Harry Chapman

[champs95]

This deal is almost over the line. Like Armstrong he is desperate to return. This I'm about 99% on.

It is believed we are very close to getting Gallagher back on loan for the season. It's thought he's turned into our number one target upfront.

[Despair]

It would appear that we’re going to try to make a play for it ie top 6. Or that’s how it appears to me.
It may be that this though is the next building block in order to do so (seriously?) next season.
Given finance restrictions of FFP for all clubs this is a gamble. Hence the need for huge increase of revenue coming in. Gate receipts these days on their own don’t ‘cut it’. But, none the less, they for us need to.
I genuinely hope they do.

[AucklandRover]

It would appear that we’re going to try to make a play for it ie top 6. Or that’s how it appears to me.
It may be that this though is the next building block in order to do so (seriously?) next season.
Given finance restrictions of FFP for all clubs this is a gamble. Hence the need for huge increase of revenue coming in. Gate receipts these days on their own don’t ‘cut it’. But, none the less, they for us need to.
I genuinely hope they do.

I'd love to be wrong, Despair, but I think the top six is unrealistic.
If we'd got McGinn or Freeman, I'd have considered top half, but the very fact we went for those two suggests TM doesn't really consider Palmer, Rothwell and Tomlinson to be good enough in the attacking/creative midfield role at present. I suspect Palmer is more of a Dack/Armstrong-type, anyway.
It will probably be difficult to get a midfielder of that sort of quality on loan, so we are very likely going to be relying heavily on Mowbray's tried-and-true recipe of worker-bees in midfield, with the flare coming from the front three.
I don't have a problem with that at the moment. I am sure we will be revisiting the creative midfielder slot in January.

[champs95]

I'd love to be wrong, Despair, but I think the top six is unrealistic.
If we'd got McGinn or Freeman, I'd have considered top half, but the very fact we went for those two suggests TM doesn't really consider Palmer, Rothwell and Tomlinson to be good enough in the attacking/creative midfield role at present. I suspect Palmer is more of a Dack/Armstrong-type, anyway.
It will probably be difficult to get a midfielder of that sort of quality on loan, so we are very likely going to be relying heavily on Mowbray's tried-and-true recipe of worker-bees in midfield, with the flare coming from the front three.
I don't have a problem with that at the moment. I am sure we will be revisiting the creative midfielder slot in January.

Good points, well raised.
It's a very long season ahead, let's see where we are in Jan. We where one of the only sides who wasn't severely weakened in the sale of our best players. We'll be back in Jan if if need to