It can be both. The Ryan Hendricks deal on the face of it is a good one. It was completely unknown, the reported fee is peanuts, and the player seems perfect for the club.
However, Hendricks missed an entire pre-season with us, and any player we sign bar Kodjia won't have played with the side in a non-competitive game. Since the main thing our side benefited from last season was a full preseason together, it leads us to believe that any business we do now is potentially too late. We still cannot fill a subs bench without promoting U21's. While that may not be a problem, the fact that so many fans do see it as a problem brings down morale, and the last thing we need after promotion is low morale around the club. If the fans are thinking that business has been poor, I'm willing to bet the players have been thinking it too. That is on the board.