss of Vidic.

But having a DM such as Blind shielding the back four will also help with the defense

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Blind, Herrera and Di Maria will be be playing in that middle three and it a significant upgrade on what we had last season.


But having a DM such as Blind shielding the back four will also help with the defense

Didn't Blind play LWB for Holland? He's a 'jack of all trades' kind of player and he's not really an 'imposing' DM from the few games I've seen where he played the position at Ajax. He's not an upgrade over Carrick - who's a better passer and imo, a better player defensively too (in the middle of the park). Those 3 are all good players - I like Herrera and Di Maria has an engine like few other players ... However, if this is your middle 3, your problems from last year have not been solved at all and you'll be hoping to win games 4-3, 3-2 etc as there will be little protection for your defense ... Time will tell.

 

[Mystic]

Vidic is a loss no question and would have been good to have around this season. However, he was getting more injury prone and although never fast getting slower. He only played 25 games for us last season.

Rio was a bit part player last season with just 14 appearances. He was a liability last season and most of us thought the 14 games were 14 too many. No downgrade this season from last.

Evra we have replaced with Shaw which is a pretty solid change.

We are weaker than last season in defense but we are far stronger in midfield. With Blind replacing Carrick, Herrera replacing Cleverly and Di Maria replacing Young.

I hear what you're saying about their playing time, but they were three massive leaders in your squad, and I think that's what you're missing the most, you're defence looks a little lost and leaderless now they've gone.

 

[ChastenedMUFC]

Didn't Blind play LWB for Holland? He's a 'jack of all trades' kind of player and he's not really an 'imposing' DM from the few games I've seen where he played the position at Ajax. He's not an upgrade over Carrick - who's a better passer and imo, a better player defensively too (in the middle of the park). Those 3 are all good players - I like Herrera and Di Maria has an engine like few other players ... However, if this is your middle 3, your problems from last year have not been solved at all and you'll be hoping to win games 4-3, 3-2 etc as there will be little protection for your defense ... Time will tell.

He did play LWB for Holland but he played as a DM for Ajax last season and it was in that position he won Dutch player of the year.

cloggypop shared this article previously
http://www.benefoot.net/love-is-blind-profiling-ajax-dutch-stalwart-daley-blind/