With the transfer window having come to a close, football sites, along with your social media news feeds, are going to be at a bottleneck with articles breaking down and grading each and every movement at each club.
At Zero Striker, we've decided to cut through the glut and hand out some more lighthearted awards, focusing on the hilarity that is the silly season.
The “constantly finishing fourth” award: Arsenal'
Yes, I know what you're thinking. This joke is so played and cliché now. But the hilarious part is, it's true, and this off-season was proof.
Arsenal thought they were done being the bridesmaids after finishing second to Leicester City last season. They had big plans going into the off-season, and nothing was going to stop them achieving them.
After the initial high of bringing Granit Xhaka to northeast London, the Gunners went through a long, arduous window once again capturing almost no one they set their hearts on.
They wound up bringing in Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi. You could almost say they ended up settling for their…fourth option.
The “desperation brings out the hilarious” award: Chelsea
Another club that disappointed itself with initially lofty expectations was fellow Londoners Chelsea.
After hiring highly regarded former Italy and Juventus manger Antonio Conte, the club had high expectations for players to be lining up to play for the Italian hard man.
No doubt Michy Batshuayi and N'Golo Kante have and will prove to be good players at Stamford Bridge, but despite going through plenty of names, the club failed to reinforce its' defences like they wanted. That is, until the 11th hour.
On the final day of the transfer window, the Blues brought home error prone defender David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain for 30 million Pounds, after selling him to them for 50.
Some clubs work well under pressure. Not Chelsea, apparently.
The “almost got full marks” award: Liverpool
Depending on whom you ask, Liverpool's window can be rated anywhere from “successful” to “okay”.
Players such as Sadio Mane and Ragnar Klavan are already paying dividends, with Joel Matip and Loris Karius sure to do the same soon.
Despite also managing to rid their books of horror shows Christian Benteke and Mario Balotelli, there is still one man hanging around Anfield like a bad small, refusing to go away.
Albetro Moreno remains concreted to the ground at left back for the Reds, much to the dismay of fans and probably the club. If his early performances are anything to go by, the “this is our year” squad may already be mentioning next year.
The “third time's the charm” award: Manchester United
It's only taken three years and three managers, but it looks like Manchester United are finally on the road to slightly resembling the club they were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Jose Mourinho's four new signings all fit The Special One's tactics to a tee, and so far, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba look have the right mix of star power and team fit that Man United have struggled with the past few transfer windows.
To the disappointment of the rest of the league, it looks like Man U is heading back to where they belong – the top of the league.
The “punching well above their weight” award: Middlesbrough
Everyone was of course happy to see Middlesbrough back in the EPL, but even the club's fans surely had no idea that everyone was this happy.
The Boro certainly did good business this window, but the newly promoted club certainly wasn't intent on doing “newly promoted” business.
They managed to bring in genuinely good players, and even brought in Calum Chambers, Alvaro Negredo and Victor Valdes without spending a penny – granted the former two are on loan.
Aitor Karanka and his Smoggies are clearly out to not just survive this season, but also make a statement. Middlesbrough are back with a vengeance, and are here to piss your team off with an away loss at Riverside Stadium.
Bonus: The George Costanza “that's gotta hurt!” award: Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur did pretty good business this window. Mauricio Pochettino managed to bring in talented names, and ones that fit his up-tempo style, such as Georges-Kevin N'Koudou.
But if you haven't seen Thursday's news, after proudly managing to pip Everton for the services of Moussa Sissoko, the celebrations would've been short lived, as the Frenchman ignorantly displayed his intimate affections for Tottenham's best friends, Arsenal.
“Arsenal was my favourite club…my idol Patrick Viera. I've always loved this club, I still love them,” Sissoko said proudly.
No further words needed really. After the disappointment of finishing third last season, this was about as big a kick in the guts as Spurs fans could've hoped for.
