6.
Alright window, all things considered.
I'm trying to stay zen and decompress, so I'll skip my thoughts on our habitual underinvestment. Ignoring that, the business done has been decent. In terms of direct upgrades -
- Toby's been shipped in, Romero brought in. Upgrade here.
- Hart shipped out, Gollini brought in. Upgrade here.
- Lamela shipped out, Gil shipped in. Will eventually be an upgrade, if he develops well.
- Aurier cut loose, Emerson brought in. Upgrade here.
- Sissoko shipped out, Pape Sarr brought in - even if Sarr can't play for us until next year, still an upgrade.
In terms of the negatives -
- In Bale, Vinicius and Lamela, we lost about 35 goal contributions from last year. Will struggle to replace that, imo.
- Couldn't shift *all* the deadwood - Doherty, Winks, Davies, Ndombele.
- Couldn't get a backup to Kane - if he or Son go down, we are utterly screwed.
More positives than negatives, imo. The season will hinge on a few things going right for us -
- Romero likely won't be fully available + settled in until the new year, so we'll need Dier + Sanchez to keep our newfound defensive solidity going.
- Son and Kane cannot get injured.
- In terms of creativity and ball progression, One of Lo Celso or Ndombele needs to step up - two years in, this is their last chance to show their worth.
If all three happen, we'll have a good year. If not, we'll struggle. But overall, decent 6/10 window, and a start of the rebuild Poch wanted for years and years. Paratici's done alright, and Nuno's a likeable chap - I think this will be an optimistic year, like 2014/2015 was, and I'm looking forward to a lot of things.
- having no expectations and seeing a hopefully younger, more intense, more energetic team put in some committed performances.
- Some local lads in Skipp and Tanganga do their best for the shirt.
- A full stadium with people back in it, roaring the lads on.
- Some of the kids like Seasegnon and Gil hopefully gaining confidence and developing well.
- Nuno being a gent - so far, he's struck me as just the right type of chap. Deadpan with journos, blunt and honest with players, but cares about his relationship with the fans, and is a warmer guy with the club media and the fans than I expected him to be.