The programme from yesterday, from the mouth of DW no less, mentions a top six finish. Seems that the chairman has decided to be much more ambitious than at the start of the season. But on the showing of yesterday and the last couple of weeks, where is this new optimism coming from? Does Sir KH believe in the power of prayer? Is it just hype to keep us interested? Or does a sudden influx of cash (we know what that means) = 3 new players?

it would be nice to think we'd get an injection of new blood into the squad and maybe move out one or two players who won't figure in the club's future plans.
There are six away games left against the current top half sides this season, so the lion's share of games look winnable. Maybe the club have been seeing how it goes for the first half, and have people in mind to push the performances and results on to the next level.

i said to my mate fat normo on saturday that january will tell us what IOR's ambition for the club is. if we see an injection of cash then we can be fairly sure they see the club moving onwards THIS season.

i'm going to get slagged off for this, but if you had offered an above mid-table finish at the start of the season, i'd have snapped your hand off. i still don't think its the end of the world if we miss out on the play-offs. realistically the season should always have been about consolidation, but the narrow manner in which we lost some games and some of the shitty opposition we've seen shows that a play-off place IS possible

if, however, we get an injection of dosh and wilson goes out and strengthens where we need strengthening (IMHO right back, right midfield, centre-floorboard) then i'll be even more delighted

Right back?

Am I missing something here, but couldn't we just have Jamie McCunnie as our first choice left back with Michael Barron as his back up, Ali Gibb for pure emergencies?

Come on MJ, you're a sensible bloke.
It's plain for most supporters to see, that there is enough quality
in the squad we have, to be much higher than 14th at this stage of the season.

If we had been a bit more clinical (at both ends) and shown a more consistent level of performance,
we would be sniffing around the play off spots now.

There is either something we don't know about, going on in the background (i.e players wanting to jump ship)
or a serious lack of motivation from the management and coaching staff.

The next few weeks should tell us a lot.

Why the hell does there always have to be a Grassington Knowle theory behind everything?

because ability and performance do not balance

Walsall are not doing to bad after a terrible start , I think they are dark horses for promotion

Chip is spot on with the prediction of 14th. That's roughly what we'll get with the current squad. It should have been better if better managed to date and could still be better if we can get Ben Clark and Joel Porter back from injury on a regular basis.

I keep thinking about how we compare to the 2004-05 season. Arguably, a combination of Adam Boyd on fire plus a settled defence made all the difference. Both are significant differences from today's set up, so if the objective of a top six finish is to be achieved this season, some cash will have to be splashed. The main needs in my view are an experienced right back and an experienced midfielder because Boland is too slow and too negative. McCunnie could help with either problem, but another body would not go amiss. I'd like to replace Ritchie Barker with a younger model with the potential of Alan Shearer, but let's get real - that would cost way too much cash and DW has already indicated that Ritchie is set to play for many years yet. In any event, our problem has not been a lack of goals - even if you deduct those of James Brown which may happen.

You mention a clinical finisher like Boyd or Beckford, chip

Barker has exactly the same amount of league(and cup)goals as Barker. This doesn't mean i'm defending Barker as i think we certainly need a new forward, just an observation.

Kirk would fit the bill, like.

14 would be realistic finsh for us now despite the ambitions of the chairman at the beginning of the season
i would not expect very much in the way of cash on the table for players come january
maybe two at the most with some off loaded
i think the budget was set in the summer and the chairman may have expected more if that is the case why would he stump up now with no guarantee of top six looking likely on present form
but still we have to look at in the sense if there was no I O R where would we be
one thing if they do stay we would be a lot more stable than some of the clubs in our division and the division below so patience is the by word
if danny dosen't produce then short contracts are an advantage