Going Forward

There is one week to go before the end of yet another transfer window. But this one really is the last one, the last chance to make a difference before the end of the season. In his first column, Paul is worried about the state of our forward line.

Its my first column, so I thought I would talk about something which seems to have become really important to us, particularly since the weekend.

Its a big week for us really isnt it? And all the big decisions to be made before we even play a game of football.

The need for another forward is more pressing than ever. Jon Walters is gone, possibly for the season, lost to injury. Now Pablo is suspended for three games, which amounts to almost half our remaining games. It was difficult to tell what happened at the time, but if he really did spit at a player, then there is no excuse.

Danny Haynes is so hot and cold, anybody would think he needs his thermostat replacing. Charlton was a perfect example. An outstanding goal, sandwiched by more bad touches than Georges Santos playing his greatest ever game.

Shefki is injured and, lets be honest, no-one really knows what we are going to get from him when he is fit anyway. Its pretty evident that Crystal Palace certainly werent happy with what they got.

Jim must be touching Alf Ramseys foot every time he passes that statue, praying that Alan Lee keeps himself fit.

Its frustrating that we werent able to deliver any of David Nugent, Darren Bent or David Healy. To be honest, the first two looked to be out of our depth anyway, so there was little surprise that they didnt arrive in the end. You cant blame the club for aiming high, now that we have the resources to do so.

But now comes the time to get bodies in. It looks likely that Jim will have to look a little further down his list of "possibles" in order to get a player in. There is an argument to say that we shouldnt rush into signing anybody and that they have to improve upon what weve got, but frankly I think that time has now passed- we havent got anyone else available at the moment, so anybody is something of an improvement!!

Every game is vital now and its perhaps lucky that the transfer deadline will force Jim into narrowing his options and bringing in someone before the QPR game.

Come on you Blues!!