January Sales

Pasanen, Stayin' Alive

I can confidently make one statement about the forthcoming thirty-one days; it'll be nowhere near as hectic as it was this time last year. Back then, we brought in six players; Berkovic, Duffy, Mornar and Curtis on permanent deals, with LuaLua and Pasanen joining on loan. As well as that, we decided to ship out Neil Barrett and Carl Robinson.

But back then, we were in a hell of a lot more trouble than we are now. Sitting 16th in the league with 19 points, there was still a lot of work to be done. And at the time where short-term survival and improving the playing squad was priority number one, who better than Harry Redknapp? This season, of course, we're sitting happily in mid-table and widespread replacements aren't really what we need.

The first issue to be addressed is, are players really going to be especially keen to move to Portsmouth? Obviously we've got a safe league position and - as much as I know I'm cursing things by saying this - we can guarantee Premiership football next season. But the name "Portsmouth" is - not yet at least - one to bring the players flocking in. As sad as it is, clubs like Birmingham and Blackburn are probably seen as better propositions to a large amount of professionals, regardless of what league positions may say.

The other issue is the problem with who is in charge. Whilst Zajec is the manager, he himself has been a bit shady on how long he'll be at the helm of first team matters for. There's been talk that perhaps a new manager will come in in the summer, which would be an absolute nightmare for any transfer target. Who is going to want to move here in January, knowing that by June the guy who signed him might have "moved upstairs", giving way to a new manager with his own targets? It's going to be a bit of a tricky situation but, seeing as I don't believe we need massive amounts of new signings, it shouldn't hinder us too badly.

Here's one

What we need to be aiming at is bringing in extra bits of quality, rather than the complete overhaul we saw twelve months ago. I'm happy with the goalkeeping situation, so perhaps the first addition we need is one more centre back. Whilst De Zeeuw, Linvoy and Stefanovic have been fantastic this season, there's always the injury worry. As we've seen, once either of them gets a knock, suddenly we look short of numbers. Someone like Danny Gabbidon from Cardiff would be a fantastic addition to the backline; young, undoubtedly talented, and with experience at international level.

In midfield and up front we're fairly well covered for, with the exception of the right wing position. Steve Stone has made the spot his own, whilst Gary O'Neil can cover if need-be, but he's more of a central player - other than that, the only alternative is the young and unproven Richard Duffy. A popular suggestion winging around the interweb is Jermaine Pennant - he's certainly got skill and pace, although I'm not so sure if he isn't a bit lightweight. Either way, his contract is up in six months and so Arsenal would be looking to ship him out before he leaves them for free in the summer.

As fun, easy and space-filling as it is to think up potential targets, I'd imagine if we do sign anyone they will be players we've never heard of before. After all, Zajec is a man with many contacts out in Eastern Europe, with knows lots of decent Eastern European talent - players with multi-syllable names than end in "-ovic" and sound like someone blowing their nose.

On the other side of the coin, we have to wonder who will no longer be wearing the royal blue once the month is up. The most popular target is Amdy Faye, and Sky Sports reckon he's already got a deal sewn up with another Premiership club. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him go, or disappointed for the matter. He's playing well lately, but we have got Quashie, O'Neil, Hughes and Cissé who can all do a job in the middle of the park.

Silkman - twat

Yakubu rumours are picking up pace with that glorious tosspiece Barry Silkman once again saying how Yak wants out. Yes, that is the Barry Silkman with no official connection to the player himself. You may well remember how he was chucked out of Fratton Park last May, and a spokesman later said of the incident; "Mr Silkman was caught inside the ground talking to Yakubu, who is NOT his client but represented by Pini Zahavi. He is not welcome at the club and never will be. It is also important to point out that Mr Silkman attempted to sell Yakubu to Middlesbrough in the summer behind the club's back." To be honest, I'd imagine Yakubu WILL go in the summer, but the "£6m to Everton" rumours that Silkman seems so desperate to fuel are just plain bollocks. We don't need to sell him, and we don't need the money; as Arsene Wenger said, football is about building teams, not bank balances. The player doesn't want to go. So why would we accept a pathetic £6m offer for such a talent?

All in all, it promises to be a fun old time. Rumours, media rubbish, players undoubtedly slipping away at the last second (again); let's hope we don't get rushed into the wrong decisions and sign the quality to help us finish as far up the table as possible. Remember, it's £500,000 per league position!