I dont know, it's irrelevant, every player costs whether its a signing on fee or transfer and then wages. It's the type of player they signed compared to the dross we brought in that is the point.
I'd argue it was the players that Maclaren was allowed to bring in on loan that gave him the ability to get them promoted. No manager would have done better than Garcia with the utter dross (bar Stephens) that arrived at our club to replace our departures.
Unfortunately the op has a point. Our squad is weaker today than at the end of last season and our signings have been awful. If TB wants Prem footy then one way or another we are going to have to bring in some real strength and that is going to cost more money.