After the Chapman fiasco I still wonder, but quite a lot from the local press in recent weeks suggests that one exists. Like you say, a massive relief that at least we shouldn't lose him on a free after the time and money invested.

We're not the only side with a couple of potential fitness issues tonight. Apparently their key man Lewis O'Brien is a doubt, alongside fellow midfielder Jonathan Hogg.

Good to hear. I know it's local and we're on decent form, but with Blackpool at the weekend I could've seen the turnout being a bit low.

Never saw him play for the youth team, but bar his first one or two of sub-appearances where he looked like a lost little boy, I agree that his talent has been pretty obvious in flashes. I think players of his type tend to develop slightly later than wingers or ball-winners like Travis who rely more on physicality. A bit of an extreme example, but I mentioned on here a few months ago that Paul Scholes was well into his twenties before really becoming the player we all remember him being, and I can see patience with Buckley being rewarded in a similar way. I guess something which maybe didn't help his progression was that he hasn't really had much of a run of starts until this season. Almost always in the squad, but only usually getting the odd start/sub appearance here and there. Given where we find ourselves his season, I think we should see it as an opportunity to start him as often as possible and hopefully going into next year we'll have a player on our hands who is more likely to really impose himself on games, rather than show his talent in flashes like he has so far.

I'd add that I never got the sense that any more than a small minority of fans were really writing Buckley off. A pretty big number questioned his physicality and consistency (not that unreasonably!), but at the same time most seemed to acknowledge that there was some obvious ability there too. The disagreement tended to be more about whether he'd be able to reach his potential whilst eradicating the weaker parts of his game, which you'd have to say is still a fair debate even if his progression so far is promising. I guess there have been one or two comments likening him to Jason Lowe which look a bit silly now, but on the whole I think he's been treated pretty fairly on here.

An old boss of mine is a big Cov fan - I remember bumping into him in the L1 season and being a bit perplexed by him saying something like "I hope you enjoy being top by Christmas and not winning another game all season". Makes a lot more sense now! My view is that he was obviously very lucky to keep his job after last season, but his record was still in the black until that point, even with our form being worryingly streaky at times. A good couple of months doesn't mean he's anywhere near deserving a new contract, but I'm happy to see it as him getting back some of the credit in the bank that he lost last year. If we're still up there in February, then maybe the conversation changes.

Marks the start of a big month for the Dingles. Four league games, three of which are against Norwich, Southampton and Brentford. They haven't been cut adrift so far, but if they don't get start picking up points now then they soon will be.

Excellent from Buckley.

Bit annoyed that Butterworth didn't make an appearance, but we've not had nearly enough clean sheets over recent years for me not to take some pleasure from that one. Had this down as a win, so wouldn't say I'm happy with the result or performance, but an away point is never a disaster in this league.

I think Lenihan has suffered a bit from needing to be the senior player in our defence before he was ready. He hasn't ever struck me as much of an organizer, so being partnered with so many young defenders of the last few years can't have helped his own game. I was pleased to see him get motm against Hull - even though it was Ayala who got the goal, Lenihan was the better player over the 90 in my opinion. I suspect that Ayala still takes quite a lot of the credit for that though, being a calming presence alongside him. I see the two of them really complementing each other to be honest, I just hope that they can stay fit.

I can see the temptation of Keane - he seems to have a lot of the opposite characteristics to Mowbray and so it's easy to imagine him coming in and having an effect in raising the standards of the group, calling a spade a spade etc. We've also had the experience of Souness coming in and 'sorting the club out', so to speak, so there are comparisons to be drawn with Keane being a similar character. It's still a massive risk though, and one which I think is more likely to backfire than not. It has been almost 15 years since he managed to get promoted with Sunderland, where he inherited a good squad that just needed a bit of a kick-start. In the meantime the second tier has come on leaps and bounds. It's possible that he could come in and do a good job, but I'd be much happier with someone with a more recent track-record, like Hughton or (if possible) Wilder.

Our recent record in games which are either i) at Oakwell or ii) could realistically result in us being in the top 6 is absolutely appalling, so it's good to be going into the game with a bit of genuine optimism. I understand the nervousness about playing Ayala three games in a week, but for me he's too important to leave out, especially with a full week to recover before the next game. Same back five, but I'd like to see Davenport in for Clarkson to give us a bit more bite. Going for a 2-1 away win.

Brereton hits the post!

With an amazing song on the terraces: "His name is Ludo Mikloško, he comes from near Moscow..." Mikloško is from Prostejov, Czech Republic, which is somewhere in the region of 1,000 miles away from Moscow.

Given our lack of options up front, I'd be shocked if they both don't get some game time this season.

Good post - pretty much exactly how I view this too. The best case I could make for the club here is that they recognise that the club who gets the best out of Chapman have a very decent asset on their hands. Getting him in the shop window for 6 months could mean that, alongside the productive loan at Shrewsbury, we could get a half-decent fee and a sell-on percentage come January. All highly speculative, of course.

I agree if it turns out that all/most the out-of-contract players leave. If it turns out that Lenihan, Brereton & possibly even Nyambe sign new deals then the rebuild doesn't need to be that dramatic. Agree that there are reasons for pessimism on this front by the way, I'm just agreeing that it is possible that our poor window could be better justified if it was a part of a longer term strategy which means we can use our resources better over the longer term. Probably won't turn out that way of course.

The highlighted bit is crucial for me. I agree that we'll be okay this year, and so if it turns out to be the case that we're able to spend a few more quid next summer as a result of tightening our belt this one, then fine. If that isn't the strategy though, and we've just found ourselves in this position, then serious questions need to be asked about our squad management. Suppose we'll only know one way or another further down the track.

I think 20 is very optimistic to be honest with you, but I agree that having him as a striker is one of the main silver linings of a broadly terrible window. He already has two, and if he stays there all season I'd definitely back him to reach double figures, but I'd be ecstatic if he manages over 15.

I wonder if there's a slither of a chance of turning this into a permanent deal next summer? Probably not, but would explain our apparent determination to get him in, giving him the number 7 shirt etc.

Without claiming to be an expert in football finance, I'd read that as us (along with La Liga in a slightly different way) as having lived most beyond our means over the last few years, therefore being most exposed to a 'shock' event like a pandemic. Clubs in the top flight still have their main income stream from TV, whereas many clubs further down the food chain are already used to the pressures of needing to balance the books.

I think there are games you can point to where Nyambe should have played and didn't over the last few years, but I agree that it's been well overdone in the face of the evidence. He is a 23 year old who has played almost 130 games over the last four years, and that's with considerable time out injured and hamstrings which at times have needed managing. That is not a sign of a player being left out too much in my view.

I can only imagine this way we can get something in the way of a fee (or sell on) that wouldn't have been there last year had he gone to Shrewsbury. I certainly hope so, otherwise it makes absolutely zero sense.

Not overly concerned about missing out on Lowe, personally. I think he'd improve us, but not massively and it's very unlikely that we'd be able to recoup the £1.5 million further down the line. If our strategy now is going to be buy young players and improve them, you can't be spending most of the budget on a good-but-not-great 27 year old.

Astonishingly orthodox if it turns out to be like that!