Dragging this one up from the depths...
The squad is taking shape nicely. There's still a big hole at centre forward which will probably need two arrivals to fill it but taking the bones from the OP:
Departures:
Hill, Westlake, Hodder, Whitehouse, Brandy (Rotherham), Miller (Coventry), Taylor (Scunthorpe) and Smith (Sheffield FC) have left permanently as predicted.
McFadzean has left on loan where I thought he'd be sold.
Long hasn't left on loan...yet
Ironside is still at the club officially but I still can't see a future for him at the Lane
Porter has signed a new deal with us.
Maguire looks like he will leave if Hull realise what a "minimum asking price" means. I got some incredulity for saying that I thought he was worth £5m but it looks like we'll get £3m plus add-ons (
please include a sell-on percentage, United!), which allows us to strengthen while letting Hull pick up one of the Football League's brightest prospects relatively cheaply.
Arrivals
With the exception of Davies, none of the players I listed (Brayford, Freeman, Coady, Diagouraga) have joined. I did say that we needed at least three forwards though.
My thoughts on those who have joined:
Alcock: turned down terms at Peterborough, where he's been captain (watch for a theme here) for two seasons to join Clough's United revolution. Dependable and versatile - possibly bringing solidity at the expense of attacking ability - he can cover across the back line. Will likely start the season as first choice right back but will be aware that Clough would love to bring in Brayford.
Butler: another club captain who turned down a deal at his former club, Butler joins from Walsall where he's won plaudits for his defensive ability. Left footed and strong in the air, he'll add balance and leadership to the back line. Possibly signed to replace Maguire in the United first team; it'll be interesting to see how Collins reacts to playing alongside another leader.
McGahey: received plaudits for his 4 first team appearances at Blackpool, the 18 year old is almost certainly seen as one for the future. Given that Collins' contract is up in June 2015 and Collins typically has a dip in performance levels around Easter I wouldn't be surprised to see a transition to a Butler-McGahey combination in place by April. Might have to make do with JPT, U21 and possibly short term loans appearances until the new year, however.
Basham: sometime captain of Blackpool, who paid £1m for his services. As United are only too aware, pricetags on footballers are no reflection of quality but Basham brings strength, leadership and solidity to the base of the midfield, where he will be in direct competition with last season's club captain, Michael Doyle. Something will have to give; as without attacking fullbacks we can't play two defensive central midfielders - that's the Wilson fallacy.
Wallace: bringing in Jose Baxter's best mate from his Everton days might seem a bit daft but on his day, he has the potential to be the division's best midfielder. There is a major question mark over his injury record but it seems a major coincidence that with Wallace in the team, Tranmere surprised the division by leading up to Christmas whereas without him they struggled and were eventually relegated. Yet another club captain joining this summer.
Davies: we know all about Davies from his time at the Lane - the one question mark for me is where he's going to play.
Campbell-Ryce: the winger brings much needed pace and experience as back up to the first choice wingers in Murphy and Flynn. He also allows Murphy to play as a centre forward if necessary. Notts County's player of the season last year, he should chip in with some vital goals and assists.
McNulty: another "best mate" signing, we raided Livingston for the second time in 6 months to bring Scougall's to Bramall Lane. Described as an out-and-out finisher but "one for the future" by Clough; he'll probably begin as a substitute with starts in the cup competitions.
Overview:
Clough's been busy, basically signing a new first team but he was evidently less than impressed by the characters he'd inherited. That's been rectified by the signing of four players who captained their sides last season (Alcock, Basham, Butler, Wallace) to replace some players whose attitudes, frankly, wasn't good enough (Brandy, Westlake) or whose performances didn't impress (Taylor, McFadzean, Whitehouse, Miller). However, there's a lot of solidity with not much in the way of flair so far - I would imagine that I'm not alone in swaying between "meh" and "decent" with my reactions so far while waiting for the one or two that make me think "great".
What do we still need?
Full back - we currently have one left back (Harris) and one right back (Alcock) on the books, with two others who can fill in if necessary (Davies and Butler). The issue is that only one of the four is really an attacking full back so I'd not be surprised to see the Brayford debate rumble on.
Striker - probably the missing pieces of the jigsaw. We've got a mixture of average (Porter), good (Baxter), better played elsewhere (Murphy) and unproven (McNulty) in the four on the books with the real issue being a chronic lack of pace, Murphy aside. The further into the summer we get the more likely it seems to me that one of the two strikers I think we need will be Evans; the other should be quick and strong - not easy to find when you're a League One side. Clough's dislike of loans may preclude us getting someone in from the Premier League.
Balham's XI vs Bristol City (4-3-3)
Howard
Davies Collins Butler(c) Harris
Wallace Basham Scougall
Flynn Baxter Murphy
Subs: Willis, Alcock, Dimaio, Doyle, Campbell-Ryce, Porter, McNulty
