So what have we learnt from this transfer window?

[not3bad]

We learnt that shopping early for targets you've spent months scouting is far better than hoying money around on deadline day like a burst hydrant.

Yep.

[rob_bridge]

I think that the prices wanted for the playmakers we were after were so high that we couldn't make the deals, Lambert obviously feels that they weren't good enough for the prices asked. I can understand that very well, didn't we always whine how MON, Houllier and TSM paid over the odds for the players they wanted?

We did always whine and I can't think of any 'bargains' they signed. We recouped a lot more than outlayed on Ashley Young and Milner as well as Downing (God knows how). The rest were over priced in terms of transfer outlay, though without Bent we would have been relegated if not in 2011 then certainly 2012.

I much prefer the current, sustainable approach.

[Lee]

Natalie Sawyers lost to much weight

Agreed!

[eastie]

A good window for us , offloaded a few and brought in 7 players who will strengthen the squad and add competition for places - very good.

[Jarpie]

I think that the prices wanted for the playmakers we were after were so high that we couldn't make the deals, Lambert obviously feels that they weren't good enough for the prices asked. I can understand that very well, didn't we always whine how MON, Houllier and TSM paid over the odds for the players they wanted?

We did always whine and I can't think of any 'bargains' they signed. We recouped a lot more than outlayed on Ashley Young and Milner as well as Downing (God knows how). The rest were over priced in terms of transfer outlay, though without Bent we would have been relegated if not in 2011 then certainly 2012.

I much prefer the current, sustainable approach.

Yeah, Young and Milner were worth of their fees we paid for them and we made some profit on Downing. I agree that we were saved from relegation by Bent but we still paid over the odds for him, he will be one of those players thought as "Only if we'd gotten him two years earlier" when he would've really shone under MON when we were chasing Top 4 finish.

As well as Lambert has done on transfer windows, I think that optimal situation would be to buy one or couple real quality-players and then some unknown quantities like we've bought under Lambert but in the last 3-4 years the quality of the player vs. the fees wanted has been very lobsided, especially in the UK.

Okore seems to be another brilliant buy in the vein of Benteke and Luna seems to be another very good buy so far. Tonev and Bacuna looks promising if/when they get their mentalities coached straight and Helenius looks to have potential to be brilliant player, hopefully in the vein of Laudrup brothers .

[JUAN PABLO]

we shouldnt have a transfer window

[Concrete John]

I think that the prices wanted for the playmakers we were after were so high that we couldn't make the deals, Lambert obviously feels that they weren't good enough for the prices asked. I can understand that very well, didn't we always whine how MON, Houllier and TSM paid over the odds for the players they wanted?

We did always whine and I can't think of any 'bargains' they signed. We recouped a lot more than outlayed on Ashley Young and Milner as well as Downing (God knows how). The rest were over priced in terms of transfer outlay, though without Bent we would have been relegated if not in 2011 then certainly 2012.

I much prefer the current, sustainable approach.

Yeah, Young and Milner were worth of their fees we paid for them and we made some profit on Downing. I agree that we were saved from relegation by Bent but we still paid over the odds for him, he will be one of those players thought as "Only if we'd gotten him two years earlier" when he would've really shone under MON when we were chasing Top 4 finish.

As well as Lambert has done on transfer windows, I think that optimal situation would be to buy one or couple real quality-players and then some unknown quantities like we've bought under Lambert but in the last 3-4 years the quality of the player vs. the fees wanted has been very lobsided, especially in the UK.

Okore seems to be another brilliant buy in the vein of Benteke and Luna seems to be another very good buy so far. Tonev and Bacuna looks promising if/when they get their mentalities coached straight and Helenius looks to have potential to be brilliant player, hopefully in the vein of Laudrup brothers .

I think that's difficult in our position.  We could easily go out and spend £10m or more on a player, but in our current stage of development we're probably not that attractive to players actually worth that sort of tranfer fee.  So you get those who are either over inflated price wise or just coming for the money or probably both.

There will come a time when improving this side will need a player in that higher price bracket.  I hope when that time comes Lambert and Randy will buy them, but more importantly that we're doing well enough on the pitch to actually attract them. 

[Toronto Villa]

the media will focus on those who made a "splash" on deadline day. We did our business quietly and efficiently and most of it very early on which many outside of this parish will soon forget. Those players are better integrated than players arriving at new clubs yesterday. Time will tell whether we have bought well off course, but I am happy with what we did, and for me, getting Benteke to sign a new deal was just like splashing out £40m on a top forward.

[Simon Ward]

we shouldnt have a transfer window

Agreed we should have a "round window" though!

[Quiet Lion]

I tell you what I have learned.

No matter who the player is, what club they play for, how many appearances that have made. If we are linked with them there will be no shortage of people claiming to know all about them.

Not even claiming they are a beast on FM, or they had them in FIFA and they we the dogs bollocks. But rather like "oh Henrik Laddum, yeah saw him a couple times playing in the Turkish second division for Bodrum Utd. Decent left back, good tackler. Tends to show people on the inside a little too much, but he has the pace to recover."

You are all filthy liars

[Monty]

I tell you what I have learned.

No matter who the player is, what club they play for, how many appearances that have made. If we are linked with them there will be no shortage of people claiming to know all about them.

Not even claiming they are a beast on FM, or they had them in FIFA and they we the dogs bollocks. But rather like "oh Henrik Laddum, yeah saw him a couple times playing in the Turkish second division for Bodrum Utd. Decent left back, good tackler. Tends to show people on the inside a little too much, but he has the pace to recover."

You are all filthy liars

I had no idea about Luna, Okore, Helenius, Bacuna or Sylla, and anyone who claims they did must either live in the country they were playing in or be fibbing.

[mrastonvilla]

The majority of the wider media have no idea about Paul Lambert and what he is trying to achieve at Villa.

[john e]

we shouldnt have a transfer window

disagree, if there were no window the rumour ofbids and  players leaving would be never ending

I mean at least we now know Benteke is with us till at least Jan probably the rest of the season, if there were no window he would be leaving and getting unsettled every week

[john e]

The majority of the wider media have no idea about Paul Lambert and what he is trying to achieve at Villa.

it took a while for a lot of people on this site to work that one out as well

[KevinGage]

We've learned that RL will still back managers with a reasonable transfer kitty. 

£23 million + last year, £18 million last year.   With no significant (fee wise) outgoings. 

When he bought the club, there was talk (OK, newspaper speculation) that £20 million per year being made available for transfers.   That's pretty much how it's worked out, some years more, some years less.  But never much less. 

We've also learned -if ever anybody doubted it- that it doesn't pay to make saleable assets train with the kids and generally ostracise them. It only sends the price down, to the point where we have to effectively give them away. 

PL has some very good qualities, but I agree with the point about a DoF or technical director.  Lambert can say behind closed doors that he doesn't rate x or y, that he's not part of his plans.  But not to the outside world.  We need to be cuter than that.  I agree on the succession/ stability aspect too.  Should Lambert leave in one year, two years or three years (he'll be doing incredibly well to go beyond that based on our record post WWII)  we can't have the whole thing turning to shit again, with a new manager and a completely new direction.

Our spend this year has been dwarfed by clubs such as Norwich and Swansea, but £18 million is still a significant amount. Those clubs have less overheads and commitments than us as far as existing contracts were concerned (I'm guessing). So they were in a better position to spend the TV money early.   It is a concern to me that most of the players we've bought in are at the lower end of the scale vis a vis wages.   I hope that wasn't the primary motivation when signing them.

Signings like Hutton, Warnock and co prove that paying a player £40k per week plus isn't a guarantee of quality, true.  But there is a direct correlation more often than not between overall wage bill and final league placing. I'm not hugely bothered about the financial aspect of things, truth be told, If player x earns more than player y.  But that last part -as a football fan- concerns me. 

It's fine to have a squad with a number of promising young players looking to prove themselves, but we are big enough to have a core of players closer to the finished article, and I would have liked to have seen more of that type arrive this summer, particularly for the key spots in defence. 

We could have utilized our transfer budget a bit better.  Last year the defence looked an obvious Achilles heel, and I would have liked to see another CB come in alongside Okore.  Perhaps even an experienced CB on loan.  Luna looks decent, but not a huge upgrade on Bennett.     With our formation, the fullback positions are vital for us, so I would like to have seen genuine top quality there.  We are a central midfielder light too, be that an attacking midfielder or the more traditional jack of all trades type.

So overall, 6 for incoming and 6 for outgoing.