5 of 6 out?

[Yellow Rider 0]

With the season now rapidly drawing to a close it will be intriguing to see how PL shuffles the pack during the summer. 

I would pretty much leave the midfield well alone as we have some good competition and quality players when all fit.

Defence probably doesn''t require the major surgery that many think as Ryan Bennett looks a quality addition. Ward and Whitbread are better players than given credit for. The left back area is the most concern though. If we can get to a settled back four (none of this three at the back fantasy) then I think we can cut down the number of soft goals conceded.

It''s up front where the major decisions are to be made.

Last night there were a couple of journalists on Talk Sport (Ian Ridley was one) and the boy Holt was pretty much dismissed as .....''a cart horse'' and likley to be a .......''one season wonder'' (Marcus Stewart was offered up as an example). To be fair they did  acknowledge that Holt ...''knows where the goal is''.  Whilst not totally taking their side, Holty is a better player than that, I can see their point. IF he is still No 1 striker for us next term and has a long term injury we will have very serious problems.

Of the others, you could make a decent case for moving them all on although I doubt that will (or even should) happen.

Morison - an enigma. If we can get the boy from August - January back then fine. The Morison of February onwards is a real worry though. I''m sure PL won''t want to get rid but I wouldn''t be surprised if he was released. A decent fee could still be obtained.

Martin - will be gone.

Wilbraham - until very recently was bracketed with Martin but he''s a great club man (allegedly) and gives defenders real problems when he comes on. Hold up play and target man role is better than Morison although the latter is a better footballer and potential goal scorer. Will PL retain him in a purely ''bit part'' role though? My guess is he will provided Wilbraham accepts the lack of action.

Jackson - not a premiership stiker, pace and work rate are effective but his first touch is poor as is decision making. Could get c£0.5M from a Championship club and the money reinvested.

Vaughan - real problem here. No-one has the remotest idea what he''s like in a yellow shirt as he''s lost the entire season to injuries. He may make some kind of 20 mins. v Arsenal and / or Villa and that''s it. It was a hell of a gamble in the first place and has misfired badly so far. Not his fault and we all have great sympathy for him but................. PL either writes it off and lets him go or bites the bullet (as with Whitbread) and we hope against hope that the boy comes back in the summer with all the injuries firmly behind him. Problem is when Vaughan gets injured it''s a matter of ''months'' out not just the odd game or so. I think PL will persevere with him.

We need to get in at least one decent striker, possibly two. Without that can anyone see the necessary goals coming from the 5 forwards I ''ve mentioned? Sorry but I can''t.         

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

Midfield is the major concern hence the change of systems & 3 at the back to gain the upper-hand in midfield.

We don''t have a commanding, holding player in there, particularly in away games.

[AJ 1,358]

I''m sure Howson will become pivotal as a holding player.

We definitely need to shuffle our strikers around as without Holt we just don''t have that extra threat to worry teams. A lot of friends who are fans of other teams have simply said to me "Holt is the only player you''ve got that concerns me". Whilst I still think we have a team of some good talents (Howson, Pilkington, Fox) I do agree that without Holt we are usually hopeless.

[JamesOL 0]

I agree that without Holt we look pretty toothless in a goal threat sense. As hardworking as Jackson has been he''s never going to tally up goal wise, but i do think he offers some great hold up play and has provided plenty of assists.

I''d be inclined to cut Vaughan loose, I have sympathy for hi but to be honest we can''t afford to have someone who is just constantly going to be out injured, he''s been like this throughout much of his career from what i''ve heard and I don''t see that changing.

And Morison, well same again, he just looks like he really can''t be assed to be honest and we need something different that compliments Holt in a second striker role, and I don''t think Morison fits the bill!

[Pyro Pete 2,353]

With Naughton returning to Spurs and Drury reaching pensionable age, we will need two fullbacks as well. We know Lambert doesn''t like bringing in ''squad'' players. He wants to better what he already has. So perhaps the loan market will come into play once again.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Another year for Drury.

Wilbraham has a better pass completion than Morison but is an inferior finisher. I''d keep Wilby. With Moro too much is unknown but if he gets mentally right he should stay.

I agree we need a midfield enforcer.

I''d love to see money invested in Naughton.

The big money needs to go on a fast and mobile striker - the bigger the better, but boy, these guys cost. Newcastle have acquired two and carry a constant menace, even when on the back foot.

The big question is, can PL bring in bigger money players without disrupting the wage structure and team ethic? The alternative is to continue to develop unestablished players but perhaps we need established round pegs if they exist.

Maybe we can look at players from the relegated sides?