Answers To Questions

So, did we strengthen overall with the January transfer window? If we did was it enough? And do we agree with Jones (the boss) that our club is “in a wonderful place”? I’d say, in turn, ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘no’ (but with qualifications as what Jones is actually quoted as saying is rather mixed).

We have lost, either permanently or for the rest of this season at least, Taylor, Edun, Campbell(A), Potts, Mitchell(Z), Asiimwe, Edmonds-Green, and (possibly, possibly not it seems) Hylton. Some will question the wisdom of Taylor going (if Coventry is injured or unavailable we would seem to have a problem), and of selling Edmonds-Green (who was a regular squad member) to a promotion rival; but otherwise I’d suggest no quibbles if the goal was to slim down the squad and to give some youngsters the chance to get playing time and develop.

We’ve brought in McIntyre and Gilbert, both on loan (despite the club’s clear aversion to loan signings). It’s fair to assume that they have been brought in to challenge Gillesphey and Berry respectively – not necessarily to replace of course, but to be available as alternatives for key positions, to ensure we are covered for injuries, suspensions, and loss of form. That said, presumably Portsmouth and Middlesbrough will expect both to be given game time, although they are not the sort of loan signings which you would imagine come with commitments from us to play them.

Saying we emerge stronger overall obviously depends on how well McIntyre and Gilbert shape up. Clearly they strengthen us in their respective positions, given that they will compete with players already available. I’d say given the return from long spells out of Ramsay and Watson mean that the defence looks strong, with good cover; the midfield is more open to question given doubts about what we do without Coventry (any option – the obvious ones being play Docherty in a more defensive role, which means two changes rather than one, or try Anderson or Enslin, assuming Henry remains out of the picture); and forward options for me remain something of a lottery.

There was no statement signing in the window, which would have been another forward. It seems we ran out of time (whose fault was that?) to land on loan Sunderland’s winger Bennette. He would surely have been a useful addition, giving us another option from the bench if we switched during a game to 4-4-2 without having to move Campbell(T) back out wide. Him not coming in must increase the chance of Dixon being tried. But that’s not what we had in mind as a statement of intent, if the club wanted to shout out ‘our goal is promotion this season’.

We have numbers up front for sure: Leaburn, Aneke, Ahadme, Godden, Campbell, and Kanu (plus Dixon). Six competing for two starting places and two or three spots on the bench looks sufficient. But it’s not what it seems. Of the ‘big men’ we know Aneke can only manage 30/40 minutes and doesn’t start (and in his last couple of cameos seems to be trying too hard to make an immediate impression), Ahadme has disappointed so far, and Leaburn is really still learning the art of being a target man. Of the smaller option, for me Godden is a shoo-in (anyone still bemoaning the loss of May might like to look at the ‘goals per 90 minutes’ stats for League One this season, Godden’s score is a 149 and that of May 156). He is our most reliable source of goals and has an awareness in and around the box which others lack. So I’m always inclined to look at our forward options in terms of who pairs best with him. But Kanu needs game-time, more than a brief run-out from the bench (nobody should forget his excellent performance against Birmingham at The Valley), and Campbell is a work-in-progress, excellent with the ball and using his pace, not yet great off the ball or a consistent goalscorer.

It could all come good up front, especially if Gilbert increases our potency in the final third. If we’d signed another forward, presumably on loan, it might have come across as a slap in the face for Leaburn and Ahadme in particular, but that’s just too bad. They would hopefully react positively and make it harder for Jones to leave them out. They have time to impress, perhaps we do not – if promotion this season is the overriding goal.

And that leads us on to whether or not we are in a ‘wonderful place’. We are not. We are in League One. To be fair, it seems Jones actually said, as per the club site, “in a year’s time if we have made the same amount of progress that we’ve made in this year (his first as our manager) then we’re going to be in a wonderful place”. Although the jury might have been out before our recent good run, that’s fair enough. But he went on to say “I feel the club’s in a wonderful place”, which is rather different.

It’s akin I think to Jones saying that you can’t go from 18th in League One to promotion quickly. Sorry, but you can. In this division most clubs massively alter their squads each year, especially if loan signings are an integral feature. Building steadily is to be applauded, but each year there’s a cut-off point: have we gone up or not? The chances of us saying ‘yes’ to that question would have increased (IMHO) if we had gone overboard on another striker. We haven’t, so there it is. Bring it on, starting of course with Stevenage tomorrow (a game which by virtue of their three wins in a row has shifted from ‘one we need to win to get into the top six’ to ‘one we need to win to get into the top six and to keep a potential rival for a play-off spot at bay’).