The opening January target salvo from the press.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
I think there may be better on offer when the 7 clubs who are in the dock for the financial fair play have to off load.
Stokes knows where the back of the net is but then again we thought ALF and Kenwynne did too........... He still needs someone to create the opportunities for him, Messi. Ronaldo or Bale he is not.
According to the Eggo, City have distnaced themselves from a move for Stokes as he is not on Slade's shopping list - not for Christmas anyway. January sales maybe?
Before buying new strikers those we have already should be given a chance. Guerra for example looked good when he came on earlier in the season, Mason is due to be recalled and Rhys Healey is doing well at Colchester. Is Stokes better than players we have already? The fact he has scored a few goals in a relatively weak league is far from proof that he will score at Championship level. I'm glad the club are distancing themselves from this move although that probably means nothing. Why do we need another striker? The problem is in midfield and not up front. Indeed we have plenty of midfielders which should be good enough at this level. Burgstaller and Adeyemi have not had much of a chance as has Daehli. And Morrison has not been used much either. The problem is that the manager is unwilling to give these players a chance yet seems to want more that are unlikely to be better than those we already have. I agree that the existing squad is too large and needs trimming. But getting rid of players is not always the answer. The decision to ditch Hudson was disasterous as he and Turner/ Connoly are excellent at this level. Additionally it seems daft to ditch players that are virtually untried. On balance I would rather stick with the current squad than spend millions more on players that will considerably add to the already unsustainable debt. Those that have been given a chance and failed should be offloaded at the end of the season.
Whoops, Slade sees them all in training and has to make judgements based on that as well as what he sees in games. We obviously have people that must be offloaded - Berget, Eikrem and Velikonja to name the 3 obvious ones who have added nothing. It is also obvious that we simply do not have what we need in midfield. Maybe a fit Dikjacoi would have been part of the solution. He now says he will be fit by February (he didn't say February of which year though) but we do not have people with enough energy and skill to pick up the pace in the middle of the park. Adeyemi might come through - he was highly rated at Birmingham - but he is no Jordan Mutch. I have seen Burgstaller 3 times at differing levels of game and he has not impressed me at all so he can be added to the other 3 to go. We must get 2 or 3 people in who can do a shift with energy, bite and not a little skill. Would we not feel better if we had people like the Middlesboro midfielders or even the Rotherham ones who, quite frankly, ran us off the park. We are so lackluster in that department that we need injections of fresh blood there if nowhere else. We have to shift a number out to free up funds for those we need to come in. To rely on the present squad, none of whom are Slade's men, would be a disaster. I agree that a firesale is not the answer and that the disposal of Hudson was a major error. However, there are players in the squad who are simply not good enough and have to go.
What worries me is what we will be left with in the summer after this January window. The division is poor this season. But sticking to this 442 isnt going to get us out of it.
Blue. While you have made some good points I am not yet convinced by the manager's ability to get the best out of the players at his disposal. In terms of points gained - and to be fair - Slade has done well but in terms of performance he hasn't. I am not convinced new players are the answer. Player for player the current squad is at least as good as the squad that got us promoted yet each week we are overrun by arguably weaker teams. You mention the Rotherham game and I agree they were better than us but I believe our players are of a higher standard. So, will new players improve the situation? I don't think so. On Saturday Slade looked pretty clueless standing on the sidelines with his arms folded just like Dave Jones. He didn't appear to be issuing instructions; he was merely standing there even when it seemed obvious to everyone that Kim on the right and Noone on the left wasn't working. Equally his army of backroom staff offered nothing. I understand your point that the players are not Slade's but isn't this an excuse when sides are not playing well? Surely a half decent manager ought to be able to motivate the players to perform to their maximum potential and I see no evidence that this is happening. The players you specifically mention (Berget, Eikrem and Velikonja) do need to go but I see no reason for replacements to be recruited especially as Slade has already said the squad is too large. The team, if organised and appropriately motivated, ought to be good enough without the need for our technically insolvent club to spend more borrowed money.
Looks like Derby are after Maynard. How about swapping him for Bryson? Not sure how the figures would stack up but I'd take him in a heartbeat. Bryson is a bit pissed off about lack of a regular first 11 spot and would be a brilliant fit for us in midfield.
That would work Sparks. It'll take that kind of approach to improve the squad in Jan without just adding more players to the already ridiculous list we have. Derby probably wouldn't want to lose Bryson but the lure of Maynard could make the deal work. The money that has been spent and the imbalanced squad we have should be an embarrassment to both our former managers. Ole wasted less money than MM but his the business he did was just as damaging to the squad. Slade might be a hero, or he might hammer the final nail into the coffin this window.
Whoops - having such a large squad inevitably means players are not going to get games and they are then easily demotivated, hence the need to move some on. However, we really do need fresh blood if only to fill the glaring gaps in the middle of the park. Yes, we have a lot of midfield players but how many of them have the energy and determination seen from the Boro and Rotherham midfielders? We seem content to sit back and let other sides come at us (even Birmingham and Blackpool for example) as it appears none of our midfielders (with the exception of Gunnar and Pilkington) have the drive or desire to get stuck into the opposition. As a result we develop major gaps in midfield which are easily exploited. I believe if we get in players who want to get at the opposition, as a team, we will play higher up the park, be more effective in pushing teams back and then give our strikers more opportunities than the chicken feed the get now. If we can become a team which presses the opposition that in itself will help get the crowd on their side. It's not rocket science but you have to have the players with the fitness levels and determination to do it. We simply don't have those at present and if Whitts becomes a casualty in such changes then so be it - or find him another place in the team where his skills can be put to better use.
