If anyone
needs a reminder of just how much Rotherham
have progressed as a club over the last few years, then they need look no
further than their dealings in the summer transfer window.
From the
moment they announced the capture of former Champions League striker Matt
Derbyshire, once subject to a £3million transfer fee, just days after their
heroic win at Wembley, it was clear that the Millers would be swimming in
different waters this time around as they plotted for life in the Championship.
And that
is exactly how it panned out as over the course of the summer they brought in a
whopping 17 players, spent more money than ever before - breaking their
transfer record twice - and signed players with such calibre that it was almost
unthinkable.
Indeed,
back during the dark days of Don Valley, if anybody would have dared suggest the possibility
that one day soon a goalkeeper who had been picked in the England squad, a highly-rated midfielder from Chelsea, or a high-profile striker from Norwich
would be signing for Rotherham then it would
have definitely resulted in a splutter of the Bovril.
In the
wake of promotion Evans stated that he wanted to stack his squad with players
who had Championship experience and he was true to his word.
There
seemed a definite sense of quantity over quality at one point as Evans doubled up, or
tripled in some cases, on every position, with the Millers boss taking a particular
liking to midfielders and wide men, with Conor Newton, Paul Green, John Swift,
Richie Smallwood, Anthony Wordsworth, Paul Taylor, Ryan Hall and Febian Brandy
being added to an already impressive group.
Any
Football Manager enthusiasts can sympathise with Evans. You see a list of free
agents and you want to sign them all, regardless of whether you actually need
them or not.
There have
been many times when Evans has said he has no problem spending the chairman’s
money and he was given the first real opportunity to do so in this window, paying
transfer fees for three players, two of them more than any other Rotherham manager has ever spent on a player before.
Striker Jordan
Bowery signed from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, around the
£250,000-mark, Smallwood, so influential in a loan spell last season, cost
£175,000 from Middlesbrough and then Jonson Clarke-Harris arrived just as the
window was creeping shut for a fee believed to be around £300,000.
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Does Steve Evans deserve to be taking a bow for his transfer window work? |
But
however good that business seemed, they saved their best until last, on paper at
least, with the signing of Luciano Becchio.
With just
30 minutes of the transfer window remaining, Evans pulled a rabbit out of the
hat to bring the Argentinian striker to New
York on loan until January and it was the signing
that everyone was crying out for.
The
Millers had made a respectable, if not modest, start to the campaign, taking
six points from their opening five Championship games, but just two goals in that time told
the real story.
If they
had taken even a modicum of their chances then they could realistically been
sat on 12 points and in nosebleed territory in the early-season table, with hopefully
Becchio providing the answer.
Of
course, not all of the 17 signings will come off, including Becchio potentially,
and in typical Evans manner, some will probably leave the club before Christmas
or when their loan deals end.
And not
everything went the Millers’ way over the summer either.
The Stevie May saga cast a
dark cloud over the club after Sheffield
Wednesday pinched him from under their noses, while Agard’s exit was similarly
drawn out.
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Full-back James Tavernier was one key target the Millers missed out on |
Evans did not get all of his other targets either, with James
Tavernier choosing Wigan a particular blow
given his performances on loan last season.
Only
time will tell whether this has been a successful transfer window, but, as with
everything that Evans does, it has been entertaining and must-watch drama.
And it
will start all over again next week when the loan window re-opens.
Here’s a
quick look at the highs and lows of Rotherham’s
transfer window.
Highs
Signing
Richie Smallwood – Having looked like they missed out on him earlier in the
summer, the Millers resurrected a deal for the midfielder who made such a huge
impact on loan last season. At only 23, the £175,000 man can be Rotherham’s midfield general for the next 10 years.
Signing
Paul Green – What, another run-of-the-mill Championship midfielder with an Ipswich connection? It was easy to welcome Green’s
arrival with apathy but his signing has possibly been Evans’ best work in the
summer. His early performances prior to injury were marauding as he controlled
the middle of the park, breaking up play at the back and getting forward too.
With Smallwood and Green now in the frame, last season’s star of the show Lee Frecklington has to watch out.
Signing Luciano
Becchio – It’s easy to say without a ball being kicked, but Becchio’s signing
late, late, late on deadline day and after several 12-inch meat feasts, arguably
saved the whole window. The Millers were in desperate need of a striker who
knows where the net is, and the pressure was affecting boss Evans. There’s no
saying whether the move will be a success, but with his pedigree, the
Argentinian’s arrival is Evans’ best-ever coup in the transfer window. It certainly beats Jordan Slew!
Keeping
Ben Pringle – Any transfer window that passes by without selling Ben Pringle
has to be classed as a success for the Millers. His name is usually bandied
about willy-nilly, though bar the odd day of madness when he was linked to a £2.5million
move to Hull
there were no real scares for the Millers this time around. Now, with the Millers
having some firepower, he can get on with putting his left foot to good use.
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Kieran Agard's exit was one of the disappointing parts of the summer |
Lows
The
Stevie May saga – The way the shootout for May between the Millers and Sheffield Wednesday played out cast a real shadow over
the early season. The Millers appeared well on their way to snaffling the St
Johnstone striker after agreeing a £800,000 fee before the Owls came and
hijacked the deal. Evans wasn’t happy with the way he perceived the local media
to be reporting it and issued a blackout on the eve of the club’s first season
back in the second tier in almost a decade. May eventually chose Wednesday.
Missing
out on James Tavernier – While it was always going to be a struggle to get
Tavernier to the club on a permanent basis after an incredible loan spell last
season, the fact that Frazer Richardson has yet to play has made it clear just
how much the Millers are missing the former Newcastle man. He had such an impact
on the team last season and he was integral to the way the Millers played, that
to get him would have been an incredible capture.