EPL Transfers: Everton, Wigan, and Blackburn Face Long Seasons

As the summer transfer window has closed, it is now time to reflect on the purchases of each club. It appears that, despite the economic recession around the world, 2011 has been the highest spending year in Premier League history. In total this summer, £485 ($787) million has been spent by EPL clubs. However, it should be said that the top teams in England, especially Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea have accounted for most of the spending). 

There have been some EPL teams that have opted for a modest transfer window. Sometimes this can be a good thing, as a club may conclude that it has sufficient good players or a strong youth system. But, at other times, having a reserved transfer season can be disastrous, especially if rival clubs improve during this time.

This looks to be the case for Wigan, Everton, and Blackburn. These three teams have been unproductive in the last three months and will most likely pay a heavy price. All three had at least fairly disappointing 2010/2011 seasons but will find this next year even worse. A combination of players lost and a lack of players bought will no doubt hurt these three Premier League teams.

Starting with Blackburn Rovers, the Riversiders had a poor end to last season, in which they obtained 11 points in their final 12 matches. They finished four points above the relegation zone and that led many people to question the aptitude of manager Steve Kean.

To make matters worse, the forthcoming summer was not a success, despite Blackburn apparently having lots of money at their disposal. Steve Kean did make a good purchase in Scott Dann from Birmingham, but, compared to the transfers made by other possible relegation-battlers, it's not enough. Blackburn also bought Vukcevic, Yakubu, and Goodwillie, who could be good additions, though they lost Phil Jones, Nikola Kalinic, Brett Emerton, and others to balance it out. With Rovers' lineup already lacking quality from last year, the summer transfer window has made Blackburn even weaker. This could be a horrible year for Steve Kean's team.

Wigan Athletic have been relegation-battlers for the past two years and it doesn't look like that is going to change this season. The Latics looked like they would be dropping down to the Championship last season but managed to survive on the final day. The cheers of Wigan fans wouldn't last too long though. Chairman Dave Whelan allowed star player Charles N'Zogbia to leave the club for Aston Villa and Wigan didn't even spend the $15.5 million (£9.5m) that they received to replace the Frenchman.

Securing Ali Al Habsi on a permanent deal, buying Shaun Maloney, and obtaining the service of Patrick Van Aanholt on loan will make the Wigan fans somewhat happy. But, once again, this just doesn't cut it when playing in the EPL. Roberto Martinez's side have rode their luck in past seasons, but this may be the year where they drop down to England's second tier.

Most people consider Everton to be a consistent top 10 Premier League team, but last season showed that the Toffees are having problems. David Moyes did lead his team to a seventh place finish but it wasn't a convincing season. Everton hovered above the relegation zone for the first half of the season and looked lethargic. Their form did pick up after the new year but Everton fans weren't happy about the season on a whole.

If they weren't happy at the end of May, they will be feeling even more depressed after the summer. The Merseysiders in blue will be wondering why their team had the worst transfer window of all 20 EPL teams while rivals Liverpool had the best summer. Everton sold star playmaker Mikel Arteta, Jermaine Beckford, and James Vaughan, while only obtaining the loan deals of Eric Dier and Royston Drenthe. The Toffees line-up from last year was good but had some problems. This year will be much worse.

It is hard to tell where these three teams will end up at the end of the season, but there is no doubt that they all had very bad transfer windows. Most other Premier League teams, like Stoke City, QPR, and Sunderland, all teams that will be fighting for mid-table finishes, have only gotten stronger over the summer. As of right now, Everton, Wigan, and Blackburn look set to have tough seasons, which could include relegation.