saint1977

Tyson is out of contract at end of season - might be worth offering him say an 18 month deal. Injury prone but his pace is devastating at League 1 levels. Article on BBC Sport website. Weren't we linked when Pardew was manager?

He'll score against us then, all our ex-strikers and midfielders do, no matter how rubbish they were. Even Paul Moody scored against us for Oxford in the League Cup mid-90s didn't he?

Askham - don't get me started there, this was just one of a long line of his disasterous decisions that led to League One. People talk about Lowe but at least Lowe did some decent things and had at least some commitment to the club, Askham's only contribution was to be messenger boy for Lawrie when signing Keegan. "Mr Burns" even allegedly showed up according to posters on here during administration to see if there were any last crumbs to be hoovered up by him and his vile cronies. Anyway, back to Chris Nicholl who had a tough task in following LM and arguably the best period in our history. He didn't have Lawrie's budget for any Shiltons or Keegans but brought through some exciting talent and when you watched us, you were always going to see goals at either end! We were still a decent cup team but I think Heysel knocking the stuffing out of a few clubs, us included, and when the ban was lifted, we had Askham at the helm after Woodford passed away - not really the forward thinking chief you want when Sky and the Premier League was around the corner! What stuffed Nicholl was a 6-2 hiding at Derby where the players let Chris down badly and were very unprofessional, Derby having finished bottom and been relegated for weeks. His contract was up for renewal and I remember the anticipation all too well before Branfoot was appointed - all sorts of names linked and we appoint him!

Looks like a deal is about to happen with Arsenal but I disagree with those that don't want a loan back - AOC will continue to improve and his pace will feature in a lot of games between now and the end of the season. I think we have to put our trust in NC to get the best deal which I'm sure he will. I also think Craig McKail-Smith won't be the last major player on the bus before the end of January, especially with Puncheon off as well. If those happen to be a pacy winger and perhaps a tougher CM, and we got AOC on a loan back, I'd have to say we'd be looking strong favourites to win the league and be a real force in the NPC next year as well.

This would be a fantastic signing, far better than Austin in my view. Yes, Austin is younger but could come with a Puncheon attitude whereas CMS seems to fit the Adkins method of managing so much better. Plus it blunts P'boro's chances of hitting the top 2 as other posters have rightly observed. Have any of our rivals got an effective pacy winger so we that follow this strategy further?

I think there is room for both schools of thought here - the players attitude is clearly not good enough and they get a bit cosseted at SFC. Tranmere being first to every 50/50 and running the midfield is unacceptable, I agree with Turkish. However, the lack of impact options on the bench has been obvious all season. If the players can see competition, they will soon give a bit more. I can't wait to get Man U out of the way - irrespective of result - bag the TV money and gate reciepts and use it on a couple of lively, pacey forwards and a tough old CM to get us up. Then the final furlongs of the season begin. At the same time, having people like Puncheon around must drag down morale - we've all worked with someone like him and it gives everyone else a lift when they clear off to mope somewhere else and you can get on with trying to achieve something. Time to ship him and Morgan out.

So did Yoann Folly, in fact he captained France at pretty much every level bar the full side and where is he now? Franny, bless him, played for England U21s. It means nothing if a player doesn't have the right attitude and this is his achilles heel and why he'll be playing in the French amateur leagues in four years if he's not careful. We've got to use this window to get the mental weak links out of the club - Morgan, Puncheon - and get some cutting edge in. It's okay people saying "get the best out of the players you have" but when they have attitudes like MS and JP, you are just better off binning them. I'm happy with most of the squad but why is Barnard not starting games? Is he still not fit? Does Adkins think he'll be turning out for HMP Winchester? Does Adkins not think he is good enough? If Guly or Lambert get injured, God help us. In response to those will paper over the cracks by saying "we can't buy another Lambert, Barnard etc" I'm not expecting that, but we can bring in a couple of honest faces to help out up-front and in CM in the less attractive away games that should give us enough momentum to get automatic promotion which is the only objective this season. I really couldn't give a toss about the Man U game next week but it does give us the extra income to get a couple of squad players on shorter deals or loan players with a point to prove. Look at the bench - who is going to turn a game? Our dependency on Lallana is frightening. These weak-minded performances have to stop now - the lads need a good debrief on DVD and a full training workout tommorrow to knock any remaining complacency out and a couple of new faces on the bench to change games should help "motivate" them as well. Disgusted at Puncheon, bet he drops out of pro football altogether by the time he's 28. It would help if our keeper and back 4 worked on communication as well. Not good enough - hope that's the last time I type that this season. This lot would get murdered in the play offs as today proves they can't hack it when the pressure is on so hope we finish top 2.

It is not an accident our form has slumped since this useless twit returned from Millwall. If we wants to go back to that dump, rip their hands off for 250k and compete with Irvine for Myles Weston from Brentford who has a number of attributes Puncheon will never have - pace, work-rate, a decent delivery on him. Alternatively, Jennings would be worth pushing out the boat for, in fact any half decent winger in the lower divisions is worth an offer. Whilst we're at it, can we please circulate Morgan's details amongst all Ligue 1 clubs? Too inconsistent and Chaplow has really shown him up. Hammond isn't the greatest player ever but you just knew Morgan wouldn't have the bottle for today. "Nasty Tranmere, getting stuck in and winning 50/50s, I want to go home". Frankly Morgan, I'd pay your return fair myself, people like you and some the others cheated those fans that travelled today. We can bring in better CMs that want to play for us.

Royal Mail were dreadful when we moved to Devon last year - the post office branch in Hants made a mistake when sorting it out for us. So do Royal Mail put their own mistake right? No, we had to WRITE to request an amendment! The phone service wasn't "set up yet" and all of this whilst we were selling our property. Not that the private sector is often any better, in fact it usually is even worse with a few notable and pleasing exceptions (often smaller businesses as someone on here observed, Devon is much better than Hants in this regard). I share TDD's frustrations with Virgin Media from past experience and I've had some shocking experiences with bank errors.

Good, about time Cameron got rid of him and grew a pair, Coulson ought to be facing criminal charges and jail. I'm all for a free press but there was little or no public interest in any of those alleged phone hacks and besides the obvious illegality it is a blatant breach of the civil liberties of private individuals who pay their taxes just like the rest of us. Not that I am excusing the phone hacking of politicians either, this is also unacceptable unless conducted by the secret services for clearly justifiable reasons of national security. I'd ban the NOTW from printing for 6 months and a £75m fine payable by Murdoch. I am very wary of the man's stranglehold on our democracy and it worries me that a recent Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and our current Prime Minister are/have been so subservient to him.

Good news, he has not only added to our goalscoring threat and makes quality runs in behind opposition back 4s which we've lacked since Waigo/Antonio but he also adds some character and fun in the same way that Waigo did which enhances our enjoyment as fans. Should continue to get better as well and clearly wants to be here. Just need one more pacy/winger striker now and that's us done until the end of the season. To add to Viking Warrior's and Shroppie's suggestions above, I think they are great but at Tranmere we could sing to 3 Lions: "Guly's on the bus, he's on the bus, he's on the bus, he's on the, Guly's on the bus..."

Totally agree, maybe it's the lad that seems to have played on trial for our U21s?

Although I've posted that the ref was a bit of traffic warden on the other thread, we drew because our possession and distribution, particularly in offensive areas, was well below our recent standard. I agree with those that say we should have stuck that early chance away though, it would have opened the game up but you have to give County credit, they were far better organised than Hudds and some of the other sides we've played recently. Mind you, our own back 4 looked solid which will win us a lot of games as teams as this level are usually good for an error somewhere, it took a blatant offside from Westcarr for them to create a chance but the full backs both had a poor day distribution-wise. Without Chaplow and Lallana, we looked far worse so there and a back-up striker are must-strengthen areas in January. If Doncaster are keeping Mills on loan, why don't we ask for James Hayter as a return loan? He's not NPC standard possibly but he knows where the net is at this level and would have been a useful option for games like Saturday's.

The refs at sub-PL level are awful, we all know that. This one was a traffic warden but he's not the worst this season, let alone last. His linos were shocking and IMO well out of their depth. Whoever said Peter Walton V Leeds I totally agree, I had 3 Leeds friends down for that game and they couldn't believe the second was chalked off or that Barnard hadn't been the victim of a professional foul in the first half. Tranmere away also stands out but the worst I've ever seen was Trevor Kettle V Wolves in our first game outside of the Prem. Kettle got virtually every single decision wrong and needed a strong escort leaving the pitch as both sets of fans would have strung him up given the chance. I was warned how pathetically woeful a ref he was by fans other teams like Norwich and Notts Forest and the weren't wrong!

Hope Lee Hughes cops it from the Northam - vile that him and Marlon King carry on earning big wages after what they did. I'd rest Lallana - don't want him to tear his calf and be out for longer as he is such a key player for us. Puncheon on the left it sounds like and Dickson can come on later and run at County when they are tired. 2-1 to Saints, Chaplow and Guly.

Mills is a good player and Doncaster will have to stump up a decent fee if they want to buy him. I would say we had the best THREE left backs in L1 but Dickson offers something different in that he is also a quality LM. We MUST bring in one more striker though either perm or loan - Connolly is finished and that only leaves us Rickie, Barnie and Guly which with the fixture pile up and Barnie's injury record isn't enough. Whether we need one more wide player is purely contingent on whether Puncheon stays/goes/is motivated or not. Defensively and in midfield we look sound after Chaplow in, would like to see Gobern get a bit more game time in case Chaplow gets injured as we know what a poor combination Hammond/Morgan is. Put either of them alongside Chaplow's pace and energy though and they look far better players.

I totally agree with this and can't understand some of the other comments on this thread about our away support. Only Wednesday can seriously rival us for travelling numbers in League 1 and only Norwich, Leeds, Forest, Derby and Ipswich in the NPC, possibly Sheff Utd. We also put many in the Prem to shame. Yes, Man U's travelling support is superb, the loudest and best in England, and drawn largely from the Greater Manchester area too but I've also watched Saints at OT and we've easily outsung 60000+ of them. I remember our first away game outside of the PL at Sheff Wed in 05/06, we had at least 2.5k there watching a team, manager and Chairman that couldn't give a fook and we were superb, loud and funny (esp the Hovis humming and a loud "time to go" senerade for Wed's fans leaving early) and I had Newcastle and Carlisle mates with me in our end who said exactly the same. I was at Luton in the Cup when we made up the "score a goal Neil Shipperley" chant when there was nothing else like it and we also started the "sit down Pinocchio" chant to Phil Thompson (okay, that was at home) which Man U, City and others copied. The "what a waste of petrol" chant to the Toon made them all laugh and made headlines as well. Man U's away support is without rival but our away support I would rate in the top twenty for numbers and possibly higher for volume. A lot of home fans of other clubs consider us up for liking a good sing song generally.

I agree with this Bobby, whilst I can see Nick G and others' arguments about the quality of the squad, which is very good and which would compete well in the league above, it is short of depth in one or two key areas that would bite us on the backside at the business end of the season. Gk - Davis and Bart, who did well on Saturday IMO. DR - Frazer and Butterfield, should be fine DL - Well stocked - Harding and Dickson would walk into many NPC sides and Mills on loan DC - As long as Adkins is now happy Martin can do a job (I think we are all convinced he can), we are ok here. Fonte, a Seaborne coming on leaps and bounds and Jaidi, add in Martin and that looks ok MC - Chaplow, Hammond, Morgan S and more to come from Gobern. Bit concerned if Chaplow is injured for any length of time but Gobern has a good engine MR/ML - Lallana is the best player in L1 and AOC the best young player. Puncheon did excellently at Millwall - does he want to stay with us? If so, we may stick with what we have but I just think one more wide player with raw pace might be neccessary Strikers - This is the key area that needs the investment. Connolly is finished so that leaves Lambert, Barnie and Guly. Lambert has improved big time over Xmas but he has played a lot of football for that frame over the last 2 years. Barnie is fresh after his op and played well on Saturday but his past injury record leaves a note of caution. Guly has made a big impact for the last few games but is he more of an AMC? I think we need at least one striker, maybe a second with height that can cover Rickie and develop. Adkins track record with strikers is excellent so I would imagine he's been thinking about this and weighing up whether he can bring in another Beckford or Sharp or Forte from the cold somewhere else to help out what we already have.

I wouldn't sell Seaborne - he's still developing and remember he was with Exeter from non-league. He's come on leaps and bounds since we signed him and how many left-sided centre backs with pace do you see outside of the PL? OK, granted, he's raw at the moment but unless Micky Adams offers £1m+, it's a sale we'd live to regret as I think Seaborne will go on to be worth lots when he's 25-26.

That would point to someone like Sam Baldock at MK then. Connolly is pretty much finished and whilst Barnard has done well when available, his injury record both here and elsewhere is a worry over a 46 game season so if another nimble striker gets in and starts scoring it creates competition. Surprised Forte's name hasn't come up from Scunny.

Exciting times ahead it seems and this after the first Xmas campaign for a long time where we've claimed 9 points. Moreover, those performances Vs Hudds and Exeter were two of the most stylish I've watched at SMS since 2002/3, they were that good. I saw people on here saying Exeter were poor but that's not true, they were well in it for an hour and played good football but Saints just blew them away with one touch quality and movement. Chaplow's fourth V Hudds is one of the best team goals scored at SMS for quite some time. In terms of signings, pace is key as Guly has been a key outlet in getting behind teams in the last 3 games and it has really made a difference to Lambert's game as well. If Guly or Ox-C get injured or tired we will go backwards. Chaplow's return to fitness has also been a key factor in the rise to 2nd. I haven't seen Woolford or Baldock play but they are well regarded. Myles Weston at Brentford fits the wide pace bill as well. How lively is Pugh at Bournemouth - is he an out and out express winger in the Ox-C mould or he is more of a cultured player that can play wide but also drift in behind the front two like Lallana/Ryan Harley do? In terms of CB, I think Seaborne was always a long-term buy. He's still a bit raw at the moment but decent-left sided CBs with pace don't grown on trees hence there were a lot of clubs after him, not just us. He's one of those players you aren't sure about at first but will suddenly blossom (Jeff Kenna was one of those). Can't see us replacing Kelvin before the summer and perhaps not even then.

Fair enough, his attitude was poor first time around. Newcastle must have other pacy, hungry young forwards on the fring of their squad that want first team experience? We need strikers big time, one upside to the postponements is that it gives the one striker (Barney) on our books who is vaguely on-form some recovery time. How we get Lambert back on song nobody seems to know and if we are going to get promotion this year we can't afford to wait to find out. A nice extra windfall from Puncheon would help Adkins, that's for certain.

Best of luck to him if he does get a Prem move. I don't doubt his talent - he destroyed Leeds and Huddersfield and also was superb at Carrow Rd but his consistency and determination are what people would question. Let's hope we can get £750k or so, bearing in mind we allegedly paid Plymouth £250-350k for him, and then reinvest that in Ryan Harley - who was superb again for Exeter V Sheff Wed - and a winger with some flipping pace. Perhaps Pardew wants to bid for Morgan as well? If he does, Nile Ranger on loan until end of the season and £1m cash please which can go on Le Fondre and a nominal fee to Preston for Chaplow.

Yep, I go with that. There's been some serious snow around the UK and not many grounds at this level will have undersoil heating systems. If the weather allows, we can probably get a closed doors game for the likes of Chaplow, Richardson and Barnard (assuming he hasn't had a hernia op) so they are revved up for Charlton and Hudds. The extra sequence of games also give Adkins a good case to take to NC for getting some fresh firepower in.

I can't see Beattie as a realistic option and maybe not Waigo if he's getting a game in Florence but Le Fondre and Fryatt ought to BOTH be credible and gettable targets, Fryatt perhaps as a loan and Le Fondre on a perm. I also agree with 70s Mike, the supply to the strikers isn't up to it bar Lallana (and cameos from AOC), not surprising with a CM pairing of Hammond and Morgan S V Brentford. Hopefully Chaplow is going to be fit soon and Hammond has at least improved slightly of late, Morgan needs to be sold PDQ. Harley from Exeter and Weston from Brentford would add the missing energy, pace and guile so Lallana doesn't feel like he's in a totally one-dimensional squad.