Think you and I had a conversation about the calibre of the players Ranieri had bought, and that was a long-standing concern. Think only Gray can be considered a genuinely good get, and he was a fish in a barrel given he was doing so well the league below.
At the start of the season. I believed what we got in were improvements (well, Kante's replacement aside, though I believed Drinkwater was actually the replacement, allowing us a ball playing mid). I think I did voice some doubts on the defense and would've liked to see some young hungry prospects in there. I think if I recall, I felt that we could've done a little more, but what we had seemed to be a good start (Slimani being a very viable option, allowing us to mix it up and keep it fresh.)
I think lack of any real innovation in tactics has really hurt us in that development. Then again, the transfers itself... how is it possible to go through January without a proper permanent transfer for a CB? Just... how?!
I still think even now, the players we got in are good. Slimani, Ndidi, Amartey (last season, but showing class this season), and Grey have been top notch. I would've given Hernandez more of a shot, and Musa, I think a bit more time. He has to be the Vardy replacement. There is some talent there, and he's got leadership, but he's still too inconsistant, and is kinda reminding me of Jeff Schlupp in a way.
Sometimes you can't have one without the other, but lack of defense drafting, even in January of all times, yeah, that was shocking.