AS THE dust settles once again at Anfield following the closure of the transfer window, the draught caused by the temporary opening of this peculiar fenestration has blown in an interesting mix of new talent, with a motley crew of proven quality, young potential and dead wood ushered out.

The lack of the hoped-for new investment in the club has prevented Roy Hodgson from remodelling the side to the extent he might have wished, but this hasn’t stopped over 20 players leaving or entering our hallowed halls as Roy sought to revamp the squad in his own image.

While most fans will have been watching like hawks for signs of our revered owners siphoning off transfer fees received, an assessment of the full extent of the net financial investment or receipts is complicated by the valuation of players involved in exchange deals, and by the odd ‘undisclosed’ fee.

Leaving the financials to one side, while accepting that the purse strings have yet to leave the grubby mitts of our American patrons, Hodgson’s judgement of a player will go a long way to forming fans’ views as to the merits of his appointment. Roy’s stock rose immediately with his ‘marquee’ signing of Joe Cole, universally applauded as an ideal provider for a rampaging Torres and the man to provide the midfield ingenuity we’ve been missing. So far we’ve been limited to sightings of Joe in Europa League matches, with only fleeting glimpses of the much-anticipated pairing with the Spanish genius, but hopes are high and any reservations we might have about other managers’ lack of trust in Joe are for the moment at least held in abeyance.

Raul Meireles should also prove a worthwhile addition, but of course we’ll have to wait a while before we can form a view about him.

Jovanovic and Wilson may well have been identified during Benitez’s reign, but Roy approved and clinched the deals, so they’re his players too. While the latter is clearly one for the future, the Serb needs to come up to the mark quickly, and while there have been encouraging signs of his desire to take men on and get a shot away, there have also been spells where he has drifted out of the game and he needs to improve his concentration.

I have a feeling though, that the signings which will come to define at least the early stages of Hodgson’s Anfield career will be those of Poulsen and Konchesky. Both are nearing the end of respectable but hardly exceptional careers, and Roy, having worked with them both, has backed his judgement in bringing them to Liverpool when there seemed little interest from elsewhere for either player.

A Lucas clone and a 29-year old full-back with two caps were not necessarily everybody’s priorities. Time will tell whether these and Roy’s other signings will be feeling the draught when the transfer window creaks open again in the coming two seasons.