January transfer window

[fraggle]

Striker please!

[wwindsor]

If Askey isn't going to play either Cullen or Archer (injured!!!), then we are desperate for a striker to boost the forward options. We cant keep relying on Pope and Bennett is a poor replacement in my opinion. 

[Guitar Ray]

Defender and midfielder according to UV.

[darren1810]

I think for me and this isn't writing this season off, that we need to gear towards August. Huge summer for us. 

Certainly not advocating a Bury situation, but prudence as per Lincoln, and we can build with the cup money. It stares me right in the face, we are a top striker shy of being a really good side.

The 4 between them are adequate, although as i have only seen Archer for about 30 minutes ( don't attend Paint Pot ) i don't really know if he is. 

We don't want to go overboard in January, also January tends to be a time of panic buys/Loans. We just need a bit of tweaking. 

[osprey]

9 hours ago, Guitar Ray said:

Defender and midfielder according to UV.

midfielder = Taylor ?

or 

midfielder = Taylor replacement ?

[Iron Curtain]

2 hours ago, darren1810 said:

I think for me and this isn't writing this season off, that we need to gear towards August. Huge summer for us. 

Certainly not advocating a Bury situation, but prudence as per Lincoln, and we can build with the cup money. It stares me right in the face, we are a top striker shy of being a really good side.

The 4 between them are adequate, although as i have only seen Archer for about 30 minutes ( don't attend Paint Pot ) i don't really know if he is. 

We don't want to go overboard in January, also January tends to be a time of panic buys/Loans. We just need a bit of tweaking. 

It’s an interesting point you make.

Were Lincoln prudent? Or did their gamble pay off. Their cup run was impressive but they also spent lots of money on the likes of Akinde.

Had they not got promoted would they have been in a bit of trouble? 

[darren1810]

I think they cut their cloth accordingly IC. They made a fortune from the cup run and suddenly were having 9000 sell outs at every home game.

When i went i was surprised at the atmosphere and feel good factor around the place, i also went the infamous Gannon game where we lost 1-0 and there was maybe 2500 crowd there that day.

I get what you mean about Akinde and they also had the likes of Rowe on loan and the lad from non-league who they paid a bit of wedge for , but i don't think they burst the bank as such because of the money they generated.

I don't want us to go stupid but i reckon based on what we have seen and know ( despite some bizare comments about JA yesterday ) that JA is an astute manger and he won't blow the family silver on one big name striker. But with our potential extra income which won't of been budgeted for i hope that this summer Port Vale is an attractive proposition for any potential new signings. 

We definitely have the base to push on big time in the summer. As i said i don't wish to write this season off, but i think ultimately it will be a step too far to achieve the top 7.

Keep our powder dry until the summer , sign Taylor up hopefully in January and maybe a loanee coming in but leave the permanent stuff until May onwards.

[Fosse69]

Lets see how it plays out. Do we have the nucleus of a team capable of surviving a season in L1, or would we be better off with a stronger team in a years time?  It doesn't always work out as Mansfield have found.  But steady building with a steady manager improves our chances. But without uncertainty football would be boring, not likely at our level in any case. Looking forward to an eventful year.

[Santa]

3 hours ago, darren1810 said:

We don't want to go overboard in January, also January tends to be a time of panic buys/Loans. We just need a bit of tweaking. 

The last three January windows for us were unmitigated disasters, culminating in the last one where the chairman eagerly recruited a load of kids from Man Utd reserves, Leek Town and even a Spanish tapas bar side but then he soiled himself when Marc Richards became available.

So a steady, uneventful window this January would be a genuine cause for celebration.

[Boslem's Brazil]

56 minutes ago, darren1810 said:

I think they cut their cloth accordingly IC. They made a fortune from the cup run and suddenly were having 9000 sell outs at every home game.

When i went i was surprised at the atmosphere and feel good factor around the place, i also went the infamous Gannon game where we lost 1-0 and there was maybe 2500 crowd there that day.

I get what you mean about Akinde and they also had the likes of Rowe on loan and the lad from non-league who they paid a bit of wedge for , but i don't think they burst the bank as such because of the money they generated.

I don't want us to go stupid but i reckon based on what we have seen and know ( despite some bizare comments about JA yesterday ) that JA is an astute manger and he won't blow the family silver on one big name striker. But with our potential extra income which won't of been budgeted for i hope that this summer Port Vale is an attractive proposition for any potential new signings. 

We definitely have the base to push on big time in the summer. As i said i don't wish to write this season off, but i think ultimately it will be a step too far to achieve the top 7.

Keep our powder dry until the summer , sign Taylor up hopefully in January and maybe a loanee coming in but leave the permanent stuff until May onwards.

Good post, fully agree. However, sometimes in January a player might be prepared to step down a league or 2 for game time, especially if their contract is up in the summer. 
 

I don’t expect many incomings in January, but if there is an opportunity to bring a Striker in on loan that is better than we’ve got, that’s where I’d use the money. 
 

I think that is the one position that could change us from a top 10 team to genuine play-off contenders. 

[mikey]

If Monty plays as well as he did yesterday regularly, I think I would look for a striker instead of a LB as we aren't exactly big scorers are we? 

 

 

[Joe B]

16 minutes ago, Boslem's Brazil said:

Good post, fully agree. However, sometimes in January a player might be prepared to step down a league or 2 for game time, especially if their contract is up in the summer. 
 

I don’t expect many incomings in January, but if there is an opportunity to bring a Striker in on loan that is better than we’ve got, that’s where I’d use the money. 
 

I think that is the one position that could change us from a top 10 team to genuine play-off contenders. 

I've had this view for a few weeks and hopefully the Vale fanbase have the same perspective.

In my view a successful window would be tying down our key young assets of Smith, Gibbons, and Taylor, look to extend the veterans for another year, move on/loan out as much surplus and potential as we can, and then maybe sign some relatively cost effective players.

If we make the playoffs this year, then fantastic, but I don't think there's any great rush. We have a far better chance of using the City money effectively in the Summer, when supply of players outstrips demand, as opposed to this January, where the only players moving are players who aren't playing and clubs can easily start mugging each other off, due to desperation and lack of alternative options

I've been critical of our previous owner for not 'spending big' in January but that was combined with him fire-selling any and all assets we had, whilst personally pocketing any extra revenue the club is generating.

Now we're being run properly by custodians who will invest all money we generate in the correct manner, I'm happy to play the waiting game on signings. I have no doubt we'll make a few but I can't see a manager as cautious as Askey gambling his budget on a chance signing, and he seems to have a similar strategy to the owners.

We do have the 3rd oldest starting 11 in the league; Pope, Joyce, Legge, Brown are all well into their 30s, and Worall, Amoo, and Monty are not young. Maybe this window can be an opportunity to pick up the young players who can replace the older members of the team further down the line. There's a young defensive midfielder at Wycombe I like the look of called Jamie Mascoll, who is the sort of player I'm referring to; 22, not played a great deal, but definitely got a bit about him and could come good twelve months down the line.

 

[philmpv]

Whomever we sign, if they're not 'known' or 'proven League 2 quality players', I fully expect the usual suspects to cry, moan and shout about the 'lack of ambition' and 'terrible recruitment', as per usual. By far our best performing players over the past 2-3 years have been:

1. Gibbons

2. Smith

3. Streete

4. Alex Jones

5. Jake Taylor

6. Scott Burgess

All of the above had little to no league experience

7. Legge

8. Worrall

9. Brown

10. Pope

11. Eagles (albeit for a very limited period)

12. Joyce

League experience is no guarantee of success, and nor is no league experience a guarantee of failure. I'd be happy, this window, with a loan signing at LB of a promising youngster (or, even, Campbell Gordon to be given a chance, if only from the bench initially) or an experienced guy who doesn't cost the earth, Jake Taylor to sign permanently, and a striker to offer more than those we have currently (though strikers in January are notoriously difficult to find). I don't think we need a backup RB, as Atkinson can cover more than adequately there. 

[Joe B]

3 minutes ago, philmpv said:

Whomever we sign, if they're not 'known' or 'proven League 2 quality players', I fully expect the usual suspects to cry, moan and shout about the 'lack of ambition' and 'terrible recruitment', as per usual. By far our best performing players over the past 2-3 years have been:

1. Gibbons

2. Smith

3. Streete

4. Alex Jones

5. Jake Taylor

6. Scott Burgess

All of the above had little to no league experience

7. Legge

8. Worrall

9. Brown

10. Pope

11. Eagles (albeit for a very limited period)

12. Joyce

League experience is no guarantee of success, and nor is no league experience a guarantee of failure. I'd be happy, this window, with a loan signing at LB of a promising youngster (or, even, Campbell Gordon to be given a chance, if only from the bench initially) or an experienced guy who doesn't cost the earth, Jake Taylor to sign permanently, and a striker to offer more than those we have currently (though strikers in January are notoriously difficult to find). I don't think we need a backup RB, as Atkinson can cover more than adequately there. 

Look at the outcry when Burgess was signed (squad filler, Askey's mate etc).

Didn't hear much of that when he stroked one past Benda on Sunday.

If fans don't recognise a name from Football Manager or Gillette Soccer Saturday, they often assume he MUST be rubbish.

[PV1973]

A test of our ambition could be if clubs come in with a bid for players like smith, worrall and gibbons. That could happen.