EPL Transfers: Grades for All 20 Teams' 2011 Summer Transfer Windows

And that’s all folks! The stroke of 11pm BST has come in past in the footballing world and never has it meant as much it does every August 31^st…the end of the transfer window. Boardroom execs for clubs all around the Europe have been stressing over this time, in crowded rooms, calling agents, dealing with the media, ordering pizza? (yes Steve Bruce, that was the most exciting thing ESPN had to say about your deadline deals).

I personally as well as millions of fans have been hunched over their computer, with bloodshot eyes, and vertigo from lack of movement, incessantly clicking refresh on our twitter pages, trying to be the first to know and text all our friends.

The best part about the chaotic day in footballing is that it is like you are rooting for the same team, but it got a makeover. Those old zits that gave your club character, are replaced by fresh flesh that holds hope for the future.

Optimism is the highest it will be for many fans and clubs alike as they begin to enter the heart of their seasons. The newcomers are excited to be where they are and fans can only assume that they will help their side to glory.

Isn’t this a great day?

Here are grades for all 20 team’s transfer this summer.

Arsenal

In:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton, £11m), Gervinho (Lille £10.7m), Chu Young Park (Monaco, £3m), Carl Jenkinson (Charlton, £1m), Joel Campbell (Deportivo Sarpissa,undisclosed), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen, undisclosed), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce, £6.2m), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan), Mikel Arteta (Everton, £10m).

Out:
Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, £35m), Samir Nasri (Manchester City, £24m), Gael Clichy (Manchester City, £7m), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray, £3m), Armand Traore (QPR, undisclosed), Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich, undisclosed), Mark Randall (Chesterfield, free), Tom Cruise (released), Denilson (Sao Paulo, loan), Wellington (Levante, loan), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad, loan), Pedro Botelho (Rayo Vallecano, loan), Henri Lansbury (West Ham, loan), Joel Campbell (Lorient, loan), Nicklas Bendtner (Sunderland, loan)

No one was under more scrutinty today than Arsene Wenger. Arsenal’s pitiful displays in the first two games put them at a low fans have not seen in decades.  They were the team to watch going into the deadline and the one that made the most noise coming out.

With perhaps the biggest deal of the day, Wenger was able to land the talismanic midfielder Mikel Arteta right at the death. Arteta was the move Wenger needed to make to give some hope for fans all across the globe. He has ingenuity and ability that fit Wenger’s style and he adds some much needed experience to this squad. Couple that with Yossi Benayoun on loan from Chelsea and you are forming a pretty decent midfield.

Even more to add is the days early big move of Per Mertesacker to Emirates. That defense looked like it belonged in the third division against United. Mertesacker is an incredible player to pick up and probably the best of the day, in terms of expected production. He has all the qualities to become one of the best backs in the league.

But I am sorry, for all the good he has brought in, it is difficult to excuse the losses. He who shall not be named and celui qui ne doit pas être nommé, are too big of players and to lose one to a rival, will define this window.

Grade : C-

Aston Villa

In: Shay Given (£3.5m, Manchester City), Charles N’Zogbia (£9.5m, Wigan Athletic), Alan Hutton (undisclosed, Tottenham), Jermaine Jenas (loan, Tottenham)

Out: Brad Friedel (free, Tottenham), John Carew (free, West Ham United), Ashley Young (£15m, Manchester United), Stewart Downing (£20m, Liverpool), Nigel Reo-Coker (free, Bolton Wanderers), Andreas Weimann (loan, Watford), Jonathan Hogg (undisclosed, Watford), Luke Young (undisclosed, Queens Park Rangers), Jean Makoun (loan, Olympiakos)

Villa are going to be happy as they head into the first half of the season. Picking up Shay Given early was a nice way to start. Let’s be honest Fridel is alright, but given was wasting away behind Joe Hart at City. They made the right choice.

Plus the very late signings of Alan Hutton and Jermaine Jena sis not too shabby. Jenas has been hit or miss in his time at Spurs. But if he can hit here then they will be quite pleased with the outcome. Villa have always been that middle of the pack team. These guys probably won’t help them move up, but they will certainly keep them there.

Perhaps N'Zogbia is not worth that amount, but he can pay it off quickly with a few goals that we all know he is capable of getting.

In regards to who they lost, it is the other teams that will be feeling it more than Villa themselves. Stewart Downing’s move to Liverpool gave them a leg up, and apparently Ashely Young is now the new Ryan Giggs at United. Chelsea, City, and Arsenal are not going to be sending any Christmas to Villa Park this winter.

Grade : C+

Blackburn

In: 

Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon, £2m), David Goodwillie (Dundee United, £2m), Myles Anderson (Aberdeen, undisclosed), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade, undisclosed), Bruno Ribiero (Gremio Prudente, free), Scott Dann (Birmingham, £6m), Yakubu (Everton, undisclosed), Jordan Slew (£1m, Sheffield United)

Out: 

Phil Jones (Manchester United, £16.5m), Frank Fielding (Derby, undisclosed), Nikola Kalinic (Dnipro, undisclosed), Jason Brown (Aberdeen, free), Aaron Doran (Inverness, free), Zurab Khizanishvili (Kayserispor, free), Benjani (Portsmouth, free), Brett Emerton (Sydney FC, free), Maceo Rigters (released), Keith Andrews (Ipswich, loan).

Boy oh boy, it is quite something how Ferguson has a knack for making team’s perfectly good transfer markets look a lot worse than they did at the time the Transfer was made. Losing Phil Jones to United may not have been the best way to start your summer if your Steve Kean. But it is not everyday you get offered £16m for a 19 year old. He did the right thing by taking it.

With that he was able to go ahead and sign some small time, but decent talent. Radosav Petrovic has established himself as a regular in the midfield. At age 22 he has the potential to really grow with this team. It is immeasurable to have a reliable defensive midfielder on your side.

Plus Kean was able to pick up Jones’ replacement, Scott Dann, on the final day. Dann may not be the prodigy that is Jones, but he will be a great center back for years to come.

Jordan Slew as well. A name you may not recognize now, but watch for him in the future.

Grade: C- 

Bolton

In:

 Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears (Burnley, joint £3m), David Ngog (Liverpool, undisclosed), Darren Pratley (Swansea, free), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, free), Tuncay (Wolfsburg, loan), Dedryck Boyata (Man City, loan), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan), David Ngog (Liverpool, undisclosed).

Out: 

Ali Al Habsi (Wigan, £4m), Matt Taylor (West Ham, £2.2m), Danny Ward (Huddersfield, undisclosed), Johan Elmander (Galatasaray, free), Tamir Cohen (Maccabi Haifa, free), Joey O'Brien (West Ham, free), Jlloyd Samuel (released), Gavin McCann (retired).

Bolton has never been one for big spending, but my word did they keeps their wallets close this summer. In all they spent merely £3m, but were still able to land some decent talent. Landing Reo-Coker is not going to turn any heads, but doing it for free, what do they have to lose? A few goals from him may be all they need to make some noise in this season.

N’Gog was their big move and it came in the final minutes of the summer. Once Liverpool get Bellamy it was a race against the clock to get everything ready for N’Gog’s move. He should go a long way in improving this already formidable attack.

You also have to take a look at Kakuta on loan. This is their second Chelsea youngster in two seasons. Can’t blame them though, Sturridge was quite a pick up last year. But they have almost become Chelsea’s AAA team.

It was mostly players coming in than going out this summer, so really nothing of note in that regard.

Grade: C

Chelsea

IN

Juan Mata (Valencia, £29m), Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht, £20m), Thibaud Courtois (Genk, £5m), Oriol Romeu (Barcelona, £4.4m), Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo, undisclosed), Ulises
Davila (Chivas Guadalajara, undisclosed), Raul Meireles (Liverpool, undisclosed)

OUT

Michael Mancienne (Hamburg, £3m), Slobodan Rajkovic (Hamburg, £1.8m), Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi, undisclosed), Nemanja Matic (Benfica, undisclosed), Fabio Borini (Parma, undisclosed), Michael Woods (released), Thibaud Courtois (Atletico Madrid, loan), Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg, loan), Ulises Davila (Vitesse Arnhem, loan), Patrick van Aanholt (Wigan, loan), Gael Kakuta (Bolton, loan), Yossi Benayoun (Arsenal, loan).

This is a tough one to do. If you are looking at how this transfer window will affect the 2015/16 season, you may have the winner right here. But this is a grade for now.

Chelsea had been involved in the biggest and most publicized saga of the entire summer, the move for Luka Modric. The bickering between clubs and player, was like a mini soap opera, where only 10 miles separated warring sides. In the end Villas-Boas was not able to land the player many fans wanted, even though the coach himself rarely commented on it.

However, he was able to get a handful of some pretty decent players thoughout the summer. Mata in 30 minutes has already proven that he will command that left side of the field and be an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses.

Lukaku in his very brief cameo last week looked like he has been playing in this league and at this level for years.

But the signing of Meireles will be the maker or breaker of their spending. With Essien out for months, they really needed another holding midfielder that can distribute the ball and tackle like him. Meirelesis expected to be this man and has been in the past. Hopefully he can continue it for Chelsea’s sake.

What is perhaps even more remarkable is how many players weren’t lost. Only a few youngsters and any major names are only on loan. Villas-Boas said he was not going to remake the team and respected the veterans. Well he lived up to his word. Now we will just have to see if it was for the best.

Grade: B+

Everton

IN

Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon, loan), Denis Stracqualursi (Tigre, loan), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid, loan).

OUT

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal, £10m), Jermaine Beckford (Leicester, £4m), James Vaughan (Norwich, £2.5m), Iain Turner (Preston, free), Kieran Agard (Yeovil, free), Hope Akpan (Crawley, free), Nathan Craig (released), Shane Duffy (Scunthorpe, loan).

David Moyes is looking at a very long season ahead of him. After doing hardly anything all summer, I am sure Toffee fans were hoping for something big to happen Wednesday and it did. Unfortuantly that was Arteta going to Arsenal.

You can almost hear the tears in Moyes words:

"I am very disappointed to lose him (Arteta) but the prospect of Champions League football was something I wasn't able to offer him."

Also the decision to get rid of Beckford is kind of puzzling. He had a good first season with the club. To let him go for only £3m seems is a bit troubling.

They were able to pick up Drenthe who isn’t the worst player in the world. He comes from Madrid’s school so there is always potential in that.

Grade: D+

Fulham

IN

Pajtim Kasami (Palermo, £4m), John Arne Riise (Roma, £2.4m), Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec, undisclosed), Dan Burn (Darlington, undisclosed), Csaba Somogyi (Rakospalotai, free), Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, free), Bryan Ruiz (Twente, £10.6m), Orlando Sa (Porto, free).

OUT

Jonathan Greening (Nottingham Forest, £670,000), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Zoltan Gera (West Brom, free), Diomansy Kamara (Eskisehirspor, free), John Paintsil (Leicester, free), Eddie Johnson (released), Pascal Zuberbuhler (released). David Stockdale (Ipswich, loan), Lauri Dalla Valle (Dundee United, loan), Carlos Salcido (Tigres, loan).

Martin Jol has more good news to tell Fulham fans after today. The signing of Bryan Ruiz sent ripples across the land of the mid-tablers as it just became evident that Fulham got a huge boost. The team has lacked a reliable striker for some time, with Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson just not ever getting it done.

Jol had a good side last year and did a great job of keeping them together. With rumors flying that the team’s leading scorer last season, Clint Dempsey may be out, Jol kept his cool and retained the American.

They have not had the best start to a season, but they can look to improve going forward with this cast of players.

Grade: B-

Liverpool

IN

Stewart Downing (Liverpool, £20m), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland, £16m), Charlie Adam (£9m), Jose Enrique (Newcastle, £6m), Alexander Doni (Roma, free), Sebastian Coates (Nacional, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (Manchester City, free), Villyan Bijev (California Odyssey, undisclosed).

OUT

Joe Cole (Lille, loan) Christian Poulsen (Evian, undisclosed) Alberto Aquilani (AC Milan, loan), Paul Konchesky (Leicester, £1.5m), Emiliano Insua (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Daniel Ayala (Norwich, undisclosed), Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht, free), Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Wolfsburg, free), Tom Ince (Blackpool, free), Stephen Darby (Rochdale, loan), Daniel Pacheco (Atletico Madrid, loan), Christian Poulsen (Evian, undisclosed), David Ngog (Bolton, undisclosed), Raul Meireles (Chelsea, undisclosed), Villyan Bijev (Fortuna Dusseldorf, loan), Philipp Degen (released).

Kenny Daglish is on a mission to return Anfield to its once glorious state. Unlike past Merseyside managers, Daglish has two teams to compete with in Manchester. To do so he has had to open his piggy bank, spend big and correctly. So far he has done both.

The Reds have continued their success with signings this summer, with Henderson, Downing, and Adam. All were signed early and contributed immediately.

With Coates’ deal wrapped up early this morning, there was only one name they really went after, Craig Bellamy. Fans will probably be split on the case study on anger managements return to Anfield, but it should in fact benefit more than hinder.

Letting go of players like Meireles, Aqulani, and Cole seems right now as they have mostly been extra baggae left over from the Benitez days. But Daglish is now running a very thin squad. The starting 11 have just as much of a chance as winning the league as anyone.

But should a few become injured, he will be scrapping the bottom of the barrel looking for replacements.

Grade: B

Manchester City

IN

Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, £38m), Samir Nasri (Arsenal, £24m), Gael Clichy (Arsenal, £7m), Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade, £6m), Costel Pantilimon (Poli Timisoara, undisclosed), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United, free).

OUT

Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich, £10m), Shay Given (Aston Villa, £3.5m), Felipe Caicedo (Levante, £880,000), Jo (Internacional, undisclosed), Shaleum Logan (Brentford, free), Javan Vidal (released), Patrick Vieira (retired), Abdisalam Ibrahim (NEC Nijmegen, loan), Michael Johnson (Leicester, loan),  Ben Mee (Burnley, loan), Ryan McGivern (Bristol City, loan), Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, loan), Dedryck Boyata (Bolton, loan), Roque Santa Cruz (Real Betis, loan), Vladimir Weiss (Espanyol, loan), John Guidetti (Feyenoord, loan), Shaun Wright-Phillips (QPR, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, free).

It appears the City era of Premier League football may be upon us. No one has approaches anywhere near the figures City spent this summer in acquiring some of the best talent in the game.

When Mancini first signed Clichy back in July at £7m, it was a relatively big deal. But by the end of that month Aguero’s fee smashed club records and set the bar for the rest of the window. Nasri coming a few days ago for another huge sum and the icing on the cake today in Owen Hargreaves, brings City’s total to a whopping £80m in spent money.

The Sheik may be looking at red numbers right now, but Mancini has spent his money wisely. Already Aguero has taken the league by storm and become the front runner for EPL player of the year. Not to mention the millions he has spent over the last few seasons. Finally those players have the team around them so they could shine.

They let go a lot more than they brought in, in terms of bodies, but quality wise they are much improved than before. It is difficult to argue that anyone else has been more exciting this summer, but Mancini better hope his side can keep it up. If he they do this might go down as one of the best transfer windows for a single team in history.

Grade: A

Manchester United

IN

David De Gea (Atletico Madrid, £17.8m), Phil Jones (Blackburn, £16.5m), Ashley Young (Aston Villa, £16m).

OUT

Gabriel Obertan (Newcastle, £3.25m), Wes Brown (Sunderland, £1m), John O'Shea (Sunderland, undisclosed), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester City, free), Paul Scholes (retired), Edwin van der Sar (retired), Bebe (Besiktas, loan), Ritchie de Laet (Norwich, loan).

With the retirements of Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar, many thought that this may be a rebuilding period for the Red Devil’s. It seemed that Ferguson might be heading out soon himself instead of trying to build another championship squad. Well as usual the Scot has proved the world wrong and why he is the best coach on the face of the earth.

United made only three signings this summer, but no other team has had all their signings impact their team positively already.

Some will argue De Gea is not the keeper of the future, that his nerves and mental errors will be too great to overcome. But at age 20 he has plenty of time to prove them wrong.

As I mentioned in the Villa slide, Ashley Young has developed into possibly the current best English midfielder.

And Phil Jones has already showed why £16m was spent on his teenage self.

Losing Brown was the biggest knock they took, but it is not enough to make anyone upset.

Grade: A

Newcastle

IN

Davide Santon (Inter Milan £5m) Yohan Cabaye (Lille, £4.3m), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United, £3.25m), Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes, free), Mehdi Abeid (Lens, free), Demba Ba (West Ham, free).

OUT

Jose Enrique (Liverpool, £6m), Kevin Nolan (West Ham, £4m), Wayne Routledge (Swansea, undisclosed), Joey Barton (QPR, free), Ben Tozer (Northampton, free), Sol Campbell (released), Shefki Kuqi (Oldham, free), Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton, loan), Xisco (Deportivo La Coruna, loan), Fraser Forster (Celtic, loan), James Tavernier (Carlisle, loan).

The Toon are off to a good start this season level on points with Chelsea, Liverpool, and Wolves. But if they want to stay up there, they would have to find some players who will hold them.

Not much came into Newcastle throughout the summer. The signing of Obertan turned some heads and so far been a good thing. He has started all three games and had decent outings in each. Same thing goes for Cabaye.

But the one that will have them really excited at St. James Park came yesterday in Davide Santon. The full back has been pegged as the future of Italian football. He has been likened by Italian national coach Marcelo Lippi to the great Paulo Maldini.

Newcastle will hope that he can live up to that billing. If he does they also hope that he will have the legends commitment to his club as well as longevity.

Losing Barton is not a necessarily going to benefit them, but it was also something that was a long time coming.

Grade: B-

Norwich City

IN

Steve Morison (Millwall, £2.8m), James Vaughan (Everton, £2.5m), Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield, £2m), Daniel Ayala (Liverpool, undisclosed), Elliott Bennett (Brighton, undisclosed), Bradley Johnson (Leeds, free), Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United, loan), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham, loan).

OUT

Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness, undisclosed), Cody McDonald (Coventry, undisclosed), Luke Daley, Steven Smith (Preston, free), (Plymouth, free), Matt Gill (Bristol Rovers, free), Sam Habergham (Tamworth, free), Jens Berthel Askou (Vejle Kolding, free), Stephen Hughes (released), Cody McDonald (Coventry, undisclosed).

For newly promoted teams, the object of the Premier League season is to survive. Any runs they make in cups, any shock upsets, and amazing goals, mean nothing if they find themselves on their way back to the Championship in May.

Norwich made signings that reflect that mentality.

Vaughan, Morrison, and Pilkington are not going to be the long term solutions as the team looks to build themselves into a regular at the top of England’s huge football pyramid. But Paul Lambert hopes that they are the right moves to keep them in the league for now.

Lambert also managed to keep the team that got them promoted largely intact. It was a good side in the Championship and will remain a worthy opponent in the EPL.

Grade: C

Queens Park Rangers

IN

DJ Campbell (Blackpool, £1.2m), Armand Traore (Arsenal, undisclosed), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham, free), Kieron Dyer (West Ham, free), Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff, free), Brian Murphy (Ipswich, free), Bruno Perone (Tombense, free), Joey Barton (Newcastle, free), Shaun Wright-Phillips (QPR, undisclosed), Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland, £3m).

OUT

Mikele Leigertwood, (Reading, undisclosed), Georgias Tofas (Anagennisi Dherynia, free), Josh Parker (Oldham, free), Joe Oastler (Torquay, free), Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers, free), Pascal Chimbonda (released), Gavin Mahon (Notts County, free), Romone Rose (Muangthong United, free), Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace, loan), Angelo Balanta (MK Dons, loan), Leon Clarke (Swindon, free), Kaspars Gorkss (Reading, loan), Michael Doughty (Crawley, loan).

Like I just said, newly promoted teams are just looking to survive. That is unless you are on QPR. I am not saying that they are going to make a run deep into the FA Cup and challenge for a Champions League spot, but they did have an extremely productive summer and are a lot better off for it.

Take your pick: Campbell, Barton, Young, Wright-Phillips, Ferdinand. These are all players who are going to come in and have an immediate impact. They seem like they want to be the Blackpool of 2011/12, play fast, quick, flashy football that will at the very least fill the stands.

Most importantly, Neil Warnock was able to hold on to Adel Taarabt, who was rumored to move to everyone from Chelsea to Arsenal. Him and Wright-Phillips in the midfield could be a headache for defenses.

With these players now at Loftus Road, they should be safe from relegation and finish somewhere in the middle of the table.

Grade: A-

Stoke

IN

Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham, free), Matthew Upson (West Ham, free), Cameron Jerome (Birmingham, £4m), Peter Crouch (Tottenham, £10m), Wilson Palacios (Tottenham, £8m).

OUT

Carl Dickinson (Watford, undisclosed), Eidur Gudjohnsen (AEK Athens, free), Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham, free), Ibrahima Sonko Ipswich, free), Andrew Davies (Crystal Palace, loan).

Stoke’s has been playing very well this season. A team that has systematically risen through the league currently sits a comfortable 9^th place, but has been one of the better sides thus far. Their first round tie to Chelsea was well deserved, as Tony Pulis has his men playing with a grit and physicality that any team must take seriously.

Mid-summer signings Woodgate and Upson were bargain pickups costing the club nothing to acquire. Both have already played and been influential in this current good form.

But Stoke really added something on Wednesday as they secured two (maybe one) great deadline deals. Palacios is a versatile midfielder who can play in the defensive or right side role. He could really help strengthen a midfield that has seemed lost at times.

The other “great” signing was Crouch. Now at £10m he broke the clubs transfer fee record, but given his recent form some fans may wonder why. He has been seemingly absent at Spurs and unable to contribute hardly a thing to that morbid attack over the past two seasons.

But at Stoke he may fare a little better. Teams have always taken a chance on him because of his height. Stoke is no different, but they rely on set pieces and crosses to get them goals. Crouch may find new life in this system that seems taylor made for his frame. Should he recapture the form that once made him the talk of England, Pulis could have a team fighting for a high finish in the table.

Grade: B-

Sunderland

IN

Connor Wickham (Ipswich, £13m), Craig Gardner (Birmingham, £5m), Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI, £2m), Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons, £2m), Wes Brown (Man United, £1m), James McClean (Derry City, £350,000), John O'Shea (Man United, undisclosed), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham, free), David Vaughan (Blackpool, free), Keiren Westwood (Coventry, free), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal, loan).

OUT

Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, £16m), Steed Malbranque (St Etienne, undisclosed), Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool, free), Michael Kay (Tranmere, free), Bolo Zenden (released), Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor, loan), George McCartney (West Ham, loan), Anton Ferdinand (QPR, £3m).

Since Sunderland came into the league back in 2007, they have steadily been climbing the ladder up the table, always improving on previous year’s performance. Steve Bruce has done a terrific job in charge at the Stadium of Light and deserves recognition for it.

With a first round deserved 1-1 tie at Liverpool, it looked as if this could be the year where they really become a headache for the top sides. But with three shutout losses in a row in the following weeks, it is obvious they have some way to go.

Defensively, the early pickups of Brown and O’Shea both from United have been great. The two goals against is by far the best of any of the clubs in the lower half of the table.

Howevery surprisingly, they have struggled on the attack. Bruce picked up Bendtner to try and correct that. Not to mention he also put out £8.1m for Wickham, one of the hot prospects in English football. Should he come along as expected, that could turn out to be quite a steal.

But perhaps the best move Bruce made all season, was keeping Asamoah Gyan. The Ghanan was great last season and rumored to be on the move all summer.  Though he has not had the greatest of starts to this campaign, it is only a matter of time before he starts putting them away and Sunderland is back on course to continue their ascent up the table.

Grade: B

Swansea City

IN

Michel Vorm (Utrecht, £1.5m), Danny Graham (Watford, £3.5m), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough, £1.75m), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle, undisclosed), Jose Moreira (Benfica, undisclosed), Steven Caulker (Totteham, loan), Gerhard Tremmel (Red Bull Salzburg, free), Federico Bessone (Leeds, undisclosed), Darnel Situ (Lens, undisclosed).

OUT

Shuan MacDonald (Bournemouth, £80,000), Dorus de Vries (Wolves, free), Darren Pratley (Bolton, free), Albert Serran (AEK Larnaca, free), Kerry Morgan (Neath, free), Cedric van der Gun (released), Gorka Pintado (AEK Larnaca, free), Yves Ma-Makalamby (released), Scott Donnelly (Wycombe, loan),

Newly promoted Swansea have struggled thus far playing with the big boys. They remain the only team in the league yet to score a goal. It seems the team would look to get someone to help with that on the final day.

However that was not the case. Brendan Rodgers spent the finals hours on the young French center back Darnel Situ. He is a promising young player, but when you are fighting to stay alive in the Premier League, building for the future is not always the way to go. They are already pretty heavy in defenders and now seem to just be bloated in the back.

The loss of De Vries may have surprised some as he was a more than capable keeper for the team for the past four seasons, as well as a fan favorite. Some believe that the club should have offered him his asking price out of respect for the man that played an integral part in getting them to this point.

However, Vorm has performed well in cage. Their four goal thrashing at the hands of City was not his fault and he was even able to make 11 saves in the contest. Other than that he has been lights out.

Grade: C-

Tottenham

IN

Brad Friedel (Aston Villa, free), Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona, free), Souleymane Coulibaly (Siena, undisclosed), Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City, loan), Yago Falque (Juventus, loan), Scott Parker (West Ham, £5m)

OUT

Peter Crouch (Stoke, £10m), Wilson Palacios, Stoke, £8m), Jamie O'Hara (Wolves, £5m), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy £1.8m), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Jonathan Woodgate (Stoke, free), Kyle Naughton (Norwich, loan), Steven Caulker (Swansea, loan), Bongani Khumalo (Reading, loan), Ryan Mason (Doncaster, loan), Jonathan Obika (Yeovil, loan), David Bentley (West Ham, loan), Jermaine Jenas (Aston Villa, loan).

If Wenger is leading the pack on miserable managers this season, Harry Redkanpp has not been far behind. An unlucky draw against the two Manchester teams to start the season, not only saw his side lose both games, but do so in humiliating fashion. It dropped them to the bottom of the table.

Things looked like they were going to go well transfer wise this summer. The signing of the highly rated prospect Coulibalye ahead of teams like Real Madrid and Inter showed an aggressiveness not seen before. With many other big targets rumored to be on their way to White Hart Lane, fans may have thought this is the year the challenge the top dogs.

But the deadline has come and pass, and only Parker and Adebayor on loan were added. Both should go a long way in helping the team, but with the likes of Gary Cahill missing out on a move, this may be looked back as a summer of massive disappointment.

Then of course there is the Modric thing.

Redkanpp has been branded as Darth Vader in the Luka Modric saga, and Daniel  Levy as the Emperor. The talk surrounding the club all summer has been the fate of the Croatian and for some reason the expectation that he should play out his contract seems absolutely ludicrous to some.

In the end, Redknapp made Spurs fans happy and retained the playmaker. As long as he can get his head back where it should be, things should start to shape up for this vastly under achieving side.

However, losses of players like O’Hara, Keane, and Jenas, may make sense now, but are just the type that could come back to really harm you.

Grade: C-

West Bromwich Albion

IN

Shane Long (Reading, £6.5m), Zoltan Gera (Fulham, free), Marton Fulop (Ipswich, free), Gareth McAuley (Ipswich, free), Billy Jones (Preston, free), Ben Foster (Birmingham, loan).

OUT

Scott Carson (Bursaspor, £2.1m), Ishmael Miller (Nottingham Forest £1.2m), Borja Valero (Villarreal, undisclosed), Marek Cech (Trabzonspor, undisclosed), Abdoulaye Meite (Dijon, free), Gianni Zuiverloon (Real Mallorca, free), Giles Barnes (Doncaster, free), Dean Kiely (retired), Boaz Myhill (Birmingham, loan), Chris Wood (Birmingham, loan), James Hurst (Blackpool, loan), Marek Cech (Trabzonspor, undisclosed), Pablo Ibanez (Birmingham, undisclosed).

West Brom has had the most unfortunate start to a season in quite some time. With perhaps the worst draw of any team to open the season, they had United at home and Chelsea away. No one expected them to get any points from either of those games. However, they played above and beyond in both a looked to earn at least a point in each had it not been for some timely luck for the opponent.

Now they sit in 18^th place with no points to show.

But their transfer window has been quite a successful one. Ben Foster has seem to find new life at the Hawthorns. He has been great in goal and allowing only 5 goals against, not bad considering the opponents.

Shane Long has also been a good pick up. In the game against Chelsea he was a terror for the likes of Alex and John Terry. He scored one and should have assisted on another.

Grade: B-

Wigan

IN

Ali Al Habsi (Bolton, £4m), Shaun Maloney (Celtic, £1m), Albert Crusat (Almeria, undisclosed), David Jones (Wolves, free), Nouha Dicko (released, free), Patrick van Aanholt (Chelsea, loan).

OUT

Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa, £9.5m), Antonio Amaya (Real Betis, undisclosed), Daniel de Ridder (Grasshopper Zurich, free), Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes, loan), Steven Caldwell (Birmingham, free), Jason Koumas (released).

After a pretty quiet summer, Wigan made two good deals yesterday as the clock counted down.

The first for Maloney will add something to an attack that has been lacking thus far. He was a staple of the Celtic midfield and attack for years. The only worry is that he has had his crack at the Premier League before with Aston Villa and it didn’t go over too well. Wigan will be hoping that this time is different.

The other was a loan deal for Van Aanholt. Van Aanholt is Chelsea’s future replacement for Ashley Cole and is needs to be worked out for such a transition to occur. He played this preseason to rave reviews. Many Chelsea supporters thought he had done enough to earn himself a consistent spot on the bench. But Wigan fans will be happy to see Villas-Boas preferring he gets actual playing time.

The early summer signing of Al-Habsi is another strong point the team made. One conceded goal in three games is a good way to start off at a new club.

The loss of N’Zogbia may puzzle some, especially as the attack is not what it was. But when offered £9.5m for a player who is inconsistent at best it is the right move. Roberto Martinez decided to go a different route and hopes it will pay off.

Grade: C+

Wolverhampton

IN

Roger Johnson (Birmingham, £7m), Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham, £5m), Dorus De Vries (Swansea, free).

OUT

Greg Halford (Portsmouth, undisclosed), David Jones (Wigan, free), Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (Standard Liege, free), Marcus Hahnemann (released), Steven Mouyokolo (Sochaux, loan), Danny Batth (Sheffield Wednesday, loan), Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Sheffield United, loan), David Davis (Inverness Caledonian Thistle, loan)

Wolves were the dullest of clubs on the closing day of the transfer window. With their last signing over a month ago and no one really rumored to be on their way to the club, the boardroom could sit back, relax, and wait for all the frantic calls of other execs trying to strengthen their side in the dying hours.

But the only reason they were not crazily buying up everyone they could is because they are currently sitting in a spot they are very comfortable with. They have been the surprise of the season, with seven points in three games, putting them in 5^th place in the table.

Johnson and O’Hara have both played well in those three games, justifying the amount spent for them.

Not much was loss going out from the club either.

They may not finish the season where they currently stand, but it would not be the most audacious thing to suggest it is possible. Mike McCarthy may just prove you don’t need to sign up to the last minute as many names as you can to have a successful season.

Grade: B

What Are Your Grades?

How would you grade the teams on their summer transfers?