Isnt that really the point, undermining the logic of what you said in the first para? If you are glad we're not being being taken for mugs, I imagine Woodward, who is actually in charge of the money, is even more so.
The way I see this - and like you said, I could be completely wrong as well, its just my interpretation - is that Woodward knows clubs put the price up for players considerably when dealing with us. For a few years we were in a tricky situation in that we were desperate and everyone knew it and it meant we had to overpay even more than before. Its all well and good being rich but if you have to pay 20% more for everything you buy than other clubs, that erodes your financial advantage considerably. So I think this window has been as much about establishing a precedent where we will no longer overpay, or not overpay as blatantly as we have in the past, as it has been about getting the right players in. The task is complicated by the fact that prices are going through the roof anyway, which makes price discovery difficult, but with this one I believe Woodward set a price that he wouldnt go over and he stuck to it. I personally respect that and more than that, I think it will do us good in the long run. It may not happen straight away but over time if other clubs no longer assume we will pay whatever they ask, we may get to a point where we no longer get mugged every time we buy someone.
