I think people are hurting because of the season we've just had and the fact we've been usurped by our two bitterest rivals. It's not as if it's Arsenal or Chelsea who've taken advantage of our downfall (okay, maybe Chelsea a bit at times), it's Liverpool and Manchester City. People wanted to see signs that the club was finally getting its act together right from the last kick of the season, which may well be unrealistic, but so far they've seen City sign a striker with the potential to be one of the greatest ever produced, and then they've seen Liverpool sign a striker we were keen on. Obviously it remains to be seen how good Nunez really is, but missing out on him to Liverpool does hurt. We've also just seen Ryan Gravenberch turn us down to go to Bayern Munich - a logical decision for him, but another kick in the nuts for us.
Meanwhile, we seem to be entering another merry dance, this time over Frenkie De Jong, a player who I'm not sure is all that keen on the move anyway. I agree that we were never really in a position to make early signings. Haaland was never going to come to us (I really, really wanted him to, but oh well), and Nunez and Gravenberch have gone to clubs that win trophies and offer stability. We were always going to have to be more patient. All I'm saying is I understand some posters' anxieties and frustrations. If all we end up with his is De Jong and maybe Antony,we'll have to hope that Ten Hag is going to get a tune out of some of our existing players, which might happen, but if not...