hypochondriac

I hope that if it were necessary we would be prepared to pay a couple of thousand extra a week to get our man, considering the riches on offer in the premiership. It's not about going mental like Leicester, but IMO a modest gamble on proven quality that doesn't break the bank should be an option that is explored if we are not getting the targets we are currently looking for on the wages and fees we are offering (that's IF).

Because IMO our loss of form can be attributed to among other things tiredness, an over reliance on Lambert and the lack of an option to change things on the bench.

Ffs wes tender why do you insist on twisting my words to suit your agenda? At no point was I writing off lee before a ball was kicked. What I said was that it was more likely that a player who is currently in form in the npc will be able to hit the ground running with us. You know I didn't write him off. Why do people on this forum do this?

I wasn't looking at individual cases, just making a comment that in general we have had an awful lot of reported bids then leadin to unsuccessful captures.

We may well be. It's difficult to judge until the end of the window but in the summer it did appear that we couldn't secure an attacking target and ultimately that has cost us some points this last month. It would be a real shame if for whatever reason we can't secure our targets again (if rumours are to be believed we are still looking for another attacker- quite right too!) and we miss out on promotion as a consequence. I have a feeling that of we fail to strengthen and don't go up, many posters will just be content with a decent season whereas I'll be bitterly disappointed that we had such a great opportunity and blew it after a fantastic start. Does that make me negative? I don't think so I just think the last month has shown our weaknesses and with a few key signings we can get back on track and pull off a great achievement.

The jemal deal reportedly fell through as did gorkss (although the jos loan negated these pretty much). So far reportedly commons and hooper so far in this window. There may be nothing in it and just paper speculation but it's worth discussing, especially if we fail to get any of our targets in (lee excepted although I have already voiced my reservations about him in the short term).

Well yes but the problem occurs if our targets are unrealistic (or if we won't pay what the other clubs want.) top players are going to cost money and in January they will cost even more. I hope we are flexible in our negotiations to give us the best chance of acquiring any of our targets.

I'm not just talking about now. It happened in the summer too.

We do appear to have a surprising amount of bids turned down (unless it's just a load of lies printed in the papers which I don't really believe to be the case unlike some.)

I agree. I'm not sure how good we are at negotiating. My suspicion is we give an offer and then go somewhere else if it isn't accepted. Maybe NC could do with being a bit more flexible? There were rumours if you remember of the cork deal almost breaking down at the last minute. Having said that, as you say our position now is better than the summer though we have to get past the clubs that won't want to sell...

The problem I think we have is striking a balance between someone we believe is worth the expense and choosing a target who will actually come.

Yes but I would rather go for the likes of sharp than the likes of hooper if we are much more likely to secure sharp. We shall see at the end of the window!

Making enquiries into if a bid would be accepted or not is not my definition of tapping up.

I hope that is what we do do. Reportedly been in for a few strikers such as Jay Rod sharp and Hooper and we didn't manage to get anyone in the summer. I hope we are more successful in January or maybe we need to set our sights lower or perhaps pay a little bit more as someone else suggested earlier.

I don't think we are involved in that. We go about our business professionally, or so we are told.

The problem is though that there isn't much point going in for players if we don't actually get any of them...

I moan when anyone predicts we will lose by three goals simply because we happen to be losing by a single goal at some point. Let's be honest, if we are losing at half time, then 99 times out of 100 you will be spitting bile saying how awful we are and predicting a loss without taking any other factors into account and without any sort of belief that we can turn it around.

So you are perfectly entitled to say we will lose by three clear goals? I think that most people did you annoying because you write us off before the end of every game if we aren't winning.

Alpine your propensity to moaning incessantly if we are losing at any point during a game is tedious to the extreme. At least wait till the end of a game to express your frustration. Time and again you have said we were awful only for us to go on and win the game. Is that not evidence enough for you to change your ways?

Do you agree with me that although sharp would be a good signing, we should not be spending the sat sums reportedly that Leicester are spending on him?

This. Infinitely more interesting than the likes of deppo, his cyber mong tribute posters and verbal. He will be missed.

Well we clearly had an interest in the summer.

What would you have expected him to say? I question his mentioning of major signings but I never expected him to mention definite targets or say what he was aiming for. Doing that leads to frustration and disappointment when those things do not materialise. Ultimately he won't be judged by a response in a post match interview but on the first of February when the window closes and then after that in May. If you listen to him he actually sounds quite determined to get some deals done. I hope that's the case!

Not worth it.