Summer 2021 Window Rating

[Danfunkel]

Solid 6. Bought some great talent, improved the defence (our biggest weakness) and started to shape the future of the club. But still think we needed abit more creativity in the middle.
Shifting players from the wage bill is a great step though.

If we add something else in January, then it could be a great first couple windows for Fab.

 

[Klinsmannic]

6, as we've got some very promising players in and kept hold of our best.

Chelsea, United and City (Grealish) are all stronger year-over-year however. Liverpool with VVD and Konate stronger also. These four have extended their gap over us imo.

 

[ultimateloner]

I would have given 7 but went for 5 given OP description.
I think our squad is about the same as last year.
Romero would hopefully make the difference but we can't tell yet.
On the other hand keeping Kane and extending Son are the most important bits of biz we could have done, but it doesn't improve us merely keep us together.

 

[TheTanguy]

Still a couple of top players and a back-up striker short to give Nuno a realistic chance of finishing in the top four.

4.5/10

 

[Real_madyidd]

went 8. got rid of Aurier and Sissoko, happy with that.

 

[tottenhamlad]

For me the squad is just worst than last year so went for a 4.

Last year we had a world class footballer in Bale (who we left on the bench most the season) and an actual back up striker who was not as bad as made out.

This summer we have signed two defenders, but the reality is they will both miss god knows how much of the season playing international football in red zone countries.

So we are really looking at a back 4 of Reggy, Sanchez, Dier, Tanganaga. Same as last year.

Got a back up keeper and a good prospect on loan back in France.

Gil looks tidy so far, really hoping he can have a big impact.

Skipp is back and much better than Winks/Sissoko and Dele is looking slightly better again. They are not new signings though and for me the midfield is still miles off Top 4 level. Poor Hojberg is in for another flogging.

 

[Atarrier]

I think one of the most concerning things about this window, which shouldn’t be overlooked, is that there were quite a few players we were after (Kounde, Pau etc) who didn’t want to come to us because we couldn’t offer CL football.

 

[cliff jones]

6

some great work done, but missing Ings early was the big mistake for me.

If Gil is the new Messi then thiis Might not age well, but Ings instead of him would have given usa sneak at something this season.

Retaining Bale or even Vinny would have made a lot of sense otherwise.

Impossible to be sure who’s responsible for another year of stagnation. Talk of Nuno wanting 2 up top, then only wanting AT. Did DL stick his oar in, or did FP fail one or two short?

One things for sure, very few of you seem to think we’ll suffer due to the Red list problem- I think that could well fck us Emerson Royally

 

[hughy]

Who the fuck knows how successful the window will have been until we've played at least a season? Most of us had never heard of more than 1 or 2 of the 5 signings we made, let along watched them enough to give an informed opinion.

On paper we've improved in more areas than we've weakened if you include loan returns, so I went with a 7. I also think Nuno's style of management will contribute to helping the youngsters settle and the experienced players go back to basics and enjoy their football again so that'll be a contributing factor to how successful our season will be.

 

[PIP-99]

I rated it a seven as we have improved defensively. Last season, so many points were thrown away due to defensive mistakes the in-comings have to improve us (Aurier was always dodgy - a penalty about to happen, and I can't forget his infamous foul throws). Time will tell........

 

[Jemster]

A decent 6 from me. Some good business done with a clear view for the future but overall I feel we are a striker and/or creative midfielder short.

 

[AtoubaToothpaste]

Right now it's a 4, but that's because we won't get to see Romero and Sarr consistently for a while due to travel/loan arrangements. We're left weaker than we were last year currently. However, come the end of the season, I may change my mind, depending on how well the new players integrate. Who knows, Gil could be the creative spark we need, and Romero/Emerson may revolutionise our defence. Can't judge that just yet.

 

[lukalennon]

To be honest I gave a 7 with a little feeling of disappointment but that’s only due to not signing that elusive 2nd striker and cm but the reality is we won’t know how could a transfer window it’s been until probably Xmas all I do know happy or not Ndombelle if he wants out he needs to perform to attract the right amount of interest to get his move so in theory should good for us and him (hopefully)

 

[onthetwo]

i went for 4.
Negatives are mostly in attacking areas where we lost Bale and Vinicius, kept Kane and Ndombele (clearly against their wishes) but replaced Lamela with Gil.
Positives are in our all-Latin defence that now look coached, unlike before!
WC qualifying for as many as 5 of our South American players is going to be really disruptive from what i can tell so thats another issue for the squad that looks like hurting us more than most this season.

 

[Cochraam]

I gave the window a 7/10. My headline take is that it feels like we took a step forward when perhaps we needed a leap. It also feels like a window that is really about 2022/23 and 2023/24, not this season. In the end, I feel about this squad how I've felt for most of the past decade (besides a few Poch years) where it seems like we've assembled a squad that is, on paper, about the 5th to 7th best in the league, and we're hoping coaching and/or some slip-ups from one of the big boys can see us sneak into the top 4.

Positives

• The biggest by far is Jose out, Nuno in. I would have zero confidence in our team if Jose was in charge. With Nuno, I feel a little more positive that our defense won't be under immense pressure all game, fitness has been empasized, and that perhaps confidence will stay higher.
• I have no gripes with any of the individual players brought in; all young and high potential
• We cleared out a ton of deadwood. I started the summer with a list of 14-ish names I would be happy to see go, and I think 8 have gone, so that's really good.
• We had a massive clearout of a bunch of stagnating players in the U-23s which should open up development opportunities for higher ceiling youngsters, but of course this isn't the sort of thing that will matter in the next few years, but good for the future.

Negatives

• Largely the same as everyone else. No clear backup to Kane and we're really pinning all of our offensive hopes on Kane and Son being healthy and on-form.
• We really need some of Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Moura, or Dele to step up, but it's hard to have much faith.
• Something I think @JayB said a few days ago has really stuck with me. We kept Kane, but it's presumably his last year with us (of course anything can happen). But, it feels like a missed opportunity not to really push on hard to take advantage of having one of the world's best strikers for one more year. It feels like we've had a "plan for the future" window rather than a "do something this year" window. In that sense, I almost wish we'd sold Kane and just got on with the complete rebuild, although I get that that's not really doable when we didn't receive a decent bid.

Mixed Bag

• The only thing I'll add here is Traore. I thought he would've been a good signing - creating space and chaos and exciting to watch. Of course, 50 million is a hell of a lot, but the main reason I'm saying mixed bag is although I would've liked him, I'm kind of relieved not to read 10 pages of "no end product" posts everytime he put in a cross that no one got on the end of!

 

[HedgieSpur]

6

Kept Kane which is positive, but didnt offload players who dont want to be here (Tanguy) or who are simply garbage (Winks, Docherty)
Having said that, the players we did sign look very promising.

 

[Todor]

6 for me.
If i was sure that Dier and Sanchez are better footballers now i would give 7.
If i was sure that Scarlett will perform (with strong team around him) i would go with 8.5.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

8 for me - think we did well and got some great signings. Think we dodged a bullet with Traore, and whilst we could have bought an additional striker I can't think of one that I'd want to have that would also be prepared to sit on the bench whilst Kane isn't injured.

If we'd brought in Sarr this year (rather than next) then it'd have been a 9.

Anything else is just gravy!

 

[God&Texas]

6

Did not improve for the immediate season but set us up much better for the future getting rid of deadwood and wages and adding some great young talent.

 

[Strikeb4ck]

In between a 5 and 6.

Pros:

1. Moved some deadwood.
2. Brought in some exciting new players.
3. Kept Kane.
4. Signed one of the best CBs in the world (IMO).

Cons:

1. No Kane backup. This is quite frankly disastrous stuff and puts me at closer to a 3-4 score alone, especially when you look at some of the strikers that moved on for 10-15m this window who could easily have done a job as a backup.
2. Squad still looks light on attacking gamechangers for the matches against lesser teams like Watford. We just won't win enough of those without a Bruno/Adama type of player signed.
3. Lots of links, little end product...especially with the rumored financial difficulty of so many clubs, think there was a big opportunity missed.