Kenwyne Jones would be an exciting addition

I'd really not like to see our entire budget blown on a centre-forward. However exciting sounding. Our inadequacies must be prioritised, which, as most of us agree most weeks, means sorting out the defence. I'm afraid my mind is made up about RJ i.e. we signed a dud.Adding him to Berra and Stearman just means we now have 3 CH's short of the required ability as oppose to two.I'm willing (at least in part) to accept loveW's opinion that the team is systematically underperforming-that it's not the pupils, it's the teachers.I think most of us would agree;that's so often the case.Will signing players make a difference, if we know it's then up to MM and TC to get the best out of them?

I'm seeing a bigger picture here people. Why are we being linked with an 8 mil striker that we can't afford??? Oh hang on..... How much are Liverpool offering for Fletch. I heard that its a figure in excess of 10 mil. I suspect KJ is being lined up to fill the gap. Not so sure it works for me. KJ for Fletch. ..... Hmmm

Can anybody point me in the direction of the sources behind these 'links'? I'm a bit behind and haven't read any of them.

Give the lad from hearts a chance, he could be the CD we need,has for the ground we need to get it done, we dropped behind in the 50s when we one of the top three teams in the country and maybe even europe, we were left behind, even if they stopped the building programme after the SC is finished can you see us getting the sort of quality players that you are on about for £40 million? Has o'nelly and sunderland A4D forgot Spurs have we? er 1.0 defeat I think! I have commented a lot on Mick, being lucky enough to see the Stan Cullis and his team I believe that Mick is on a par with him. OK lets tell you a story: There is team in the midlands that needs a new manager! I know of one that took over a club whose manager walked out on them, leaving them in a right mess, so much so that their fans feered relegation. Now this new guy has gone in and spent one million quid? rebuilding the team, in his first season got them into the top 6, in his second season missed the top 6 by one goal, in his third season took them up has champions and then in the next two seasons kept them in the premiership (all be it with a struggle?) and is so far keeping them up for a third season!!! and their fans want him out-I think we might be able to get him? mind you Bruce is still out of work as well? and we might also get Kean! Hughes would want money and lots of it? plus there is always the chance that he would walk once a better offer came along, sometimes we miss the point and wish for something that could turn sour! Ok Mick has his favorites-what manager doesn't. Have a great xmas and here's to a better 2nd half to the season.

Could we buy players that would improve us with 40million to spend? I'm sure we could. I'm not sure what you meant by the quality of players i've been 'on about', but the only reference I made was the cost of the north bank equates to the value of three or four players, taking O'Hara and Johnson's fees as a guide.But, yes, i'm sure if MM was presented with 40million he'd be able to improve his squad.

Anybody looking for a place to hold an 'event' utilising any of the new features of The Molineux isn't really going to be too concerned about how the team is performing.The facilities will be genuine cash generators,regardless of 'events' on the pitch, i'm sure. I'm not suggesting for a second that it isn't a genuine investment, or that it's throwing money away.But I do believe that it was cash that could have been given to the manager, and now isn't there to give.Was the North Bank really so ramshackle as a place to watch football that it couldn't have waited a few years?The concept of a state of the art ground is, of course, to be welcomed but not by restricting the transfer budget so tightly.As a consequence i'm sure there's nowhere near 15million to be made available.

Jones would a monumental waste of money. We don't need that type of player. Surely our priority has to be to strenthen the defence. Christopher Samba would be my pick. UTW!!

No names for a new manager then???

A4D: you perfectly encapsulate the issue of spending money on revamping the stadium or using it to acquire a squad that will keep us in the PL. As you state, the conferencing &c facilities will prove a money spinner in their own right but they will take years to break even, never mind to generate the income that will enable us to create a top-class PL team. In the meantime, the diversion of funds away from team-building will have a detrimental effect on the quality of the squad. At this point, we have to remind ourselves of the priorities of the club. We are a soccer club, one with a glorious history, but which is currently struggling to stay in the PL and, incidentally, to benefit from the millions available to us, if we do so. John Wolf: I recognize your support for MM, which you have passionately espoused on this site on more than one occasion. I, too, want to salute his contribution to the club, which has been considerable. But, I honestly feel that he cannot take us any further and that we are always going to struggle in the PL if he remains in charge, that is, if we manage to keep a toe-hold in it. I don't think he likes dealing with independently-minded players, is thin-skinned but stubborn and is a tactical plodder. You and I remember the Cullis era at WW and, while it was a far less sophisticated game at the time, it was nonetheless just as hard to win titles and cups, and manage players. In this respect, there's no comparison: SC was a far better manager than MM is ever likely to be.

I agree totally with A4D - we should have concentrated on securing our premiership status before spending on the ground improvements. While I concede the advantages of starting the work, now the fact remains that if we do get relegated this will have proven to have been the wrong decision. I believe our survival will be as hard fought as last season and will go down to the wire. We should have bought players to have really made the difference before the start of this season. For example we were wrong to have gone for RJ instead of Dann who was readily available and would have been the injection of quality we needed in the central defence. I hope Jonsson will make an immediate impact in the team but yet again we seem to be looking to buy players on the cheap. Finally although I do rate Kenwyne Jones our problem is we have a poor defence and a midfield that could use an injection of quality - we dont need Jones as much as we need to address those problems....

I think we're most likely to see loan signings (to run 'til the end of the season) than we are to see millions spent on an individual, or two or three.I don't get into the game of naming targets because I don't see the point, to be honest. It's like predicting the score- a bit of harmless fun but nothing to get into arguments over. Having said that...Samba? Yes please! I'll carry him down, if necessary...might need some help though!I'm not totally won over by lovesW's argument which (correct me if i'm wrong) goes:The players are good enough it's the coaching and organisation of the team that's to blame.I don't think the crop we had at the start of the season was going to do any better than it has.So, no, I only partly attribute our shortcomings toMM and/or TC's coaching and organisation of the team.The players themselves have let the manager down time and time again. The stick he's taken on their behalf is to be admired and I commend him fully for it-I just wish he wouldn't feel the need to call me names whilst he's doing it.Where I do tend to agree with lovesW, is in the belief that the couple or so 'tent'(as oppose to 'marquee') signings we're likely to make won't adjust our finishing position in the league significantly.Or, to carry on the chef metaphor: I don't think the likely quality of ingredients we get, will enhance the meal noticeably.Rather than be the difference between mid-table and a battle against relegation,they'd more likely, at best, prove the difference between a battle against relegation and relegation.Where I do agree, is the pragmatic approach to MM's position; he ain't going anywhere. Not yet, at any rate. Obviously I hope Jonsson makes a difference and any more additions should be to the centres of both defence and midfield. As for who they'll be....ask the predictor of the Norwich game, who wrote:"...entertaining end-to-end stuff, anyone's game, I go for a 2-2 draw". Now there's getting it right, lovesW and there's getting it very right!

I agree with most of what you say, kiawolves, but I think that Frimpong would add much needed bite to our midfield. It would make players like Henry and JOH try a little harder. I also think that we should prioritise a CD but don't feel that it is an either/or situation: a striker or a CD. With three quality signings upfront, in midfield and at the back we would survive and that's worth a lot more than we would be paying. I have no comment to make on our Icelandic acquisition at the moment because I would like to see him in action first. From the posts he seems to be a utility player in the SW mould but, if he is OK as a CD, he would add competition, making Berra keep his hands to himself and forcing RJ to do some sprint training with the athletes at Aldersley Stadium.

Some ot these Wolves players we talk about looking better recently is true but,we have been playing against the weaker teams in the division allthough we have struggled for points!!.Lets see if they look as good over the next couple of weeks.UTW.

Although you are reluctant to admit it, lovesW, the tenor of your comments are anti-MM. If, as you say, it's not the players' fault that we are in this position but rather poor tactics and a badly organized defensive set-up, you must be placing the blame elsewhere. The Icelandic guy will also be a test of MM's scouting team's ability to unearth undiscovered gems ... and, his ability to avoid ruining them when they come to Molineux.

That's very kind of you to say so, Rustmonkey, but secretly I know that all those who disagree with me are not true WW aupporters.

SB, I think it speaks volumes that this latest product of our Yoof Setup to be stamped 'not good enough', plays in the position, considered by most (up until this season, at least), to be our achilles heel.Only SW could convince me he's a left back-and he hasn't.Last ditch, goal saving tackles(however welcome they were) haven't change my overall view of his defensive shortcomings.I think i'm right in saying that with Malone's departure, we now have no specialised LB at the club. Not one, let alone cover for that one.As you point out, 150k will contribute to the cost of training him but little else.Arsenal famously run their academy as a cash cow. Wenger cherry picks one or two (e.g.Walcott/Wilshere) now and then and sells what he doesn't want at a profit affecting the club's bottom line, let alone merely covering costs.Dario Gradi did it for 20yrs or more at Crewe. I remember manager after manager at Wolves,claiming the production of players through the youth teams was something they would passionately champion.Pointing out the obvious:if a club nurtures it's own talent, it saves millions in future transfer fees.And yet here we are, about to sell a young LB of our own making, in the certain knowledge that, sooner rather than later, we're going to have to sign one.

Precisely my feelings, A4D. I know I should have set this question up as a separate Akela-esque thread but it fits neatly into this one. In essence, we are dealing here with the consequences of the failure of our Academy programme, namely, how we would spend millions of pounds to fill in gaps in the squad. Will Zeli Ismail be the next to go?

What you need from santa banksy is a touch screen set up,that should be better for you.Merry xmas to all and all that you wish for in 2012.UTW