Transfer News 2024 January Window Preview

[SteMerritt]

This is your Tyler Turden moment.

...or even his Tyler Durden moment.

 

[holdsteady]

am I taking crazy pills or do Mills and Murphy still exist?

We need them as cover though so they can't actually play any games.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

...or even his Tyler Durden moment.

I am never editing that typo. It’s important that it stays, as a reminder of what can happen.

 

[MJB]

I am never editing that typo. It’s important that it stays, as a reminder of what can happen.

A fitting tribute to Tavid Fincher.

 

[dickwalton1964]

To be fair, that's not the question that we need to be answering right now. With Browne and Edwards out, that leaves Goodrham and Bodin as our only other wingers and Bodin is infinitely better in the middle. Tyler isn't remotely close to Edwards' ability. We are desperately light on the wings and Fosu would come in and provide a quality option. Bennett could be called upon to play out wide, but we're in a position to not 'square peg' it like we have done in previous years.

Al-Hamadi is heading to the Championship. My shouts are: Clarke-Harris, Jake Young at Bradford or Isaac Olaofe at Stockport. Any of those 3 and I'll be more than happy.

Mills ? Murphy ?

 

[Osleroad]

We're always going to make a loss but with such a huge expenditure on the horizon (stadium) it wouldn't make much sense increasing our losses in the build up...

If we aren't spending it now whenever will we? We are fortunate to have real money men behind the club.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

If we aren't spending it now whenever will we? We are fortunate to have real money men behind the club.

Tbh for a club like us, if they want championship football before we enter a new stadium. They are going to have to spend & be prepared to lose money, if they are prepared to spend £100m on a new stadium, really the outlay to get a club promoted should be a lot less even if you properly go for it in league 1. They won’t mess around if we are around the top 2 come New Year’s Day.

 

[Northernyellow]

Fosu doesn't answer the centre forward question though. Great player, especially at this level, but he's not that out and out number 9 we desperately need. Someone mentioned Madine, yes he's a striker but not a particularly prolific one. The lad from Wimbledon, Al-Hamadi, looks very decent. Saw a few minutes of him last night - albeit versus rubbish opposition - and he looked very good. The obvious target though should be Jake Young from Bradford, likely going to be a bit more gettable. He gets loads of goals in and around the 6 yard box, good physical prescence too, exactly what we need.

I went to AFCW a couple of weeks ago with an AFCW friend. Al Hamadi is absolutely outstanding. Big, quick, can finish and only 21. AFCW want £1.5M+ for him. He was supposed to be going to Sunderland but they've just sacked Mowbray. You never know, but Leeds are interested as well, so he'll probably end up in the Championship. I saw Longstaff of Notts County in the same. Not impressed at all. Can hit the ball but he looks overweight and he's lazy. Reminded me of that bloke who scored all those goals at Morecambe a couple of seasons ago.

 

[dickwalton1964]

To be fair, that's not the question that we need to be answering right now. With Browne and Edwards out, that leaves Goodrham and Bodin as our only other wingers and Bodin is infinitely better in the middle. Tyler isn't remotely close to Edwards' ability. We are desperately light on the wings and Fosu would come in and provide a quality option. Bennett could be called upon to play out wide, but we're in a position to not 'square peg' it like we have done in previous years.

Al-Hamadi is heading to the Championship. My shouts are: Clarke-Harris, Jake Young at Bradford or Isaac Olaofe at Stockport. Any of those 3 and I'll be more than happy.

It absolutely is a question that needs answering right now. We want to be closing in on a new number 9 on or around 1st January. not 31st January. Our strikers have 5 or 6 goals between them and we are 20 days from Christmas, in my opinion we have never been in greater need of goal scorers. Little point in worrying about wingers if you have centre forwards who can't hit the proverbial barn door. I'd be looking to bring in two goal scoring centre forwards who can push each other to the heights needed to sustain a promotion push.

I remember at the start of our success back in the early 1980's we had two strikers banging them in in L1 (old 3rd division), Steve Biggins and Mick Vinter (both 1 in 2 or 3), and then Smith brought in a renowned striker in Neil Watmore to add even more firepower. He got 15 or 16 in about 35 games and we never looked back. All three got moved on pretty sharpish when we moved up a league and in came Aldridge and then Hamilton. There's five or six genuine goal scorers in two or three years, I don't know why it's become so difficult to find them in this era, nor do I understand why managers seem so content to stick with strikers who, er, don't score ?

Clarke-Harris is a decent shout and in years gone by a player as free scoring as Young would have been brought in too.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

Mills ? Murphy ?

As I said in another post, it is a certainty that Mills and Murphy will now be our first choice wingers. Bodin and Goodrham are nowhere near the quality of Edwards. Bodin is infinitely better through the middle and Goodrham is miles off the level needed to be relied upon in a promotion chasing side. Fosu, if available, and within budget, has to be looked at. I dont even know why you mentioned a centre forward when it's December? We're not going to look at the free-agent market for a striker when January is a matter of weeks away...

FWIW, I would much rather put Harris out wide and have Bodin up top. It's clear Harris isn't a striker, but he will at least provide the work-rate and pace that we need on the wing.

 

[MustardYellow]

If we aren't spending it now whenever will we? We are fortunate to have real money men behind the club.

We're already a loss making club, which is only going to be exacerbated by the huge outlay of the stadium.

I'd understand spending big in January for a big promotion push if we hadn't already spent big in the summer.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

FWIW, I would much rather put Harris out wide and have Bodin up top.

This would be the quickest and easiest win for any manager IMO.

 

[n1]

This would be the quickest and easiest win for any manager IMO.

Though I agree with this, its probably not going to happen. Club, player and recruitment team lose face if it does.

Harris is a strange one as he is not a bad player, does often get in goalscoring positions, and has shown he can finish by the goals he has scored. He's really not that far off. Take the Leyton Orient game. Were his misses bad luck, lack of ability, lack of confidence, or something else?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Though I agree with this, its probably not going to happen. Club, player and recruitment team lose face if it does.

I think that in your scenario, the prioritisation of personal egos over results on the pitch would be far more damaging to every aspect of the club and those involved in running it, tbh.

 

[TailsWeWin]

It absolutely is a question that needs answering right now. We want to be closing in on a new number 9 on or around 1st January. not 31st January. Our strikers have 5 or 6 goals between them and we are 20 days from Christmas, in my opinion we have never been in greater need of goal scorers. Little point in worrying about wingers if you have centre forwards who can't hit the proverbial barn door. I'd be looking to bring in two goal scoring centre forwards who can push each other to the heights needed to sustain a promotion push.

I remember at the start of our success back in the early 1980's we had two strikers banging them in in L1 (old 3rd division), Steve Biggins and Mick Vinter (both 1 in 2 or 3), and then Smith brought in a renowned striker in Neil Watmore to add even more firepower. He got 15 or 16 in about 35 games and we never looked back. All three got moved on pretty sharpish when we moved up a league and in came Aldridge and then Hamilton. There's five or six genuine goal scorers in two or three years, I don't know why it's become so difficult to find them in this era, nor do I understand why managers seem so content to stick with strikers who, er, don't score ?

Clarke-Harris is a decent shout and in years gone by a player as free scoring as Young would have been brought in too.

I’m not sure why you think affordable strikers are easy to find?
They’re not.

 

[Foley]

Though I agree with this, its probably not going to happen. Club, player and recruitment team lose face if it does.

I am.not sure whether that is true, or whether Buckingham cares. His job is to get the right results .
I would have thought that flexibility would be seen as a strength. Harris has been played wide in the past ( and Buckingham seems to have pushed him wide a couple of times recently during a game)

 

[n1]

I am.not sure whether that is true, or whether Buckingham cares. His job is to get the right results .
I would have thought that flexibility would be seen as a strength. Harris has been played wide in the past ( and Buckingham seems to have pushed him wide a couple of times recently during a game)

We will see in good time I am sure.

 

[holdsteady]

Why would a slight chnge in where personal play affect Buckingham and his ego? He has only been here a couple of weeks?

 

[dickwalton1964]

I’m not sure why you think affordable strikers are easy to find?
They’re not.

Peterborough have found them, it seems, season after season after season. Look at Swindon, they've unearthed Young and took a punt on Doyle a few seasons back when no one else would. Young currently the leading scorer in the country and Doyle, as I recall, was the leading scorer across the whole of Europe in professional football ! Swindon even had Mullin at one point not so long ago, OK he didn't rip it up there but someone at that club seems to be able to identify washed up finishers from the likes of Morecambe and Bradford City reserves.

We've brought in a proven finisher like Taylor but bar him it's a position that we've really struggled with over the years. Aside of Taylor - and unless I'm missing someone obvious - You're probably going back to Beano for the last proper out and out centre forward of note. Hylton ? Possibly but not really what I call an out and out goal poacher. Roofe ? Yes, got goals, but not a true number 9 who does his work 6 yards from goal.

Others do it but we don't seem to be able to find that gem in non league or reinvigorate the career of someone whose careers appear to be nose diving.

 

[greatunclekip]

Manning after Brannagan