Have a suspicion a loan striker is either close or done…

Any clues to a name at all?

Yep and the mood music I’m getting is 60% 1 signing 30% 2 10% 3…

2/3 would be a huge boost for our promotion chances. Not sure 1 is really enough, lets wait and see i guess. Last January we went crazy on deadline day and Appere then signed out of nowhere. Lets hope its the same today and we get in additional numbers.

Definitely active definitely after more than 1.

Good to know, are these still a striker / defender? Are these permanent or loan signings?

Based on absolutely zero inside knowledge I still think we will end up with at least 2 additions today. Massively hope its not a Dean Cox esque situation when we are waiting for that quality addition and then time just runs out at the end of the window.

If we do end up with just the new CM then it will be a bit disappointing as think we may then run out of steam. Will be refreshing my page every few mins today awaiting positive news!

Important game to get back on track. In real need of a clean sheet and 3 points. Hopefully have had enough time to get a few bodies back, particularly in defence.

I always like these sort of signings, high potential upside and due to our strength in that area there isnt a huge amount of pressure to come in and make an instant impact, even though I obviously hope he does.

First thing you notice is he seems to be very well built, I feel like we can be a bit easy to play against at times so another physical presence will definitely help us. Also it seems like one of Fox/Sowerby/McWilliams is always out so its good to have another option.

General consensus from Barnsley fans I have seen is that he is much more suited to playing in a CM role rather than a RWB which seemingly they were trying him in more this season.

Another lengthy contract but if JB has been after him for 3 windows clearly they see the value there. For our club to really move forward we need to keep developing young players and generating decent money for them so hopefully this is one potential player we can do that with.

Welcome aboard Will!

If I’m thinking of the same TS that would be a great signing!

Tyreece Simpson?

The facts are this season in the league:
 
With Hoskins playing. W10 D6 L5 GF32. That's an average of 1.7pts per games and 1.5 goals per game.

Without Hoskins: W3 D1 L1 GF8. That's an average of 2pts per game and 1.6 goals per game.

Now you can opine as much as you like but those are the facts and they are indisputable.

So to answer your question, do I really believe we would be performing better without Hoskins, my response would be based on the facts, so yes, because that's exactly what we have done.

Note: What those stats don't show is that those games without Hoskins were all away from home and we were up against sides in 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th & 11th. Remarkable performances.

Fair enough, we are all entitled to our opinions after all. I dont want to derail this threat too much (not that there are any rumours for us to discuss anyway!), but Hoskins currently has 6 more league goals than Hylton, Bowie, Pinnock, Appere and Eppiah combined. I appreciate we did play very well in those games without Sam, but currently no one else is stepping us with the goals regularly to keep us in the top 3. Hopefully we see a new central striker in the next week come in either way.

Your opinion against my facts. Do you see your problem there?

I love a stat more than most. But do you really believe that we would be performing better without the top scorer in the EFL? He is also currently pretty much our only goal threat. You would rather see a front 3 of Appere, Bowie and Pinnock?

Surely if we brought someone in January 1st that would have been our main target?

By the same token, if you bring someone in last minute doesn't that mean you've had to settle for somebody out of what's left available?

If Brady has his eyes set on someone and their club has said you'll have to wait until we have secured who we are after then that would sort of made sense.

You can argue it any which way really. But I think its understandable that a team would want to ensure they dont leave themselves short themselves, so would look to ensure that they have a replacement lined up prior to selling their player. Its the standard domino effect. But I have no clue who we are after so as its stands we just have to wait patiently. At least its just evolution needed rather than revolution.

I would imagine that as is the case in most windows teams are not releasing some of their players until they themselves can get their own targets in. I would much rather we wait until later in the window and get our main targets instead of settling for players that can offer little more than rotation options.

Shame as I think him and Guthrie would be a great combination for this level.

Disappointing result of course yesterday. Couple of musings from me.

1: The key decisions went against us, no doubt about that at all. But there are times (not yesterday) that we should be putting the game away and not relying on the ref's decisions. Feels like we rarely win comfortably.

2: The defence is leaky. McGowan is excellent in the air but he seems far slower following his injury. Lintott did nothing wrong at all and to be honest I feel he deserves his chance. Also when Koiki is back Odimayo can then slot in at RB which seems like it will be far more suited to him as he is clearly not a natural LB.

I also think Sherring has been a little disappointing overall this season. He came in highly rated but he lacks the dominance that many of our other CB's of recent years have done. He is still only 22 and can clearly improve, but so far he seems like quite a drop off from Horsfall. I would argue with Fraser still here we would be up there with Orient. That being said, i can see what JB and the gang are doing. Taking highly rated younger players and looking to develop them both for us and potential sales, which is how a club of our level is going to develop. So I fully back what JB is trying there, but i think when Koiki is back a reshuffle is needed.

3: I think the out and out 4-3-3 is most suited to us over a 4-2-3-1. It feels like when we play 2 midfielders and then a fluid front 4 that we struggle to keep as much control of the game. I would rather 3 of Fox, McWilliams, Leonard, Sowerby start and allow one of them to get forward more. If we are going to play with a 10 then I would rather it be Hoskins more so there or start to trial Harrop as I feel they are more naturally suited to that position.

4: Hylton has not worked out as a signing, that much is clear. But bringing him on for 20 minutes when we are starting to lump balls into the box and then criticising him seems a bit harsh. As I say, he has not produced in the odd occasion he has been called upon. But we signed his footballing brain and ability with the ball to feet. He needs bodies around him and ball to feet, i still think he could offer something more so at home when teams are sat deeper. But an upgrade at striker is still something I would love to see.

5: Despite our recent inconsistent results I have full trust in Brady and the gang. He is definitely building something, we are developing a clear style and we have the ability to win several games on the bounce. He speaks well, is passionate about the club, the fans and the area and long may that continue.

Lets hope to get McWilliams and Koiki back soon, hope for 1 or 2 proven quality additions and lets get that auto spot this season!

Charlton are prepared to let Jayden Stockley leave, is he one of the Division 1 strikers we have enquired about?.

Would imagine he would have L1 suitors also but would be a great signing for anyone at this level. Amadou Bakayoko also made available by Bolton.

I think its fair to say his overall contributions in games has gone down as he drifts inside far more this season, make out to in runs to ensure he gets better chances to shoot. He is shooting at a record rate in his career, averaging 3.26 shots per game, his career average is 2.19. It feels like he regularly hits the target now also, again hes doing so at a record rate of 51.4% shots on target, his career average is 37.2%.

So he is featuring less in the general play but popping up in much more dangerous areas. The criticism of him in previous years was A) that he was seemingly undroppable despite being shoehorned into random positions and B) his lack of end product. Well now we are not relying on his crossing ability etc as he is getting into shooting positions instead. People can argue we have played better without him, but taking out almost half the goals from this team is not something I would choose to do.

If he does get a move then I would not begrudge it at all, hes given his all throughout his time here. But I think his worth to us is more than any potential sale fee, as a lot of clubs look for potential sell on value, of which there is little from a 29 year old.

I think Sherring has really struggled today and at times this season. The pitch is not helping but he has been really hesitant at times which has caused us a lot of issues. Mcgowan has looked really slow trying to get back and think having a man less in central midfield is not helping either. Think Fox has played well but all in all not a great first half.

Just for example Jack Marriott is available and proven quality at this level so there will be players who are looking to play and join a team who are pushing for promotion.

They will be a load of players who are looking to get out and play for all sorts of reasons with quality and experience but it’s in Brady and CC we trust.

Purely going on what i have read online but apparently he has lost a yard of pace which made him so threatening in the past, not sure he would be what we need. Would still rather see a more physical type just to provide us something different to what we have. Not saying a James Hansen type, but more of a James Collins esque player.

Oh, also to add. Odimayo did really well at LB in his first few appearances there, but I think as the games go on the absence of Koiki is felt more and more. Odimayo's obvious desire to use his right foot has led to quite a few occasions whereby the ball is getting sliced out of play due to trying to use his weaker foot and in general just seems to cause us a few issues at times.

Think most fans both home and away will agree that we should have won that. We really need to start taking our chances in these games and taking the lead. As great as it is that we are able to come from behind so often now its not something you want to do regularly. I think if we score first yesterday we win that game fairly comfortable. Hell of a second goal from the Swindon player though, cant do much but applaud that strike.

Agree with most of the common takes on yesterdays games. Thought Appere noticeably got his shots away quicker, something Brady eluded to after the game. Another great strike from Super Sam who you fully expect to score when he gets a half decent chance now. Thought both McWilliams and Sherring struggled throughout and Leonard was not up to his usual high standard IMO. Eppiah tried to take on the entire team every time he got on the ball, usually resulting in him getting dispossesed.

The set pieces became a running joke between me and a friend. Cant remember the last time we had that volume of corners but we simply didnt seem to get anywhere near them in the end, strange how the loss of one player (Horsfall) has seemingly impacted us so much in that area.

All in all though we created a load of chances, both clear and half chances and in most games we will come away with 3 points. Still confident that we will go up this season.

I think he's made about 37 appearances for us scoring 6 goals and 8 assists,. He's 23 and still very much learning his trade. I dont think that's a bad return considering the dross of strikers we have had over the years(Kabamba, Hooper,Savage, Lobjoit, Platt, Snoupe, BAS)

I don't know what we expect? Hoskins I know has been solid for us for years but many on here doubted his finishing infront of goal, now look at him.

Appere is few years off his peak and may or may not come good, but overall 14 goal contributions of 37/38 appearances a few being off the bench is not something to be sniffed at.

Fair points. As I say, im not saying I dont see value in what he does, but I can also understand the criticism. As you say we have had some awful strikers in recent memory, but hes also not at the levels of Rico, Collins, Marquis etc. For a team that has basically been in the automatic promotion places for the entirety of his time here his goal record is pretty poor its fair to say.

He has positive attributes without question and still has time to improve, but can we improve in that position? I would say we can, particularly for games against teams who set up defensively against us.