I said 7 and will stick with it simply because of Jack. Grealish was the statement signing and a no-brainer once it became clear he was up for coming. I was pleased with Röhl as I felt he added balance - but obviously he hasn't made any impact as of yet. Dewsbury-Hall looked a solid signing to me - and seems to have proven to be already. The rest have been close to disastrous so far. I hoped Barry and Aznou would make some impact by now even if bedding in would require time. I'm not sure even time can save Barry, and Aznou really looks a ridiculous waste of money on early evidence. Why were we buying for the future when we didn't have the money for the present?
I said Dibling was a real gamble at the price we paid for him. This is the one transfer I was largely against. To date, he's done nothing to suggest my initial reaction was wrong.
Add in the fact it took forever to start signing players and given the massive holes at full-back, midfield, and clearly up front that still need filling, and I was, once again, too optimistic about our window even at a 7. Branthwaite's retention saves my rating.
The lesson? As always with Everton, it's the so-called "pessimists" who have been largely proven to be correct every single year this century. The optimists, at this point, need taking away by men in white coats...