£485,000,000. This is the staggering estimated outlay spent by Barclays Premier League clubs on players over the summer. It was a Transfer Window which saw many headlines written with both Manchester clubs significantly strengthening, Kenny Dalglish begin his revolution with his new-look Liverpool side, the most protracted transfer saga in English football history surrounding Arsenal come to an end, André Villas-Boas bring in young blood to rejuvenate an ageing Chelsea side and Queens Park Rangers drafting in no fewer than twelve newcomers to Loftus Road.

Arsenal

Are Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun really adequate replacements for Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri? In one word: no. Yes both are creative, possess excellent vision and have Barclays Premier League experience however they are injury-prone. Wenger should have been bold and landed Scott Parker for a bargain £6,000,000. Germany international Per Mertesacker will bring some much needed cover in defence however doubts will remain over his pace and ability to adapt to the English game. Bolton Wanderers’ Gary Cahill was there for the taking.

Best Bit of Business: Mikel Arteta (Everton)

A Sad Goodbye: Cesc Fàbregas (FC Barcelona)

Aston Villa

The departures of Stewart Downing and Ashley Young were expected and McLeish has bought an excellent replacement in the shape of Charles N’Zogbia. Yes he is a volatile figure but on his day he can really torment defences with his pace and energy. Goalkeeper Shay Given’s arrival from Manchester City for the Tottenham Hotspur signing Brad Friedel could be one of the buys of the summer. Inexpensive and with plenty of experience, how Arsenal could have done with a keeper of his experience.

Best Bit of Business: Shay Given (Manchester City)

A Sad Goodbye: Ashley Young (Manchester United)

Blackburn Rovers

The signing of defender Scott Dann is another contender for signing of the summer. Dann was terrific at Birmingham City last season and manager Steve Kean knows him well from his time at Coventry City. Keeping hold of Captain Christopher Samba will feel like a new signing and will sure up a leaky defence. However, scoring goals could still remain a real problem for the Lancashire club. Yakubu’s arrival from Everton will be a boost but doubts remain over his form and fitness.

Best Bit of Business: Scott Dann (Birmingham City)

A Sad Goodbye: Phil Jones (Manchester United)

Bolton Wanderers

He could leave in the January Transfer Window or indeed next summer on a free transfer but the highly coveted central defender Gary Cahill remains a Trotters player and that is something which is sure to bring delight to both fans and manager Owen Coyle alike. Tuncay’s signing on loan from VFL Wolfsburg and David Ngog’s arrival from Liverpool will make up for the loss of Johan Elmander who was getting into his stride at the end of last season at The Reebok Stadium.

Best Bit of Business: Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa)

A Sad Goodbye: Johan Elmander (Galatasary)

Chelsea

The André Villas-Boas revolution isn’t quite in full swing yet but it’s gathering momentum. Young blood is being brought in to freshen up the Chelsea squad. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, very much in the mould of Didier Drogba, looks at terrific buy from Anderlecht whilst Juan Mata’s capture from Valencia CF will bring much needed innovation and industry to the Chelsea midfield. Expect The Blues to continue their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur midfield wizard Luka Modrić after they failed in a Deadline Day £40,000,000 bid.

Best Bit of Business: Juan Mata (Valencia CF)

A Sad Goodbye: Yossi Benayoun (Arsenal)

Everton

Oh to be an Everton fan! No money in the coffers at Goodison Park and manager David Moyes working on a sell-to-buy budget. The loss of creative maestro Mikel Arteta will hurt however all is by no means lost. Hope lies in the form of the fantastic prospect Ross Barkley who has already made a wonderful impression in the early stages of this season and Jack Rodwell in the heart of the Everton midfield. Keep an eye on the highly rated Dutch left-winger Royston Drenthe.

Best Bit of Business: Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid)

A Sad Goodbye: Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

Fulham

Manager Martin Jol has used his Dutch connections extremely well, following his spell as head coach at Ajax, to land the highly-rated Costa Rican striker Bryan Ruiz from FC Twente. The tall, athletic striker has developed a terrific reputation in the Dutch Eredevisie and will form a potent attack alongside Bobby Zamora or Belgian Moussa Dembélé. Also nice to see John Arne Riise back in England’s top flight bombing down the left-hand flank. He’ll bring experience, consistency and the odd crackerjack of a goal.

Best Bit of Business: Bryan Ruiz (FC Twente)

A Sad Goodbye: John Pantsil (Leicester City)

Liverpool

The King Kenny revolution is underway at Anfield. It has been all change with over £60,000,000 worth of talent being brought in. Stewart Downing’s arrival from Aston Villa and José Enrique’s from Newcastle United could finally be the solution to The Reds long-term problem down their left hand side. The surprise return of Craig Bellamy from Manchester City will add further firepower upfront whilst former Blackpool star Charlie Adam will add creativity in central midfield. Raul Meireles departure is perhaps somewhat of a strange decision.

Best Bit of Business: José Enrique (Newcastle United)

A Sad Goodbye: Raul Meireles (Chelsea)

Manchester City

City have once again bought big – Does this mean a genuine bid at the title? They have a vast array of attacking options, further boosted by the arrival of Argentinean marksman Sergio Agüero. Add to that the staying put of Carlos Tévez, Edin Džeko hitting form and Samir Nasri’s ingenuity in midfield alongside the terrific David Silva. Owen Hargreaves’s deal came out of the blue but it may prove a shrewd signing by manager Roberto Mancini providing the defensive midfielder can remain fit.

Best Bit of Business: Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid)

A Sad Goodbye: Craig Bellamy (Liverpool)

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson is building another Manchester United team and this one could prove to be the best of them all. Winger Ashley Young has already demonstrated to be an excellent acquisition from Aston Villa, brining pace, trickery and plenty of invention to a free-flowing Manchester United side. Phil Jones has slotted in comfortably at centre-back however questions remain over whether young goalkeeper David de Gea can fill Edwin Van der Sar’s gloves – only time will tell and that’s exactly what he needs.

Best Bit of Business: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

A Sad Goodbye: Owen Hargreaves (Manchester City)

Newcastle United

£56,000,000 brought in and £12,000,000 spent – Where has all the money gone? The departure of Captain Kevin Nolan back into the Npower Championship was a real surprise along with Joey Barton’s move to newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers. French has certainly been the flavour of the summer with five new arrivals having French connections. Full-back Davide Santon from Internazionale is full of potential and comes highly recommended by José Mourinho. Despite several bids, manager Alan Pardew failed to bring in another striker.

Best Bit of Business: Yohan Cabaye (LOSC Lille Métropole)

A Sad Goodbye: Kevin Nolan (West Ham United)

Norwich City

The Canaries manager Paul Lambert acted very swiftly in getting all of his work done in the early stages of the Transfer Window thus avoiding panic later on. He has very much put his faith in lower-league experience by signing the like of influential midfielder Bradley Johnson from Leeds United and Welsh international striker Steve Morison from Millwall however former Everton striker James Vaughan and Manchester United loanee, centre-back Ritchie De Laet, will bring Barclays Premier League experience, albeit not in great bundles.

Best Bit of Business: Bradley Johnson (Leeds United)

A Sad Goodbye: Cody Macdonald (Coventry City)

Queens Park Rangers

The name Tony Fernandes, the clubs new chairman, will be on the lips of every Queens Park Rangers fan. After a long and drawn out ownership dispute, Fernandes provided manager Neil Warnock with much needed funds to strengthen his side and he has done just that. Joey Barton’s capture from Newcastle United is an unexpected coup for the club and he’ll add some steely determination in midfield alongside creative midfielder Adel Taarabt. Add to that the arrival of Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Best Bit of Business: Joey Barton (Newcastle United)

A Sad Goodbye: Kaspars Gorkss (Reading)

Stoke City

A busy Deadline Day for The Potters saw them break their transfer record fee with the arrival of striker Peter Crouch from Tottenham Hotspur. He brings with him both Abby Clancy and of course a good goalscoring record in domestic, European and international football. Honduran Wilson Palacios will add bite in the midfield whilst the arrival of defenders Matthew Upson and Jonathan Woodgate, incidentally both on free transfers, are terrific buys. Both manager Tony Pulis and club alike really are going places.

Best Bit of Business: Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur)

A Sad Goodbye: Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham United)

Sunderland

Following the departures of Darren Bent in January and Jordan Henderson in the summer to Aston Villa and Liverpool respectively, a real overhaul of players has taken place at The Stadium of Light with manager Steve Bruce as busy as ever in the Transfer Window. The arrival of young striking sensation Connor Wickham from Ipswich Town will be a boost however the free signings of midfielders Sebastian Larsson, who Bruce had with him whilst manager at Birmingham City, and David Vaughan from Blackpool, which really standout.

Best Bit of Business: David Vaughan (Blackpool)

A Sad Goodbye: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)

Swansea City

The Swans have played it safe in the Transfer Market with Brendan Rodgers very much keep faith with the squad which won promotion from the Npower Championship last season via the play-offs. A lot of expectation will be placed on the shoulders of record signing striker Danny Graham from Watford to see if he has what it takes to fire in the goals at the top level. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm looks like an excellent replacement for his Dutch compatriot Dorus de Vries.

Best Bit of Business: Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht)

A Sad Goodbye: Dorus de Vries (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Tottenham Hotspur

There we were all waiting for another Harry Redknapp surprise in the Transfer Window but unfortunately it just didn’t happen. Much of the summer was overshadowed by the Luka Modrić transfer saga however Redknapp and chairman Daniel Levy’s defiance in keeping the Croatian paid off. Missing out on top target Gary Cahill is a blow but that’s placated by the arrivals of midfielder Scott Parker and striker Emmanuel Adebayor on a season long loan from West Ham United and Manchester City respectively.

Best Bit of Business: Scott Parker (West Ham United)

A Sad Goodbye: Peter Crouch (Stoke City)

West Bromwich Albion

Ever the shrewd man, Albion’s manager Roy Hodgson has bought well for The Baggies. The arrival of Republic of Ireland striker Shane Long represents a terrific deal and a strike partnership between Long and Peter Odemwingie, who put pen to paper by signing a new contract at The Hawthorns, looks to be an exciting one. Goalkeeper Ben Foster, who comes in on loan from Birmingham City with a view to a permanent deal, again gets a chance to prove himself at the highest level.

Best Bit of Business: Shane Long (Reading)

A Sad Goodbye: Borja Valero (Villarreal)

Wigan Athletic

Despite the loss of the real creative spark in the team, Charles N’Zogbia, manager Roberto Martinez has emerged from the Transfer Window still with his highly-rated midfielder James McCarthy and Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega. Converting goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi’s loan into a permanent deal was important whilst creative midfielder Shaun Maloney’s arrival at the DW Stadium for his second spell in the Barclays Premier League from Celtic will provide The Latics with further attacking options. However, they still do look lightweight in the defensive department.

Best Bit of Business: Shaun Maloney (Celtic)

A Sad Goodbye: Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa)

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Strength in depth is what manager Mick McCarthy wanted in his squad for this season and that is exactly what he’s got. The signing of central defender Roger Johnson from Birmingham City is an excellent move by the former Republic of Ireland manager. Johnson will bring both leadership and calmness to, what was last season, a very shaky defence. Jamie O’Hara will pull the creative strings in midfield whilst the early signs are good with regards to the form of striker Steven Fletcher.

Best Bit of Business: Roger Johnson (Birmingham City)

A Sad Goodbye: Marcus Hahnemann (Free Agent)

So are you an enraged Evertonian? A grateful Gooner? Or a smiling Stoke City fan? What are your thoughts on your club’s wheeling and dealing in the summer Transfer Window?

Twitter: @aleksklosok

The interrail trip began when I met five other Pembrokians at Victoria coach station late on Saturday evening, the weather hot and close. Each of us was laden with a seemingly endless number of bags, yet we were all feeling somewhat unprepared for the three and a half weeks of travel around Europe stretching ahead. Our planned loop around the continent is incredible; so it was an anticipation that was mixed with trepidation that I felt seeing the night coach which awaited us.

Blissfully ignorant of the realities of night travel, I´d been told nothing short of horror stories from sadistic friends in the days before our departure, and none of us were disappointed. After an hour of erratic air conditioning and what seemed like arbitrary turning on and off of the halogen lights on the coach by the driver, it was clear that sleep was going to have to wait until we reached the Paris hotel. However, no matter how tired and sweltering we were upon arrival at Paris Gallieni coach station on Sunday morning, there´s always an inescapable buzz about stepping into a new city, even more so in the French capital which has always held a particular magic for me. After the immense relief of being allowed to leave baggage at our accommodation before check-in, we set off into the sunrise (it still being horrendously early in the morning) to explore some of the city.

We picked up a pack of 30 metro tickets to share between us at the nearest station to our hotel, situated at the edge of the Latin Quarter, a fantastic price for two days of easy travel around the city. Not only does the Paris Metro feel cleaner, airier and more charming than the London Underground (think Art Deco Metropolitan Signs straight from Amélie), but it seems to make access to anywhere in the centre of the city effortless- a good move, then, for the slightly hapless student traveller! Our first stop for the day was to Montmartre, home to the Sacré Coeur Cathedral and a priceless view of the city from the hill, as well as, of course, an array of extortionately-priced eating places. We made the most of all of these, starting with a much needed crepe breakfast after the night journey, to gazing in awe at the spread of the capital underneath us- I´d recommend the view from Montmartre to anyone.

Our day continued with our check-in to the hotel (a compact and cosy place hidden in one of the tall streets, like many in Paris), and a shower, potentially the best part of the trip so far. Despite the luxury of warm weather, especially after the dismal summer that the UK has suffered this year, by midday the humidity was unbearable- especially after a night spent on a boiling night coach. After a quick lunch, though, we were refreshed, ready to take on the Montparnasse Tower, which we´d already booked (with the help of clubcard points: a really good way to save on the visit!). The tower is one of the tallest buildings in Paris, a wince-inducing height above you, but is advertised as the best view of the city, and definitely lives up to this accolade. 200m high, we were greeted with a phenomenal expanse of the capital, including the Eiffel Tower distantly below us. This is a real find for taking in the sights of Paris, and as yet fairly off the beaten track. We stayed to watch the sun set and the city lights turn on as night fell: such an amazing experience, if slightly surreal to see all of the landmarks from such a height.

Our evening consisted of eating steak and burgers in a grill restaurant- french steak-frites is incomparable! There´s also a special feel to Paris at night, especially in the Montparnasse district which is fairly far from the main tourist routes. Every café or restaurant had exterior seating, with large crowds even on a Sunday evening enjoying the summer weather with drinks and cigarettes. It´s such a relaxing experience to be part of this nightlife. Retiring to our hotel, we cracked into a final astounding find of the day: sparkling wine for 1.34€ a bottle. Needless to say, that was a terrible idea!

Monday was much cooler, allowing us to take in the Louvre museum leisurely, despite learning the fact that it would take a month to get through everything if you were to spend a minute on each work of art! Nevertheless, seeing some of the world-famous works of art at the museum is exciting, even if you start to lose the ability to take in what you´re seeing after half an hour or so! The Italian painting exhibit proving the most memorable, and La Joconde, as the Mona Lisa is called in France, is proudly on display, but it was surrounded by a mass of other tourists taking photos: almost like the paparazzi around a film premier, and, as many people have warned me, the picture was ever so slightly underwhelming.

Our final activity in Paris was a Seine River Cruise, also paid for by the clubcard of the generous parents of one of the friends travelling with me. The boat tour is unmissable, despite the irritating commentary on everything that the boat passes, and was such a relaxing way to take in some of the best buildings that Paris had to offer. The Cathedrale Notre-Dame was one of the highlights of the cruise, the motion of which becoming highly soporific towards the end!

It was sad, then, as we left the centre of Paris for la Gare d´Austerlitz: four of us arriving to board the night train to Madrid, the other half of our party heading on to Rome, to meet us again in Florence at the weekend. I was vaguely optimistic about the train, which promised a bed rather than the fixed seats of the night bus, and it transpired to be a comfortable cabin (not quite the budget travel option, though, which is frustrating to say the least!). Whether the rocking of the train was caused by the tracks or the time that we spent in the cabin bar is difficult to say, but the 15 hour journey sped past rapidly, and actually allowed a good night´s sleep. Waking up to a vista of Spanish countryside speeding by is quite an experience, and the night train felt like the beginning of the interrail experience proper.

Madrid is what I expected it to be: hot. It´s a compact and bright city, with a relaxed feel so different from Paris: it´s really not the tourist centre of Spain in the same way the french capital is to France, which is so liberating. Moreover, the hostel from which I´m writing, Las Musas Residence, is comfortable and friendly for a cut price: finding places like this really makes the whole European travel experience, and it´s clear why people choose to Interrail! The heat of the city makes lounging around midday essential and sightseeing impossible: the Retiro Park, complete with a lake and lots of shade, was the perfect place to snooze the afternoon away. The week ahead is looking good, too, with Toledo tomorrow and a brief sojourn in Barcelona on Thursday, before we move on to Italy on Friday: but until then, tapas and the nightlife of Madrid it is.

‘I’m going to Switzerland’, I say to my boss. ‘Where’s that?’ he replied, unknowingly. ‘In Europe someplace’, I reply, lapsing into Americanisms to hide my disgust at his ignorance. ‘There’s a lot of hills there, and cuckoo clocks, and a really really frizzed-out system of medieval demarchy in their local government.’ My boss looked at me. He always looks at me like that. ‘Very well’, he says. ‘Off you trot.’

Two days and several hundred miles of car journey later myself and my extended family arrive in Savoy. Not Switzerland. Although the first paragraph of this despatch is made up, it is quite true that I thought the holiday was in Switzerland until we actually stopped outside the holiday house in France, which is where Savoy is. An inauspicious start. I recovered myself and made for the bookcase. My mind was blown. Here was a collection of DVDs so phenomenal that I could not fail to be entertained. It was a collection designed with the twentysomething male in mind and body; every conceivable sort of gang, drug and zombie movie, with the occasional eighties nonsense and feeble fratboy comedy hurled in. By way of an added bonus, the bookcase also contained books, including the complete works of Orwell and H. G. Wells’ total, unexpurgated gigastory ‘The Time Machine’. I couldn’t have been happier. I wouldn’t have to engage in human contact for two whole weeks.

Contrariwise, my normal source of antisocial behaviour was all gone away. There was no internet. The only internet was on Phone, and Phone was only letting me have internet for a very not paltry £3 a megabyte. It was horrendous. I am addicted to the internet. The withdrawal symptoms meant I saw a baby crawling across the ceiling towards me- and because I didn’t have the internet I couldn’t even check what film that’s a reference to. I was trapped in deluge of ignorance and I had no idea what to do. What literally does one do without the internet? I can only assume read books and watch television, since, with the exception of talking to people and looking round ancient monuments and ruins and shiz, that is exactly what I spent my time doing.

Things to see. Savoy juts out like a muffin top underneath the great grey-green greasy Lake Geneva, and so it’s easy to look at Swiss towns and cities north of le lac, as they call it. Geneva. A modest town with much to be modest about, except for the colossal spurt of fountain right in the middle of it. This astonishing landmark pierces the skyline and sets the tone for the city, which is festooned with fountains in every other cranny. Rarely, the fountains will stop at the same time and make everything eerily quiet. But they soon come back on again and give us the impression we are walking in a sort of lakeside-shaped urinal.

On the subject of peace- and I assure you the potential pun of that only came home to me after I wrote it- Geneva is World Capital (Europe) of Peace Things. Footling around the town centre, one comes across a socking great fortress which is, one is told, the former headquarters of the League of Nations. More importantly it is the subsidiary base of today’s United Nations. I go in. Inside is a cavernous entrance hall constructed, with almost banterous absurdity, in 1939. Way to go guys. The hall of peace, I believe it is genuinely called, and what a piece of unpassable peace-piss it is. League of Nations. Epic fail. Never has the slang of the late noughties Facebook generation been more relevant to the Great Power diplomacy of the post-Anschluss eon.

I hope you’re keeping up at the back there with the historical references, because now we go into the main hall of the building. This is where modern-day conferences are held, and have been ever since the UN took over the building in 1946. The seats are very comfortable. They allow a stunning view of the assembly hall. At the front is a great stage, with the UN logo graffitied on top of it. I can just imagine Giscard, Brezhnev, Vance and Callaghan slogging it out beneath the dim strobe lighting. I refer to seventies figures because the whole thing really pongs of seventy-something. Concrete stairwells, hideous lino patina, a rather freakish crack in one of the ceilings- all these point to Cold War diplomacy and a hopeless sense of inadequate architecture. I come away depressed. If this is Europe’s offering to international diplomacy, then may the Lord have mercy on us all.

Since it’s part of France, Savoy retains an indefatigable legion of fat men in ill-fitting polo shirts flogging militaria in roadside markets. But since it’s part of France, it also sports a distressing splodge of buffery. ie., when I went white-water rafting, the load of people who did it were divided into two camps. It was the French (tanned, twenty, and with the colouring and features of a peak-fitness Schwarzenegger) versus the British (fat, fifty, and with the colouring and features of a jaundiced badger). In the concordant splashing and rowing that went on, the Northern races were thoroughly put to task.

I can’t believe I’m so close to the end, there’s simply heaps to tell you. The mountains, they had this sort of greenish rim to them and accrued cloud, so gave off a very jungly feel when viewed from a distance. One of the more intelligent things done by the builders of this area had been to have an admittedly thimble-like swimming pool tacked to the side of the house. It wasn’t heated, so I only went in it once, and then for about thirty seconds. Still, lying beside it on hotter days enabled hillgazing on a dramatic scale. Presumably this is how the Finns feel, all the time. Fir trees pilfering theskyline and beside you a nice, clean pool of glassy water. It was very nice. Unfortunately there was a good deal of time occupied by rain, whereupon we would scoop up our towels, batten down our hatches and stay in to watch the F1. Holiday!