Assuming we stay up, which looks a reasonable bet at the moment, and bearing in mind that we are likely to be without Barton next season, with Marney aging and injured, is our first priority to buy some steal for the central area of our team? A real leader who will drive the team on?

Barton and Marney had us ticking nicely to the title last season, and although I'm sure Mee and Heaton (assuming he stays) are vocal, do we need the organisational and fighting skills in midfield which will get the team through many difficult games and periods?

I always think we play better when Marney is dictating the pace in there, and/or Barton is going in where it hurts, and shouting instructions. Dyche obviously knows better than any of us on here, but what are people's thought about central midfield and the type of player we need?

Absolutely we do. There's going to be the need for signings down the spine to fill the place left by Keane and another striker. Defour could leave too so we'd look very short on numbers centrally.

Get these signings right and we'll have an excellent chance of staying up again.

I know what you mean but we still have Hendrick- £10m, Westwood - £5m, Defour- £8m plus Aiden O'Neill

BaldButBeautiful wrote:I know what you mean but we still have Hendrick- £10m, Westwood - £5m, Defour- £8m plus Aiden O'Neill

Or put another way we have
Hendrick plus
Soneone who is injured for 2/3 of the season
A young lad who can't get in the Oldham team
And a player who got relegated from a team who are mid championship and has spent most of the last 3 months on our bench.

So yes I agree we need a leader

aswell as a couple of strikes, wingers and defenders

Wholeheartedly agree. Barton hopefully will stay on (allowed to by the powers that be) and somehow Defour gets into Dyche`s good books and off the treatment table in Belgium but we cannot rely on Marney ever being close to his former self again and Westwood...who knows!? We have Gudmundssson for the right and Hendrick just inside him or pushed forward to supplement a striker. Brady will be a starter on t`left so let`s just give Steve Walsh a tinkle and give him 20 grand for his Kante file and see who were the back-ups. There IS someone out there. Can we reverse the ageing process and genetically clone (dodgy science I know!!!!) Ball, Randall and Deary??????? Barring that, Stephens will almost certainly be on our radar.

What about Tarkowski in midfield?

Barton will be here

Dale Stephens still hasn't signed a contract at Brighton. He wanted to come in August, he may yet still.

Stephens
Cork
Butterfield
Howson
Thorne
McCarthy
Loftus-Cheek

Creative players:

Hughes
Cairney

I can't see any reason Barton won't sign for another year, and I would have thought we'd be first in the queue for Stephens.

It all depends on who leaves I think

Harleston Claret wrote:Stephens
Cork
Butterfield
Howson
Thorne
McCarthy
Loftus-Cheek

Creative players:

Hughes
Cairney

I always wonder about Hughes. Why has he NOT moved on? Is he on such good money there? Does he love the club? Do the outside world hugely overrate him? SURELY his agent would be putting his name in the shop window. I`ve actually forgotten what his attributes are!

Diesel wrote:What about Tarkowski in midfield?

Tongue in cheek I suspect but we only have to look back to Alexander`s influence in that deep-lying position to know that defender turned midfielder does work. Wasn`t Roy Keane a centre half by trade and played centre-half under Clough?

HiroshimaClaret wrote:Tongue in cheek I suspect but we only have to look back to Alexander`s influence in that deep-lying position to know that defender turned midfielder does work. Wasn`t Roy Keane a centre half by trade and played centre-half under Clough?

Very much tongue in cheek, to be fair you could have put Roy Keane pretty much anywhere on the pitch and he would have a done a job for you.

Tarkowski is NOT a midfielder (ablue).

Diesel wrote:Very much tongue in cheek, to be fair you could have put Roy Keane pretty much anywhere on the pitch and he would have a done a job for you.

Tarkowski is NOT a midfielder (ablue).

Was Alexander?

Not saying he`s a leader, but is Fabian Delph a possibility?

TVC15 wrote:A young lad who can't get in the Oldham team

I'm not suggesting he'll be ready for Premier League football next season but Aiden O'Neill has made 13 league appearances for Oldham of which 11 have been starts. It was only an injury that cost him his place since which he's been used twice from the bench.

HiroshimaClaret wrote:I always wonder about Hughes. Why has he NOT moved on? Is he on such good money there? Does he love the club? Do the outside world hugely overrate him? SURELY his agent would be putting his name in the shop window. I`ve actually forgotten what his attributes are!

You mean this Hughes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... -not-says/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry wrote:You mean this Hughes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... -not-says/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That`s the chap. Seems to have his feet on the ground. Only 21 still too! Regardless of his fine words, if he doesn`t move to a Premier club either this summer or next season, questions will be asked regards his motivation to fulfil his potential.

He does sound though a Dyche type of fella.

I would go all out to sign Hughes if possible. He will get games and can use us as a stepping stone after a couple of seasons. He isn't gonna get in a top side so we are as good an option as any other club