As hectic as this transfer window has been, it felt like a typically Watford affair. Of course, I’m talking about modern, contemporary Watford. Pozzo’s Watford. Not the Watford of old, whose transfer dealings were as predictable as they were bleak.

This was an exciting window, full of surprises and exotic names. The summer months were breathless, and the calibre of footballer we’ve managed to attract is a testament to our ambition. Seasoned internationals and Champions League veterans now fill our matchday squads.

But of course, there is a downside.

We must wave goodbye to some of those who got us to these heady Premier League heights. Players we got to know so well, players who have become a part of Watford FC folklore.

The journey we’ve been on since Gino Pozzo took over our ailing club could fill a hundred highlights reels.

Who could forget that first league game under the new regime, with two of our new stalwarts on the scoresheet in a dramatic 3-2 win at Selhurst Park? Abdi, 88. Vydra, 90. Names that were new to us then now have a natural resonance, and will never be forgotten.

Then there was our strapping young Italian centre back’s home debut. Gabriele Angella celebrated not one, but two goals against Bournemouth in 2013, with the gusto of Tommy Mooney or Heidar Helguson.

And then there’s Fernando Forestieri. Our finest diminutive Argentine-Italian. When he’s on form football is art. Fond memories of mazy runs, chipped finishes, and his childlike demeanour on the pitch will live with the Hornets faithful for years to come.

I could go on, but the list of players with a special place in our recent history lost in this transfer window is too long.

We’re no longer surprised to see an annual squad overhaul though, and despite all our sentimentality, I think we’re over some of the biggest casualties of the summer already.

I don’t mean this in a cut-all-ties, good riddance kind of a way, but I think we’re realistic enough as a group to understand that for some of Watford’s recent heroes, their time to move on is now.

There’s no question we’ll track the fortunes of Fernando Forestieri and Daniel Pudil up in Sheffield, and we’ll begrudgingly celebrate Gabriele Angella or Daniel Tozser scoring for QPR sometime soon, just as we weren’t really all that bothered if QPR did well in the past, just as long as Helguson’s form was the reason behind it.

This is our new way, with reflections of old. We’ve always loved seeing an ex-Hornet do well. Now there are just a lot more ex-Hornets in circulation.

One decision made during this window that might keep us talking for some time yet though is Matej Vydra’s move to Reading.

Time will tell, but one of the most clinical finishers to ever wear the yellow of Watford will surely be missed.

His age means he has time to improve his overall game, and though the figure we get for him should he leave permanently could be as high as £12.5m, I fear that a player of his natural ability might be priceless in years to come.

For now though, let’s celebrate the new. Embrace the change and appreciate those who remain all that much more. Sing Almen Abdi’s name loud, because who knows when his time here will be up. The same goes for Ikechi Anya, Heurelho Gomes, Craig Cathcart, even Troy Deeney, too.

The annual squad surgery is finished and the next few months will be yet another getting to know you exercise for squad and fans alike.

But who’d have it any other way, given what we’ve achieved using this method?

I can’t wait to look back on Victor Ibarbo’s finest moments, Obbi Oularé’s first goal or Adlene Guedioura’s second renaissance.

It’s an exciting time to be a Hornet. Let’s not let sentimentality get us down.