Winter 24/26 transfer window - the verdict

[paul_e]

This recent window is a really tough one to judge. Effectively we swapped Luiz, Tammy and Bailey for Malen and Guessand which is an upgrade to the squad but with the context of Kamara, Tielemans and McGinn all getting injured it doesn't feel like we're stronger, which is frustrating. Just those 3 coming back means it's a decent window and we really shouldn't be down about it.

However add on Alysson as someone I suspect we'll see introduced slowly over the next few months and Madjo who is even further off and it feels like one where the real verdict here might not be something we can determine for 18months yet because those 2 are the signings that will determine if this is a decent window or a very good one for us.

[geolex]

^^ He gave the summer window 1/10. I merely pointed that we had done well since, which to me, is the true measure of a transfer window. If we’d have sold our best players and been mid-table or worse, I’d have considered it a fair mark. We didn’t, so I don’t.

i don't disagree with you at all regarding how well we've done, and yes keeping our best players was good news but i (maybe wrongly) tend to judge transfer windows on what we bring in.

[geolex]

I said the summer transfer window was a 1/10.

Maybe he should have said 1/10 for incomings and given a mark for outgoings as well, which sometimes happen in transfer windows.
[/quote
 i suppose you could argue that if they didn't leave then there's no actual transfer so shouldn't be included in a transfer window discussion

[paul_e]

^^ He gave the summer window 1/10. I merely pointed that we had done well since, which to me, is the true measure of a transfer window. If we’d have sold our best players and been mid-table or worse, I’d have considered it a fair mark. We didn’t, so I don’t.

i don't disagree with you at all regarding how well we've done, and yes keeping our best players was good news but i (maybe wrongly) tend to judge transfer windows on what we bring in.

Even reducing the criteria to that, we massively improved our backup goalkeeper and added a 4th CB that has proven to be a very capable addition to the squad. Just for those 2 it's a 5/10 window as a mimimum.

Aside from that a huge part of why the window was seen so negatively is that we 'replaced' Asensio and Rashford with Guessand and Sancho, which is a downgrade but is also undeniably the risk of using loan players and isn't really a fair thing to judge the window on.