I think we need the premiership fantasy football wildcard as this wondow for me is shockingly bad so far I fear. We can only really judge a summer transfer window a season or two on. My personal feeling is both under Ten Hag havent been great, some of it out of his control, ,some not.
For me the biggest problem has been the outgoings affecting our budget, coupled to over spendiing and in cases the wrong deals and poor loan deals.
We have moved on 18players in the last two summers.......for a grand total of about £62m ...Pretty much only Arsenal and Newcastle havent sold one or two players for more than that in total the last two seasons, we havent even sold anybody for £20m in that time, Henderson about to add to that £15m raising to £20m, again poor transfer moneywise....and there was lots of talk of possibly raising £150m this summer, we are going to be a good £70/80m short.
The simple truth is we simply ant be spending the fees we are on transfers with those incomings. Chelsea have spent £1b which is pure madness, but lets not forget they have also bought in about £300m in the same period...not modelling ourselves on them obviously but the story isnt so much wider than ours as a net spend when you look at it, its not much more than the two bgi midfield signings each summer.
Ass to that have we even bought well over these two summer?
Eriksen - Personally think his performances have been overplayed. He was free, he has been decent, but he is lacking for all the defensive elements of the role and it was very evident at times towards the end of last season. And lets be honest, is he going on beyong this summer, its another player to replace.
Malacia - I like these kind of deals, a pretty cheap squad option to develop as a back up and competition. Think he started off well, but tailed off the second half of last season and does need a lot of work, but cant really criticise....but is he good enough?
Martinez - Again cant get away from the fact, we overspent on the transfer. Look at the big Ajax sales the last couple of years, they are all around £35-45m. That being said for me he is the one bona fide quality signing last year in terms of a long term signing.
Casemeiro - for 2/3 of last season he was pure quality but this is a player who was the wrong side of 30 and we paid £0m for them. We onl know if thats a good signing over the next 2/3 seasons, but the form end of last season and early this, is a bit concerning, if he fades it isnt really a good deal when the likes of Fernandez and Caicdeo though not as good or experienced and higher and really ridiculosu fees.....they are signings for a decade, Casemeiro may be for 2seasons and there isnt the likely seel on value
Antony - I am in the minority seeing potential in him and dont think he has been as bad anyway as peopel are making out......but that doesnt get away from the fact, that was an absolutely ridiculous desperate fee that we paid....we paid more than Ajax got for FDJ and DeLigt who were amongst the very best in Europe when they moved......we paid more for ANtony?
Mount - Of course to early to judge, but I didnt get the signing at all and in the brief time we have seen of him, I am not at all surprised with how he has done and it has effected us....Eriksen didnt work there really, why will mount? ANd we paid £60m when he had a year left on his contract. See some people saying he has played a lot as an 8 under Lampard....yeah at Derbu in the championship, England and Chelsea he hasnt, I really think the ripples from this transfer and how it has affeced our spending and side, being the big target could well be the undoing of Ten Hags season
Onana - I think the fee is ok, he is a decent keeper and excellent with his feet. But all the stats quoters saying how poor DeGea is as a shot stopper, he had to go as he was poor the last 3months....but he did produce even last season some wonderful saves, I think we will see more mistakes from Onana this season than wonderful saves, could it be a case of careful what you wish for. I think he has the right personality though. Be interested to see how he does.
Hoijlund - Again we have overspent on the transfer and only time will tell. I get a good gut feeling with him though, only time will tell, but in a market short on quality strikers, I think this was probably a gamble had to be taken one way or another.
Again will take time to see how good a transfers these are but we have spent around £400m on them and I think only two look like really good signings over the mid term, let alone long term.
The two things coupled together makes bad net spending over the last two years and we are still a good four signings short I feel of what we need to do, which we cant....like last season we are now looking at cheap deals and loans....and I dont care what people say, last years loans were not a success, Sabitzer was ok but we didnt sign him....telling
And now we look like with an injury crisis when Malacia was already out long term, we loaned WIlliams out, a loan still, he is still our player, can we sell anyone?.....and we have Reguilion coming in....a player who looked lightweight at SPurs, decentish going forward but he cant defend.....isnt that a younger version of Telles who we have sold for nothing, dont we already have a younger version of that already in Fernandez? If we dont have faithin him in this emergency situation we should sell him. And I remember all these people wth the Dalot v AWB argument stating "DAlot is versatile he can also play left back, is probably better than Malacia there, also he is a good attacking full back"....he is neither, after one game we are desperate for a short term left back, why was he given a new contract.....there are literally loads of right backs that are better attacking wise than DAlot who would have been a similar price, I dont see what value he brings?
Go back a few months and all the names linked heavily with us and the players we have signed or players linekd where we havent even signed and the plaers that are still here, there is no quality second striker, no quality second centre back, for me no quality cm signing when we needed a big one (and Arambat isnt that player for me either_.....and why are so many of our signings or linked players Ten Hag has worked with before, where is the imagination?
The simple truth is pretty much all of our rivals have sold better than us and also bought better than us. Every single one of them has made at least one signing that would have been a fantastic signing for us.....we are actually on paper, further behind I feel as a squad, than we have been for 3/4 seasons, not just last year and fear the table could reflect this at the end of the season, top four would be a massive acheivement I feel.
Again its too early to judge but there are a few keeper loans or permanent signing within our league that are a simialr level to Onana and way cheaper and at least 9midfield signings that are far better for the role we have signed Mount for and cost the same fee or less, this is just within or league.
Again what we need is a premiership wildcard as this summer for what we NEEDED, what we have spent, who we have bought and who else coudl come in, is an utter shambles of regression against not jsut our rivals but sides that were several point below us last season.....and I dont htink will be this.
Rant over
