Just on one exchange below, about whether we should spend in January

Had one thought on this the other day. Obviously when you're scrapping against relegation, deciding what to do in Jan is generally a bit of a nightmare. In most cases, signing someone good enough to get in a premier league team, and is as good as what you've already got, is likely to be too expensive subsequently if you do go down.

But I do think one thing might be a bit more straightforward this time around.

Basically, it's worth us spending a chunk of money on a CB isn't it, whichever league we end up in? Largely because I think we've got to assume Godfrey will be playing in the premier league next season - whether we are or not.

Could really do with another decent CB for the remainder of this season, obviously. And if we do stay up, that'll be the case again next year, even assuming Godfrey stays.
We need 3 that are good enough for the first team in the PL, as this season has shown. We can't rely on BG and Zimbo being fit every game. And we can't be relying on Klose or Hanley as backup.

If we go down, I think someone will want BG. So we're gonna need a new first choice CB to play alongside Zimbo. Hanley / Klose might be good enough for the champs, even if not for the PL, but we can't rely on their fitness, can we?

Hopefully can aim to find someone in Jan who could do either job. Given the situation we're likely to face, will surely be worth the money, whatever happens to us this season.

I reckon is a bit more straightforward than is usually the case in Jan. (Of course all this assumes Godfrey would leave if we go down - if not, then is all more complicated, along with just about every other potential type of signing.)

Posted By: Tricky Hawes, Nov 29, 13:38:11