Carlisle United's transfer window analysed: the first steps of Paul Simpson's project

Last January was a gift for those who put all their hopes and dreams on the sugar rush of deadline-day, the opposite for people who find it all a bit depressing.

After many hours of increasingly sour waiting, the Blues made five signings, four of them announced in the final minutes of the window.

An influx was necessary, given the dire predicament they were in. Methodical it was not. Keith Millen, having been unable to land priority targets earlier in the window, submitted himself to a last-minute dash.

Carlisle, and their much-criticised director of football David Holdsworth, got players over the line in the end. And the hasty work didn’t all turn out badly (see Kristian Dennis).

But still. It did not come with the aura of a club in calm command of its destiny or faculties. And it was not until Paul Simpson arrived, a couple of weeks later, that United with their exhaustingly restocked squad found the means to drag themselves out of the fire.

Paul Simpson, right, has used the summer window as the first of several steps in his rebuild of the Blues

That was also a panic measure, although one made with better and more focused directorial minds. Since then, Simmo - first saving the Blues, then logically backed with a three-year deal - has put his imprint on the very feel of Carlisle United.

It is different, needless to say, to how it was before. The 56-year-old has brought a blend of narrow-eyed focus and experienced composure to the job.

That resonated on arguably the most happily uneventful deadline day Brunton Park has seen for ages. Simpson gave us due notice there would be nothing doing, and so yesterday it turned out.

There wasn’t even a rumour for fans to nibble on. The ITKs had the night off when it came to the Blues (a blessed relief). “Serious enquiries” for some of Carlisle’s players were, in a substantial respect, red herrings.

If clubs were only flirting with the idea of bidding this late in the window, it was clearly a case of much talk but little action – the hard currency of the transfer game, in large part.

Simpson never projected anything other than a measured tone throughout, even at stages where Carlisle hit obstacles in their recruitment. They got there in the end, numbers-wise, and most positions now have adequate cover. A fair run with injuries would now generate careful optimism on where Simpson’s formative squad could go.

Owen Moxon was an early summer signing (photo: Amy Nixon)

More misfortune on that front, though, and United are probably too early into their rebuild to imagine their progress won't be significantly impeded.

As ever by this stage of the summer, the decisions of May seem ancient. The only mini-controversy, over the release of Mark Howard, has largely abated through the addition of Tomas Holy.

Others let go have moved on either to another League Two gig, or levels below. Of the players who turned Carlisle down, Joe Riley attracted the most debate, though that is no further on given he is yet to kick a first-team ball for Walsall this season.

The best way to describe what Simpson has brought through the door since then is in the terms he has set out: the first window of several in which Carlisle will gradually construct, rather than try to solve all their problems in one flurry.

The signing of Owen Moxon, for instance, was not a quick fix but a calculated gamble which would need time to come off. Early signs are promising, but Moxon’s Football League journey is only just on its first steps.

Holy looks a capable and, of course, sizeable addition between the posts. Of the other permanent arrivals, Ryan Edmondson has clear line-leading potential that now deserves an injury-free run. Jayden Harris will need time to acclimatise to the EFL, while Michael Kelly, another keeper, is back-up. Jamie Devitt, whose character as much as his ability made his return appealing, may be slow-burning his way back to prominence.

Jamie Devitt earner a new deal this summer

Paul Huntington, of any signing, has the feel of a Mr Right Now that a developing young squad sorely needs. With his vast experience and stature, it is easy to understand why the Cumbrian would have been a priority target for Simpson, albeit one that took time to convert.

That Carlisle exit the window with a centre-back of his attributes is reason for satisfaction and reassurance. Otherwise, Simpson has dabbled heavily in the loan market, where Fin Back looks an exceptional find.

Ben Barclay also appeared a solid defensive addition until injury got in the way. Sonny Hilton has only been able to flicker in cameos so far; hopefully more is on the way. Jack Stretton and Duncan Idehen are, at this point, bench options who will need, somewhere along this road, to seize their chance.

Only seven first-team games have given us, and Simpson, the chance to form early judgement. United have lost both their cup games but just one of five in the league.

That represents a steady start, without the sort of ominous crumbling we started to see in late August last season, when the Blues lost at Hartlepool and gradually exposed the disconnect between Chris Beech’s summer captures and how he wanted Carlisle to play.

On that front Simpson – in tandem with head of recruitment Greg Abbott – appears to have tailored signings better to a preferred system. It is now on all concerned to show they can be flexible enough to deal with all the hard League Two yards between now and January.

On paper, they do look an intriguing set. A defence which includes Huntington, Morgan Feeney and the in-form Jon Mellish, with Back and Jack Armer either side, has more gristle than several past rearguards.

Hopefully loanee Jack Stretton will step up as a goalscoring option

Attack will depend on Edmondson having a sustained run alongside the canny Kristian Dennis, and Omari Patrick easing his way back to full tilt. Carlisle need more goals from other departments, and here is where it will be on players such as Jordan Gibson and Moxon to ease the burden from behind those frontrunners, whilst such as Callum Guy do the yeoman work.

Expecting all the pieces to clip together without any friction or failures at all is unrealistic. There are, naturally, leaps of faith here and there: inevitable on Carlisle’s budget and summer starting point.

This, above all, was a work-in-progress window, one where progress and Simpson’s vision could certainly be glimpsed, even if the sunlit uplands are a while off yet.

That’s where the optimism is rooted: the manager, his handle on things and the trust he fosters. The settled nature of an instantly forgettable deadline day tells you how widespread that feeling still is.