Who opened the door? My money is on Janus! 2024 January transfer thread.

[GhostoftheBok]

My PTSD from Crellin just kicked in. I need a lie down.

[GhostoftheBok]

Just watched Evatt's post-match. He says we don't know yet whether Randell's injury will mean we again need a market solution, which indicates we probably expect it's a bad one. Obviously he can't know, because it'll need a scan. We have to start getting deals lined up now, though and if we don't need them we can let them drop.

I make that two wingbacks, centre half, striker and potentially a midfielder.

The Bs had a "trialist" today. I live in hope that it's a first team signing getting minutes in the legs, but likely not.

Highly questionable how many players we can stretch to, so the mind obviously turns to younger loanees. The trouble being Randell is very much a first team player.

Lefties are hard enough to get under ideal circumstances.

[BWFC_Insane]

We’ve obviously needed a left wing back all window. I’ve said it. Randell is a walking injury. Ashworth isn’t a wing back.

All the ‘we’ve got away with it’ is wrong. We haven’t. We are now bare bones and going to be exposing players. Thomason misses two. Maghoma has a knock. Cogley needs a rest. So does Sheehan.

We need bodies in and have done since the start of Jan. It’s now 24th Jan.

I’d say it’s 4 in now as a bare minimum to cover if we are serious about going up.

[jimbo]

It’s going to be a difficult week trying to find the cash and quality of players who will be available and able to help a promotion pushing squad. Previous January’s I suspect the pool might have been bigger.

[BWFC_Insane]

It’s going to be a difficult week trying to find the cash and quality of players who will be available and able to help a promotion pushing squad. Previous January’s I suspect the pool might have been bigger.

Well indeed. IF we get the quality of players who can step in straight away without us losing form we got away with it. But as of today that looks very hard to do.

For me we’ve rested on our laurels too much in the summer and now.

[officer_dibble]

Got to make some signings. End of!

[GhostoftheBok]

All the ‘we’ve got away with it’ is wrong. We haven’t.

We are 2 points off top with 2 games in hand.

We have indeed got away with the calculated risk we took in the summer.

[BWFC_Insane]

All the ‘we’ve got away with it’ is wrong. We haven’t.

We are 2 points off top with 2 games in hand.

We have indeed got away with the calculated risk we took in the summer.

Let’s decide whether we got away with it at the end of the season. Getting to January then hitting predictable injuries without suitable ready cover does not indicate we’ve got away with it.

Hopefully given how light they would have known we were the recruitment team have all this planned for and we will see bona fide wing backs come in this week. There must have been plans because we were after more in the summer.

[GhostoftheBok]

Let’s decide whether we got away with it at the end of the season. Getting to January then hitting predictable injuries without suitable ready cover does not indicate we’ve got away with it.

Hopefully given how light they would have known we were the recruitment team have all this planned for and we will see bona fide wing backs come in this week. There must have been plans because we were after more in the summer.

We currently have a title in our own hands. The suggestion when we left the summer window was that not getting away with it meant we'd not touch the play-offs.

Seems the recent wind has shifted those goalposts.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I’m between the two schools here. I nearly posted that with >2ppg we’ve certainly got away with something. But we’re now 3.5 weeks into the window and stretched gossamer-thin.

As BWFCi notes - and to be fair Ghost has said a lot - we wanted another RWB in summer so (1) we ain’t satisfied and (2) there’s a list.

Suggesting we see at the end of the season suggests to me a false syllogism confusing methods and results. It’s possible to get the process right and fall short; it’s also possible to do everything wrong and still succeed.

Nobody I’ve seen suggests we don’t need multiple players now. Even Evatt, while not saying we “need” them as such, has repeatedly mentioned incomings plural. Where I suggest we’d all differ is how much we’d “settle” or “gamble” - partly in quantity of players, partly in quality (and therefore cost). I don’t think anyone at BWFC is so stupid as to think this is not a very good opportunity but everyone does their own risk/reward calculation.

And even then we’re a hostage to fortune. What if we agree to pay the full £10kpw of this season’s Shoretire? What if that experienced head in midfield does a Sean Davis and crocks himself before fully unpacking his suitcase?

[GhostoftheBok]

I’m between the two schools here. I nearly posted that with >2ppg we’ve certainly got away with something. But we’re now 3.5 weeks into the window and stretched gossamer-thin.

Aye, but that's not the summer. You're now into January. There are two windows for a reason.

[jmjhb]

Callum Lang leaving Pies. Derby and Pompey in for him...

Reminds me a bit of the Dion situation at Accy.

[GhostoftheBok]

What it all comes down to is fairly simple.

How good are these lads that are apparently riding over the hill to our rescue?

If they're good then we were right to be patient.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I’m between the two schools here. I nearly posted that with >2ppg we’ve certainly got away with something. But we’re now 3.5 weeks into the window and stretched gossamer-thin.

Aye, but that's not the summer. You're now into January. There are two windows for a reason.

Fair, but my point is we are 3.5wks into a 4.5wk window and we’re warming up the tea lady. So yes, we got through to January, but we are now significantly nearer February than December… and the bones are poking through the surface.

I guess it depends on what precisely we are debating we “got away with”. If it’s “wait till Jan”, possibly - but that implies action in Jan which has yet to happen and that could leave us so short-staffed that we risk losing to Relegation-Haunted Carlisle - again. It’s all hypotheticals but you’d surely say earlier signings might have given us more chance to freshen up at Orient.

[Worthy4England]

I’m between the two schools here. I nearly posted that with >2ppg we’ve certainly got away with something. But we’re now 3.5 weeks into the window and stretched gossamer-thin.

Aye, but that's not the summer. You're now into January. There are two windows for a reason.

I'm sure our rose-tinters would tell us that we're still at 2ppg in Jan... P3 in the league - W2, L1...and our last 5 form is better than anyone other than bizarrely enough Orient. W4 L1.

I think we'd all like some transfer movement though.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

What it all comes down to is fairly simple.

How good are these lads that are apparently riding over the hill to our rescue?

If they're good then we were right to be patient.

Agreed on that. Whether they’re loanees and more Bradley than Beck, or permanents more Dempsey than Comley.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Callum Lang leaving Pies. Derby and Pompey in for him...

Reminds me a bit of the Dion situation at Accy.

Is this the lad Ghost mentioned a few weeks back? You’d imagine he’s Derby’s backup if they can’t agree terms with Wednesday for Smith.

[BWFC_Insane]

I’m between the two schools here. I nearly posted that with >2ppg we’ve certainly got away with something. But we’re now 3.5 weeks into the window and stretched gossamer-thin.

As BWFCi notes - and to be fair Ghost has said a lot - we wanted another RWB in summer so (1) we ain’t satisfied and (2) there’s a list.

Suggesting we see at the end of the season suggests to me a false syllogism confusing methods and results. It’s possible to get the process right and fall short; it’s also possible to do everything wrong and still succeed.

Nobody I’ve seen suggests we don’t need multiple players now. Even Evatt, while not saying we “need” them as such, has repeatedly mentioned incomings plural. Where I suggest we’d all differ is how much we’d “settle” or “gamble” - partly in quantity of players, partly in quality (and therefore cost). I don’t think anyone at BWFC is so stupid as to think this is not a very good opportunity but everyone does their own risk/reward calculation.

And even then we’re a hostage to fortune. What if we agree to pay the full £10kpw of this season’s Shoretire? What if that experienced head in midfield does a Sean Davis and crocks himself before fully unpacking his suitcase?

I think are we promoted or not is a good measure of ‘did we get away with it?’.

Less good a measure of other stuff as you note. Because promotion would mean we either made the right calls or got away with the wrong ones. So either way definitely if we go up we got away with it.

If we don’t then the question is different. But let’s wait and see.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

If we average over 2ppg but stay down due to a ref’s brainfart, did we get away with it? I would argue the process worked without the goal being achieved. If we sneak up despite huge injury problems, I’d argue the process failed but the goal was reached.

[GhostoftheBok]

Being the best team in the division off the back of two failed transfer windows is no mean feat.