Shinnie and Smyth make 12

The loan signings before the deadline closed of Luton attacking midfielder Andrew Shinnie and wide front man Paul Smyth from QPR brought Charlton’s summer transfer window to 12.

A whole new team with a sub, although we’d have to play rush goalie.

Nine of those additions have been added in the three weeks since Thomas Sandgaard became the owner, when at that point our squad was wafer thin and plugged with academy players. The club was under a transfer embargo, a cap to salary less than everybody else and only allowed to bring in players if Bowyer moved one out.

It was all a bit supermarket sweep with Bow and Gallen wheeling their trolley down the ‘economy’ isle with the shop about to close.

Does the squad look perfect? No. Is there a 20-goal striker in there? Doesn’t really look like it. But did Bow and Gallen add quality, balance, winners and players with something to prove? They absolutely did and I only have utter admiration for how hard they must have worked to bring in 12 players, and probably spoke and negotiated with 50 more.

Bow now has all the jigsaw pieces he needs, maybe there’s one or two missing, but now the job is to patiently put that jigsaw together, build an identity and a pretty picture.

Excited. COYR.