January Transfer Window (closed)

Not impressed tbh. IF he can play for more than 40/45 minutes at a time he would be an excellent signing at this level, but there is nothing to suggest that he can. He has long term fitness/injury issues and has to be carefully managed. He’s ok as backup I suppose, but he’s not what we need as a main striker, because he just can’t play often enough or for long enough.

To be battling for automatic next season we need better.

 

We never found out what the strange problem was that meant he could only play a part of each game. I assume this is still the case?

 

He’s played a total of 116 minutes in his last 5 appearances for Birmingham - that’s an average of 23 minutes per game, which is probably about the same as he managed for us in his last season here.

In the previous 10 games he was an unused sub in 4 of them and in the other 6 he managed a total of 100 minutes, thereby averaging 17 minutes per game.

To me that’s not acceptable. We should not be signing players with that sort of inability to perform on the pitch for 90 minutes.

If someone can find the last time he played a full 90 then I commend your perseverance.

As an impact sub he may do ok again, but he is taking up a full squad place on full wages so to me that’s not enough, especially as our other strikers are not exactly prolific.

 

And in answer to my own question - we do now know the last time that Chuks managed 90 (+6) minutes

 

No mention of our 3 loanees Leko, Lee and Famewo. They haven't played so well recently, and maybe we're cooling on the idea of getting them permanently.
Birmingham seem to have done a good job on Chuks, touch wood. When he left he could only play 30 minutes, now he plays 96 minutes and still has enough energy to score at the end. He says he's "in good nick, been working hard at Birmingham". Any slacking we send him back for a sabbatical.

 

Unless of course they are the ones being talked about.

I’m in two minds about this. If we are getting in a couple of top quality players who can go on to create a top two team next season then great, but I can’t see it somehow and they are not usually on the market in January unless you spend big.

Alternatively, if we are getting in another couple of the same standard that we currently have, then that’s not going to help. We have enough of those already.

As for the loans - I wouldn’t touch Leko with a barge pole. Lee flatters to deceive and doesn’t seem to have much of an end product. Very few assists or goals considering the amount of time he spends on the ball and Famewo hasn’t really improved since we bought him. Has good points and bad points and I don’t think he’s any better than those we already have.

I’d be more inclined to keep our money in our pocket and spend more in the summer once we’ve had a clear out.

 

I thought for a while it was just me. Lee looked so dangerous when he got the ball, even when he ran into a player the third time he tried to wrong foot him. But that seems to be how he is now. The dead balls he sends over is always dead, and his crossing never seems to find a man, although without Stockley that may be a problem of our lack of strikers. But he seems to do a lot without actually achieving anything. I'd like to see him recover his form with some decent srikers. And in that case, sign him up. But not for a big wage I'm afraid.

 

Albie is not my favourite player by a long chalk, but I think he can deliver a better long pass than Lee can all day long. Lee rarely ‘makes’ a goal and scores very few, again despite having a lot of possession, a lot of shots and a lot of set pieces. I will be disappointed if we sign him. He is not good enough to get us promoted.

 

IF true, I'm not sure this would be good business o the wages he's likely to command.

 

Vile traitor is still available as well. Defoe and Taylor up front might not be too popular with the upper north

 

You gotta love that. Battling it out with Sunderland for a 39 year old striker in a season that is looking done and dusted.

 

Hope Sunderland win

 

I guess transfer windows will always throw up stories about 'celebrity' players.
Wasn't there some silly talk in the summer about us getting Jack Wilshere?

I sincerely hope the serious work being done behind the scenes at CAFC is being focused on getting in one or two good footballers, rather than bagging a Z lister showbiz name to please a few star-struck fans for a couple of weeks.

Jermaine Defoe? Vile Traitor?
If it is confirmed that we've gone anywhere near either of these two (seriously, rather than just a casual enquiry) I won't be impressed at all.
We need good, hungry players. Not names to sell a few shirts in their dotage.

 

Incoming!!

Juan Castillo signed on loan until the end of the season from Chelsea. left wing back.

Interesting, I guess. Don't know if this is with a view to a buy later on - he played three games at Birmingham in the first half of the season (all stats courtesy of CL )

 

As above

 

Guess this means Soare leaves us. Think he was on a 6-month deal.