Rate our current Transfer window

[R'hllor]

0/10 Not a single one of those rotten leeching motherfeckers left the club.

Update: If Rojo leaves it would be 1/10 for me. I dont care much about incoming players, said so at the end of last season. Still believe that it doesnt matter as long rot is running riot in that squad. Young and Jones should be free agents now but instead they got new contracts, Lukaku and AH werent high on my list, not sure i would extend contract to Mata either, wont count Valencia he was gone long time ago just not official, Matic should be sold etc.

Edit: totally forgot about Darmian.

 

[ice-bionic red]

Defence is better but we are losing Lukaku and have yet to replace/upgrade 2 midfielders

Absolute disgrace. We haven’t got the quality or numbers.

 

[vidic blood & sand]

We really needed a strong defensive midfielder, but not sure who we could have tried to sign.

 

[Stacks]

As an outsider looks to me OGS is going all out to give proper chances to Greenwood, Chong and Gomes and any other young player that shows promise this season. Board happy to run with it. Gomes is the only one of them who's a CM isn't he?

Does seem really odd to me you've left yourself (as it stands) pretty short in CM area and upfront. Could understand it more if you weren't in any european competition but Thursday-Sunday is going to lead to rotation, fatigue and injuries.

As an outsider do you not find it strange that Ole who has previously failed in England, has been given the keys to the most successful club in the country, desperate to get back up to the top after years of decline, would then risk it all on youngsters with no 1st team appearances? This is a strategy that can be implemented if you have 6-7 established top class players in your 1st team or you are a team around 10th with no expectations for next season.

 

[Stacks]

2 positions sorted out of at least 5. I rate it 2/5 or less.

this is probably the best conclusion

 

[nyanza]

One midfielder and I would've been pretty happy. Now I just hope that Mctom will continue to improve and Gomes will break through as well.

 

[DRM]

4.5/10.

Good defensive reinforcements but upfront we're severely lacking. I'm sorry but I have no faith in Martial, Rashford, JLingz , Mata and Sanchez to do anything meaningful and consistent for us. The likes of Greenwood and Gomes are so young and inexperiences its unfair to rely on them.

 

[flappyjay]

Currently it's 2/10 but if we do get 25m for Rojo it's 3/10

 

[Bojan11]

5/10

Solved one part of a team. But the other two parts are embarrassing.

Let Herrera and Lukaku go without buying any replacements. Probably was the plan to drag Lukaku so late, so Woodward and the Glazers could say we ran out of time trying to replace him.

 

[LJJT]

We’ve had a reasonably good window. I’d have liked another midfielder but we can’t have it all as a fan base,

We all want new signings who can give instant improvement which we have

We all want to play the youth and give them a chance

We all want the deadwood removing but don’t like it if not replaced,

The things we all want contradict each other we can’t have it all.

Defence should be great now. Attack has huge potential even without Lukaku. Midfield is the gamble but we have personnel who may or may not step up to the plate

 

[Steven Seagull]

Don’t know what score I’d give it but it’s about what I expected. Was surprised we splashed so much on Maguire but haven’t done anything about midfield.

It was always going to take at least 2-3 windows to sort out the post Mourinho mess. If you were thinking we would buy 7 top class first team players then you’re probably a bit thick

 

[7even]

8/10...

We have started a rebuild - which most fans know will take time - and we started by locking up the defence first (makes total sense).

Next summer - or maybe even January - we will know where we stand in midfield or attack. But in the meantime, Ole is going to give some promising youngsters a chance to prove themselves. In midfield Gomes, Pereira, McTominay and Garner will all get game time (which is great news for us United purists) and up front we have some of the most promising young attackers in Europe with Rashford and Martial being backed up by James, Sanchez, Lingard and - hopefully one different kinda option such as Mandzukic today. If we sign Mandzukic, it will be a near perfect first transfer summer window for Ole.

Rome wasn't built in a day.. so this was always going to take a couple of windows to get the balance fully right and ALL fans need patience. We need to look long-term. Not think that we can fix our mess in a summer transfer window (that's what we've tried (a quick fix) to do for the past managers post-Fergie and it has been a mess).

We are taking a different tac this time. And I - for one - am delighted.

Now.. stop moaning - especially about our midfield options.

The moaning is just super annoying. And shows very little understanding.

Listen;

If you wanna count No.10 as 'midfield' role then we have three midfield positions.

And these are our options for those three positions:

McTominay
Pogba
Matic
Pereira
Fred
Garner
Sanchez
Lingard
Mata
Gomes

10 players for three positions.

McTominay (our best player Dec-May under Solskjaer - our best player in pre-season - expected to become a key member of the team; though like early Carrick and early Fletcher days, I fully expect him to be really effective, only for fans to keep moaning that 'he's not good enough' -this is a cert to happen)

Pogba (Undoubtedly one of the best No.8s in the world, will now be playing where he was hugely influential for both Juve and France in World Cup. This midfield shape will get the best out of him)

Matic (admittedly has been a huge disappointment since coming to United. But I expect him to be a key player in CDM for our Europa League campaign, of which Ole has said he will play a lot of youth. Matic will be captain of this team and in fairness, is a decent back up to McTominay, no matter how much you guys wanna moan about him.)

Pereira (has all the promise in the world. Probably not ideally suited to the Prem League as he is most effective when he has time on the ball, but he can cover ALL three positions and is a massive squad player for us)

Fred (was a fantastic player as a No.8 in Russia and although he has been disappointing in EPL, Ole believes he can come good in this system and is a great back up for Pogba. I have high hopes for Fred coming good. He has bags of ability. He just needs to show more awareness. But those writing him off are being way too impatient; see my username folks)

Garner (is gonna be a great player. But I think this season has come too soon for hm to play a major role in. But Ole will test him out and keep an eye on him to see if he can be the man who replaces Matic next season; if not, we'll try sign a Dec Rice or Sean Longstaff. But all academy coaches have huge hopes for Garner and is thought of as a more definite first-teamer than Gomes, Greenwood,Chong etc. The kid has bags of ability, is great off the ball and deserves a chance to prove himself before we splash big on a Longstaff. Again I suggest: have patience)

Sanchez (Has not been good since signing for United; but then again - he has been played out of position. This guys is a World Class No.10 and now that Ole has created a No.10 position, I hope to see the best of Sanchez, pulling the strings in behind Martial/Rashford/James/Greenwood etc. This is the role he has thrived in. Anyone writing him off is being an idiot. He has only played out of his best position since coming to Old Trafford. Not anymore.)

Lingard (As we have sen for England and in the academy as he was coming through; No.10 is where Lingard shines. Another great option for that role in behind our front three. Lingard is seen as a pivotal player by all United coaches. Massively underrated by our fanbase. He is the best player we have at carrying out Ole's high-press orders).

Mata (Had proven to be a world class No.10 - now that we play with a No.10, can we see the best of Mata in a United shirt. It's great that he has a central role as he never is/was a right-sided attacker. He was great in pre-season as our No.10 when he played there, and played some amazing interplay with Greenwood/Martial and Rashford).

Gomes (all the promise in the world as an attacking midfielder. Super excited about this fella, as you all should be).

Stop saying our midfield is too weak.

Especially as Ole has changed the midfield shape, to incorporate the likes of Sanchez, Mata and Lingard.

Plus, this way we get to give so many youngsters a chance in the first team, rather than spunking £80 m on more Di Marias, Schweinsteigers, Falcoas etc etc etc.

This is the most exciting it has been for United fans post Fergie.

And it is only the start of something special.

Those who have been pining for a Dybala or whatever clearly haven't watched us almost ruin ourselves by buying big-names in the past and just expecting them to fix our problems. This will take time. Ole is going about this the right way.

Defence sorted for the next few seasons.

Midfield and forward is wide open, but I LOVE the fact that we are giving the kids a chance to shine first before we splurge. Hats off to Ole.

Fingers crossed our fans give him the patience he requires.

It’s hard to not like your positive spirit but blind optimism doesn’t change the quality of our squad. Results don’t lie. Let’s evaluate your post a little bit deeper when we enter the Christmas period.

 

[Kidders]

We have only got the RB and CB positions sorted, we still need a DM, CM/AM, RW and now a Striker for the first team, I'd have liked to see better LB coverage than Young, and someone to keep Mata & Lingard away from the starting eleven, (Dan James is an odd buy really, he's just Improving the bench options), so to rate our current window I'd say no more than a 4/10. If we don't do any last minute deals we need a couple of the youngsters to come through.

 

[SteveTheRed]

3/10

We have fecked up. Whilst Lukaku wasn't everyone's cup of tea, he was getting 15-20 goals a season...bit boots to file from our players now who have barely got into double figures.

No replacement for Herrera is a problem as well, once the games come thick and fast and injuries are certain. We will really miss him.

 

[bosnian_red]

So looking like...
Incomings:

• Harry Maguire - £80m
• Aaron Wan Bissaka - £45m
• Daniel James - £18m

Total - £143m

Ourgoings:

• Ander Herrera - free
• Antonio Valencia - free
• Romelu Lukaku - £73m
• Marcos Rojo - £25m

Total - £98m
Net - £45m

If we could add in Darmian to the outgoings, and then get rid of Matic/Mata/Sanchez next summer, our squad would look much cleaner and loads would be cleared up off our wage bill.

Not too upset about such a low net spend, but it's inexcusable to not sign a holding midfielder. I totally understand our attacking situation, and if next summer we get rid of mata/Sanchez and sign Sancho and that's it for the attack, again, I'd be delighted. Loads of youth in the attack and they need a chance and need to be integrated in the squad. The midfield is just too big of a problem though. The second McTominay is injured/rotated/rested, we have to start Matic and that's an instant problem, especially as it's not like McTominay is really proven or a no brainer as a starter. Ideally we'd have a starting defensive mid, and McTominay would be that 3rd midfielder, first off the bench or first in case of injuries or starting when we change to a 3 man midfield. So it's not like we need a lot, but not addressing it at all is just dumb.

With Arsenal and Spurs both doing plenty in the transfer window, and City continuously improving, can't be more than a 5/10. If we manage to sell Darmian and Sanchez in addition to Rojo, I'd be pretty happy and would give it a 6/10, but no higher without signing a midfielder. Also leaving Maguire and all this other business til the last week was just dumb as well.

 

[Red Rash]

To put somewhat a positive spin on it I would go for 6.5/10

Signing Maguire and AWB is big progress in strengthening our defence. I feel like Dan James is interesting but at least for now intended as a back up. The price was low anyhow

Seems we will also get DDG on a new contract and Pogba will stay one more season.

Our lack of signings in midfield and attack should mean we see more of Gomes and Greenwood this season

My major concern is where the goals will come from. I have no issue with losing Lukaku but we need to bridge the gap between ourselves and the top teams this season. Part of that is from the defensive improvements but we also need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Other than Rashford, Martial and Pogba (who all need the seasons of their lives) I struggle to see a goal threat unless Greenwood makes an immediate impact

 

[Danny Roberts]

If we sign a CB and don't ditch at least 2, sell a striker and don't replace him and sell a midfielder and don't replace him, this will be piss poor. 3/10.

 

[reddev3]

4/10 we needed 5 first team players to challenge so I will equate each singing at 0.2, we signed Maguire and Wan Bissaka to improve two first team positions so that's 4/10 and then James who isn't a big upgrade so I will class as a 0.1 to take us to 5/10, unfortunately we let Herrara leave and then sold Lukaku so that's a -0.1 TOTAL 4/10!

It's really underwhelming when i was expecting an 8-9/10 window. I was expecting 4 top class first teamer's and selling more of the deadwood.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

So looking like...
Incomings:

• Harry Maguire - £80m
• Aaron Wan Bissaka - £45m
• Daniel James - £18m

Total - £143m

Ourgoings:

• Ander Herrera - free
• Antonio Valencia - free
• Romelu Lukaku - £73m
• Marcos Rojo - £25m

Total - £98m
Net - £45m

If we could add in Darmian to the outgoings, and then get rid of Matic/Mata/Sanchez next summer, our squad would look much cleaner and loads would be cleared up off our wage bill.

Not too upset about such a low net spend, but it's inexcusable to not sign a holding midfielder. I totally understand our attacking situation, and if next summer we get rid of mata/Sanchez and sign Sancho and that's it for the attack, again, I'd be delighted. Loads of youth in the attack and they need a chance and need to be integrated in the squad. The midfield is just too big of a problem though. The second McTominay is injured/rotated/rested, we have to start Matic and that's an instant problem, especially as it's not like McTominay is really proven or a no brainer as a starter. Ideally we'd have a starting defensive mid, and McTominay would be that 3rd midfielder, first off the bench or first in case of injuries or starting when we change to a 3 man midfield. So it's not like we need a lot, but not addressing it at all is just dumb.

With Arsenal and Spurs both doing plenty in the transfer window, and City continuously improving, can't be more than a 5/10. If we manage to sell Darmian and Sanchez in addition to Rojo, I'd be pretty happy and would give it a 6/10, but no higher without signing a midfielder. Also leaving Maguire and all this other business til the last week was just dumb as well.

If we miss out on top 4, Sancho won't be coming.

 

[manunited1919]

0/10 Not a single one of those rotten leeching motherfeckers left the club.

There’s still some time left, and Everton seem to be bitting.

 

[Enigma_87]

If we sell Rojo it will become a solid 4/10.

 

[sewey89]

6.5/10

We’ve seriously strengthened our defence.

DDG has agreed a new deal.

We have a clear policy.

Midfield and attacking positions clearly need work but if we can address them in the next 2 summers as we have addressed defence in this one, then I’d be content.

The rebuild was never going to be done in one summer. Let’s go with what we’ve got. See where we get to and build again next summer

 

[Solius]

Arsenal have now strengthened better than us despite pretending to be poor for most of the window. I see us finishing 5th at best but probably 6th. I could even see us slipping a couple points behind teams like Everton or Wolves.

 

[christy87]

GK: if De Gea signs, A+
Defence: A
Midfield: F, the only player with imagination is inconsistent and could still go.
Forward:C

 

[Stacks]

Don’t know what score I’d give it but it’s about what I expected. Was surprised we splashed so much on Maguire but haven’t done anything about midfield.

It was always going to take at least 2-3 windows to sort out the post Mourinho mess. If you were thinking we would buy 7 top class first team players then you’re probably a bit thick

we only needed 4 players to come into our 1st team. 2 defenders, a midfielder to absolve Pogba of the creative burden and a quality RW (or better than Lukaku option). 4 players was the minimum. when Arsenal push through Tierney AND Luiz, they would have signed 4 1st team players as well as one CB for the future. that's how you navigate a transfer window.

6.5/10

We’ve seriously strengthened our defence.

DDG has agreed a new deal.

We have a clear policy.

Midfield and attacking positions clearly need work but if we can address them in the next 2 summers as we have addressed defence in this one, then I’d be content.

The rebuild was never going to be done in one summer. Let’s go with what we’ve got. See where we get to and build again next summer

One injury in defence effectively sees us back to the same jokers again in defence.

that's great regarding De Gea

What is our policy? to fall behind our rivals, create more holes in our squad, give the kids a run out and see what happens? is that how a big team operates?

Rebuild was never going to be done in one Summer but I would argue that we have gone backwards, which I was not expecting would be the plan. If this is the rebuild strategy, I am terrified for next Summer. Each summer continues to be a shit show. Most likely Ole will get the boot and "we go again"

 

[peridigm]

6.5/10

We’ve seriously strengthened our defence.

DDG has agreed a new deal.

We have a clear policy.

Midfield and attacking positions clearly need work but if we can address them in the next 2 summers as we have addressed defence in this one, then I’d be content.

The rebuild was never going to be done in one summer. Let’s go with what we’ve got. See where we get to and build again next summer

Has he actually signed it though? If so, I missed it.

 

[Roboc7]

6.5/10

We’ve seriously strengthened our defence.

DDG has agreed a new deal.

We have a clear policy.

Midfield and attacking positions clearly need work but if we can address them in the next 2 summers as we have addressed defence in this one, then I’d be content.

The rebuild was never going to be done in one summer. Let’s go with what we’ve got. See where we get to and build again next summer

We don’t have a clear policy that’s the problem, if we did we would have been able to sign more than 3 players.

I agree can’t all be done in one window but we haven’t done enough. We’ve left ourselves short in midfield and attack. Matic, Mata and Sanchez are all finished and Pogba will be gone next summer so that’s more work to do on top of what we haven’t done this summer.

 

[sewey89]

One injury in defence effectively sees us back to the same jokers again in defence.

that's great regarding De Gea

What is our policy? to fall behind our rivals, create more holes in our squad, give the kids a run out and see what happens? is that how a big team operates?

Rebuild was never going to be done in one Summer but I would argue that we have gone backwards, which I was not expecting would be the plan. If this is the rebuild strategy, I am terrified for next Summer. Each summer continues to be a shit show. Most likely Ole will get the boot and "we go again"

You could say the same thing about Liverpool if Van Dijk gets injured. You could say the same about any team if any of their first team get injured. If you thought we were going to strengthen our first 11 and our squad players in one window, then you were being unrealistic.

Yes.

Our policy is to promote youth. Promote british and only pursue players if they want to be at United and not just want a pay cheque. All things that we've moaned about not having (hunger, desire etc) previously.

We've not gone backwards. Fellaini was shocking. We celebrated him leaving. Herrera was bang average (had he not had the passion/desire, he'd have been slated) and seems to have gone up in everyone's estimations because it feeds the narrative that we're somehow weaker.

 

[RU Devil]

Relative to OGS seems to be planning & room to move in future windows, I will rate it as a 6/7. Not sure if his targets were available or that those touted in the window were actually within his preferred profile, so it's possible Ed & co screwed the pooch, but doesn't seem like it. Sounds like there is a plan in place and patience is needed. Yeah, we needed a lot more pieces but the bloated squad (in #'s and $'s) rather restricts our freedom of movement. Still boggles the mind some of the extensions given, but if we can get rid of Rojo & Darmian this window, I will rate it a solid 7.

In comparison to Top 10 teams, gotta rate it down in the bottom half. Those behind us look to have brought in some quality, while Top 4 rivals either didn't need much or strengthened (short & long term). Figure Spurs bested us even without Dybala or Bruno, while City got Rodri. Chelsea couldn't do much but Luiz is addition by subtraction and already had Pulisic plus kept losses to a minimum. Arsenal got needed parts but swap of Luiz for Koscielny is rather dubious. Those 2 teams are probably in the bottom half of the Top 10 teams, along with us, but we could have put a lot of space between us & them if our needs were able to be met.

 

[AngliaRed]

Why do OGS and some of our own fans think Rashford and Martial can fire us into the top 4 this season when they couldn’t last season? I mean, I really rate them, but OGS relying on Greenwood as back up/additional firepower is a dangerous risk when not replacing Lukaku?

I thought we would of gone for a CAM and maybe an established goal scorer. So we’re relying on Lingard and Mata for our creativity alongside Pogba for another season?
We have Chong and Gomez, but they’re very young and if Pogba gets injured we’re really scraping the barrel.

I’m very happy with the 2 defensive signings which will definitely leave us in good stead this season, but only time will tell how good Daniel James will be.

3/10 so far

 

[Fıstıkçı Şahap]

3/10 at best. No defensive midfielders. No central midfielders. No right wingers.

We overpaid on every single signing we made as well. One of them is absolutely ridiculous.

Some of the deadwood is still here and will probably be at the end of the window. Looks like Valencia & Herrera were the players "we've seen the last of" which was said by Ole.

Also seems like we didn't recoup our money fully with that donkey in an absurd market. If it was the other way around, we probably would've paid 100m for him.

This was supposed to be a big window for us and we failed yet again. We said when we sacked Jose and brought Ole in that we needed a big summer and with Chelsea having a transfer ban etc. we could & should've made sure that we strenghten enough (DM, CM, RW) to be in the top 4. I think the likes of Arsenal, Wolves, Everton had a better window than us. We're nearer to out of top 6 than we're to the top 4.

This is Manchester United in a nutshell in the last couple of years. Ignoring the glaring holes in the team. Failing to ship out the deadwood. Paying over the top, buying on ridiculously expensive, selling on the cheap or not getting as much as we should for our players and getting left behind our opponents. We're awful in the market and and have been so for nearly the last 10 years.

 

[Adnandos]

3.5/10

Strengthened our biggest weakness, then got worse literally everywhere else. What kind of logic

 

[Stacks]

You could say the same thing about Liverpool if Van Dijk gets injured. You could say the same about any team if any of their first team get injured. If you thought we were going to strengthen our first 11 and our squad players in one window, then you were being unrealistic.

Yes.

Our policy is to promote youth. Promote british and only pursue players if they want to be at United and not just want a pay cheque. All things that we've moaned about not having (hunger, desire etc) previously.

We've not gone backwards. Fellaini was shocking. We celebrated him leaving. Herrera was bang average (had he not had the passion/desire, he'd have been slated) and seems to have gone up in everyone's estimations because it feeds the narrative that we're somehow weaker.

No. they have Gomez, Clyne and Matip. one could sell the likes of Jones and promote Tunzebe and that may be a step in the right direction.

this policy is one I would expect at Brighton Hove Albion. None of the teams above us (better than us) are going for such an out of date blinkered strategy. The British thing may have been relevant 20 years ago but I guess that's when Ole was last playing football so it makes sense that this is the limit of his vision. You guys are proper stuck in the past. it's not the 80's anymore.

If all the teams above us are not solely going for British players then we must be aiming to compete with the teams below us then unless Ole is a hidden genius. i thought this Brexit FC thing was a gag.

Herrera was the best player we have at turning over possession thus our 2nd best midfielder. He was also our best "big game player" also. Fellani was shite correct but you don't just let prem proven players go and not replace. Who is his replacement? Then there is Matic who is no longer good enough to compete in the premier league so we have lost 3 established premier league midfielders and replaced with who? Gomes (zero apps at top level) McTom (still has to all to prove and was also inconsistent) Pereira (never proven good enough here) and then we have sold our leading scorer of the last 2 years. No matter which way you look at it it's backwards.

 

[LuisNaniencia]

These posts about starting a rebuild etc, defy belief.

We have ended the window with less midfielders and strikers we started with. We've spent feck all. We might still lose Pogba with no way of replacing him. If we finish outside the top 4 again, I'd love to see what people say then.

 

[AngliaRed]

No. they have Gomez, Clyne and Matip. one could sell the likes of Jones and promote Tunzebe and that may be a step in the right direction.

this policy is one I would expect at Brighton Hove Albion. None of the teams above us (better than us) are going for such an out of date blinkered strategy. The British thing may have been relevant 20 years ago but I guess that's when Ole was last playing football so it makes sense that this is the limit of his vision. You guys are proper stuck in the past. it's not the 80's anymore.

If all the teams above us are not solely going for British players then we must be aiming to compete with the teams below us then unless Ole is a hidden genius. i thought this Brexit FC thing was a gag.

Herrera was the best player we have at turning over possession thus our 2nd best midfielder. He was also our best "big game player" also. Fellani was shite correct but you don't just let prem proven players go and not replace. Who is his replacement? Then there is Matic who is no longer good enough to compete in the premier league so we have lost 3 established premier league midfielders and replaced with who? Gomes (zero apps at top level) McTom (still has to all to prove and was also inconsistent) Pereira (never proven good enough here) and then we have sold our leading scorer of the last 2 years. No matter which way you look at it it's backwards.

Agree with all this!

 

[Raoul]

Not sure how it’s possible to rate a window before a competitive ball has been kicked. Maybe wait to 6-9 months?

 

[AngliaRed]

Not sure how it’s possible to rate a window before a competitive ball has been kicked. Maybe wait to 6-9 months?

What makes you think the same midfielders and strikers, less Lukaku will do any different this season than last? We’ve only added a championship winger ( who looks decent in pre season )?

 

[Rista]

The players we've signed are good. Then again, that's what we thought every transfer window in the last 6 years. Not strengthening the midfield seems like a huge gamble to me. I was fine with Herrera leaving as long as we bring someone in but as it is we're relying on McTominay having a huge season and Fred and Matic not being shite. We're also counting on Rashford and Martial having great seasons. Very risky.

 

[Stacks]

Not sure how it’s possible to rate a window before a competitive ball has been kicked. Maybe wait to 6-9 months?

look at it likes this, if United sold our entire 1st team and just used our under 23's how would you rate the window? 0/10

 

[chris123]

5/10

So I'm gonna put a positive spin on this.

There are still reasons to be excited about this season but none of them have to do with ed Woodward.

I am excited to finally see our youth thrive, or at least get their opportunity, this season. This does not absolve Woodward for his complete failure in the transfer market but it does mean Greenwood, garner, Chong are going to have every chance to stake their claim this season.

I am excited to see us finally having a settled and solidified back 4. If maguire even provides 25% of the impact van dijk did, it's a massive win for us, and AWB, Lindelof, shaw all have room to improve dramatically this season.

Now what we are seeing this season, is the clear fact that with no director of football, or even football-thinking brain in the backroom staff, our transfer policy is a complete mess and has no coherent strategy.

Maguire and AWB were the two players we clearly identified early in the window and they are unsurprisingly the two deals we actually managed to pull off.

The rest has been a complete mess.