The transfer window that was

The drama is finally over. For any average football fan, the transfer window is almost as exciting as the game itself. And for people like Jorge Mendes, this is what makes him who he is. World Cup years throw up new talent, and as a result the activity in the market is a tad higher than the other years. And 2014 was no different.

·         United-The new Galacticos?

More than a hundred and  fifty million pounds spent, but United failed to address the needs that they had set out to at the beginning of the season. United bought players who were available, not players who they needed the most. Thanks to the growing friendship between Mr Woodward and Mr Mendes, what should ideally have been Vidal and Hummels, became Di Maria and Falcao. Make no mistake, these two are absolute Class A players, something that United have lacked ever since Ronaldo's exit. Along with the signings of Rojo, Blind, Herrera and Shaw, this may prove to be a masterstroke and catapult United to a top four position. But one look at the defence will leave you unsettled. And as if Van Gaal’s present problems weren't enough, he now faces the task of accommodating Di Maria, Mata, Rooney, Persie and Falcao in the same team. Take a look at the present squad and you will soon realize that the thirty seven million pounds for Mata in the last window was a big mistake.

·         Reckless selling by the original Galacticos

United are not the only team to have made glaring errors in the transfer window. Real Madrid’s obsession with star players meant that James Rodriguez had to be snapped up after the sensational world cup that the Columbian had. In the process, Angel Di Maria, easily their best player last season, had to be sold. Toni Kroos, another excellent performer in the World Cup, was also snapped up. But again, that led to the exit of Xabi Alonso. First things first, Kroos and James are both excellent young players, and it makes sense for a top club like Madrid to go for them. But when your game is built upon fast counter attacks, why would any sensible manager sell Di Maria to accommodate James? And while Kroos is more flamboyant and attack minded, Madrid will terribly miss the defensive solidity that Alonso provided in the middle. It is still early, but the 2-4 defeat to Real Sociedad might be a sign of things to come. A decade back, Madrid had sold another similar player (Claude Makelele) to Chelsea. Thereafter, the next few years went on to prove why it was such a bad move. Well, looks like Chelsea simply isn't one to learn from its mistakes.

·         Jose and Pep- The smartest movers

Mourinho is a genius. And he showed evidence of his ingenuity by selling David Luiz for 50 million pounds, as well as buying Fabregas and Costa relatively early in the window. He identified the gaps in his squad early, and acted swiftly and sans fuss to correct that. Just when you thought the transfer window couldnot get any better for them , he offloads Torres and gets Loic Remy at a bargain price of around eight and a half million pounds. All of a sudden, Chelsea looks to be the team to beat. Not only in England, but also in Europe.

In Germany, Pep has also got his moves right. Although letting go of Kroos was a mistake, but with Alcantara and Schweinsteiger present, and with the signing of Xabi Alonso, Bayern has got its bases covered. The arrival of Robert Lewandowski definitely strengthens the attack. The signing of the highly rated Morrocan defender Mehdi Benatia from Roma was another sample of Bayern’s smart moves in the market.

·         The Curious case of Monaco

A club which had taken the transfer market by storm only last season, was all of a sudden looking to offload all of its stars. But considering the fact that its owner has to shell out four and a half billion dollars as part of the world’s most expensive divorce settlement, things could never have remained hunky dory for long. With James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao out, they are left with Berbatov as their main attacking threat. Monaco is definitely going Malaga’s way, and not the way of PSG or Chelsea or Manchester City.

·         Sell a player-buy a team

Tottenham did this in 2013-14, but the results were not very appeasing. Liverpool repeated the gig this time around. It is for time to see if the results will be any different. From the early look of it, it seems like Brendan Rogers has got it right. Firstly, unlike Tottenham, the core of the Liverpool team is still the same as last season.The mercurial Mario Balotelli gives them an extra edge in front of the goal. Together with Sturridge and Sterling, they might form a fearsome three which can be as good as the Suarez-Sterling-Sturrudge trio.

And until the next window, it is time for the agents to take a backseat and for the players to live up to their hefty price tags. Let the games begin!