It's also a fact that the same (with the addition of Huth) players took us to 14th after 38 games. It's also a fact that being in the bottom three for most of the season has no bearing on which league you play in next season if you're not their after 38 games. And IMO, Sunderland didn't implode. They survived with a very respectable draw away at Arsenal and only lost to Palace and Chelsea (after they were already safe) in the last two months.
Anyway, getting back to my original point, I'm not really talking about continued strengthening, which is obviously a good thing, I'm talking about a complete and unnecessary upheaval of playing style, approach, attitude and development. As it stands, it's looking likely that Walsh and Shakey will be staying, which really is great news, but should they go, I expect things will change drastically. But one thing is for sure, I can't see Ranieri building a blueprint for the future, not, at least, one he expects to execute himself.
Perhaps it's in fact the owners, who have seen how Pearson operated, that are now the pulling the strings and Ranieri is merely a "yes man". Obviously Okazaki is 100% their signing, as was Yuki Abe, so they are obviously once again getting "involved" (pretty sure Pearson had a hands-off type of agreement). This could be better for the club in some ways, but they are still the same owners that allowed Sven to run riot with his list of has-been and never-will-bes. I'm convinced the restraint we had under Pearson was 100% him, and that is now gone. Ranieri hasn't ran straight out to get his first signing, but I'm sure it's not far off. It will be interesting to see how many players come in before August 31st - and in which positions.