Dykes would do well here imo but QPR surely won't sell him. He's their only striker. I think Hirst will end up here.

A good move for Mowbray. I had expected his next move to be to a lge 1 club so he's done well. He's a solid manager who will easily keep Sunderland up but no more than that. A good man-manager who is a shrewd operator in the loan market. He's not a good tactician though and never really sorted out our defensive issues in his tenure here. No doubt he did a good job here though and I'm sure he'll do well at Sunderland too.

Disappointed that SVDB will not be coming here but, equally, it's not a killer blow. I feel like we have some good options there already but his versatility would have been very useful. My first reaction to Hirst coming here yesterday was similar to others - he's a striker with a very poor record at championship level. However, after doing some research on him I think he is the type of striker we need. Big, strong, good in the air, and runs the channels. I've been saying for few weeks we lack muscle all over the pitch and are far too easy to bully. This guy may give us some presence up the top end of the pitch and be a good focal point. I'd obviously love to sign someone more proven but those kinda players go to clubs with far bigger budgets.

I agree. Central midfield is a glaring problem. You need to win the midfield battle in order for your more technical players to get into the game. Don't think we'll see anyone sign there though.

A no nonsense defender who can also play a bit sounds perfect. Welcome Dom! Looking like the guy from Liverpool will come in too, so we've got some very good defensive options to choose from.

Caulker definitely not coming here. He's joined another club. I'm pleased about that.

Tbf I think Gally would do OK if we played him up top and put crosses into the box. We don't play to his strengths.

One positive with Hirst is that he looks big, strong and mobile. We're severely lacking that so I can see the thinking despite his goal record. Still underwhelming though.

Even 13 goals for Portsmouth is very poor. They are one of the better teams in Lge 1 and create a lot of chances.

32 championship appearances and 0 goals. A striker who doesn't score sounds like the sort of player we would try and sign tbh. I therefore expect this one to happen.

100% I feel like our best teams over the years have been built on making us hard to beat and physically strong. The Hughes and Allardyce eras were exactly that. For me, a good manager comes in and instantly makes a team organised and hard to beat. Both Hughes and Allardyce did that, and so did Mowbray to a certain extent. You lay the foundations before adding more technically gifted players. My fear with JDT is that he's more concerned about building a side with footballers who play pretty football. That's exactly what Henning Berg tried to do and we all know what happened there.

Although I think JDT has been let down by our failure in the transfer market, tactically we have been inept so far. That is down to the manager. It's s terrible sign when a manager constantly has to change shape during a game and has to hook players at half time. It suggests the manager is getting wrong time and time again.

JDT reiterates there will only be 3 new arrivals. They must all be very close to being done if he's saying that. Hyam seems like a good signing tbf, but midfield and striking options well short on quality. JDT saying that it's about building for the future. It's been clear for a while that the aim of this club is not to get back to the Premier league, it is to develop young talent and sell them on for a profit. Promotion would just be a nice bonus.

Sadly I agree.

I'm unable to watch the game today but the HT result and performance does not surprise me. From what I've seen this season, we have absolutely nothing. We cannot defend, pass, control a football, create chances, or out muscle teams. I think the plan is to try and play passing. We saw under TM, even when we did actually have some half decent footballers, that we don't do well when we play that well. It's hard to judge JDT because we've completely failed in the transfer market but I personally think he'll be gone by Xmas and never be seen in the English game again.

Rich Sharpe is usually spot on with the formation so I expect 5 at the back.

I expect another loss today. We're poor at the back and create nothing going forward so I can't see us winning many games this season. Stoke are poor too but the new manager bounce could tip this one in their favour.

We lack muscle in midfield and have poor options at LB. It sounds like we won't be addressing those areas which is a huge blow. If Travis gets injured then we have no muscle in CM at all. We're a striker light but it sounds like a striker is on the radar. If BBD leaves, then I'd imagine an additional attacker will sign too. CM is the area that really concerns me. I just don't think we have enough in the middle of the pitch.

Only 3 more signings expected and one could be Caulker. I think we can start to say with confidence that this has been a shocking window.

Wow not a good time to be an Everton fan. Maupay and BBD are bang average signings.

That's a good deal for us. I'd love him to sign a new contract and stay but that's not going to happen, so it's a good deal and a lot of money. If anyone had said a year ago that a club would pay nearly 20m for Breo then I think we would have checked their sanity. Ultimately he's had one good season and the Premier league is a huge step up. Sadly I think he will be a big flop in the Premier League and I fear for Everton.

As the LT are reporting that Rovers are hopeful of doing a deal, I'd say this one is close and will get done. The LT are usually very quick to squash rumours. I know nothing about him but if he's the sort of defender who will add some muscle, head and kick everything that comes his way, and will generally be nasty to play against then he'll be ideal. We're far too soft and easy to bully at the moment.

5/6 players needed with less than a week to go AND our star player will prob need replacing too. The only rumours I'm reading about are us wanting the two Vans. Hard to underestimate how vital the next 7 days our for our whole season. As things stand, we're bottom 8 - and that's with BBD. Take out BBD and we're relegation candidates.

I wouldn't back us to beat anyone at the moment. We're a shambles. Bradford 3-1.

The alarm bells are almost ringing is a very damning quote from the manager. At the end of the day, it will be him who loses his job if others around him can't bring in players. With the slow pace it takes us to do deals, I'd be shocked if we got 4-5 players in before the end of the window, let alone 4-5 quality additions. BBD's agent has come out today, via Sky Sports, to let everyone know BBD has no intention of staying. To be honest, why would he sign a new deal. The club is going nowhere and he could get a life changing contract by going elsewhere. Good luck to him. Odds on JDT still being here at Xmas?