ANOTHER transfer window has officially ‘slammed’ shut.

Now Premier League managers, the same ones chasing that star striker right up to Tuesday’s deadline, can stop complaining about the window running into the season and concentrate on mustering an XI out of the misfits they’ve assembled – or been left with.

While transfer spending continues to peak, £870m this summer, do we still have the same thirst for deadline day drama or is the excitement manufactured?

Media outlets have tried their best to capitalise on fans’ desire to see a superstar arriving at their club’s training ground, or Harry Redknapp hanging out of the window of his 4x4.

Since the genuinely exciting, shocking and somewhat dumbfounding final few hours of the 2008 window, transfer deadline day has continuously failed to live up to expectation.

Instead of Robinho and Dimitar Berbatov rocking up in Manchester, we’ve been left with fans waving sex-toys in reporters’ faces and Peter Odemwingie touring the M6.

Warrington Guardian: Harry Redknapp leaves his Sandbanks home in Poole, minus his seatbelt

That 2008 window was the catalyst for hours of over-the-top coverage, in-depth analysis on Everton’s new loan signing and hundreds of ITK accounts on Twitter.

In reality it means an overexcited Jim White, Roberto Martinez 'snapping up' Wigan's reserve keeper and bored teenagers causing chaos on social media.

Nothing has matched City’s Abu Dhabi United Group owners – who arrived around four hours from the deadline – testing the water in an attempt to outbid United for Berbatov, before landing Robinho from Real Madrid with minutes to spare.

Yellow-tied Sky Sports correspondents rejoiced, but final-day transfers of that magnitude and surprise have since been rare.

So why does the window not shut before the season starts?

Well, the window closes alongside that of the other European leagues, although August 31 falling on a Bank Holiday this year meant English clubs got a day extra to do their business due to Premier League regualtions.

Until 2002-03, players could be traded throughout the season in the Premier League up to March 31, with no transfers allowed after that date for fear of undermining the integrity of the competition.

The current windows are a result of a European Commission agreement, allowing movement at prescribed times of the year while preserving contractual stability for clubs and players.

Europe’s football authorities believe to operate like other industries, players serving notice periods, contracts not enforced etc, would “fatally undermine the footballing economy and remove the incentive to invest in developing players”.

Sports lawyer Daniel Geey writes “late transfers in a season could substantively change the sporting strength of one team over another, which could distort the proper functioning of a full league season.”

Global players' union FIFPro want to challenge the current transfew window procedure, but for now deadline day will remain, clubs will spend and managers moan, but the excitement is beginning to wane.

But, who is cumulatively the most expensive player of all time?

Last week's answer was Allen Johnson (four),Greg Foster (three) and Colin Jackson (two).