Having seen them on Sunday, I think their signings look better on paper than they are in practice.
They're already sick of Soldado and think he's too limiting for their forward play. On Sunday's evidence, this may be true. He's a competent finisher without other strengths by the looks of things.
Paulinho looked a somewhat cumbersome addition, Dembele lacking in top qualities, and Capoue's now injured (although it's not as bad as first thought).
Lamela, on the other hand, looks the goods. He showed some movement across the defensive line during his brief cameo that was eerily reminiscent of Van Persie, and I'm glad we got to play that match before he was settled in England.
Walker and Townsend are direct and powerful runners who can use the ball, but lacked nuance against us. Meanwhile Eriksen's an unknown quantity in this league, but it's hard to see him becoming a dominant figure over the next year at least.
Reading their comments, the fans are worried, and possibly with good reason, that they have a lot of lumps in midfield but no refinement. Given how heavily they relied on Bale for goals last season, it's a little surprising they haven't worked harder to bring in players who create chances with this massive windfall. Part of the reason is undoubtedly that top calibre playmakers don't want to join a club with such a thin history of European achievement.
