Is it over yet?

I didn't pay a lot of attention to the transfer window last year, so I'm curious: Is it always this insane? Or was yesterday exceptionally nutty? I'm guessing it was the latter, what with the Tevez-and-Mascherano-to-West-Ham-yes-really thing. Not to mention Arsenal bilking some poor schmucks out of £2 million for Pascal Cygan.

At least we can be grateful that the endless wankfest of the Ashley Cole/William Gallas/Arsenal/Chelsea transfer saga is over. Oh, but Mourinho's cranky about it. Of course he is. Really, it ought to only be front-page news if Mourinho is happy about something. Daily Mirror: Jose: "Life is peachy-keen, thanks." Stop the presses!

And now that the dust has settled, it seems that Man United have bought Michael Carrick and...um, that's it, actually. Shit. At 7 pm yesterday I was hunched over my computer, yelling, "For the love of god, Fergie, would you just sign somebody already!? And no, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times, Paul Scholes doesn't count as a new signing!"

Owen Hargreaves' clever "If I just hold my breath long enough, Bayern will let me go!" ploy didn't work, and apparently there was no plan B to bring in a defensive midfielder. Or a striker to replace Van Nistelrooy, for that matter. And they've sent Rossi off to Newcastle on loan. Brilliant. Because the Toon have such a reputation for giving their toys back in one piece.

Liverpool, on the other hand, had a relatively sensible summer, bringing in Bellamy and Kuyt to replace Cisse and Morientes, plus a couple of proper wingers so maybe they can play Stevie G in the middle where he belongs. The only worry is that they've sold Jan Kromkamp to PSV -- not that Kromkamp ever impressed me, but now they've got no cover at right-back. Unless, as YNBA suggested, Steve Finnan has bionic legs. Or maybe a secret stash of stem cells.

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