Salopian 1 Posted January 23, 2006 So, we have perhaps £4m from the sale of Ashton after we have paid various sums to various parties, and the "window" closes in a few days. What should the club do?The alternatives seem to be:1) We panic, spend all the money as quickly as we can, although other clubs know that we are desperate and will overcharge. We are late, and many bargains have gone. With our money we might acquire one half decent player, perhaps Jerome. But it will be good public relations, giving the impression that the club were in charge of things throughout and had already made plans, ghereby deflecting criticism over the sale of Ashton.2) This season is lost, we can take stock of the injury situtation, especially McKenzie and Jarvis, and asseess our chances of survival without buying a direct replacement for Ashton, or buying only a proven but short-term signing (loan?). This may seem a gesture of despair, but any player we buy now will take several games to fit in with our style, - he may have to unlearn, and could seem a flop for several weeks. The play-offs now seem a very distant possibility, and it is avoiding relegation that must be our concern.My preference is for option 2), so that rebuilding can occur, preferably under new management and when the midfield has improved as much as it will and we know how good it really is (it must be better than we have seen so far, despite what fans from former clubs say?) In the summer there will be another clear-out (we can all think of names), and it would be better to think of re-building then. We shall not do a "Charlton", because we have lacked the management skills, but we might be able to what other clubs have done - Reading, Watford, Preston, Luton and from below, Colchester. They have accumulated good players patiently and wisely, not trying to build a promotion team in one attempt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rudolph Hucker 0 Posted January 23, 2006 Whoever the management are the push for promotion in 2007 starts now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saint Canary 0 Posted January 23, 2006 I think it''s best that we start thinking about next season, looking at possible targets and decide who we need to get rid of from our current squad.However we have missed the boat as we will not be able to attract the type of player we could have at the start of the season. Does anyone think that Jerome will leave Cardiff for a team 5 points behind them and 8 points off the play offs having played more games?The board should have found some more funds for Worthy in the summer, £500k was nowhere near enough to buy the amount and quality of players we needed. We are suffering for this now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire canary 0 Posted January 23, 2006 Ithink our Chartlton model is gone. Hopefully our model will become West Ham and (in footballing terms) Leeds: i.e 1 year to re-acclimatise to the Championship, re-structure a squad for promotion using money from big name departures, and get up in season 2 of parachute payments.Achieving promotion in 2006/07 has to be the goal now - even if by a miracle we squeaked the play-offs and found our way up we are in a far worse state than 2 years ago and would absolute certainties for an immediate return again imo, so plan for an assault next season with sensible investment only now - and that means avoiding the january window premium we have just optimised in terms of our selling strategy.Hopefully with a new manager in the summer too - just look at the impact bright young things like Ade Boothroyd can have, and Nigel is not OUR bright young thing anymore; although he may well be for someone else as he''s not a dummy, just a little stale now at City I fear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northern Canary 0 Posted January 23, 2006 i think we should target the three players mentioned.Jerome and Halford being priority and McSheffrey also. Try and get them but not for silly money. This perhaps offers a little chance for this season but the rest i would save til summer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites