£418,517,000 Spent This Summer By Premier League Clubs.

It is a huge figure but how much have we spent exactly? All our deals these days seem to be on the basis of undisclosed fees so it is hard to know what we have spent but one thing is crystal clear, we are in the bottom half a dozen clubs in terms of money spent.

We know the reasons, of course, but it brings home how difficult a job Zola and Clarke are faced with in trying to build on our mediocre success of last season. We have stalled on the tenth row of the starting grid and souped up cars are roaring off around us: Spurs are much stronger and have already pulled away, Sunderland are better equipped this season and, of course, Manchester City have moved into a new stratosphere. Yes there are weak teams in the division, which should secure our survival, but without at least one more forward recruited before the window slams shut, a final position of 11th would represent success for the present squad.

Like many others, I am worried about losing Collins. I know we have "strength in depth" in that position but we don't yet know how Gabbidon will cope following his injury, Tomkins is still very green and Da Costa would have to be a rare specimen, a Portuguese player who succeeds in the Prem, to effectively replace Ginge. The loss of Bellamy, Neill, Tristan, Collins and Di Michele mean that we are weaker now than we were when the window closed last September. That is the uncomfortable truth - unless we pull a rabbit or two out of the hat in the next 55 minutes!