So now we're stuck with what we've got, be that a good thing or not, although in all honesty we can only truly analyse this summer's dealings until the end of the season.
My initial reaction however, is that overall whilst not progressing the squad, are no worse off than we were last season. Rather we've just moved sideways.
Glen Johnson is evidently a step up from Arbeloa and has immediately shown how much better attacking-wise he is, managing to score two goals, the same number Arbeloa managed in his whole time here. He has also been better defensively than originally expected and is already proving that the £18 million price tag wasn't as outrageous as first thought.
Whilst Aquilani may fill the sizeable gap left by Alonso, the fact that he won't be up and running until October at the earliest is exasperating. Adapting to a new league often takes time, and to come in several weeks after the season has started and without a pre-season may mean it will be Christmas before we begin to see the best of our new Italian.
Elsewhere the cover needed for Johnson and Torres remains unfulfilled and should either of them be injured for a serious amount of time, we could be in trouble.
Kyrgiakos at least will provide cover for the increasingly injury prone Agger and an inconsistent Carragher and Nemeth's move in the opposite direction should give him a chance to gain first team experience, though after his first game in Greece he hardly looked like he needed it.
Still our biggest problem is the Yanks controlling the purse strings and the interest to the debt we are now paying every year.
With summer sales amounting to £40 million, money recouped from Keane's departure at Christmas and a summer transfer kitty, it would have been reasonably expected that we could have as much as £75 million to play with.
The owners' proclamation that only Chelsea had more money to spend than us, Benitez himself saying that we could afford another big money signing (after Johnson) without selling and our interest in both Carlos Tevez and David Silva further enforced this viewpoint.
Instead the final week of the transfer window saw us scrambling down the back of the sofa for any loose change to finance a fourth choice centre back.
Upon their arrival at Anfield, Gilllette and Hicks said that unlike United no debt would be leveraged on the club, yet now our transfer budget is being spent on the interested payments to RBS rather than Spanish superstars, though now I expect most fans would be grateful at us signing Stoke's superstars.
Not only has it significantly affected this summer's purchases but will surely affect us in the future, in that we may have to sell in order to buy. Mascherano already looks like he may be the next player to make way especially if Barcelona come calling again next summer.
Winning the league may be the immediate goal but if we're selling to buy, and Manchester City continue to spend with disregard, we could find ourselves challenging for a Champions League position rather than the title.