Gary Lineker: Hello and welcome to our Transfer Window Aftermath program. The dust is already settling down and emotions are calming so we can now analyze what really happened with our team of pundits. How are our title contenders situated when the gong signaled the end of transfers at least until January? Did they get what they needed or it will be a struggle when injuries and fatigue strike? As usual we will begin with media predicted top contender Manchester United. Gary, Roy?
View attachment 419084
Gary Neville: Hello! What David Moyes did this summer was address some long-standing issues like the central midfield problem and signing a quality fullback. On top of it the Red Devils managed to pull a real coup with the transfer of Gareth Bale to signal they are still financially capable in the era of megaspenging Citizens and Chelsea. There is sufficient cover in all areas now and the club can concentrate solely on the pitch.
Roy Keane: The Red Devils aimed at quality rather than quality as David Moyes added
three first team players to the fold. The net spend at Manchester United was
57.64 million pounds.
Gary Lineker: Thank you, Gary, Roy. Let's see if there was more noise with the Blue half of Manchester. Lee?
Lee Dixon: Hello! As we already know, Manchester City did some splendid business this summer to back new manager Jurgen Klopp. I personally feel the club could have used an additional center back and a fullback just to provide squad depth but Klopp is famous for integrating academy players in the first team so perhaps that wasn't needed at this stage. In general the Citizens were very active this window. Jurgen Klopp added six new first team players to the fold. The net spend at Manchester City was 184.71 million pounds.
Gary Lineker: Thank you, Lee. For the next part of our review we will have to move to London... Ray, Tony?
Ray Wilkins: Hello! It was a very, very eventful window for Chelsea and I think they did the best of all contenders. The squad is exactly as Jose likes it - brimming with quality and numbers - and I wonder how he is going to keep all those players at least satisfied with their role in the team. There were massive additions in nearly all areas, including a superstar signing for the wings and a top-notch natural goalscorer to finally replace Drogba. Credit to the board!
Tony Cascarino: In general the Blues were very aggressive in the market this window. Jose Mourinho signed seven first team players. The net spend at Chelsea was 165.78 million pounds.
Gary Lineker: Happy days at Stamford Bridge then. Let's see how the reigning champions did up in the North East. Kevin, Rob?
Rob Lee: We are here at Saint James' Park, Gary, and what I can say is Hristov did exactly as promised by upgrading on a couple positions and increasing the group by one or two. My only minor worry for the squad is we would seriously struggle should Tim Krul get an injury. Other than that we look stronger as an unit than last season.
Kevin Keegan: Unlike last summer, the Magpies were quick to wrap up all their moves early and never returned to the market. Dimiter Hristov brought in
four new players. The net spend at Newcastle was
90.79 million pounds - most of which was spread over the next four years to make it financially possible.
Gary Lineker: That's still more than they spent last summer though! From the champions to those who barely failed and are expected to do the same yet again, let's take a look to North London... From White Hart Lane, Terry, David?
Terry Venables: Hi! Spurs did well on the market and added quality and numbers on the flanks in both defense and offense, plus a quality striker up front. The team seems balanced and adequate in terms of numbers now.
David Pleat: In general Spurs were strategic on the market and Andre Villas-Boas brought in five new first team players. The net spend at Tottenham was 36.68 million pounds which doesn't quite place them in the same bracket as the top spenders but is still a big investment for this board.
Gary Lineker: Sounds like Spurs can look forward to the season then! Let's see what their arch-rivals did across North Longon - Alan, Sol?
Alan Smith: Thank you, Gary! The Gunners enjoyed a big summer of restructuring after the massive failure last season. Wenger saw a number of first team players leave but replaced them well and the team has good depth. Looking at the other contenders though I feel we are lacking in terms of quality, especially up front.
Sol Campbell: The Gunners were the most active title contender bringing in a total of
nine new first team players. The net spend at Arsenal was
65.71 million pounds. Gary?
View attachment 419075
Gary Lineker: That is all from our watch of how the title contenders did in the summer transfer market. At the end of our broadcast let's take a look at how all clubs fared in terms of spending:
[TABLE="width: 700, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]Spend Rank[/TD]
[TD]Media Pred.[/TD]
[TD]Club[/TD]
[TD]Total Spent[/TD]
[TD]Total Received[/TD]
[TD]Net Spent[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.[/TD]
[TD]2nd[/TD]
[TD]Manchester City[/TD]
[TD]216.0[/TD]
[TD]31.29[/TD]
[TD]184.71[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.[/TD]
[TD]3rd[/TD]
[TD]Chelsea[/TD]
[TD]184.0[/TD]
[TD]18.22[/TD]
[TD]165.78[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3.[/TD]
[TD]4th[/TD]
[TD]Newcastle[/TD]
[TD]132.0[/TD]
[TD]41.21[/TD]
[TD]90.79[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4.[/TD]
[TD]6th[/TD]
[TD]Arsenal[/TD]
[TD]99.65[/TD]
[TD]33.94[/TD]
[TD]65.71[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5.[/TD]
[TD]1st[/TD]
[TD]Manchester United[/TD]
[TD]115.0[/TD]
[TD]57.36[/TD]
[TD]57.64[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6.[/TD]
[TD]5th[/TD]
[TD]Tottenham[/TD]
[TD]85.42[/TD]
[TD]48.74[/TD]
[TD]36.68[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7.[/TD]
[TD]8th[/TD]
[TD]Southampton[/TD]
[TD]47.03[/TD]
[TD]16.55[/TD]
[TD]30.48[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8.[/TD]
[TD]9th[/TD]
[TD]Swansea[/TD]
[TD]32.2[/TD]
[TD]7.9[/TD]
[TD]24.3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9.[/TD]
[TD]11th[/TD]
[TD]Fulham[/TD]
[TD]23.93[/TD]
[TD]1.37[/TD]
[TD]22.56[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10.[/TD]
[TD]18th[/TD]
[TD]Crystal Palace[/TD]
[TD]16.8[/TD]
[TD]3.01[/TD]
[TD]13.79[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11.[/TD]
[TD]17th[/TD]
[TD]Hull[/TD]
[TD]12.91[/TD]
[TD]2.83[/TD]
[TD]10.08[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12.[/TD]
[TD]20th[/TD]
[TD]Brighton[/TD]
[TD]10.03[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]10.03[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13.[/TD]
[TD]19th[/TD]
[TD]Nottingham Forest[/TD]
[TD]10.52[/TD]
[TD]1.57[/TD]
[TD]8.95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14.[/TD]
[TD]12th[/TD]
[TD]Stoke[/TD]
[TD]15.62[/TD]
[TD]9.01[/TD]
[TD]6.61[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15.[/TD]
[TD]16th[/TD]
[TD]Cardiff[/TD]
[TD]9.4[/TD]
[TD]4.05[/TD]
[TD]5.35[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16.[/TD]
[TD]14th[/TD]
[TD]Queens Park Rangers[/TD]
[TD]10.53[/TD]
[TD]7.28[/TD]
[TD]3.25[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17.[/TD]
[TD]13th[/TD]
[TD]West Ham[/TD]
[TD]3.3[/TD]
[TD]1.56[/TD]
[TD]1.74[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18.[/TD]
[TD]15th[/TD]
[TD]Sunderland[/TD]
[TD]0.9[/TD]
[TD]3.25[/TD]
[TD]-2.35[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19.[/TD]
[TD]10th[/TD]
[TD]Aston Villa[/TD]
[TD]8.45[/TD]
[TD]13.8[/TD]
[TD]-5.35[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20.[/TD]
[TD]7th[/TD]
[TD]Everton[/TD]
[TD]1.7[/TD]
[TD]16.85[/TD]
[TD]-15.15[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]