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Thing is Blackburn are also looking after their own interests and may decide to cash in on Neill now before he walks away for nothing. If we sit around waiting for summer there's a very high chance someone will buy these players this month, leaving us empty handed. If he is available in summer he'll be expecting a signing on fee and his agent will play clubs off against each other. My guess is that would be a six figure sum, not far off what we'd pay to buy him now. In August we played a game of brinkmanship and lost spectacularly, I don't see this month as the time for pissing about and I would hope we get our targets signed up this time.

We took that chance in August and look where it got us, we began the season with 6 senior defenders and now we're fielding untried kids. It's not a chance we can afford to take again in my book. Three and a half months has left our defence in tatters. This season doesn't end until May. Players on free contracts usually command higher fees and wages because there is a glut of clubs negotiating for them. Can you imagine Ballack's bank account after his move to Chelsea. Yet if you lay your money on the table and bid for them in January you are competing with far fewer clubs and in some cases you can even steal a march on your rivals. I would hazard a guess that there are players we can poach now who we couldn't poach in summer.

My understanding of it is that players on pre-contract agreements usually command a hefty signing on fee and hefty wages because they have the pick of quite a few clubs. Liverpool and others would be after Neill and Distin would also have quite a few suitors. There's also the possibility, of course, that somebody else snaps them up in the last few days of January leaving us with nothing once more. We played that waiting game in August and it blew up in our faces, let's not do it again...

If this season leaves us little to play for then we have an opportunity to get new signings accustomed by giving them 10, 12, 15 Premiership games. That's a hell of a lot better than a few pre-season friendlies, and stands them in much better stead for next season. I can't name players because I don't watch much football outside of the Premiership, and even within the Premiership I'd be lying if I said I watched many non-Newcastle games other than highlights. Who would have suggested Vidic a year ago? I know I knew nothing about him. It is up to our scouts to find this sort of player. I'd rather we got a quality left back and/or centre back in now and give them half a season to adjust, I'd feel a lot more confident about them succeeding next season.

Vidic too, forgot about that. What a bargain. If we're serious about making next season one to remember then we would do well to get the players in now, while they're fully fit, and give them games.

I don't believe this season is a write off by any means but the need for a defender is urgent, and if we're going to strenghten then we should do it properly. Players are a bit more expensive in January but we're going to have to bite the bullet at some point. Sometimes you face more competition for a player in summer because others have thought along the same lines as you and have earmarked more money for the summer window. We can't compete with the biggest clubs anyway but sometimes you can steal a march by putting up the money in January. Also, as Optimistic Nut has pointed out, a player bought in January has time to settle with his teammates, ready for the new season (such as Evra for Man Utd). I'd like to see us test Depor with a bid for Andrade. They are in a bit of a crisis now, in their last 5 games they have conceded 14 goals and scored 1.

Notice they've released this story on his birthday. Even if it were true I'd be very annoyed if we were to sell a bright young prospect and current first-teamer for a 25-year old who isn't doing anything at the moment and shortchange ourselves severely in the process. SWP may be the bigger name but he's overvalued because of his status as a Chelsea and England squad player. Milner has 4 years on him and this season he is the player putting in decent performances. As for Milner's lack of goals, SWP hasn't scored a league goal in his last 40 appearances, all while playing for the league champions.

Sounds like a nonsense article.

Beattie or Viduka, who would you choose? Neither. There are plenty of strikers out there. Before everyone asks me to name them, I'm not paid to find these people, but I do know that every year other clubs find them.

Beattie is as much a proven failure as he is a proven success. He's one who could go either way and for the money it would take to bring him here I'm not sure it's worth it. I've even seen one or two people on here suggest he has time to improve, yet he turns 29 next month! I think his best days are definitely behind him. You have to ask yourself why he's just not getting games for Everton. If we go for Beattie I get the feeling it is because he is available and English, rather than as a result of careful scouting to find someone who would slot nicely into our gameplay. Let's face it, we've unearthed very few gems and made very few inspired buys in recent years.

None of us knows what has gone on behind the scenes or even how they really ended up at West Ham but I find it a bit suspicious the lack of opportunities either player has had, particularly Mascherano who doesn't even make the bench these days. There is definitely more to this than meets the eye.

there is only one south american that springs to mind that havent been a failure! There's been a few, but you could probably count them on one hand. Juninho, Solano, Heinze, Asprilla spring to mind as players who have excelled here.

I had a feeling they may fail spectacularly simply because south americans have a very poor record in England. However, I think they also haven't been given a fair chance either. My mate is a big west ham fan and is very frustrated at the lack of opportunities. It may have something to do with the complicated nature of their transfer and the fact the club was then bought out by a different owner.

Ever since he got a few meaningless caps for England people have started talking about Luke Young as if he's a decent player. He's not. Zat Knight and numerous others got caps under Eriksson, it doesn't mean anything.

As good a talent as this lad may be, it could be a gamble which we simply can't afford. If Man Utd or Chelsea get him then I'd rather spend big on Heinze or Bridge anyway, both of whom would give us a few years of brilliant service. Particularly Heinze who is world class, although I think chances of getting him would be slim. Nevertheless neither club could keep 3 left-backs happy so if we miss out on Bale there may be opportunities elsewhere.

No offence but that's a crazy suggestion. You should always aim to keep your best players and strengthen the weak areas of the team. We should be building a team around players like Given, not selling them. Tim Krul has only played one game for Newcastle, you're suggesting we gamble a lot on the success of an untried kid when we already have one of the best goalkeepers in the league if not the world. If money is tight then we have to be more creative in the transfer market and sell the expendable players. We will not move forward selling top class first team players, espescially not Given when you consider that goalkeepers generally don't go for as much money as, say, strikers. If we did get really desperate for cash and simply had to sell than I'd rather sell Owen than Given because he'd bring us a lot more money.

Neither Carr nor Babayaro are as bad as many on here say. They're Premiership quality, but decidedly bottom half quality. When you consider their injuries and the fact they're getting even slower with age, they're not worth the bother and should be replaced ASAP. In Carr's case he is far less needed than Babayaro because, in the short term at least, we already have a capable replacement in Solano. I wouldn't be bothered if we got some small change for him in January and packed him off somewhere else.

Has anybody actually seen much of this Bale kid? I can't say I've seen him play myself.

It's a combination of several factors. They're more successful than us and have much, much more media coverage as a result. They don't have a nickname like we do (toon army, magpies etc) and there are two Premiership clubs in Manchester. It's a bit annoying as Manchester United was never actually 'united', it has always been one club and was once called Newton Heath, they stole the name because they liked it. Still, I'd rather be referred to as Newcastle, Magpies, Geordies or Toon Army than simply 'United' (that name just reminds me of glory hunters tbh).

Do we have the luxury to be thinking long-term? Are these clubs successful because they think long-term, or do they have the luxury of thinking long-term because they have the successful foundations in place? It's a bit of both I think. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I believe that Newcastle's position being as it is, we need to act to stop ourselves from sliding. Thinking long term is a nice soundbite and sounds like the voice of reason but when you look at our squad right now I'm not sure we have that luxury. I think we need to sort ourselves out and steady the ship before we start plotting our long-term course.

I'd like to think that those who were trying to sound sensible and preaching patience in the summer have learned their lesson. We're going to get ripped off and we have to accept that, it's January and we made a mess of the summer transfer window. It's the reason we paid so much for Boumsong and one year on, lessons have not been learned. We can't afford to wait until summer and if we do I believe we'll be flirting with relegation come May. Look what three and a half months have done to our squad. There are five months of the season left. The most important thing this time is that we don't get another Boumsong but that we get the right man. Price doesn't matter, the cost of not investing now will be far greater come summer. We're in a precarious position, this season is not a write off but equally we are not sitting safe. A few wins puts us challenging for Europe, a few defeats puts us back in the mire. This window could be the turning point of our season, I just don't know which way we'll turn.

Solano yet again. Our best player this season in my book and another top performance yesterday.

What can you say the boy's a legend.

That's all true but one thing pisses me off; he won't take free kicks. Why I don't know because he is our best set piece taker, maybe he's worried about defending but if we get a free kick in a good position I'd still want him to take it over Emre "I'm shit at free kicks" Belezoglu. He should be more assertive but if he was he'd put Parker to shame as he just isn't captain material, IMO. This bugs me as well. Solano's corner delivery was never the best but I'd definitely have him taking our free kicks, espescially those inviting for a right-footer. Just tell one of the other midfielders to stay back and let Nobby have a crack at it. Perhaps he has been told to stay back though?

By the way, check out the limp wrist on Huntington! In fact his general posture is totally camp You can just imagine him shrieking when Scholes scored. What happened to having big mean centre halves?! http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/72911033.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19364A19ADEE617E8A813FE64E9BD9144162F2C5C4253AD716A