True that, our spending across 02/03 and 03/04:
Bischoff - £700k.
Distin - £4m.
Loran - Undisclosed.
Vuoso - £3.5m.
Anelka - £13m.
Schmeichel - Free.
Kerkar - Free.
Belmadi - Loan.
Sommeil - £3.5m.
Fowler - £6m.
Seaman - Free.
Tarnat - Free.
Sinclair - £2.5m.
Sibierski - £700k.
Reyna - £2.5m.
McManaman - Free.
Total - £36.4m. So honestly, take the £19.5m spent on Anelka, Distin and Sinclair and do the same, you then had £17m to spend, which in those days given who other people were signing couldn't compete with the top 3 but we would have been fair game for anyone else. Missed opportunity, considering the likes of Okocha went for free.