hypochondriac

But then also we have been linked to Hooper, possibly suggesting that the staff believe that an additional striker is needed and Lee was always going to be signed whatever else we did in the window?

That isn't the plan if you listened to Adkins on Saturday. I hope the relegation form of the last month has convinced Cortese (if he wasn't already convinced) of the need to strengthen.

Which is what I have been saying for a while (and Adkins actually agrees if you listen to his interview on Saturday.) I really do think that some people just decide to have a problem with some of what I post purely because it was me who said it.

However, the likelihood of promotion will be substantially increased IMO with these acquisitions.

Well obviously. I wrote it. Do you disagree that that would not represent a major success? Or are you just replying because I was the one that wrote something?

If we get him, a winger and Lee (with maybe a cb on loan) then this window will have been a major success and we will have pulled out all the stops for promotion regardless of the eventual outcome.

I agree. Least sensible and most risky strategy (other than spending ridiculous amounts that we could not afford) is to not sign another striker and trust that lee is able to make an immediate impact. However, rumours of hopper are encouraging as it suggests that Adkins agrees that we need more up front than what we have (if reports are to be believed.)

I agree with this. I suppose if we don't need the money then we shouldn't sell but I don't see us getting a much better offer. Doesn't seem to make much business sense.

Apologies. That was supposed to read nice to see that people agree that potentially our negotiating tactics are hindering player captures. I am writing on my phone!

You can get a working visa surely?

Nice to see that people agree that potentially our negotiating tactics are hindering the capture of players.

Uncalled for. No need for that.

I fully expect him to be a decent player. My only contention is how long it would take him to settle in. It would be unfair to not give him a while to get used to football and this country.

Yep. They simply are not comparable.

We should be looking to give them Puncheon if they give us Phillips for 2.5 million. Would be fantastic.

Yes I think we al hope that. I really hope for a quality attacking addition (as well as Lee) by the end of the window!

Adkins confirmed we made enquiries about Commons after the game on Saturday if I remember correctly.

Are you seriously trying to suggest that a player from halfway around the world, from a different culture, with English not as a first language having just played a lot of games in the J league should be expected to make an instant impact? What do you think is more likely? That he makes a telling impact straight away? Or that he takes time to adjust to the culture both in his personal and professional life. It would not surprise me in the slightest if this were the case.

Stop replying to me. You have replied to me enough times not about what I am saying but just trying to take things off topic. You are on ignore.

It is speculation. It's what a forum is for. We have reported to have made a lot of bids for players that we have then not completed. We publicly stated we wanted a striker in the summer and didn't get one. We have made a bid for hooper reportedly and he has not signed as yet. Added to the failed captures in the summer, I am suggesting that possibly this is because we are inflexible with our negotiations. Certainly, this is how cortese says he is when he is selling a player. It's not too great a leap to imagine he adopts a similar attitude when buying. My reservations with lee are due to the fact that historically Asian players take a while to adjust to this league. Reservations are really the wrong word. It's entirely understandable to imagine that whilst lee sounds like a great signing, he may need a while to adjust due to where he comes from and also because of how Much football he has played recently too. A current NPC striker who is on form is more likely to be able to perform immediately. I don't think that's an unreasonable comment.

I think those are factors but I do think that our points percentage in the last month or so would have been improved by the addition of another attacking option even from the bench. Chaplow wasn't playing at the start of the year and we were still bossing teams much more than we are now. I think we have been found out a bit and that's not just confined to the Bristol results. Having done most always this year, we have been pretty poor in most of them since Ipswich. Even ones we have won like coventry we were pretty poor and on another day could quite easily have lost or drawn. I really think another option up front would have helped us hugely as well as taking some of the responsibility from Lambert. A quality addition now who can make an immediate impact will do us the world of good. Rumours of hooper are extremely encouraging because it shows we are still looking for a striker and my hope is we can do enough to secure one before the window closes.

But I didn't say it's just a few thousand extra a week, neither did I say that one player signing would guarantee success or failure- I don't think anyone did. I just think that we have quite a large number of people who have turned us down or whatever reason (or reportedly we have anyway). What I hope we don't do is have a valuation of a player and then refuse to budge on that valuation if it is a small amount extra that would secure them, particularly in January when players rarely go for their true value. Should there be clauses in contracts then that is a separate factor. IF it is the case that a small amount extra could secure us a player of real quality then that COULD mean the difference between promotion or the playoffs. I hope that we have the experience in the transfer market to be able to bring in the quality required without bankrupting the club.

If that is true it is ridiculous to expect a million for puncheon. No one is going to pay that.

I guess that depends on what you think the relegation form of the last month has been down to and if you think having another striker would have made a difference to it.

You could do a what if scenario for any situation. You have to look at each option, decide what gives us the best chance of success and then look at demands etc hopefully being prepared to pay a bit extra if necessary but not excessive (were there not reports on here that sharp would have accepted 20k?). The likes of lukas I highly doubt would need much negotiation to agree to come here. Do I want lukas over other options? Not especially although I think he would offer us another option and a fresh pair of legs when necessary. If we go chasing strikers but are not able to get them over the line then I would prefer lukas in that scenario than the alternative. Of course all this could become irrelevant if we do manage to secure a target and possibly we should wait for this discussion until the window closes or even the end of the season. I suppose I'm doing a what if scenario of my own!