There is only one way to measure a club’s success in the winter transfer window. It has nothing to do with fees paid, wages off the books or net spending. It has nothing to with money at all, actually.

No, the only proper measure is the answer to the following question: ‘Is the squad better on February 1 than it was on New Year’s Eve?’ Aston Villa, to their credit, can answer with a resounding ‘yes.’

One month ago, the West Midlands club had need of a full-back, depth in midfield and a consistent, goal-scoring striker. In other words, they required an upgrade in each third of the park. Enter Kyle Walker, Jean Makoun, Michael Bradley and Darren Bent. Add November signing Robert Pires to mix, and Villa managed to address, to one degree or another, each of their pressing issues by the time the transfer window closed on Monday night.

Credit Gerard Houllier for that. Although his popularity at Villa Park has been something of a roller-coaster since he succeeded the well-liked Martin O’Neill in September, he has demonstrated the ability, and willingness, to think outside the box when designing his transfer strategy.

O’Neill’s was a far more linear, straightforward approach. If a player was available, O’Neill bought him; if a player needed to be sold, O’Neill sold him. It wasn’t an incorrect plan of action, although it prevented young players from coming through and wouldn’t have been particularly helpful in the long term.

But those days are gone. The signing of Bent is proof enough of that.

The former Sunderland striker had not been transfer-listed before he signed with Villa. Granted, he may have been unhappy at the Stadium of Light, but he wouldn’t have requested a move had he not known of Houllier’s interest and recognized the chance to both increase his wage packet and be the unquestioned, number-one striker at Villa Park.

Houllier went after a particular player to address a particular need, and he got his man. He did the same with Makoun, who he knew well from his time in French football.

Then he got resourceful. Kyle Walker was brought in on loan to provide an improvement at the right back position; Michael Bradley was hired to add even more strength and depth to the midfield, which had already been bolstered by Makoun’s muscle and Pires’ technical ability.

On the other side of the transfer ledger, Curtis Davies and Steve Sidwell were moved along to Birmingham City and Fulham, respectively, while each of John Carew, Stephen Ireland, Jonathan Hogg, Isaiah Osbourne, Andreas Weimann and Brad Guzan found new clubs on loan. As each will still have some part to play for Villa down the road, either in the team or as a transfer asset, the decision to loan them out was an inspired one.

On the whole, Houllier’s January performance should be commended. He achieved most of his objectives, and he did whatever it took to make the moves he wanted. Big-money buys, small-money buys, loan agreements and free agent signings – Houllier did it all, and there’s no understating that.

It may have been a rough few months for the Frenchman at Aston Villa, but the next few look remarkably smoother.

Jerrad Peters is the author of We Call it Soccer: Understanding the World’s Most Popular Sport. Follow him on Twitter @peterssoccer

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