Judging a transfer window is a very difficult thing. In the moment, everything is a hypothetical, and teams will be proclaimed to have ‘won the window’ for bringing in a series of players who end up not working out.

For example, here are a series of views about Swindon’s summer from September 2: “wow”, “this squad is incredible”, “on paper, really good”, “looks amazing”, “playoff-worthy.”

My own review suggested that selection headaches would be a regular occurrence, and this has technically played out, although in the exact opposite way, with Ian Holloway dealing with a series of migraines about how he could fit the players he had left in a cohesive team. Fate was certainly tempted.

Now that we have some evidence to base conclusions on, let’s look back at the summer and evaluate how the window went.

First, it is clear that Swindon have hit on some very key positions.

Stephan Negru has been everything that was lacking last year: a physical defender and leader who can make up for the consistent absence of Ryan Tafazolli. Jack Thomson has been as reliable as they come in midfield, mixing quality on the ball with an exceptional work rate to get it back. Anthony Munda has been a terrific loan signing, providing energy and drive to the midfield.

The focus on prime-age, League Two regulars has also borne fruit, as Mitch Clark and Dan Butler are two very dependable wing-backs, and Matty Virtue has carved out a role after an injury-hit start to life.

Mitch Clark has been an ever-present for Swindon Town (Image: Andy Crook)

Arguably the best find has been Kaelan Majekodunmi. Whilst he is not a superstar, getting a reliable centre-back who is more than comfortable with the physicality of League Two from the Australian lower leagues is a proper needle in a haystack.

When building on last year’s squad, Swindon managed to find a succession of reliable starters who will not let you down.

However, there are two key areas to question the summer: attacking quality and the loan market.

Swindon took three swings to add some new attacking craft to the squad, and none have been home runs just yet. Joseph Hungbo has been dazzling at his best, but a lingering knee problem has seen his confidence dip. He is more than good enough to make the move pay off, but for now, the ball has not cleared the boundary as first hoped.

Then, Antwoine Hackford and Jaylan Pearman have struggled to even show flashes. The pair don’t have a league goal or assist between them, and even in a team with many key attackers out injured, they have not established themselves. Both were left out of the squad for the most recent match against Rotherham United.

James Debayo has yet to start in League Two for Swindon Town (Image: Andy Crook)

Loan deals can sometimes take a bit longer to come good, Pearman fits into that category, but the wait for Sam Inwood and James Debayo to pay off continues.

Inwood has impressed in his two starts, but two hamstring injuries have seen his playing time severely limited, and Debayo has still not started a league game. Holloway said that Pearman and Debayo have been showing positive signs in training, but Swindon will need more production from their loan players to rule out an overhaul in January.

This summer was slightly different, as Swindon were building on a team featuring Aaron Drinan and other important returning players. Town have found some steady heads for the starting 11, but, for now, not many dice rolls have brought the sort of high numbers that elevate a team above the mid-table masses into being a true contender.