Trying to dissect that sorry excuse of a transfer window for West Ham is like opening a box of a fifty thousand piece puzzle, where do you start?

I’ve tried to remain positive throughout the whole month, firmly in the belief that our club would make the necessary additions required to mount a serious challenge for the top 4 this season, why wouldn’t we? We would need shooting if we didn’t.

I wrote in a piece yesterday that this window was arguably the biggest in our clubs history. We are a contender for a Champions League spot and not only that, are in the last 16 of the Europa League. This is dreamland stuff, a chance for us finally to step out of the shadows and compete with the elite.

Yet sadly, just like my dreams, the golden opportunity went on to fade and die.

The failure of this window needs to be fully investigated as to what on Earth has happened because the worn out excuses ‘we only want better players’ and ‘tried our best’ won’t wash.

Its exhausting being told by our club how complicated these deals are to reach, well others certainly don’t seem to struggle. Just look at Everton, who brought in two of Frank Lampards top targets within a day of him getting the job.

Now the first item on the agenda of this review has to be the tiresome drawn out Jesse Lingard saga, which seems to have been running as long as Friends reruns on our TV screens.

Jesse was sensational for us on his loan spell last season, it was obvious that deal needed to be done in the summer. Let’s not be fooled here, that deal was available, but our insistence on ‘getting a deal’ once again stepped in the way.

The argument will be that Manchester United promised him game time and he opted to stay, but are we saying that if we had offered say £15m we wouldn’t have signed him? I say rubbish. We would have. Everyone has a price, and sadly West Ham are a club unwilling to match any of the price tags.

There was a spell on the final day of the window where a deal was looking more likely as we had put in an ‘improved offer’, but I think even the biggest optimists deep down knew it was unlikely. It has felt like the Maxi Gomez pursuit all over again, a total waste of everybody’s time.

The next is our outrageously poor search for a striker, to replace the expensive flop Sebastien Haller who now departed over a year ago.

It beggars belief that despite selling our main striker 388 days ago, we are still awaiting his replacement. To have our only ‘striker’ Michail Antonio publicly call on the club to bring in competition for his spot days ago just shows how ridiculous this situation has now become.

We now go into the second half of a season that has the potential to be our most successful in recent history with just one striker, who we all know has a history with hamstring injuries and now with the added weight of the world on his shoulders as the clubs only frontman.

I do appreciate Moyes’ philosophy that we want the right players. Not only judged on ability but on personality and drive too, but to not have replaced Haller at this stage in such a crucial time really is unacceptable now.

It is hard to understand why we are still in this mess. Is it down to the dithering of Dave or the bargain hunting of ‘Del Boy’ Sullivan? I believe a combination of the two. Whatever the reason it’s a situation that all involved should hang their heads in shame over.

One part of this window and one that for me is the most baffling has been our search for a much needed centre back. Duje Ćaleta-Car of Marseille is a player we have been linked with for what seems like an eternity. Moyes is known to be an admirer and he’s a player we have been in for before.

It wasn’t long ago that we wanted to sign the player and was put off with the £40m fee banded around at the time. Caleta Car is highly sought after and is a Croatian international, even Liverpool failed to get his signature not long ago with a £30m offer.

Yet since then times have changed on the French continent. Marseille are in financial trouble like many clubs there, and need cash in urgently. This has presented a huge opportunity for West Ham with the defender now available for a mere £15m. A bargain surely our Del Boy would be all over? No.

Not enough of a ‘deal’ it seems, as we strangely pursued and insisted on a loan with option to buy. Why though? Where is the risk? If he didn’t work out, we’d be able to sell him on, and the fact he’s only 25 means we’d even recover some if not all of the £15m. I simply struggle to understand our stance on this move.

But even if I was to agree with the madness of our insistence on a loan, then why on Earth did we not sign Nat Philips of Liverpool? A highly rated centre back, Premier League experience, Moyes’ known to be an admirer and also a friend of the Philips’ family. And, available on loan!

Yet we sat back and allowed Championship side Bournemouth to swoop in and tie up a short term deal. That for me summarised the utterly lunacy behind our transfer strategy this window. This is even without mentioning the ridiculous and pointless bids for Leeds’ star players Raphinha and Kalvin Philips.

It is hard to paint some positivity following that debacle but I shall try.

We are currently 5th in the Premier League, still in the hunt for a top 4 spot, in the FA Cup and the last 16 of the Europa League. It’s still a remarkable achievement and a lot to be excited about without question.

But this window hasn’t helped. Not just for this season but also in convincing the likes of Rice and Bowen this is the place to be.

Its a gamble from Moyes & Co that I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable putting my money on. I do hope I am proved wrong.