Transfer Window Round-up: Win, Lose, or Draw?

By: Pete | September 2nd, 2009

With the transfer window now officially closed it’s time to roll up the sleeves and see how our boys did.

In:
Matthias Schwarz (21yrs old, free transfer)
Zdravko Kuzmanovic (21yrs old, €8 mil)
Pavel Pogrebnyak (25yrs old, €4.8 mil)
Stefano Celozzi (20yrs old, €2.5 mil)
Alessandro Riedle (18yrs old, €150k)
Aliaksander Hleb (28yrs old, on loan, €2 mil)

Call ups:
Funk, Schieber, Didavi

Out:
Mario Gomez (24yrs old, €30 mil)
Danijel Ljuboja (31yrs old, free transfer)
Georges Mandjeck (20yrs old, on loan)

Sent down:
Manuel Fischer

If one does the math (I did) it’s easy to see that after all the transfers and everything else, Stuttgart still make out in the black up over €12 million. Not a bad haul considering the amount of talent brought in. Not only that, but those brought in are young players, some of which show a lot of promise and others who have already proven themselves on an international and big club level.

Keeping that in mind, I’m calling this transfer season a win, but just barely for now. The obvious monetary influx is a no brainer. They couldn’t have done much better than the haul they brought in for Gomez, unless the likes of Man City and Chelsea got into some sort of bidding war (I think his ~~catestrophically awful~~ less than average Euro 2008 turned a lot of those outside of Germany off to him.) It hurts that he goes to one of the biggest rivals in the Bundesliga but there was nobody else even coming close to matching that offer.

Until it’s proven that those who came in can consistently make up for all the goals Gomez put in and set up day in and day out, I don’t think one can call it a total victory yet. If the product on the field suffers, irregardless of the monetary influx, it can’t be a good thing. The litmus test will of course be the Champions League (survive and advance) and remaining in European contention in the Bundesliga for next year. If either one falters, I’d have to say it was a draw at best. Not only results wise, but monetarily too. The amount of money and exposure brought in for CL qualification cannot be understated.

But let’s remain optimistic. If everyone steps up to the plate like they’ve shown in the past then the team is taking a huge step in the right direction. Let’s hear your thoughts, and feel free to chastise/ridicule me if I’ve forgotten anything-