A brief club-by-club review of the transfer window

Arsenal - Cech is a wonderful signing but it is said you add to success even as title winners, and Arsenal were nowhere near that last year. They havent got worse, but when your rivals strengthen and you standstill then you might as well have. Its hard to write much about Arsenal, even Wenger probably thinks this window was a little dull.

Aston Villa - In terms of incomings, they have done really well. Amavi, Gueye, Traore, Gestede, Lescott to me are all very good signings. Micah Richards was worth a risk as experience and maturity could well be key for him. But losing Benteke, Delph and Vlaar guts their 3 best players from their side. However, probably all were out of their control and theyve spread the money well, so definitely a positive.

Bournemouth - Hard to call. Atsu could potentially be fantastic, but there's nobody really proven in there, at least so much so that you expect real upside from them. Boruc is a good keeper, definitely swaying towards the nutjob goalie style, but otherwise Distin is probably too old to be a huge contributor. Gradel seems a steal considering his exploits in France, but the likes of King, Mings, Tomlin and even Murray seem like signings to make sure they are a better side if they go down.

Chelsea - If Champions should build on success then the jury is well and truly out with Chelsea's business. Pedro, in my opinion, is the real hit of the bunch, but i'm not sure any of the other signings will affect the quality of the starting XI. Even their bench is barely impacted.

Crystal Palace - Seems like a real defining window for Palace. If it seemed unlikely at the start of the window it would have been a laughable thought 6 months ago. Cabaye running the Palace midfield. McCarthy is an upgrade in goal, whilst Wickham gives Pardew his usual beloved hard working physical striker. Sako is another speed merchant for the wing, and its now up to Pards and Bamford to see what impact the loan signing has on the season. Top work.

Everton - Could have done so much more, probably having to use this summer's budget to keep up payments for Lukaku. Cleverley isn't any sort of groundbreaking signing in midfield, although tidy and someone Martinez has a relationship with, and at least Deulofeu and Lennon give them pace on the wings. There was a £9m difference in the cost of Ramiro Funes Mori and Leandro Rodriguez but they remain unknown propositions really and could take a good while even to adapt to Premier League football. Fans who were unsure of Martinez and/or Kenwright before have not been appeased. It may well be claimed that keeping John Stones was their best bit of business, and I think everyone was slightly happy to see someone tell one of the title-buying sides to b*gger off.

Leicester - Some very astute signings. Okazaki has fitted in very well so far, his pace and industry suiting Leicester's style perfectly, whilst Inler, Benalouane and securing Huth permanently add more quality to important areas of the side. I'd say every one of their signings looks a good buy, and Dyer could be a steal on loan too. They'll be sad to have lost Cambiasso, but they've filled the gap too.

Liverpool - I think opinions will be split on Benteke, who for me was the perfect buy with others may not agree he is what Jamie Redknapp would call "top, top quality." Clyne looks comfortable already and filling a problem spot for a few years since Johnson lost the pace to cover his idiocy. Milner is a good player and one City didn't want to lose, but whether he and Henderson want to play exactly the same role in midfield will be interesting to see. Firmino has all the potential to be their next star, but it doesnt look like its going to be an instant hit. Gomez looks very well scouted, Ings is a solid addition on a tribunal fee, and at least now they have options in attack, and have attempted to cut the creative load dumped on Coutinho's shoulders. Drained City's accounts on Sterling which was the best they could do in the situation really.

Man City - Arguably the best centre back in Spain, possibly the most exciting young English player and a player in De Bruyne who most are convinced will be, if he isnt already, world class in the way players are actually world class, not 3 good games in 5 world class. The latter two have added dimensions to their attack with speed and guile, whilst Delph could consign Fernando to the merest of bit parts, and already seems to have woken up Fernandinho. Bravo, City.

Man United - What is the best thing when you have decided you don't need two of the three real striker options you had last year? Let go of another returning on loan and then only add a 19 year old. The midfield conundrum that Fergie could not be bothered to solve finally looks to have been riddled away, but there is a reliance on less than incredible options up top and in the centre of defence. I don't think you can blame them on the De Gea situation, and if they can show the player it was no fault of their own then he should do the job for them for however long he stays. Darmian looks the best defensive acquisition of the summer, although Otamendi will have a lot to say on that. Depay has shown flashes of exciting talent, but really all at OT now praying Rooney remembers how to score. The question you should ponder: Is Fellaini an important striker option? If yes, proceed to sigh.

Newcastle - Interesting. John, our resident soldier of the Toon Army, seems happy. Thauvin and Wijnaldum do look like very good additions, and at the very least Mike Ashley has dusted off that old chequebook. They havent really lost anyone of note, so theres probably a touch more depth, but a lot could depend on whether Mitrovic is mad or not. At least with Cisse staying its not Mitrovic or bust, and the likes of Perez, Wijnaldum and Thauvin should mean they are a harder working, faster and more entertaining side.

Norwich - As I've commented here before I don't think Norwich have done anywhere near enough to improve their squad to stay up. Dorrans seems to have been perpetually linked with leaving West Brom and is certainly no big loss for them, Mulumbu could be a very strong signing but you don't see Pulis letting go defensive brick s**thouses for nothing very often if they are any good, Brady is probably not better than Snodgrass who couldnt save Norwich the last time they went down. Mbokani has the potential to add very valuable goals, but it is nothing but potentially right now. Last ditch signing Matt Jarvis will add a lot to the squad if fans felt Norwich were short on players who could also be long distance runners. Their very own Paula Radcliffe; he'll run and run and run, but all he'll deliver is s***.

Southampton - The kings of replacing players. Clasie is arguably a classier player than Schneiderlin, although I don't think anywhere near as effective, Soares is highly rated and looks to have slotted in with ease, and even back up keeper Boruc has been upgraded on with Stekelenburg. Players like Caulker, Juanmi and Romeu are great for depth, and Virgil van Dijk could very well be a fantastic acquisition. He also very well may need to be as not signing Toby Aldeweireld on a permanent deal could be a huge loss; one that nearly forced them into legal action. In contrast, keeping hold of Mane and Wanyama can be seen as very good work. Its probably very matter of fact to say that not having European football will stop their squad being stretched and could be what stops their Premier League season being mediocre.

Stoke - Arguably Stoke have made the most exciting signings within context. Shaqiri and Afellay play for Stoke. Let that one sink in. Wollscheid obviously did enough to make his loan spell worth turning permanent too. Joselu, Glenda Johnson, Moha and Van Ginkel are good for the fringes, or to make quiet impact. Butland has so far stepped into Begovic's shoes very adeptly in what could be a breakthrough season for him, but have they done enough to replace the influential Steven N'Zonzi? Sevilla dont make many mistakes in the transfer market, so you'd believe he is a big loss for Stoke.

Sunderland - After their poor start it feels like any new players are a positive, even if they don't seem very good as of yet. You'd think they'll be very happy with Borini returning; the Italian played probably the best football of his career whilst on loan their a couple seasons ago, but I'm happy to go on record as saying every other one of their transfers has huge question marks over their heads, even as someone who will be relentlessly reminded that he backed the Kaboul transfer should he fail as miserably as most others expect him to. I don't think they've had a good window, and the fact Wickham was the only player anyone else seemed to want could be evidence their squad wasn't good enough before the signings came in.

Swansea - Silent but deadly, the most powerful of farts and quite an effective way of going about your summer dealings too. Kept everyone they wanted, and most important added exciting quality in Andre Ayew. Not quite the "free" transfer it is being lauded as, but even for the money Ayew will make its cheap. He's already exposed the lack of quality in Man United's squad. Eder got a decent return of 13 goals for Braga last year but there is nothing in his career, nor as of yet in the limited time in England, that suggests he'll be a revelation.

Tottenham - Spurs' window has ended with #LevyOut on twitter, but Spurs fans are at their happiest when complaining. If anyone has rights to complain its Harry Kane, who was shouldering enough responsibility for Spurs' goal threat last season and hasn't really been given much back up in this window. Clinton N'Jie is full of potential, but whether that is realised quickly or not could define Spurs' season. £22m on Son Heung-min is another deal that could do the same; at least after the way they spent the Bale money there is less expectation on new signings to be world beaters. He could be an absolute star, and again is another young signing. Levy doesn't spend big on players he doesnt expect to sell for high fees in a few years. Toby Alderweireld is still the stand out. They needed Berahino, but skinflint Levy was at his negotiating worse.

Watford - To many the biggest negative of Watford's dealings is they did too much. A whole new squad can be seen as a risk, but their owners have form for being very good recruiters across their many clubs, and looking at their incomings they have added individual quality. Now they must work to take that individual quality and mould it into a squad. Bournemouth and Norwich have relied on the players that got them promoted, Watford have brought in the likes of Behrami, Capoue, Prodl, Jurado and even today Obbi Oulare and Victor Ibarbo. They have adapted to the Premier League well so far; now its hard to criticise individual deals so it really is the blend.

West Brom - I'm always happy to recycle jokes, so I repeat; it's great to see Pulis fix the issue West Brom had with a lack of centre backs. Ok, sides back together. Chester and Evans are better than what they had, but Pulis is probably licking his lips at the chance of playing 6 centre backs. Lambert is a very good signing if he can capture even 50% of his Southampton form, and Rondon looks to have settled well, at least 700% better than Brown Ideye. McClean and McManaman are not exciting, but they offer width and pace: West Brom needed both. Evans adds more of the know-how and guile Pulis added to the squad in January with Fletcher, Lindegaard is more than just back up to Foster, he could well oust him, and they kept Saido Berahino. The forward may have said he will never play for WBA and/or Jeremy Peace again, but getting him back on the pitch would be a massive boost for Pulis. And he may be smart to swallow his pride with Jamie Vardy capable of getting an England call-up in a season that leads to Euro 2016.

West Ham - Pace, creativity and power have all been added to the West Ham squad, causing more optimism of which there was already a tide of with Sam Allardyce leaving the club. An good start to the window with the captures of Obiang, Ogbonna and already their standout player Dimitri Payet was then tempered by a lull in signings and some poor results. But with victory against Liverpool, West Ham fans also got Moses, Antonio, Song and Jelavic in to add depth and most importantly pace to their squad. There will still be many within the Hammers support who think Payet and Song are too good for West Ham, it honestly is hard to believe both were signed so easily. This is the best transfer window any West Ham fan remembers, so you can see its been a good one. Even the outgoings were almost entirely for players they no longer wanted at the club; only Stewart Downing will be missed on the pitch (Carlton forever missed in our hearts), and he returned home for a good fee considering his age.

Re Villa, am pleased with the signings we have made.

Amavi looks a good signing already.
Traore looks like he could be decent.

Richards & Lescott could.become a good partnership at the back.

Hopefully when Gestede gets git he will score a fair few goals.
Gueye has looked good to.
Veretout, Ayew, need a bit more time to settle.

Only gripe is we could have done with another forward.

We could well regret that.

Overall though, certainly hasn't been a bad window.

Excellent write up btw Ziggles.
Don't think I disagree with any, what gets me  is in what's been a record breaking summer how a number of the bigger teams haven't really done that much business, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs have had very quiet transfer windows.

I wanted another striker.

Djilobodji is quite good from what I've read, he's got pace, is good with both feet and has potential to stir a few things up with Cahill already starting to lose his place to Zouma last season and the start to the season JT has had.

At the time of the rumours I didn't think we needed Pedro as that position wasn't in need of improvement but the pace and direct attacking play he has easily makes him someone we needed. Oscar and Willian like to be a kind of passing playmaker type which leaves a lot of actually trying to score to Costa and Hazard.

As a Chelsea fan though I'm sure you were hoping to get a more recognized centreback in than Djilobodji, that was a real left field punt. Being that you were throwing money at Everton for Stones and even on the last day then trying to acquire Marquinhos shows there's still concerns in that area.

I have no concerns about our defence; Darmian, Smalling and Shaw are all as good as what the other teams have while Blind reads the game well enough to make up for his deficiencies, Rojo looked good when he played last season. The De Gea fiasco has left us in a quandry with the goalkeeper and probably screwed everyone involved, I hadn't realised how against the deal the Real fans were. Navas himself is a fabulous keeper and would have been a good replacement but alas that deal fell through because Perez is a grade A tw@. If De Gea gets his head sorted and plays like he has which is a big IF then we'll weirdly be strong defensively without any real investment.

Midfield looks sorted to me, good variation and an ability to keep the ball which in Europe will be more important than it necessarily is the League.

Up front we have had a shocker; Depay and Martial both offer pace but when they make up 40% of the squads attacking numbers it's worrying with only Young, Rooney and Mata on top of that we need to hope that the talented Pereira lives up to his reputation when called for.

In short with the exception of Martial i'm very pleased with the players we have bought but felt we either needed to buy another attacker or keep hold of Hernandez and Januzaj as back up.

Can't really complain about are business in terms of who we have brought in. Probably wouldn't have let Markovic go (although i see the logic in him getting a season of starting most games).

Shifted some dead wood i.e Borini, Ballotelli, Lambert. Only gripe is that BR refuses to admitt how wrong he got it with Lovren and drop him from the squad (and hopefully from the club). Although based on how we are still subjected to Joe Allens presence when he is fit, I can't see Lovren going anywhere anytime soon!

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I have no concerns about our defence; Darmian, Smalling and Shaw are all as good as what the other teams have while Blind reads the game well enough to make up for his deficiencies, Rojo looked good when he played last season. The De Gea fiasco has left us in a quandry with the goalkeeper and probably screwed everyone involved, I hadn't realised how against the deal the Real fans were. Navas himself is a fabulous keeper and would have been a good replacement but alas that deal fell through because Perez is a grade A tw@. If De Gea gets his head sorted and plays like he has which is a big IF then we'll weirdly be strong defensively without any real investment.

Midfield looks sorted to me, good variation and an ability to keep the ball which in Europe will be more important than it necessarily is the League.

Up front we have had a shocker; Depay and Martial both offer pace but when they make up 40% of the squads attacking numbers it's worrying with only Young, Rooney and Mata on top of that we need to hope that the talented Pereira lives up to his reputation when called for.

In short with the exception of Martial i'm very pleased with the players we have bought but felt we either needed to buy another attacker or keep hold of Hernandez and Januzaj as back up.

I wouldn't single Martial out tbh. Not his fault that Dumb and Dumber wildly overpaid for him. His stats aren't mind blowing but I'm happy to see what he brings, if he runs at players like he did in that Monaco game at Arsenal last season then its already better than the drab football we've produced this season so far

I'm mixed on our business. Think We brought in Depay a year too early but understand our hand may have been forced, Darmian looks excellent, the centre mid is finally not an urgent problem, yet on the negative side we seem to have really screwed ourselves over up top.

I'll be surprised if both LVG and Ed Woodward are still in their current jobs come the next Summer transfer window

Hero wrote:As a Chelsea fan though I'm sure you were hoping to get a more recognized centreback in than Djilobodji, that was a real left field punt. Being that you were throwing money at Everton for Stones and even on the last day then trying to acquire Marquinhos shows there's still concerns in that area.

I think the Marquinhos interest was partly a ploy to get a message to JT that he isn't irreplacebale anymore.

In reality we should be fine with JT and Zouma together. The number of goals conceded look far worse than what it suggests. Swansea's first goal was the third shot after a great save and a great block, the second was a penalty. City are just City. They'll do that to a lot of teams and we had Begovic in goal. West Brom are a bogie team for us and we were comfortably 3-1 up before the red card. Palace was just a couple of bad mistakes from the fullbacks.

Let's wait and see what Djilobodji is like first.

Apart from the nine goals you've conceded everything is ok though Nick?

I just explained why the number of goals sounds worse than the actual goals themselves. No. Everything is not ok. It's the opposite. Of course conceding nine goals in four games isn't ok. I'm just explaining the manner of the goals to show it's not as bad as you'd think.

Hammersmith harrier wrote: The De Gea fiasco has left us in a quandry with the goalkeeper and probably screwed everyone involved, I hadn't realised how against the deal the Real fans were.

My fault. You need to multiply my ambivalence to signings by a factor of 10 to get the general mood in Madrid.

Following on from this, I think City "won" the transfer window. Jury is out on who "lost", but Arsenal signing no senior outfield player, Manchester United streamlining to risky levels, Tottenham uninspiring and Norwich doing their best to stand still all fight for it.

As a utd fan i'm sure people will just called me biased but how people are crowning city champions after 4 games is unbelievable. This always happens, a team breaks out but its when they suffer a blip is where we see the real title contenders separate themselves from the rest. De Bruyne had a wonderful season last year but he hasn't looked anything special when i watched him vs wales and his first stint in the prem wasn't the best. Undoubtedly talented but after his first crack and the fee he's come in for, there's a hell of allot of pressure for him to hit the ground running. I also see a possibly conundrum for pellegrini considering silva and de bruyne are at their best in the 10 position. Be interesting to see who makes way for the other and plays on the right. I also don't rate either full back for city defensively and any decent winger will cause them problems imo. That being said, I expect them to be there thereabouts come the end of the season. Europe wise, 1/4's at best.

Although injured currently, I'd have had Zabaleta as my first choice right back out of any team each season for the past few. Its hard to judge them these days because they just don't seem anywhere near as good as they used to be. Comparing the top 6 and their fullbacks:

Kolarov, Shaw, Monreal, Azpilicueta, Gomez, Rose
Zabaleta, Darmian, Bellerin, Ivanovic, Clyne, Walker

I really rate Shaw, but its hard to say he has shown himself better than Kolarov. Azpilicueta is my favourite defender in the league and is head and shoulders above the rest for me, but Kolarov could easily be second.

Zabaleta wins this one hands down. Ivanovic, well I've never been a huge fan of him defensively anyway, but this year he has been exposed enough times to be more than the anomaly. Clyne and Bellerin are effective but not incredible, and whilst I love what I've seen from Darmian, its also 4 games into his Premier League career. I don't want to talk about Kyle Walker.

My question with City is always motivation, and they seem to have it back. If they can survive implosion then they win the league. I'd even be confident they could survive Aguero having substantial absences. Maybe even more importantly, if Chelsea don't switch it on then who do you really see stopping City?

Arsenal! #gonnawintheleague

I think if injuries hit, then United might be the clear losers of this window. What originally looked like positive streamlining of the supporting cast, actually turned into a negative, that could become clear, the further we go into the season. Agree, some of the deadwood needing removing, but not replacing them was potentially suicidal in my opinion. Just stinks of bad planning, who decimates a squad, when as a team, you will have to endure playing & rotating across four demanding competitions, in a more congested fixture list?

At the minute, can see why United fans have gently accepted what has unfolded, due to this strange undying belief in King Louis. Once the demands of this season hit home on this skeleton squad though & if injuries to key players occur, then I can only see tears. I think as soon as LVG turns around during games & sees dire options such as Valencia, Young & Fellaini, he'll know deep down, that this window, he had a mare.

It does reaffirm that in the managerial game good PR is vital. Moyes was slated just for buying Fellaini, if he had bought him and said he was one of the main striking options then he'd have been killed by Ent before the press conference ended.

He did bring in 7 players which is a fair number for any club, it's just that he got rid of about 20 that's the issue.

And Utd's Twitter and Facebook feeds are just rammed with posts calling for LVG out.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Although injured currently, I'd have had Zabaleta as my first choice right back out of any team each season for the past few. Its hard to judge them these days because they just don't seem anywhere near as good as they used to be. Comparing the top 6 and their fullbacks:

Kolarov, Shaw, Monreal, Azpilicueta, Gomez, Rose
Zabaleta, Darmian, Bellerin, Ivanovic, Clyne, Walker

I really rate Shaw, but its hard to say he has shown himself better than Kolarov. Azpilicueta is my favourite defender in the league and is head and shoulders above the rest for me, but Kolarov could easily be second.

Zabaleta wins this one hands down. Ivanovic, well I've never been a huge fan of him defensively anyway, but this year he has been exposed enough times to be more than the anomaly. Clyne and Bellerin are effective but not incredible, and whilst I love what I've seen from Darmian, its also 4 games into his Premier League career. I don't want to talk about Kyle Walker.

My question with City is always motivation, and they seem to have it back. If they can survive implosion then they win the league. I'd even be confident they could survive Aguero having substantial absences. Maybe even more importantly, if Chelsea don't switch it on then who do you really see stopping City?

It's hard to tell how much Luke Shaw is developing at United. I think they mentioned his cross that Mata put in against Swansea was his only assist since joining United, or at least his only one in the PL.

Unlike a lot of fans I look for my full backs to defend first and foremost, any assists they provide is a bonus.

Given Shaw's first season was pretty much a write off with injuries and continuously stop starting, one assist from the 4 games he has looked to play to his potential isn't too bad

Its his defence and running that has impressed me, definite starter for England until Baines is back

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Unlike a lot of fans I look for my full backs to defend first and foremost, any assists they provide is a bonus.

Quite agree.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Unlike a lot of fans I look for my full backs to defend first and foremost, any assists they provide is a bonus.

He can't defend.

All our opponents get in on his side. You can try and blame depay sand blind but his positioning is appalling. He isn't fit enough - can't get back after he goes forward- like watching Evra after his legs went. Look at the state of him for both swansea goals.

The LVG system requires both full backs to bomb on & overlap Mata & Depay, because you have two holding midfielders or players unable to really offer anything offensively, other than slow build or & sideways passing. Modern day full backs need to be effective going both ways, it's a necessity now, so just being happy with one aspect of that shouldn't really be accepted. 

As for Shaw, actually think he's done well this season, not his fault he's attacking & Rooney gives away possession so stupidly.

Good to see Ent has a scapegoat in defence too. I was worried that everything was just Mata or Rooney's fault.

Not really, blinds a problem to in transition and I doubt Romero is a great organiser.

Defense is still an issue people fooled by a few clean sheets against poor sides when we are playing 2 screening midfielders.

But if you think Shaw is a good defender (outside of 1 on 1s which I have to give him credit for) then you don't know what you are watching. That's the modern full back for you.

Shaw has been rock solid defensively, he can't do a lot when we're counter attacking and our captain can't make a simple pass.

Really? Beaten for free kick routine narrow miss, out of position then turned by folks on hitting post. Out of position and no real attempt to recover for equaliser, badly out of position for winner.

He's a liability at the back really.

Club have to take some blame, I wonder who coaches full backs as Rafael's positioning etc never really improved- that's dofferent sets of coaches too.

He was beaten easily against Spuds on opening day. In this day and age fullbacks should be just as good at providing crosses than they are at defending. Sadly a lot of fullbacks lack more defensive skills.

Been that way for years. A lot of them are converted wingers, just how it is, with flooded midfields they are the extra man and sometimes difference makers.

Especially with two holding midfielders. Shaw is arguably more important going forward in that side.

He isn't great going forward, even his assist at the weekend was meant for someone else.

Jack of all trades for a full back really.

Think you've been well harsh on Mr Dorrans in your report Dolph - quality player, and has been very good at the start of this season. 

I'd give our business a B-, if we'd managed to get a CB in maybe bumped upto a B+.

Solid if unspectacular

Not sure I've said anything that isn't true though! He's never really been vital for West Brom, even when we were interested I don't think we ever went above £4m, it all seems rather uninspiring. I'd give your business a D, and not in a super sexy way. There certainly was no plan around a signing like Jarvis who has been clearly available all summer. Jerome and Redmond are the only two players in that side who score goals, and neither is prolific for their position.

If you'd said to me prior to the transfer window opening that Utd would bring in 7 players and that included Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Depay, Martial and Darmian, and that Utd had managed to offload a lot of peripheral squad players that clogged up the wage bill then you'd say that was an excellent transfer window.
Why did it all therefore become such a disaster? (I'm not questioning the fact that it was a disaster!)

I suppose its the question of theory and reality. In theory, those peripheral squad players probably would have been more tightly picked in fans' minds, and not so many either. It feels like Man United are only better in two positions, and weaker in at least two as well with De Gea all over the shop and Rooney with all the responsibility. And last season didnt even have the champions league.

Suppose you judge a window by the squad you are left with rather than the deals done.

When you look at it like that it has left us short, regardless of the fact we brought in a lot of players.

At the start of the window most wanted a starting right back, centre back and centre midfielder with an additional centre forward. We missed out on half of what we needed.

There is some chat going round that martial was on the last year of his Monaco deal and would have been available for compensation in a year. Suggestions most of the big european teams were interested given that scenario.

Feel a bit better seeing other sides interested as I'm not overly convinced with what I've seen from him. The money looks even more stupid now. Teams just see us coming, they've always added a few quid on for us but now it seems like a third gets added to the fee when we come calling.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Not sure I've said anything that isn't true though! He's never really been vital for West Brom, even when we were interested I don't think we ever went above £4m, it all seems rather uninspiring. I'd give your business a D, and not in a super sexy way. There certainly was no plan around a signing like Jarvis who has been clearly available all summer. Jerome and Redmond are the only two players in that side who score goals, and neither is prolific for their position.

Jarvis was clearly in response to letting Johnson leave imo. We'll have to agree to disagree on Dorrans and Mulumbu

It'll be interesting, I don't doubt that my Norfolk bae, but to me this was the window of speculating to accumulate and Norwich haven't really given it a proper go

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:It'll be interesting, I don't doubt that my Norfolk bae, but to me this was the window of speculating to accumulate and Norwich haven't really given it a proper go

I agree on that - but understand the boards position that last time we did that it ended in massive failure, whereas the last time we brought prudently we stayed up easily. They probably didn't want to gamble, especially with a manager who has never had that experience before

Great write up Dolph.
As a hammers fan I'm delighted with our business.