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Back in July the plucky skysports.com team gazed blindly into their crystal balls in a vain attempt to try and predict the unpredictable.

Charged with the task of trying to decipher who Tottenham may or may not sign out of the thousands of names continuously linked with the North London outfit is not a job for the faint-hearted, while trying to avoid being rude when asked what Stoke could do with bringing in also proves to be challenging.

However, try we did, with all 20 top flight teams dissected and our reputations put on the line with bold assumptions of what to expect before the transfer window slammed shut on 1st September.

As you would expect from such musings some hit the mark while others, it is fair to say, did not.

But, with that said, who could have predicted that Manchester City would become the richest club in the world on deadline day and begin indulging in the kind of dealings usually reserved for fantasy football or Championship Manager?

I think it is also right to point out, to help spare the blushes of some of my colleagues, that at the time of creating our season shape-up features Messers Cristiano Ronaldo, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry were dominating the headlines - with virtually no-one expecting them to begin the new season in the same shirt as they ended the last.

So, with the excuses out of the way, how did England's elite fare in the transfer market this summer and how ashamed should the skysports.com scribes by feeling right now?

Arsenal:

Arsenal's exciting blend of youth and experience were widely tipped to be among the title challengers before the season got underway, with it accepted by James Dall that Arsene Wenger would look to replace the outgoing talents of Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva, while also looking for a no-nonsense centre-half.

However, Amaury Bischoff did arrive from Werder Bremen, but the exodus continued - with Philippe Senderos joining Flamini in Milan and Justin Hoyte being flogged to Middlesbrough.

Not quite what the Gunners faithful had been hoping for, while it remains to be seen whether offering Togolese front-man Emmanuel Adebayor the new mega-bucks deal he craved proves to be a wise idea. Suddenly the £30million Barcelona were reported to be willing to pay seems like a fair price for a man more concerned with filling his pockets than the back of the net.

Aston Villa:

Martin O'Neill was never going to be anything but shrewd in his dealings this summer, the Ulsterman knows no other way.

Alex Dunn boldly predicted the arrival of a right-sided full-back and a new keeper, with Steve Finnan and Brad Guzan among those touted as potential targets.

A 50 per cent strike-rate should not be sniffed at, with American keeper Guzan finally resolving his work permit issues - although Finnan joined Espanyol, about as far removed from Villa Park as you can get. Oh well.

Dunn did, however, say O'Neill would buy British - either by nationality or by club - and was proved correct. Carlos Cuellar, James Milner, Curtis Davies, Steve Sidwell, Brad Friedel, Luke Young and Nicky Shorey were all previous inhabitants of these Isles before they arrived in the Midlands. See, we do know what we are talking about - sometimes.

Blackburn:

The message from Sky Sports towers to new Rovers boss Paul Ince when he took charge at Ewood Park during the close season appeared to focus more on the retention of his inherited stars, rather than looking to bring more in.

Do whatever it takes to keep David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz we bellowed. Only for our calls to fall on deaf ears as Bentley was duly offloaded to Tottenham.

A new keeper and midfield creativity can hardly be considered groundbreaking foresights, so no credit can be taken following the arrivals of Paul Robinson and Keith Andrews.

Ben Collins had tipped Wolves star Seyi Olofinjana to fill the void in the middle of the park, but he joined Stoke so Ince's former charge at MK Dons, Andrews, is an adequate lower league alternative.

Bolton:

The Trotters had already conducted much of their business by the time Lewis Rutledge ran a careful eye over Gary Megson's men - with Fabrice Muamba and Johan Elmander having been ushered in at the Reebok Stadium.

Getting veteran Finnish shot-stopper Jussi Jaaskelainen to pen a new deal was always going to be a priority, and was successfully completed, while attacking talent was tipped to be the order of the day in the transfer market.

With El Hadji Diouf heading off to Sunderland finding a replacement appeared to be a formality, although the proposed arrivals of Deportivo star Riki and Ecuadorian ace Carlos Tenorio never materialised.

Chelsea:

Rutledge was once again at the wheel as he navigated his way through the ins and outs at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard's decision to pen a new long-term contract in West London, as opposed to linking up with former boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, came as a shock to everyone, while a deal for Brazilian playmaker Robinho appeared odds on.

The Real Madrid man ultimately ended up at Manchester City, with anyone who claims to have seen that one coming obviously living in a dream world.

Big-money moves for Liverpool's Fernando Torres or his countryman David Villa proved to be nothing more than paper talk, but Rutledge can at least comfort himself in the knowledge that he foresaw the departures of Andriy Shevchenko, Claudio Pizarro, Steve Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Everton:

The Toffees' late dalliances in the transfer market had an air of desperation about them, with David Moyes growing increasingly frustrated with his failure to lure fresh faces to Merseyside.

As such, James Pearson faced an arduous task in attempting to second-guess quite what was going on at Goodison Park.

He did expect creativity to be added in midfield, while a reliable back-up to Tim Howard between the sticks was also touted.

It seemed for all the world that Sporting's Joao Moutinho would be the schemer they so desperately sought, only for Belgium international Marouane Fellaini to arrive in a record-breaking deal.

On the keeper front, Wayne Hennessey remains at Wolves and Carlo Nash was the surprise signing. Meanwhile, Pearson failed to pick up on Moyes' search for a striker and the capture of Manchester United's injury-prone Frenchman Louis Saha.

Fulham:

Roy Hodgson was one of the busiest bosses over the summer, adding no less than 12 new recruits to his squad. Of those, Peter Fraser did successfully predict the arrival of Fredrik Stoor and Andrew Johnson - but that was it.

Reading's James Harper was linked with half of the top flight throughout the course of the close season, but ended up staying in the Championship with the Royals, while Croatian centre-half Josip Simunic was not among those brought in to plug a leaky defence.

Mark Schwarzer, David Stockdale and John Paintsil all were, while Julian Gray and Dickson Etuhu were preferred to Harper in midfield.

Hull City:

The Tigers were always going to need to strengthen following their arrival in the top flight after a 104-year wait.

Skysports.com editor Chris Harvey was among those expecting a squad overhaul at KC Stadium, with reinforcements required from back to front.

While Emile Mpenza and Stelios Giannakopoulos failed to show by the Humber, the likes of Bernard Mendy, a Harvey tip, George Boateng, Geovanni and Daniel Cousin all did.

Unfortunately, though, talented Manchester United youngster Fraizer Campbell, who shone as a loan star during the club's promotion campaign, will spend the 2008/09 season at Tottenham.

Liverpool:

Peter O'Rouke, skysports.com's resident Reds supporter, was desperate to see tricky wingers and solid defenders roll in at Anfield before the transfer window closed for business.

James Milner and Stewart Downing proved to be fanciful shouts, with Rafa Benitez instead securing the services of long-term target Albert Riera from Espanyol.

It remains to be seen whether Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena add adequate steel to Liverpool's back-line, while Robbie Keane is yet to replicate the form which persuaded Benitez to part with £20million.

O'Rourke cannot be blamed for embracing the expected arrival of Gareth Barry, although as a Reds fan he is probably secretly pleased that the England international's over inflated price-tag saw his team look elsewhere.

Manchester City:

At the time of writing his shape-up feature, Andy Clarke - another of our journalists covering their chosen troops - could never have imagined what was in store for the Blues.

Middle Eastern investors with more money than sense have rolled into town, ensuring that City are now in the same financial league, if not above and beyond, as the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid et al.

All of a sudden Clarke's moderate ambitions of bringing in David Bentley, Lucas Neill and Tal Ben Haim (who did sign), have been blown out of the water.

The British transfer record was smashed in order to bring Robinho to Eastlands, while there is promise of more funds to come once the window re-opens in January. The second coming of former fans' favourite Shaun Wright-Phillips will also have City supporters salivating at the thought of their attacking power this year.

Manchester United:

City had tried to hijack their arch-enemies move for Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov, only for Sir Alex Ferguson to prevail in his pursuit of the Bulgarian hit-man.

Other than that, the Red Devils were surprisingly quiet over the summer. Numerous players have been farmed out on loan, while Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre have been offloaded to Everton and Arsenal respectively.

The departure of the French duo saw Mark Buckingham earn honours for his mystic powers, while the Cristiano Ronaldo saga unsurprisingly dominated our reporter's thoughts.

The Portuguese ace flirted outrageously with Real Madrid all summer, only to then decide he would stay at Old Trafford, at least for another year, after all.

Middlesbrough:

Having honed his psychic abilities while running the rule over Villa, Alex Dunn was back in action as our attention turns to the North East.

Goalscorers and midfield craft were the order of the day for Gareth Southgate's men, while a replacement for outgoing keeper Mark Schwarzer seemed to be a good idea.

Didier Digard did arrive from Paris St Germain to add bite in the middle of the park, but Justin Hoyte is perhaps not the goalscorer Dunn intended.

Gareth Southgate has bravely, or foolishly, decided against adding to his keeping options, while Boro have released much of the deadwood which has been clogging up their squad of late.

Newcastle:

The Magpies are one of those sides that seemed to be linked with every available player on the planet, with this summer proving to be no different.

Of the countless names banded around at St James' Park, only Jonas Gutierrez, Danny Guthrie, Fabricio Coloccini and Ignacio Gonzalez have arrived.

Of those who did not, the more fanciful include Aaron Lennon, Mario Gomez, Eren Derdiyok and Yuri Zhirkov.

While Peter Fraser's guessing games proved to be more miss than hit, Coloccini fits the solid defender void he claimed needed to be filled, while Gutierrez looks capable of providing a spark on the flanks.

Portsmouth:

Harry Redknapp had already snapped up Peter Crouch by the time James Dall suggested the Pompey boss needed to concentrate on restructuring the left-hand side of his team.

Celestine Babayaro, who had been released from Newcastle, was thought to be an ideal choice at full-back, while Younes Kaboul and Richard Dunne were options in the middle of the back four.

Babayaro headed to America, and the LA Galaxy, while Kaboul was tempted away from Tottenham. Another good call by Mr Dall also saw him successfully predict the departure of Pedro Mendes, with the Portuguese midfielder joining Rangers.

Stoke:

Mark Holmes was less than optimistic ahead of Stoke's return to top flight action, claiming that all areas of Tony Pulis' side needed major work if the Potters were to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

Narrowing the required list down, slightly, a new keeper, a couple of full-backs, a centre-half and a proven striker topped the must-have list. Is that all?

However, it did not take a football anorak to realise that Pulis had a tough job on his hands this summer.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the Potters boss fulfilled the criteria laid down by Holmes, with Thomas Sorensen, Ibrahima Sonko, Danny Higginbotham, Abdoulaye Faye and Dave Kitson ticking all the right boxes.

Sunderland:

Roy Keane spent most of the summer picking fringe players off Tottenham, part of an overhaul at the Stadium of Light which saw ten new faces arrive on Wearside.

Our reporter, Rob Parrish, felt goals were essential, while stability at the back would complement those banging them it at the other end.

Darren Bent, Carlton Cole and James Beattie proved to be ambitious targets, with Djibril Cisse and David Healy chosen to bolster the Black Cats' attacking unit.

While the names may not be spot on Parrish certainly identified the key areas Keane would look to fill.

With the goals expected to come from those previously mentioned, the Irishman has strengthened at the back by bringing in Anton Ferdinand, Pascal Chimbonda and George McCartney.

Tottenham:

The annual summer circus arrived once again at White Hart Lane this year, with comings and goings in plentiful supply.

Trying to make sense of it all was yours truly and I feel I did quite well, all things considered.

No-one is ever going to be able to predict the actions of a club renowned for their unpredictability, but the departures of strike duo Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane were successfully foreseen.

Younes Kaboul and Pascal Chimbonda were among the other names tipped to leave, while Russian strike ace Roman Pavlyuchenko was one of a host of players expected to arrive.

West Brom:

The third and final of the Premier League new-boys, the Baggies appeared better stocked than those they climbed out of the Championship with.

The loss of Kevin Phillips was always going to leave them short up front, with Simon Wilkes rather hopefully suggesting that Louis Saha could fill the void.

Full-backs were also identified as an area to improve, while the likes of Abdoulaye Meite, Madjid Bougherra and Armand Traore were given as possible new arrivals.

Meite was signed by Tony Mowbray, but most of the new faces at the Hawthorns this summer have come from overseas.

West Ham:

With Bobby Zamora shipped off to Fulham, and question marks hanging over Craig Bellamy and Dean Ashton's ability to stay healthy, Tony Curtis expected Alan Curbishley to track strikers this summer.

Barcelona's former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsson is a name continuously linked with a return to England, while Reading's Kevin Doyle was also mentioned.

Neither proved to be actual targets for the Hammers, with Swiss defender Valon Behrami emerging as Curbishley's most notable acquisition.

While Curtis' radar may have been slightly askew in regards to attacking talent he did predict Anton Ferdinand's departure, while also expecting the Upton Park faithful to get on their manager's back when the going got tough - something which proved to be the case less than month into the new campaign as the Hammers chief handed in his resignation.

Wigan:

The honour of scouring through Steve Bruce's transfer plans fell to myself, with an out-and-out goalscorer seemingly the Latics' No. 1 priority.

Andrew Johnson and Ricardo Cabanas were names I threw into the hat which failed to materialise, but Egyptian front-man Amr Zaki was mentioned and has proven to be an instant hit at JJB Stadium.

Departures were also inevitable as Bruce looked to piece together a squad of his own, with Henri Camara, Carlo Nash and David Cotterill all tipped to be shown the door.

Two out of three is not bad, especially as Camara's future looks far from rosy in the North West.

Click here for a full selection of skysports.com's season shape-Up features.