Not a bad start

So, that was quite a transfer window for us. BFS bagged his two main transfer targets (in the end) and even managed to reel in Yossi which went down very well with the fans!

There are a few people who are concerned about the possible financial consequences of these signings. Yossi was a snip - we're paying £20k of his reported £92k wages until Christmas when we will start paying £45k which for a player of his quality, is a bargain these days.

BUT, is Matt Jarvis really worth the reported £10.75m? I'm not so sure, personally I would have preferred Adam Johnson and Sunderland didn't pay much more for him than we did for Jarvis.

Then there's the (not so) small issue of Andy Carroll's wages. When it looked like we wouldn't sign him, Sullivan came out and said they were willing to risk our finances on him. So does that mean that they have taken a huge risk in bringing him in? Well, the obvious answer is yes but how big is the risk?

I think it'll pay off, that he'll join us next summer (providing the 'pool don't get desperate and recall him) and that with both the best crosser of the ball in Jarvis and the best aerial player in the league, we'll have the foundations in place to achieve something in the coming years.

I couldn't have dreamed of a better start with 2 wins and 2 clean sheets from 2 home league games - against decent teams as well I might add - and who can honestly say they'd be happy with finishing 17th now? In my opinion, if we do our season will be considered a failure with the players we have now. I'm not getting carried away and immediately predicting a top half finish but we definitely shouldn't be among the bottom 5 teams.

My prediction is that we'll finish 12th, far safe from the struggling teams but also far from the European places. Hopefully if we're in a stable league position by January BFS will at least attempt a cup run because we all know he didn't want the distraction last year as we aimed for promotion as we were dumped out by lower league opposition in both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle.

Onwards and upwards, as they say!