I thought Gray was more serious actually. A whole pre-season to look around, saw some good men apparently (Moyes,Harryetc etc) and then dealt them away for a boot boy who couldn't handle the job so we let him 'choose' another complete no hoper to help him out. Total cost?? somewhere in the region of 2.2 million (far more than Moyes "own men" would have cost). Plus we f**ked up on Delgado and his mate,some would say on Delap as well under that regime.
Even if Gray didn't sign Delgado and Chala in the right hands thy may have been worth something and not 5 + million just tipped down an Ecudorian
drain.
To me "the right man for the job" cost Saints nigh on 10 million quid give or take a tenner, it was just chronic incompetence that led to all the problems that followed.
After Gray we got who? Hoddle, was he available in the summer of Gray?