January wish list.....

[Tony W]

1) Steve MacClean.
Unlikely, but we can dream. If we can't afford him (even as a loan for the rest of the year) then another experienced football league striker please.

2) Defensive midfielder.
Has Wotton gone back to Soton? Fine if he has - he was only average. But we do need a battler and destroyer in our midfield three. I think Payne is a very good player - but I don't think that's his role.

3) Another CB.....or two if Futcher doesn't stay.
Worley is great. Wright is awesome if he can stay fit. We need two others there as cover, however, and that we don't have........


Get each of those, and I think we can make a playoff run.

[Brahma Bull]

Wotton has left and was confirmed by Wilder yesterday. Apparently it was only ever a short term fix to help steady the ship. Glad he's gone to be honest and frees up some wages.

MacLean is vital in my opinion. The lad is class and if any praise should be lauded onto a player to coincide with our 3 game winning run, then it is him. He was outstanding at Chesterfield and has been excellent in every game he has played. The problem is, he can do better than League 2.

I don't think it is unlikely though that we won't sign him, I suspect the player movements out of the squad is being done with the aim to secure MacLean. I'd like him for 18 months or more not some short term deal till the end of the season.

I think Futcher should stay, again ever present in our three game run despite the cat calls and finger pointing in his direction.

[captainox]

1. Steve Mclean - his class is clear to see
2. Ballwinnng midfielder - can't think of anyone off the top of my head
3. Centre back - someone like mcgurk from York
4. A winger/wide player - if potter gets injured we will have no width (presuming cole & deering are out the door as it seems)

[OxYellow]

1: Steve Maclean

2: A centre back better than Futcher


Doesn't Josh Payne sign for us permanently in Jan anyway? on a 2 and a half year contract?

[Rose Tinted Ostrich]

21 points!

[rollsy89]

I'm pretty sure Maclean will sign. We need a strong ball winning midfielder. we are to weak in there. And it'll bring the best out of Heslop Clist and Payne. Agree with Captain Ox bout a winger if Deering and Cole both leave.

[OxYellow]

What decent wingers would be available though?

Deering and Cole both leaving would certainly free up more cash to help towards signing Maclean permanently..

[egox]

Keep Maclean. This is the type of player that can play very well at this level and league 1 i imagine.

We need another quality centre back. Futcher worries me still and, although this will grate with a lof of fans, I dont think Worley is all that. He humps the ball long everytime rather than playing the simple ball. I hope that he will get better but until then we need a decent centre back to shore up the defence. Wright cannot do it all on his own.

A midfielder who can sit in front of the back four who can tackle would be ideal. Our defence is leaky and needs the type of player who will break up the opposition. I like Clist and he does this job to some degree but a more experienced player in this position is what is need. Wotton was not the answer and glad he has gone.

[Londonroader]

Dec 29, 2010 12:24:19 GMT Tony W said:

1) Steve MacClean.
Unlikely, but we can dream. If we can't afford him (even as a loan for the rest of the year) then another experienced football league striker please.

2) Defensive midfielder.
Has Wotton gone back to Soton? Fine if he has - he was only average. But we do need a battler and destroyer in our midfield three. I think Payne is a very good player - but I don't think that's his role.

3) Another CB.....or two if Futcher doesn't stay.
Worley is great. Wright is awesome if he can stay fit. We need two others there as cover, however, and that we don't have........


Get each of those, and I think we can make a playoff run.

1) McClean is quality, but do we bust the bank for him or can we hope for another kind benefactor to help us out again.

2) A similar role played by Danny Bulman, it's a shame he refused to come back when asked.

3) Futcher is not the best, but lends experience to a young back line, Worley is one for the future and is improving all the time, Wright has to stay fit or we have to look elsewhere.

[Dunnit]

Dec 29, 2010 14:11:46 GMT Londonroader said:

Dec 29, 2010 12:24:19 GMT Tony W said:

1) Steve MacClean.
Unlikely, but we can dream. If we can't afford him (even as a loan for the rest of the year) then another experienced football league striker please.

2) Defensive midfielder.
Has Wotton gone back to Soton? Fine if he has - he was only average. But we do need a battler and destroyer in our midfield three. I think Payne is a very good player - but I don't think that's his role.

3) Another CB.....or two if Futcher doesn't stay.
Worley is great. Wright is awesome if he can stay fit. We need two others there as cover, however, and that we don't have........


Get each of those, and I think we can make a playoff run.

1) McClean is quality, but do we bust the bank for him or can we hope for another kind benefactor to help us out again.

2) A similar role played by Danny Bulman, it's a shame he refused to come back when asked.

3) Futcher is not the best, but lends experience to a young back line, Worley is one for the future and is improving all the time, Wright has to stay fit or we have to look elsewhere.

Do you know that for a fact or just second guessing?!

[Long Live Clarkey]

Dec 29, 2010 13:47:36 GMT egox said:

Keep Maclean. This is the type of player that can play very well at this level and league 1 i imagine.

We need another quality centre back. Futcher worries me still and, although this will grate with a lof of fans, I dont think Worley is all that. He humps the ball long everytime rather than playing the simple ball. I hope that he will get better but until then we need a decent centre back to shore up the defence. Wright cannot do it all on his own.

A midfielder who can sit in front of the back four who can tackle would be ideal. Our defence is leaky and needs the type of player who will break up the opposition. I like Clist and he does this job to some degree but a more experienced player in this position is what is need. Wotton was not the answer and glad he has gone.

You can criticise Worley for the long balls, but that doesn't mean we need someone else to shore up the defence. Defensively he's easily our second best player behind Wright, and when I've seen Worley play he's been really, really impressive and commanding defensively. On top of which, for a 6"4 player, he's fast. We're not going to find another player like that at this level.

I do think we need another defender in the vein of Worley though, and one that doesn't get caught out by pace in the way Beast did. I think, although I have almost no evidence to back this up, Gaughan is more the Wright/Franks type defender, and it would be nice to have somebody who has the height (and mobility, so not Futcher) to compete with some of the strikers at this level.

[seekeroftruth]

We need to keep players of the quality of Maclean. The owner should invest in 2 or 3 players of his quality as we can make the playoffs. It will be a big risk to lose 3 or 4 players to cover Macleans wages till the end of the season. Maclean could get injured and be out for a while, therefore we need to maintain a squad size of around 18-19 with 2 or 3 new additions of quality. This will cost money but £150k could well make the difference between mid-table or playoffs.

[peterdevo]

Everyone I talk to likes McClean as I do. he was brilliant yesterday and I wonder what the outcome would have been had he not been there.
His skill alone can turn a game

[SuperOx]

MY WISH LIST FOR JANUARY 2011:

1) United sign Maclean till the end of the season

2) Rhys Day joins Mansfield and frees up a wage

3) Jack Midson and Matt Green go out on loan

4) Mark Creighton gets fixed up at Wrexham or another club and comes off our wage bill permanently

5) Have not seen Mitchell Cole but expect he may leave and free up a wage

6) Ben Futcher returns to Bury although he has done ok since Gillingham

[barryspang]

In: Maclean, good quality centre half.

Out: Day, Creighton, Cole, Baker and send Futcher back.

[peterdevo]

Agree wholeheartedly with barry on that

[Brahma Bull]

Why are some people only hoping to sign MacLean until the end of the season? We need to sign him on a decent contract. If the club can manage a deal until June 2011 then why not tie him down for longer?

Rhys Day and Sam Deering to leave, along with Creights and Midson. Bulman has obviously departed and Cole to leave as soon as poss (which has been an awful signing up there with Mr J Grant).

Replace them with quality players, which includes a Centre Half, a Midfielder, MacLean and a wide man although we never play two wide men so perhaps strengthen elsewhere.

[Godders]

I'm nervous about MacLean. Yes, he's quality but he's also at risk of turning in to a bit of a journeyman and I'm not convinced we should break the bank for him which I believe we'd need to do in order to keep him.

I agree I'd like to see some more cover in the centre back position and I'd also like to see us have another creative midfield option outside of Potter.

[Tony W]

Dec 29, 2010 17:23:49 GMT Brahma Bull said:

Why are some people only hoping to sign MacLean until the end of the season? We need to sign him on a decent contract. If the club can manage a deal until June 2011 then why not tie him down for longer?

Because, presumably, MacLean is on a Championship wage. In fact, he cost Plymouth half a million two years ago so it's likely to be a fairly hefty Championship wage.
The last survey that I know of (by the BBC in 2006) showed Championship players earning roughly five times that of League Two players.

Plymouth are obviously screwed financially - which is why we've got him at the moment and (I'm guessing but would be fairly confident) are not paying all of his wages. And they're so desperate that we might be able to extend that deal to the end of the year.

But after that we'd have to rely on no big club from a higher division or Scotland coming in for him (and I know a Wednesday fan, for example, who would love him back) and MacLean being willing to take a big pay cut. Because we can't afford to pay a player Championship wages no matter how good they are.
Seems unlikely to me, as much as I'd love it to happen.

[Out of the gloom]

Think most people are on the same page. My 5 point list is;

1) Sign Maclean.

2) Stability at centre back: A regular partner alongside Wright, with one (preferably two) understudies. Not sure which role Worley is. With Franks returning to Huddersfield, Creighton not coming back and Gaughan signed short-term, 'the future could be Futcher' (sorry ;D), but I'd prefer somebody else.

3) Out: Creighton, Deering (both cancelled by mutual consent according to FA Player Registrations Lists), Day, Midson and Cole? Bottom line - never keep a player the manger doesn’t want.

4) In: Should be capacity if all the above can be offloaded. An experienced midfielder is a priority - Paul McLaren? (ex-Tranmere). Would love a left winger.

Finally;

5) Blood some youngsters if we drift to mid-table obscurity – yes an anxiety free end to the season. I have heard of other clubs having them