Looking Forward To January...

[woody]

Its always a dangerous thing to tempt fate on match day with an optimistic thread, but here goes.

January comes and we are in touch. Marinakis is surely going to make funds available. I have no idea how much he will give or how much we can spend to stay within the FFP rules but just say its another 15M, how you going to spend it.

We have the squad surely, now we need a bit of gold dust sprinkling over it. Up until Yacob and Tachtsidis arrive, I would have said we need a really dominant midfielder but Colback and Geddy seem to have sparked since they arrived so perhaps we have enough there. Hefele seems to have tied things up at the back especially with Robinsob settling in nicely and Janko surprising us all so we may have enough there. Fox just carries on winning plaudits every game and has to be our most improved.

For me, if Marinakis gives 15 million, we must spend on a striker thats going to fire us to promotion. We are regularly having the lions share of possession and chances but only scraping home by the odd goal so Karanka will I would have thought be already writing up his short list of strikers.

My other player may surprise you but Im not sure we have someone between the sticks who inspires the confidense required especially when our backs will be against the wall. Cloughie proved the importance of a very good goalkeeper to a team. Wolves, Everton and Liverpool have shown it more recently in spending big on some of the Worlds best keepers to shore up their defenses and look at what they are doing to all three of those teams.

They are the two positions I would spend big on to fire us to promotion. Agree?

[Duncan Mckenzie]

Good thread Woody.

I have no doubt that if we are in or just outside the top 6 come January then there will be money to spend.

I think it's too early to say what we will need to spend it on right now.

If Grabban and Murphy have 10 goals each come January and they are both fit then I don't see the need for another striker (we also have Soudani and hopefully Ansarifard). Then again if they are struggling for goals and fitness then yes, we will need to invest in someone who can fire us to the promise land.

I think there will also be one or two departures too in January.

As for the goalkeepers, I am not surprised what you said. I am yet to be convinced by either Pantilimon or Steele.

It's certainly going to be an interesting month (January).

[Username]

I think we are also a little short on options at left back.

The rest depends on who is available.

[Camms]

I think we could do with a good quality full back who is equally comfortable playing on the left or the right.

Like Lichaj was but with more quality.

[Madforit]

For me, I'd like to see them add a quality left back and striker to the squad.

[Alf]

For me, I'd like to see them add a quality left back and striker to the squad.

I'm with this.

A young promising striker to bring on & play a bit-part role this season, a quality left back, and a bargain target man between 25-30 to cover Murph both this year & next.

[woody]

I do think we are in a very good position right now given that we are in touch and its suggested that we have quite a lot more to from the current crop of players. I would expect all of the Portugese boys to improve as they bed in to their new way of life. Its not just a case of becoming familiar with other players, these guys are in a completely new country, facing a new language, climate and playing style. They will not reach their best until probably next season. Cash is improving season on season and Lolley looks to be enjoying life more and more at the CG. Yacob has a reputation that suggests he will make us better though Tachtsidis is less a bit of an umknown.So even with the existing players, we can expect improvement and to be in and around the mx come January. 

Now what Ive been saying is what will will need to move us on even further, to move above the majority of those club vying alongside. An Huckerby? Remember the impact he had on Harty's side. For those long enough in the tooth, we had a guy called John Middletom (An England youth international) who was playing perfectly well as we were promoted into the old first division under Sir Brian. Clough went out and paid a massive sum for a goalie back then but brought the best in the world to make the defence almost watertight. Ok so someone of Shilton ilk would be a bridge too far for us at this moment in time but im perfectly sure that Kakranke is aiming very high and should the right player come available then we're going to be in for him.

This is a perfectly timed break from the pack in terms of spending in my eyes. We have a chance this season. West Brom, Leeds, Derby might prove to be better than we thought but with what we have and what we see at the moment, the management team are having a real go this season because it seems there is no outstanding team to run away with it. A couple of timely transfers may make all the difference for Nottingham Forest. A few million more would be a piss in the ocean given the rewards of a place in the premiership. And at this stage of the season, is the Brereton transfer making any more sense now that it was before?

[woody]

A club in the prem is said to be in excess of 100M better off. Its financially benefitted smaller club than ourselves like Swansea, Bournmouth, Cardiff, Watford, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Brighton, Burnley, Cardiff, Wigan, Hull and will continue to do so. You chose an awful example in Sunderland, so badly managed. Again, my point was that if we need a couple of very good players come January then 15M would not be a huge outlay given the rewards of a season or more in the premiership. Some clubs chose to spend little knowing they will come down again but have more moeny later to make a more sustained effort. Either way you look at it, Marinakis will likely give more money if we are in touch in Jan and it wont break the bank.

The Brereton deal makes perfect sense to me. He wouldnt have been playing this year because he isnt god enough. Hes hardly played for Blackburn and when he does hes going to have had to improved by a considerable margin to stay in the team and it has already mentioned about his attitude problems. How long before they surface at Blackburn. He only stayed in our first team because we had no alternatives. Im not sure what the arrangement with Blackburn is but IF its only an option to buy him later then expect him back here again. I wouldnt pay 6M for him. What is there not to get if Grabban is effectively a direct replacement, the books balanced and Grabban virtually guranteeing 20 goals this season.

[Maltared]

If option to buy the two remaining geezers is of 15 million each...then i will not see them being here more than this season...Dias not worth more than 3 million and Gonclavez even less...

[the jock]

january will be absolutely crucial

[JWJW]

The only signing I would add would be an Antonio or Sako type of player.

Bulldozer to hammer when they sit 11 behind the ball. Make them scared.

[woody]

Oh dear, I was enjoying our chat until you decided to throw in an insult. Telling someone theyre talking nonesense without reasoning behind it is not winning an debate. Im open to your points but obviously you are not mine so in your eyes the argument is already over?

Ive said that we now have Grabban and someone else has Brereton and that effectively cost nothing to change those personnel over. Grabban is a proven goalscorer and they are starting to come for him for us now. Brereton? Well Ive said my peice on him and I believe he is limited. When a young man supposedly with talent and a future cannot do the basics of controlling a ball and bringing the rest of the team into the game then something is lacking. Another academy released him which perhaps says something and suddenly, for a lad who cannot hope to make the Forest first team and has an attitude, we have 6M quid whivch effectively brought in a better player in his place. I could go deeper but there's enough justification in whats been said for it to make sense to many.

Of course I have no certain proof of which way Brereton will go and neither have you but Karanka and his coaches believe in a similar way to me otherwise he'd still be here and he had a good look at him last season so it isnt a knee jerk decision. Brereton was last good when he used his physically advantage at Youth or was U23 level. Since hes been playing at first team level his performance have nosedived. Neither of us can win this debate right now. We're just expressing differing footballing opinos. If we go up and Brereton's career nosiedives (Which I sincerely hope it doesnt) then I guess Karanka made the right call. If we dont go up, Brereton lights up Blackburn and becomes a 10M plus player then NG3 was right. Until then, who is talking the nonesense?