Two Weeks Away From The Transfer Window..

[sirpiechucker]

WBA didn't sign anyone last January whilst Newcastle signed half a dozen so it's a judgement call for Warnock to make as to whether to rock the boat or not. WBA didn't suffer by not signing anyone and arguably the likes of Best and Hall did very little for Newcastle whereas Simpson, Routledge and Williamson did well for them.

My concern is the likes of Tofas and Van Moen have no experience at this level and may succeed in the same way as Buzsaky did when he joined Plymouth but could also flop like De Carmine, Tomassi etc.

[G.T.P]

the boat needs more than rocking. it needs urgent repair to the hull or it will sink.
we cant go up with no-one ever scoring a goal.

[sirpiechucker]

the boat needs more than rocking. it needs urgent repair to the hull or it will sink.
we cant go up with no-one ever scoring a goal.

Since Nov 1st we've scored 10 in 7 matches whereas Cardiff have scored 7, Swansea have scored 8 but have played one match more. I agree we need goals but comparitively we are doing well.

[G.T.P]

we are doing excellent for us, but its far from automatic performances or form anymore.

[sirpiechucker]

we are doing excellent for us, but its far from automatic performances or form anymore.

I think the problem is that we analyse ourselves too much and forget to look at the teams around us. We've got just 15 points from the last 33 but Swansea have got just 18, Cardiff (17), Derby (15), Coventry (16), Norwich (16) so none of our rivals from a few weeks ago have been in any form either. The difference is that teams like Leeds (21), Leicester(19), Bristol City (20), Pompey (20) have caught up and therefore more teams are in the frame then were before.

[qblockpete]

At the moment Warnock has only one Real target

[DelTrotter]

He's going to sign Claude Davis on a five year contract and make him captain.

[Squirrel]

Although i agree with most posts on this thread i also believe people need to be a bit more sensible in their thoughts. For instance, it wasn't only two or more games ago we were saying, how our midfield was probably the best in the championship, personally, i still agree with that. There are not many players better than Derry, Rowlands, Faurlin, Smith, Taarabt, Buzsaky.etc so i have no real complaints there, i would put it more down to a lack of form!


However the main area has to be up top, i like Hulse, Mackie, Helguson and Agyemang but obviously, none of them are really a 20 goal a season player. I think we should possibly consider a different formation as well as stating that this area clearly needs to be strengthened. First few games of the season Mackie was getting poacher-like goals. Get him in those areas again and let's become clearly, the best team in the league again

[stainrodisalegend]

Sir Pie don't want you to think I'm disagreeing with you for the sake of it as often agree with your posts but two quick points. Arguably WBA didn't need to strengthen much because there were already a "yo-yo" club between the Premiership and the Championship whereas we are, even by our manager's admittance, a surprise package at the top of the table that was thought by many to be more of a top-six side. The danger is that we are now starting to look more like the team that most independent observers thought we were. If so the case for strengthening is virtualy unanswerable (assuming the board is ambitious).

Second point I'd take issue with is that you mention our goal scoring as not being too bad compared to our main rivals, but that's simply because we, Cardiff and Swansea are all struggling. Rather like some grand aristocratic family living on the riches earned by previous generations we are getting by on the back of all the points we accumulated early on. If we carry on at our current form it won't be long before we are overtaken by several clubs.

[della79]

who is the real target pete ?

[stan_bowles]

We need a goalscorer like Le Fondre or Austin.Hulse will not score goals.

[stainrodisalegend]

who is the real target pete ?

Parejo - shows the manager's in total charge.

[sirpiechucker]

Sir Pie don't want you to think I'm disagreeing with you for the sake of it as often agree with your posts but two quick points. Arguably WBA didn't need to strengthen much because there were already a "yo-yo" club between the Premiership and the Championship whereas we are, even by our manager's admittance, a surprise package at the top of the table that was thought by many to be more of a top-six side. The danger is that we are now starting to look more like the team that most independent observers thought we were. If so the case for strengthening is virtualy unanswerable (assuming the board is ambitious).

Second point I'd take issue with is that you mention our goal scoring as not being too bad compared to our main rivals, but that's simply because we, Cardiff and Swansea are all struggling. Rather like some grand aristocratic family living on the riches earned by previous generations we are getting by on the back of all the points we accumulated early on. If we carry on at our current form it won't be long before we are overtaken by several clubs.

You know me SIAL no problem with anyone disagreeing with me as long as I have a right of reply.

I understand your point about WBA but why did Newcastle bring so many players in? They were a Premiership team for over a decade and had players like Stephen Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Colocinni and Enrique in their defence pre the transfer window and at the end of that window had Simpson, Van Aanholt, Williamson and Hall. Routledge had come in for Lovenkrands and Best came in for Smith. All players who had Premiership experience changed for players who had little or none at all.

I think you are right that both started with a squad better than ours but NW has to choose whether or not to stick or twist. NU and WBA treated the window differently but both were successful and they (although Forest pushed Brom close for a time) were always on for promotion. We're different and this league is different and already a number of teams could challenge for top spot. We've played 21 different opposition and 19 of them couldn't beat us so I understand NW wanting to stick but if he does twist he has to bring in first team players and not squad players. He has to bring in players who are better than those already occupying the first XI. Unless he thinks McGugan is good enough to start ahead of Faurlin don't sign him. If he wants to persist with Mackie don't sign Commons. If he however he thinks differently then sign them up. We don't need another Leon Clarke we need men who'll make the difference over the next 25 matches.

Point two: I think the league is brilliant but at the same time of a poorer standard this season then in previous years and everyone is capable of beating everyone and a number of teams are capable of finishing in the top two. For the past couple of months everyone was going on like Cardiff had won the league and Swansea would pip us to 2nd place well neither has happened although we've dipped in form. I agree the likes of Leeds, Forest, Pompey and Leicester have all improved and we can't rest on our laurels but if you read my "21 matches in" thread from earlier you'll see how well we are doing in comparison. Yes this means nothing in December but if Leeds and the like were so far behind 5 minutes ago it must have been because of a particular reason - conceding 6 at home to Preston suggests that although they've found form could they be a result away from going back to how they started the season? Who knows we are only a result away of doing the same. We destroyed Cardiff in the 2nd half just three games ago and against weaker sides (there are plenty in this division) we'll do the same to them.

I've no idea what NW will do in January but if reports are true about Van Moen, Tofas appeared on the bench for the first time and Buzsaky is due to return shortly we may (or may not) have that extra bit of flair that's been missing of late. All three players (of course two might struggle to adapt) are supposedly creative players so it is possible that we might go back to how it was just a few games ago. I'm looking forward to it.

[stainrodisalegend]

Thanks for that. The point about WBA and Newcaste, as I think you concede, is that both were considerably stronger than us player for player going into January, so therefore if we are to gain promotion we should at least try to get on a level with them, as even allowing for a weakened division this year we don't want to assume that Cardiff and Swansea will continue to struggle, not to mention Leeds, Pompey, Forest etc (Sunderland, Hull etc no doubt had some terrible results before embarking on incredible runs that won them promotion so don't think we should read huge amounts into Leeds losing against Preston for instance).

This is guess work for all of us but my hunch would be that without enforcements our chances of promotion are 50-60% and with the kind of improvements we have all talked about then 60-80%. The board has to make its own assessments re odds versus outlay and I wouldn't presume to tell it how to spend its money, but I'd have thought about 4-5 million spending would push our chances to the upper percentage.