Broken Window?

As it is, this summer was always going to be strange, with only 12 senior players under contract at one point. With this in mind, I thought they did a very good job bringing in genuine quality. I was surprised at the lack of stop-gap Bosman transfers, but the 1-year deals for Coleman, Gueye and Keane probably played that role.

I think our problem is that we're struggling to create and score goals, yet we leave three creative players on the bench for nearly every game and sold off a young striking option with potential.

The ‘broken record' here is that Dibling, McNeil and Alcaraz should be on the pitch far more often, providing a different threat, fresh legs and rest for other players. Dewsbury-Hall should play in the deeper role more often, Gana can't play every minute and we'll create more with Garner at right-back than O'Brien.

We have a much better squad than we had last season, but they're being poorly managed by an overly cautious manager unwilling to try different things.

Considering that Barry seems rather like a (hopeful?) upgrade on Chermiti, I'm surprised that greater effort wasn't made to keep hold of Calvert-Lewin -- if only for a couple more seasons.

I also assume that the right-back position was not prioritised as much as expected on the basis that Coleman and Patterson may actually play some matches now and again, so that we don't have to constantly use other players out of position.

Alcaraz has been inconsistent this season but, when playing well, offers more creativity and goals. Last season in that Number 10 role we had Alcaraz, who was in form at the time, or Doucoure, who was a headless chicken but had a knack for scoring goals.

Now we have Dewsbury-Hall in front of Garner and Gana -- a trio that offer very little in terms of assists or goals.

So why did we spend a big chunk of our budget on a guy we didn't need who seems to be selected because he is a bigger name than others in the squad?

Then there is the striker issue. There's no point wasting money on sub par players. If you can't get what you want, you don't have to spend for spending sake.

Chermiti couldn't have offered less than Barry has this season. Yet we spent double our Chermitti money to replace him with Barry.

Now, Moyes concedes we need a striker. Well we'd have £10M more towards that aim if we hadn't made that pointless switch.

Meanwhile, we decided right-back wasn't a priority as we can "manage" with O'Brien or Garner out of position. Well, if we had brought in a competent if not great right-back, we'd have those guys available to play in their actual positions when we have problems (eg, Branthwaite injured, Gana about to head to the Afcon).

We'd also have a more balanced looking side. But instead we blew money on buying a striker for the sake of it. And now Moyes is publicly stating that we need a striker, two things will happen in January or next summer:

1. We will not be able to offload Barry and Beto for any kind of fee as aside from the obvious lack of goals, the manager has publicly inferred they're no good.

2. Having wasted money on them, we have less money left to try and find anyone better. So we may bring in Jamie Cureton aged 50 who scored this weekend in the non-league, or some other "striker" on the cheap who will add nothing.

Yet when they started against Wolves they were rubbish and hooked at 45 minutes and 60 minutes, and we improved immensely when they were gone.

Kieran, does this Cureton bloke track back?

As the OP says, getting Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish when we already had Ndiaye and Alacarz for those positions felt like strange thinking and not getting a more dynamic right-back was borderline negligence.

The team still lacks a proper Number 6 and we are creating very little through the middle of the pitch with a very heavy reliance on Grealish and Ndiaye. Barry may yet come good but it's been a disappointing lack of impact so far.

And the Branthwaite injury hurts all the more because our 3rd choice centre-back is needed at right-back and our 4th choice (although playing well) does not allow us to play a higher line that brought some more defensive stability last season.

The recruitment wasn't great but I'm not sure it's quite as bad as Moyes is making it look. Still early days for the likes of Dibling, Aznou, Röhl and Barry who will hopefully go on to prove their worth at some point.

Look at Sunderland's recruitment: quality all over the team front and back, and signing Xhaka was a masterstroke.

Right now, our tactical plan is to get the ball to Grealish and Ndiaye. That's been well and truly sussed.

The biggest mistake since Moyes returned was his judgement in that cup tie at Wolves. It makes me feel nauseous when people expect six players to just come into the team and play with fluidity.

Of course we were going to improve when the players who weren't rusty were introduced, Eric, just like we would improve if the players that Mike mentioned were given more opportunities and minutes than they are currently being given.

Some players get better when they don't play... and some, like Dwight McNeil, who has scored some very good goals in blue, are suddenly not good enough because Everton have signed a couple of allegedly better players.

Football being a squad game doesn't really look like this applies at Everton right now and it's frustrating the life out of me.

Is say playing Aznou going to be that much worse than playing Mykolenko?

I do however think you should be really worried about Arsenal. That striker they bought has only scored 1 Premier League goal in his last 7. His other goals came in one game. I do hope Arteta can keep them up.

While it is not fashionable to say anything good about our new striker, he made 2 little movements which were top class. On both occasions, he broke the line of a compact Spurs defence we had failed to penetrate since they scored.

The first Dewsbury-Hall had to play a little 3-yard pass and he was straight in on goal with only the keeper to beat. We may have learnt more as those were the chances he was gobbling up last season.

Our Number 10, who is supposed to be our chief creator, duly passed the ball like a centre-back, straight into the goalie's hands, and this at 2-0 with plenty on the clock.

Incidentally, are they called Number 10s because you need to have 10 of them? Just wondering...

The other would have required a quality ball that perhaps only Garner would have had the ability and vision to hit but I liked that he lost Danso and no surprise we passed it sideways in any eventuality.

However, I was impressed with him and last night was the first time he impacted the game from the bench (Brighton game from the start when crucial to our win). He showed for the first time that he got up to the speed of the game and handled the physicality of the Spurs defenders.

I also feel, Paul, it's difficult to judge the squad on how Moyes is currently using it. Their job is slightly different in that they have to mould the squad for any eventuality, meaning that the manager should get a say on the players who he wants, but should have a mixture of experience and youth. If a manager becomes unwell, gets a better offer, or gets sacked, then the new incumbent with different ideas has the tools to work with.

From a recruitment point of view, we have a proven Premier League striker with 7 goals in half a season with this manager, a hot young prospect who has excelled with every step up he has taken, and a player in Ndiaye who has scored double figures in both goals and assists in only 48 games when used as a striker.

They have stocked up other areas of the pitch, namely midfield, to give flexibility. Grealish as a Number 10 or wide player. Ndiaye anywhere across the front. Alcaraz and Dewsbury-Hall in a midfield three, Garner at right-back, McNeil as a wide player or left-wingback.

For example, Moyes only stumbled on Ndiaye as a right winger after the Leeds debacle as he played Charly Alcaraz right-wing when it seemed obvious to play the Senegalese there as there was no one else.

I doubt the recruitment team would have expected to have seen so little of Dibling, hence Moyes's public support of how well he's doing but that he hadn't fully settled yet. Probably keeping the owners sweet as much as the player or the public.

Most of the deficiencies posters have highlighted within the team playing regularly are in fact catered for within the squad that the recruitment team have assembled.

We're now 2½ months into the season and have three decent players who have barely played any football. This is simply poor management. Rotate the starting XI, use 4-5 subs a game, and plan to finish with a strong XI of match-fit players.

He might turn out to be a decent striker. Beto isn't.

We only need players now if the assumption is that we should be challenging. How likely is it that one window turns us from asset stripping, anti-football, relegation candidates into challengers?

This is a long-term plan to be a decent, sustainable football club. Buy young, hopefully recoup our outlay where we make mistakes, and big money or long-term playing benefit where we get it right.

We could have a better team right now if we went for a load of 30-year-olds. But we'd have little future once they're sitting on the bench at 32 on high wages and we can't afford replacements. And we still wouldn't be challenging for anything meaningful with the kind of spend we made.

Our opponents on Sunday were able to call Richarlison off the bench. That's the guy who was one of our best players that we were forced to sell. There's the difference in where these two clubs have been for the last decade.

If we're ever becoming relevant again, this is the approach to take. We just need to get more transfers right than wrong.

That said the approach was plainly weird.

We overloaded on central midfield players.

We bought inverted wingers but no overlapping full backs to provide width.

We brought in Grealish when he plays in the same position as our best player Ndiaye.

It is a repeat of the same daft use of a decent kitty when Moshiri first took over.

Once more we were left predictably narrow and slow -- something made much worse by Branthwaite's injury -- which drags the defensive line back.

Martinez's inspired recruitment and player development didn't just involve buying Lukaku. It was about creating a side that could attack when in possession and on the counter through width, pace and technical ability.

We score quite well on technical ability now but it is all trying to operate in the same or similar spaces with no width or pace to really hurt opponents.

If we sign a wing forward of pace and a right-back in January, then it all falls into place -- but without that, it will be a hard season.

The trip to the US where he called out the lack of signings, I wonder if that has done him no favours and all is now not well with him Kinnear and the recruitment team?

I just wonder if all is well behind the scenes.

Consider if a fully fit Branthwaite was available, which I imagine everyone thought he might be by now. He significantly changes the quality on the pitch and how the team performs. Keane has played well, but he's not optimal Branthwaite quality or a balanced pairing with Tarkowski.

Talking of Tarkowski, who would have anticipated his dip in form? Maybe the dubious handball calls against him have dented his confidence? Maybe he's on the decline... or maybe he's missing his solid and dependable partner?

Whatever the answer, our back four look more vulnerable than last season.

If, and it's a big if, our back four remained the same as last season and the midfield was and has been improved, that would have left the striker as the main concern. To me, that's the role that was screwed up in the summer window.

I don't see Barry or Beto reaching double figures -- no matter how many balls are played into them or how many crosses put into the box. At present, they are just another body on the pitch and I'm pretty sure any one of the squad could do an equal or better job.

I hope beyond hope that one or both come good and find their scoring boots, but I'm just not seeing it. We lamented Calvert-Lewin's lack of fitness and then lack of effort, but these two are somehow almost worse. Maybe it was the expectation that one of them would provide the goods as they had to be better than Calvert-Lewin, right?

With a bit more good fortune for Branthwaite, I think we'd start seeing more cohesion for the most part, just a lack of ability to put the ball in the back of the net, which would have been a B rather than a C+ mark.

contains the qualities that you want? Without screwing up PSR, I doubt they could do much better within the confines necessary.

You could sub Gana for Dewsbury-Hall but I don't think he can play there... though Moyes will have insisted on him and suggested he can. I doubt they would have paid that for a 27-year-old for 2-3 seasons with no likely sell-on.

You suggested Mukiele, like me, but he isn't exactly that modern full-back you crave and is probably why he has been used mostly as a centre-back, where he has done really well.

So it still lacks the sort of penetration you get from a proper wing forward which we still don't have in the squad (like a Salah, Mbeumo or Semenyo).

The other flaws are:

- it robs us of our best midfielder (by playing him at right-back). In theory, we could play Patterson... but a series of managers seem to have concluded he is crap.

- no one knows whether Aznou is any good (he's returning from injury and may need another loan).

- Branthwaite is injured so we have to use one of Keane or Tarkowski presumably.

So like I say, a strange window which hinders our play. It's not like another manager could come in and just “fix it”.

I agree btw that Dewsbury-Hall cannot player deeper (or wide as some -- not you, I don't think -- have suggested). He operates as the more advanced of a trio in a central 3 but not as a Number 10.

That's about it. He's just not very good in other positions and possibly even a downgrade on the less talented Doucoure. Although he started quite brightly, I am not convinced we needed him. I think Alcaraz has more to offer from the same sort of position.

The money would have been better spent at right-back. Which allows Garner and O'Brien to play where they belong. Needn't have been Mukiele (just an example); there is no shortage of material upgrades.

They don't know Branthwaite is out for over a month or two.

Gana's form this season doesn't count as they wouldn't have forecasted his drop off. Rohl gives that technical quality as does Grealish. The German might be our best midfielder.

They obviously rate Aznou or they wouldn't have paid so much (relative to contract length).

Both full backs can overlap the widemen though aren't going to run in behind but are quick with the ball.

My point is that TFG needed a marquee signing so paid £12M for Grealish. £27M at the behest of their manager.

To me, there seems clear strategy and not a huge amount to go round with the rest. Dibling I know will be the best value we have had in years, even if we see it more centrally, so I would prefer him than some player with your ideal attributes who turns out to be the next Philogene.

I think we will look back at this window favourably. I know you have spoken about needing all these attributes to score goals. The last team we had that scored a few:

Digne Keane Mina Coleman James Allan Doucoure Sigurdsson Richarlison Calvert-Lewin.

Virtually no pace throughout that team.

The way he neglects to use the bench until the 88th minute or doesn't use it at all because players "aren't ready for the Premier League" or some such is a constant frustration to many.

Back to the point, we never went in for a full-back in the last window, which I said at the time was criminal. It now leaves our back four one tweak away from Jimmy Garner filling in at full-back. He's either responsible for the signings we got, or is obstinately ignoring the ones he was given, because he doesn't trust them, they're not 38 or somehow they're not “Moyes” players.

If he was any sort of coach, he would be improving the players, or switching the system to suit the ones he has. He doesn't show any sign of being able to adapt and is constantly forcing square pegs into round holes, like playing lads out wide when they excel in the middle for instance.

I never wanted him back and frankly, for the last couple of years in his first stint, I couldn't wait for him to move on. Bournemouth, Brentford and Palace seem to have found exciting coaches with new ideas. We got rid of Dyche and ended up with Moyes. Fuck me.

With respect, I think that your first sentence is an indictment, not an excuse.

A hugely important window and we seemingly allowed two apparently key figures join us after it shut. That does not sound like calculating and strong-arm business management to me.

Sorry Mike, this last window is not, I feel, some sort of training run for next year or some sort of free hit as not everything was in place. It was far too important for that and we have the right to sharply criticize TFG and how they handled recruitment over the summer.

But as I said Mike, let's see what happens in January and next summer. You mention only the summer window, but January is not far away and that will be the second time for us to judge our recruitment team, apparently now with a couple of crack recruiters on board.

You might know the answer to this, Mike, but I've spent some time looking for confirmation that they have in fact joined us without any luck. It would be lovely if you or someone else can confirm that they are at Finch Farm.

And the recruitment team have a rather large hand in your question, Dave.

If we take on board results and performances so far, we're looking at C- mate. I wish it were better.

I'm trying to leave Moyes out of this, but I think that he is a tad unhappy on the recruitment front but we do not know the dynamics. I would love to know his exact involvement over the summer.

Regardless, Dave, Moyes did a bad job -- selection, set-up, subs, responding to the game -- on Sunday, and, of course, the chair of my History Department at the Uni is a Spud born in Walthamstow.

A lot of people got upset with me when I dared to restate my dislike of Moyes on his reappointment as Everton manager.

Your post @21 captures and describes my feelings then and now to a tee.

So... facts.

1. We did buy a striker... just turns out Barry isn't (so far) good enough. Nor is Beto, sadly, so we now likely need another one. Ideally a Premier League proven one.

There are of course a lot of Premier League (and European) clubs looking for top strikers, and not many have been successful. Of the strikers signed this summer, Woltemade, Ekitike and Kroupi Jr are looking the business.

But so far, not a lot of others are really smashing them in -- and I include big money signings like Gyökeres, Isak and Sesko plus Calvert-Lewin and Igor Jesus in that. Joao Pedro has gone off the boil also after a great start.

2. We did also try to buy a full-back, the Fulham lad almost came, but then did a volte-face.

I suspect, over and above these, we were talking to many other players to lure them in, but they have to be able to be a) affordable and b) wanting to sign for us in order to get the job done.

We don't have European football, not a realistic chance at a title challenge, so we're just 1 of 20 offering the promised land of the Premier League -- and we're far from the top payers!

We also had to cover for an exodus of midfielders (which I think we did pretty well). Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish are both class acts right now who have improved the quality of the side, as is Alcaraz; Dibling is a very strong prospect and Röhl an interesting punt. Re-signing Gueye was also good business. I'd also file Aznou (a full-back - cough) under 'punt' territory.

For me the window was one of the better ones in recent years, so I'd put it a solid B.

Could we do with another full-back / wing-back? -- absolutely yes.

Do we need another striker? Yes, but we're not alone in that.
Hopefully these 2 positions will be top focuses in January.

In the meantime, we just obviously need to find ways to make the best of what we have and start scoring again!

"I think we will look back at this window favourably."

Is that because Moyes is going to get sacked because of it?

- pace and running in behind of Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison

- it had width through Digne, Coleman and (I think) Sidibe

- it had pace / mobility at centre-back in Mina and Godfrey

- it had quality in Sigurdsson and Rodriguez (and Bernard and Iwobi)

That is a much better balance than what we have now. It is no surprise we scored more goals.

My point really was that we can't judge the recruitment team yet as the summer business wasn't done by the long-term recruitment team. It was, presumably, Moyes-led along with the group of people that we had managed to cobble together in time.

Even Moyes was only appointed in January, so the long-term planning won't have been in place the way it should be. With all that in mind, I think the recruitment was okay, but it's hard to tell so far.

My key point remains that we're not making the most of what we have. We could be using more good players more often, Moyes is choosing not to.

TFG is the club ownership and management, and may be due...

I think Dewsbury-Hall is quite a good technical player but he's shown nothing yet to say he's a class act. Neat and tidy, yes, but class act? No. You could argue Doucoure offered more despite some glaring flaws. He also arguably offers less than Alcaraz.

I also think that we could realistically have signed anyone other than those bought by the traditional rich 6, Newcastle and Forest.

It was weird recruitment -- but can be fixed with a wing forward of pace and a full-back or two.

Thanks for your reply, I'm not an admirer of Moyes, never was once I understood how he operated, and I think he is too old to change. I haven't a clue who was in charge of the transfer deals during the summer and I will wait and see how they turn out; not impressed up to now but it's early days.

I think Moyes has made a few poor decisions this season on team selections, substitutions and style so I thought you might have even reached the first vowel with your marks.

I do sympathise with you having to face the chair of your history department after Saturday's display; mind you, he was in your position when we beat Spurs at Goodison earlier this year — very narrowly in the end!

The Ancelotti team had more potential goal scorers than now but it was hardly free scoring.

In the 20-21 season, we had 14 goals after the first 5 league matches and then managed just 33 in the next 33. Some of the football was turgid. On paper, he had a much better team but I'll wager we score as many goals this season as then.

I think it makes more sense to look at the Martinez team as the best balanced and best equipped to play fast attacking football. That is the last time we've had a team that was decently assembled. Martinez, I think, would have overseen a very different transfer window for us.

As I have said earlier, I don't think any of the new players are bad as such (they may or may not prove to be over time) but the balance is very poor and needs fixing.

The good base was key in that statement. Back 5 were good, as were the wingers, and he had John Stones and Ross Barkley to add to the mix.

Unfortunately the recruitment after that was less impressive. A long list of players that vastly inferior to the rest of the squad, brought in for big dough. Back then there players about that could have been picked up like Maguire, Robertson from Hull, Van Dijk from Celtic, and plenty of others that were around for decent fees. Sadly that opportunity was missed.

Alcaraz
Kone
Lennon
Besic
Traore
McGeady
Funes Mori
Niasse
Tarashaj
Atsu
Robles

To begin, the injury to Branthwaite has been a big loss, notably because we miss his pace at the back and his ability to play on the left. Also, the misfiring centre-forwards means we are not scoring the number of goals our approach play deserves.

Finally, the failure to secure a right-back has left us vulnerable and is a situation which should be resolved in January.

So if the playing squad is better, how can we improve the performance of our starting 11? Sadly, there are not too many options, but I would start with the following...

Accept that Mykolenko is a good defender, but poor in an offensive situation, so ensure that he remains in defence as cover for our current slower and less mobile defenders. Start by giving Röhl much more game time, he looks a real prospect and will need to cover for Gana when he is away on international duty in January.

Use Dewsbury-Hall as cover for Grealish, I believe they are very similar type players, and in his position play Alcaraz, simply because he is more likely to score goals.

That leaves just one further decision: who to play centre-forward? So far, despite all his honest endeavours, it's just not working for Beto and he certainly isn't fitting in well with his colleagues. So I think we have to start with Barry, who at least looks like he can link up with his teammates.

So, all in all, just a couple of minor tweaks, given that we don't have too many options, but clearly we need to stiffen the defence and improve our goalscoring before we find ourselves in more trouble.

Back 3: O'Brien Keane Mykolenko
Central midfield: Rohl Gueye
Wing backs: Garner and McNeil (or Aznou)
Attacking trio: Grealish Barry Ndiaye

That looks well-balanced to me.

(I don't consider that an "indictment" -- I consider it competent corporate strategy to bring in the people you really want, even if you have to wait a few months for them, rather than settling for less-desirable execs just because they were immediately available.)

So we weren't working off some sort of strategic 5-year plan, we were filling a dozen open holes in a clinically dead squad. And facing another spiral back into the depths if we didn't get it right.

From my perspective, we got it right. What I considered to be the first of a minimum three-window process went exceptionally well IMO.

We came out with what I had most hoped for -- a stabilized squad, one that would stay well clear of the relegation terrors of the past four seasons. We have some young talent. We have a professional bench. We can put a real Premier League side on the pitch every week. We're not a mess anymore.

Obviously we have a long way to go to be truly Everton again. We will need reinforcements across the backline, goalscoring up top, some pace up the flanks (still our biggest weakness) and, before challenging for a place in Europe, a new manager.

But that window has clearly gotten us beyond the reach of the mire, and I think anybody giving it a C+ (or worse) is hamstrung by some wildly overoptimistic expectations, of speed if not of accomplishment.

We're finally out of first gear. The process of getting to overdrive will take time and patience. But I'd say that on 28 October 2027 our engines will be giving off an entirely different sound.

When we bought Baines, I don't think he'd played a game at this point in his first season. Moyes knows what he's doing on transfers, even the duds he'll move on for decent money.

The problem is our squad was down to bare bones, and cost £60-70m just to replace our free transfers. People have the impression we've been out spending and should now be reaping the rewards, but you can't sort the problems we'd got into by one window.

We overachieved last season, with those away wins in my view. And be honest, how would you have thought we would fare in the summer if we had had to play Michael Keane in every game?

The signings we have made are not for right now, they are for the future. Barry and Dibling will be much better a year from now. They are both talented players.

Having said that, we are definitely in a bit of a rut at the moment, but I think moving Alcaraz to Number 10 to pair with Beto, and giving Röhl more game time should give us a bit more bite going forwards.

I don't think McNeil is a left-wingback. Asking him to cover a greater distance than he does at left wing would expose his running power, and leave the left centre-back with a lot to do. I think Aznou would be out of his depth from what I've seen so far.

For the time being, I think 4-3-3, and this appears the most technical we've got. Alcaraz for Dewsbury-Hall maybe:

Pickford
Garner Tarkowski Keane Mykolenko
Gana Röhl Dewsbury-Hall
Ndiaye Barry Grealish

I've asked this question multiple times now and drawn only silence, but you seem to have more knowledge and a particular faith in TFG that makes you better placed to answer this question.

Any information you can provide would be nice and might make some folk feel better about the future.

Seems to me that the last piece of the TFG Leadership puzzle did not get put in place until mid-October when Nick Cox finally took up his position as Technical Director. So it's unlikely he had much of a part to play in any recruitment work done in the last transfer window...

But please rest assured: he is now in place and the four-man Leadership Team is complete:

Nick Cox, Technical Director
James Smith, Director of Scouting and Recruitment
Nick Hammond, Head of Player Trading
Chris Howarth, Head of Football Strategy & Analytics

They of course operate under new CEO Angus Kinnear, who is no doubt ably assisted by new CFO Martyn Hawkins. Let's see how they all do in the fullness of time...

Are you saying in October 2025, which is really where we are, that you are convinced we out of any trouble regarding a battle at the bottom of the league and you are happy with the performances of this season?

Performances, not results... and if we continue the way we are playing, we will stay away from that battle at the bottom?

Dear God!

There are still a bunch of jobs to fill. Cox needs to hire a head of academy coaching, and a new head of academy recruitment to replace James Vaughan (who turned to the dark side and became an agent). And Smith must fill in a much-depleted scouting team.

Plus, for anybody interested, the club is hiring 500 stewards.

Dave #42, yes, no and yes.

Yes, I believe we are past any concerns about the bottom three. No, I am not satisfied with the quality of our performances. Yes, assuming we continue to put in the consistent effort we have shown in all but the Leeds game, we will be well away from the relegation quagmire.

Fair enough... except I think consistent effort covers every game and I haven't seen in that v Leeds, Liverpool, Brighton, Crystal Palace and West Ham and they were not very inspiring v Spurs on Sunday.

Nevertheless, I hope you are correct about being well away from the relegation quagmire.

Despite Mr Gaynes's patriotic effusiveness, it still seems bizarre that these corporate sharks would be content to push back two essential appointments to after the window shut.

It was not a great window and many of us will not feel the same optimistic flush as our TFG advocate. But, as you say MK, the only wise way is to wait and see how the new crack team do in January and over the summer.

I hope they succeed. But to do so they will need funds, and I suspect that I am not alone in saying that this big bollocks corporate giant did not give us the backing we needed over the summer.

Because of the C+ window, Dave Abrahams, as ever, talks sense, we will most likely have to pay over the odds in January for the striker, right-back, and left-back that we sorely need. It will not be a surprise to me if we get none of them.

Worrying, because there is no balance at present in our team and performances have not been reassuring for the most part. Our squad depth is thin compared to most others. I'm looking quite enviously at the recruitment of such traditional top-6 teams as Brentford, Bournemouth, and Sunderland at the moment.

No, my observation is based on 30 years of professional interaction with corporate owners and CEOs. They take the long view when they build an executive team. They identify and hire people with top resumes who fit their strategic goals and corporate structure.

And if it seems "bizarre" to the academic Mr. Griffiths that a billionaire running an international conglomerate would not prioritize GET HIM IN BEFORE THE WINDOW CLOSES as a qualification for a key executive, so be it.

As to whether the "big bollocks corporate giant" failed to provide the financial backing required, none of us has any way of knowing whether penuriousness or PSR restrictions were the reason for our not splashing huge cash for top players, but I'd be interested to see Mr. Griffiths cite specific, difference-making players we should or could have gotten if we could or would have spent more.

(If only we had outbid the RS for Isak at £125 million, Wirtz at £116 million or Kerkez at £40 million, eh?)

Yes, our squad is unbalanced and in some areas thin, but both circumstances are a whole lot better than they were before the window. What's bizarre to me is that some here apparently expected that everything that was wrong with the squad would be fixed in one window.

We have bought some shite in previous ones for inflated prices -- Cenk Tosun, Walcott, Schneiderlin, Patterson, Niasse to name a few off the top of my head.

Also the OP is a bit snide in my view, looking to score points against other genuinely decent posters. Unnecessary.

He has been sent off twice and had a hamstring injury.

I include myself in the latter group, as despite the summer investment by the new owners, all I see is a team that finished 13th last season currently skulking in 14th position, and again out of a cup competition before Christmas.

Most of us just see the new restaurant on the Dock Road serving the same old tripe.

My post was about spending big money in January, not loans or smaller fees for younger players. So for the 4 players you mention, Ian, we paid out very little in January. Or, in the case of Pienaar, nothing.

The FSG conglomerate bought 'em, brought in quality executives with a long-term plan, and slooooowly rebuilt. And they now have a club that's worth 18 times what they paid for it.

Based on what they've done at AS Roma, there's not a doubt in my mind that TFG will attempt to achieve the same thing with us in much the same way. Slow structure, slow rebuild. We can only hope they're as good at it as FSG.