At Least Now We Can Concentrate On The Football

And so the transfer window slams shut and we are left with the cards that Brendan dealt us to take on the challenges of the Premier League

Over three months since that magical day at Wembley and Brendan has changed the face of our squad dramatically in a busy summer that culminated yesterday with three new additions to the Liberty playing staff – or is that two new additions and a returning face? – taking the summer arrivals number into double figures and – undoubtedly – leaving the squad stronger than it was when it left the Championship back in May.

In assemling those ten players we have broken the £1m barrier for players on fouroccasions to secure Danny Graham, Leroy Lita and Wayne Routledge as well as Dutch international Michel Vorm who already has worked his way to repaying chunks of that outlay.

Steven Caulker is highly rated at Tottenham and has added an extra strength to an already strong defence whilst for Vorm we have severe competition in Gerhard Tremmel and Jose Moreira – competition for a place that we have always said we needed competition for.

The three deadline day additions may have been a surprise but they add extra numbers to a squad that needed them.  Darnel Situ – reading up on him – sounds like a good addition and at £250,000 matches the club’s budgets in more ways than one.   The arrivals of Rafik Halliche and Fede Bessone may not have been names on the lips of every fan at the start of the frantic final day but they add backup to a strong defence which was desperately needed with the long term absence of Alan Tate and the continued injury problems that Garry Monk has.

Balancing that out the only two real blows of the summer was the departures of Dorus De Vries and Darren Pratley.   De Vries has been replaced more than adequately so I think it is fair to cross that one off the list whilst Pratley probably hasn’t like for like but in Kemy Agustien we have almost a new signing currently shining in the middle of our midfield.   If only we could get Ferrie Bodde back to fitness then it would be a more than adequate replacement again.  A few will add in here Ryan Harley but Harley I firmly believe was signed not for the Premier League – he is unproven and time will tell if we were right or wrong to let him go but you have to assume that we made that decision on a balanced judgement and not a quick round of football manager?

Maybe we could have done more and maybe we could have gone for the ‘marquee signings’ that say QPR were trying to pull off on deadline day but we don’t have that kind of budget and we have stuck to the principles that have served us so well over the past ten years and that – in my view – remains important.

To date we have played three games in the Premier League and gained ourselves two points through two well deserved points at home which – with a bit of luck – could have seen us secure at least one win and a current top half place.

Reactionary wise last night we were written off as guaranteed for relegation having added three players to a squad that at the start of the day had a great chance of winning at Arsenal.   Not sure how that works but whatever your views on deadline day signings we did not get weaker during the day, not by any stretch of the imagination.

At least now the transfer window is shut we can do what we do best and that is concentrate on the football that we play on the pitch.  We have 9 days to prepare for that trip to Arsenal and then the other games during the coming months that will dictate our chances of remaining in the Premier League come the end of the season.

Nobody is trying to claim that the club is perfect and mistakes are being made along the way but these mistakes I am sure will be learned from and the emphasis must remain on getting stronger as a result of them.   Ticket problems need to be addresses (and are being) whilst commercially I am sure we can notch up our game a rung or two (or three) but for now it is time to concentrate on the ten new players and everyone else that Brendan will name in his 25 man squad on Friday.

We are still in the Premier League and I would much rather be planning my trips to Arsenal and Chelsea then Aldershot and Chesterfield so it’s time to sit back, enjoy the ride and remember we are where we are on merit and we are definitely stronger than we were when we arrived here.

Back to the football.