in isolation, I don't hate the deals we made. Telles is a great deal all around, and I like van de Beek as a player. Always love signing young talents, so can't fault the Diallo and Pellistri punts at all. Cavani still is a bit of a head-scratcher to me, but there isn't a lot of risks on a one year deal at least.
The problem is the overarching theme of incompetence behind the scenes that makes my skin crawl. There doesn't seem to be a lot of planning going on, and it's obvious to me that we won't be able to really shine again as long as Woodward and friends are at the helm of this club. Ultimately we didn't address some of our biggest needs and we weren't willing to shell out the amount of money that was needed to strengthen this group, and I feel both the manager and the team have been let down in light of the run they had in the spring and summer. I feel we have wasted a big chance to build on that, but in hindsight, I should have seen it coming. It's extremely disappointing, but it is what it is.
Not being able to shift deadwood is another area where we have failed again. Smalling was good business and saving money on Alexis is great as well, but other than that, we really weren't able to do anything. At least some of the players are out of contract next summer (Rojo, Lingard, Romero), but players like Jones will still be around. This is the club's own fault of course, and we're simply reaping what we have sowed here. Again, the incompetence behind the scenes is astounding for a club of this magnitude.
Finally, some bonus points for the willingness to recruit heavily in the U18 setup. I feel the club has done a great job of stockpiling talented 16- and 17-year-olds, and I hope we'll benefit from that in a few years. It's good to see them spend money in that area for sure, and I really like what I've seen in that regard.
All in all, it's hard to put all of this into a rating. I'd probably give it a 4/10 or something like that.