It's worth noting that three of those Ins were January signings, one of which was a replacement for an outgoing loanee and the other two a belated attempt to deal with a lack of squad depth. It means that in the summer we spent very little (net - indeed, I think we're only about 4th or 5th in this regard over the past 5 yrs; everyone's way behind the two Manchester clubs on this score).
It's unfortunate we've found ourselves in this situation again because it was always a distinct possibility that we might struggle in this manner. Last year we did very well but even then it was apparent that we lacked depth and would struggle to compete on four fronts (we didn't have any European distractions then, remember). The season before Conte's appointment should have have provided a cautionary tale of the dangers of resting on your laurels as champions but the board failed to take heed and we seem to have resumed this rather familiar boom-bust cycle.
So I blame the board in large part but the reality is probably a bit more complex. I like Conte but I'm inclined to question his tactical flexibility and game management - is he too reticent, too cautious, too often? He rarely seems prepared to make the sort of changes that might alter the course of a game. The players have to shoulder some of the burden too. Many of this group have been found wanting before. There are talented players there but I think there's perhaps been a bit of a leadership void since some of the old stalwarts (Cech, Terry, Lampard, Drogba) departed and I'm not sure that all of these guys are up for the fight when the chips are down. There are also too many glaring deficiencies within the first XI - Morata looks a downgrade compared to Costa, Moses isn't really a good enough RWB, Kante needs a better midfield partner, attacking options are too limited. And Bakayoko's been a disaster, frankly.
I think the club really need to assess where they want to go. Increasingly, big PL teams are willing to invest £££ to make improvements to their first XI. I think the club might have seen a crazy market and, conscious of the fact that there's a new stadium to finance, are behaving conservatively; dipping in when they they see a reasonable deal and signing players with high resale value. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with such an approach but there's got to be some recognition of the risks involved because if you're not constantly improving your side you will get overhauled and if you can't demonstrate your ambitions you might find that your best players no longer want to be there. As such, it's actually a bit of a high stakes gamble. Throughout this season, Conte's cut an increasingly frustrated figure. It could be just good PR on his part but he gives the impression of a man unhappy with his lot who hasn't been able to secue the targets he's wanted (you look at some of the players we've been linked with and who's actually walked through the door and can draw your own conclusions). The club need to have a good think about some of this stuff because if Conte goes and it's otherwise business as usual then his replacement won't, in all likelihood, last very long.