Oxford United's transfer window wasn't the one they might have envisioned in early December when Gary Rowett was still their manager.
At the time they were looking at tweaks to the squad, it wasn't even the one they might have expected a couple of weeks into it when they had five new signings as well as a new manager.
They ended up with eight players in – that is fine for a team in the relegation zone who are looking to shake things up.
Jamie Donley, Myles Peart-Harris and Jamie McDonnell all should be able to help the fight against relegation, others have a chance to shine – but with no guarantee.
The signings of Christ Makosso and Ruben Roosken suggest a bigger commitment to playing with three central defenders and wing-backs than we have ever before seen at Oxford.
By signing four players on loan they doubled the number of temporary transfers and that on the face of it looks unwieldy – as only five can be named in a matchday squad.
I do wonder though if this is United getting creative – to work around the "points" system for signing overseas players permanently, as well as giving the club a "try before you buy" look at potential long-term recruits.
Perhaps the biggest concern for Oxford is they were not able to sell a player from their burgeoning squad in January – they have loaned out some and terminated the contracts of others.
When it comes to being on the right side of the line when it comes to financial fair play, they are ok but it is something they will want to keep an eye on.
When it comes to evaluating a window – when is the time to do it?
Let's look at the 2024 summer window when Oxford first got into the Championship.
They had to spend big by their standards to survive, for example, they broke their transfer record to sign Siriki Dembele – their first ever £1m player.
He struggled at first to make an impact but at the end of last season he scored two winning goals that basically kept them up and you could make a case for them alone being worth the initial investment.
Now he is out of favour again, so was he a hit or a miss? Was that window a hit or a miss? Is this? Will time truly tell?
