January Transfer Window

[Kmcalpin]

Its obvious to most of us that we require some fresh faces next month. I'm not in favour of the January shutdown but on this occasion it may just help us. Money, of course, will be tight and the more players we can ship out the better. Its totally dependent of course on other clubs wanting our players and the players themselves being amenable to a move. Here's my initial thoughts.

 

Loan out Hammell or Chalmers; Laing, Campbell, Thomas, Mackin, Moore and a keeper. Release Lucas. Sell Ainsworth (if possible)

 

Bring in: a wide left midfielder/winger, 2 central midfielders including one box to box/creative type, and a new goalie. Some of these of course could be on loan. We also need a bit of pace and some competitive/combative characters.

 

McHugh is a bit of an unknown. He alone won't be our saviour but he looks as though he'll add some steel to our defensive shield. Pearo? Time will tell.

 

Thats my Christmas wish list.

 

 

 

 

[ropy]

A 6 foot 4 goalie from a Championship reserve team.

[Donaldo87]

A 6 foot 4 goalie from a Championship reserve team.

Who's that then?

[sinjy]

A 6 foot 4 goalie from a Championship reserve team.

I was surprised we did not go for a loan keeper at the start of the season after the success we have with Ruddy Randolph and Ripley. Samson seemed to hold the club to ransom saying he would only resign if he got a guaranteed start at the season beginning. Well he has had his chance and failed. However it will be Brill if there is a change as I'm sure we cannot afford to pay three first team level keepers.

[superward]

With our budget restraints and insistence to go with a budget assuming no cup runs and finishing 10th (said previously I wasnt a fan of the approach but it is what it is...) we will be really restricted to what we do in January.

 

I don't foresee much change unfortunately. However in an ideal world I would back much of what you say Kmcalpin.

[Lobey_Dosser]

I'd expect us to have scope for a signing or two as we did plan to replace Marvin in the summer. Not sure we can trust McGhee with the money though. The signings of Blyth, Bowman, Clay, Lucas, Samson and Brill have contributed next to nothing. A team with our budget can't afford to carry so much waste.

[DunnyMFC]

I was surprised we did not go for a loan keeper at the start of the season after the success we have with Ruddy Randolph and Ripley. Samson seemed to hold the club to ransom saying he would only resign if he got a guaranteed start at the season beginning. Well he has had his chance and failed. However it will be Brill if there is a change as I'm sure we cannot afford to pay three first team level keepers.

 

Randolph wasn't a loan signing

[daver]

With our budget restraints and insistence to go with a budget assuming no cup runs and finishing 10th (said previously I wasnt a fan of the approach but it is what it is...) we will be really restricted to what we do in January.

 

I don't foresee much change unfortunately. However in an ideal world I would back much of what you say Kmcalpin.

Strange situation as although we might not have budgeted fora cup run we kknow we're going to get a good payday out of the cup. On the other hand, attendances continue to fall away.

[Gadgey]

Absolutely no disrespect intended but the opening post is hugely reminiscent of the conversations I've had with my 5 year old since he did his list for santa.

 

Despite me telling him he wasn't getting a hover board he went about telling everyone who asked that he was getting a hover board. Imagine his disappointment when he found a scissor scooter and a skate board at the bottom of the tree this morning.

 

They can both do a job, cost less for both of them and present far less of a risk if either of them turned out to be an unwanted gift.

 

I trust you get my point

[CMWellfan]

Absolutely no disrespect intended but the opening post is hugely reminiscent of the conversations I've had with my 5 year old since he did his list for santa.

 

Despite me telling him he wasn't getting a hover board he went about telling everyone who asked that he was getting a hover board. Imagine his disappointment when he found a scissor scooter and a skate board at the bottom of the tree this morning.

 

They can both do a job, cost less for both of them and present far less of a risk if either of them turned out to be an unwanted gift.

 

I trust you get my point

They clue was in the words "wish list," ya sour faced nutter.

 

Now you're on here boasting about disappointing your laddie.

 

What's wrong with you?

[superward]

They clue was in the words "wish list," ya sour faced nutter.

 

Now you're on here boasting about disappointing your laddie.

 

What's wrong with you?

Ironic.

[Kmcalpin]

Absolutely no disrespect intended but the opening post is hugely reminiscent of the conversations I've had with my 5 year old since he did his list for santa.

 

Despite me telling him he wasn't getting a hover board he went about telling everyone who asked that he was getting a hover board. Imagine his disappointment when he found a scissor scooter and a skate board at the bottom of the tree this morning.

 

They can both do a job, cost less for both of them and present far less of a risk if either of them turned out to be an unwanted gift.

 

I trust you get my point

The bottom line is that it is a wish list, nothing more. I don't think for a minute it'll all come to pass, but hopefully it'll generate some discussion on here and we'll get an idea of posters' views. Football is all about opinions. There are many unknowns eg exactly how much cash is available right now or how much would be freed up by departures. Players may not want to leave or indeed join us. Other clubs may predate our best players and submit offers we can't refuse. Then there's the manager's views. Almost certainly he'll have different opinions from me. On top of that there'll be competition from other clubs. Last, but not least, deals can break down over contractual details. I fully understand that transfer dealings are a complicated business.

 

All that said we cannot afford to enter February with the same squad, as it needs strengthening and quickly. Relegation for us would be catastrophic and the Directors have the unenviable task of balancing the financial cost of that against the costs of spending on new faces. Almost certainly we'll have been tracking players for months and I don't doubt there will be a surprise or two. January is a difficult window in which to do business and I don't think for a minute that we'll see activity on an Ian Baraclough scale.. Any player we bring in will need to hit the ground running.

[swami]

I was surprised we did not go for a loan keeper at the start of the season after the success we have with Ruddy Randolph and Ripley. Samson seemed to hold the club to ransom saying he would only resign if he got a guaranteed start at the season beginning. Well he has had his chance and failed. However it will be Brill if there is a change as I'm sure we cannot afford to pay three first team level keepers.

Ripley was absolutely shite, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

[supermarv]

Ripley was absolutely shite, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

And how many games were u at ? As I think most people's opinions will think he was a very good keeper

[GazzyB]

I'd take a 2 armed Dean Brill before both of those!

[weeyin]

Nobody lets their good players go in January. Unless we sell someone after an exceptional offer, I don't expect to see many new faces coming in.

[ropy]

There are many a good player not getting a game in the top 2 divisions down south. Five months at Fir Park could do them a turn.

[weeyin]

There are many a good player not getting a game in the top 2 divisions down south. Five months at Fir Park could do them a turn.

The problem is if they aren't getting a game it could be 2 or 3 months before they are fully match fit. I've lost count of the number of English league players we have signed that turn up off the pace. Even the successful ones like Porter took a while to adapt.

[Ya Bezzer!]

I'd expect us to have scope for a signing or two as we did plan to replace Marvin in the summer. Not sure we can trust McGhee with the money though. The signings of Blyth, Bowman, Clay, Lucas, Samson and Brill have contributed next to nothing. A team with our budget can't afford to carry so much waste.

 

Signing in the million pound bracket is a gamble never mind at our freebie/reject level.

 

He's brought in Tait and Heneghan and basically made a first pick player out of Cadden. Some others have been injured and not able to contribute and others were only brought in to act as back-up. Moult and McDonald are always going to be the front two if available, for example, so opportunities will be limited for Blyth and Bowman and its unfair to judge them as anything other than back up. The same goes for Brill.

 

We don't have enough quality in the squad but I don't think it's a point your finger and blame kind of deal. Inevitably at the level we are shopping at you aren't going to get a player ever time or even half the time. I don't think McGhee's record is any worse than Barracloughs or McCall's later years. We are at the dross level in finance terms and it should be more of a surprise if we get a good one than a bad one.

 

It's just something people are going to have to accept, especially when the inevitable happens and we lose real quality players who are coming to the end of their time with us - Hammell, Lasley, McDonald. Facts are their replacements just won't be the level of quality that many fans have not just got used to but have actually quite complacent and entitled about.

 

This season we are the 12th best supported club in the country and teams just below us have chairman who are still prepared to plough money in meaning actually in terms of financial clout we are lower down still.

 

That's where we are right now and I think quite a few of us haven't quite grasped that yet.

[superward]

Not sure we are 12th best supported. Accies for one have less season ticket holders.

[Yassin]

Not sure we are 12th best supported. Accies for one have less season ticket holders.

Think there's a few teams in the second tier- Hibs, United and maybe Falkirk- ahead of us.

[Wellarmy]

Sell Ainsworth? The guys got zero confidence again as McGhee consistently leaves him out the side, fuck we were crying out for Ainsworth on Friday and shovel face brings on Thomas who contributed absolutely heehaw. Be careful what you wish for, I'm sure a few teams in our premiership would take him in a heartbeat

[Gadgey]

The bottom line is that it is a wish list, nothing more. I don't think for a minute it'll all come to pass, but hopefully it'll generate some discussion on here and we'll get an idea of posters' views. Football is all about opinions. There are many unknowns eg exactly how much cash is available right now or how much would be freed up by departures. Players may not want to leave or indeed join us. Other clubs may predate our best players and submit offers we can't refuse. Then there's the manager's views. Almost certainly he'll have different opinions from me. On top of that there'll be competition from other clubs. Last, but not least, deals can break down over contractual details. I fully understand that transfer dealings are a complicated business.

 

All that said we cannot afford to enter February with the same squad, as it needs strengthening and quickly. Relegation for us would be catastrophic and the Directors have the unenviable task of balancing the financial cost of that against the costs of spending on new faces. Almost certainly we'll have been tracking players for months and I don't doubt there will be a surprise or two. January is a difficult window in which to do business and I don't think for a minute that we'll see activity on an Ian Baraclough scale.. Any player we bring in will need to hit the ground running.

Perhaps I'll be more literal in the future. Absolutely no offence intended and I agree with almost all you say.

[milo]

 

Signing in the million pound bracket is a gamble never mind at our freebie/reject level.

 

He's brought in Tait and Heneghan and basically made a first pick player out of Cadden. Some others have been injured and not able to contribute and others were only brought in to act as back-up. Moult and McDonald are always going to be the front two if available, for example, so opportunities will be limited for Blyth and Bowman and its unfair to judge them as anything other than back up. The same goes for Brill.

 

We don't have enough quality in the squad but I don't think it's a point your finger and blame kind of deal. Inevitably at the level we are shopping at you aren't going to get a player ever time or even half the time. I don't think McGhee's record is any worse than Barracloughs or McCall's later years. We are at the dross level in finance terms and it should be more of a surprise if we get a good one than a bad one.

 

It's just something people are going to have to accept, especially when the inevitable happens and we lose real quality players who are coming to the end of their time with us - Hammell, Lasley, McDonald. Facts are their replacements just won't be the level of quality that many fans have not just got used to but have actually quite complacent and entitled about.

 

This season we are the 12th best supported club in the country and teams just below us have chairman who are still prepared to plough money in meaning actually in terms of financial clout we are lower down still.

 

That's where we are right now and I think quite a few of us haven't quite grasped that yet.

That's an excellent post and illustrates the sad and harsh reality of our situation quite succinctly.

[superward]

Think there's a few teams in the second tier- Hibs, United and maybe Falkirk- ahead of us.

Yeah that's true. I still don't think we have less season ticket holders than the likes of Ross County, Inverness, St Johnstone, Thistle or Killie? Could be wrong.

 

Anyway - disnae really matter. Ya Bezzer's post is spot on from the point of view that our budget is down near the bottom rung and that means we need to take risks on players we can afford...some will work out and some won't.

 

I expect to see some changes in January but it will be wheeling and dealing time.