As is often the case with Crystal Palace, now that the window is closed, we wonder quite how we got here.
Two of Palace's directors own and operate NFL teams that, during drafts, run war rooms with dozens of names on their boards, looking to add to rosters of more than 50 players. By contrast, you do wonder if their Premier League team even jots the squad down in a notepad during transfer windows.
Factually, the club has spent a considerable amount of money during this window. Yet this appeared to be an approach devoid of strategy and if fans are angry after a turbulent month, you can't blame them.
The team scrambled for attacking options, almost adding Dwight McNeil in the dying moments of the window. The centre-back role vacated by Marc Guehi was seemingly ignored or given lower priority. The back-up wing-back spot, exposed by Daniel Munoz's injury in December, was not addressed.
Considering the catalyst for Oliver Glasner's outburst was the loss of his captain, that position is clearly a vital part of the team. The arrival of a central midfielder could have freed Jefferson Lerma to move to centre-back as a short-term fix, but again, this was not achieved.
Chadi Riad may be the cliched "new signing" on return from his long-term injury, but relying on both him and Jaydee Canvot with their combined five starts in the Premier League appears risky for a team often labelled as risk-averse. Should either of the remaining senior defenders get injured, the line-up will be notably weaker in that area than the one that entered the window.
It feels as though we will need more time and space to unpick the Jean-Philippe Mateta situation and all its complexity. Is he just poorly advised or simply naive in trying to force this winter move away from south London in a World Cup year? Perhaps both.
The team broke their transfer record twice and brought in three attackers. The mammoth fee for Jorgen Strand Larsen brings a lot of pressure with him and, as this team is desperate for goals, each player will have to deliver.
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