Hopefully Johnson can keep their heads up after their being used to winning last season, and remind them that learning how to cope with defeat and bouncing back is just as much a part of their football education as winning a league.

Starting to wonder. No sign of new articles online this morning. LT haven't picked it up. Last night I just figured Sharpe was asleep and they'd add it some time in the morning. Maybe details are still waiting to be ironed out, and it obviously isn't a major deal so no rush I guess. Would assume if we don't hear more about it at some point today, that it isn't real or was actually submitted too late.

Easier done with Chelsea than it is with Spurs though. If it weren't for Leicester's freak season he would have their only Prem title win. Ability isn't just about what trophies you win, in football. You need the right club as a manager to win things, and the right team around you as a player to win things, it isn't an individual sport.

How so?

Lyons has 17 goals in 94 appearances for Coleraine, who finished 2nd in their league last season and only lost one game. They also won the Irish Cup. He made around 30 appearances that season. So far he has 2 goals in 3 games this season (although the same site thinks we have won 3 out of 5 in the league). He turned 21 this May and had trials with us, Liverpool, United and Villa when he was 11. Not sure why he wasn't signed up (maybe just that his family didn't want to move at that tender age) as he scored 4 goals in one game for United in his trial.

If you are promotion favourites, what you expect is promotion. How it is attained stylistically is irrelevant. Away draws to tough teams are how you get it.

It's also odd since the club apparently told Sharpe there'd be no further incomings. Not sure why they'd bother to fib over a deal as small as this one. I can only presume that after being told they couldn't have an extension for Chapman, they figured they wouldn't get one for him either. Really confused where this one fits in the plan, at his age. More u-23 backup so they don't get run roughshod over and fail to develop perhaps. With the off chance he does well enough to break into the first team fringe.

And it got him a point from one of the most dangerously in-form teams in the league, away. What's your point? I'd settle for a point away to a far less dangerous Bristol City this weekend, and don't think that would in any way stop us being play-off worthy.

Indeed. So random. Maybe we just got the paperwork in for it quicker, or the said paperwork was further along.

By loss you do just mean the ones stepping up to the first team and being loaned out? We haven't actually lost any of the better ones have we?

Don't remember Nuttall getting a new deal. He got an improved deal late last year I think, after his initial goalscoring showings.

Minutes, if reports are to be believed.

The funny thing about this window is that, as we signed so much talented young potential, we might come back to look on this window one day as more of a 9 or 10 out of 10. Conversely, if we suffer injuries at CB or in goal, and some of the players (in particular Brereton) don't shine as much as we expect, it could be looked back on as more of a 5 or 6 in years to come.

We do have an option, it has been reported. Inferring from what the Walsall Twitter account and RovingRover have said, plus the player's comments, it is a definite purchase in Jan like Brereton. RovingRover says he has been told the fee is 50k, but could rise significantly if he does well enough.

A good window, to me. The loan and transfer windows are just one big transfer window in truth, just gets a bit more convoluted after the first deadline. I'd just about score it at a 7.5. Upsides - almost everyone we have signed. Good mix of youth, energy and experience, expensive quality and cheap gambits. Most of the squad now looks strong in depth and our bench looks good. Look like we can certainly challenge top end if Dack stays fit and in form. It also seems like we may have funds still in the kitty for Jan to plug the gaps. Downsides - pity we didn't snag Chapman. Brereton is an exciting signing but risky financially. Still look vulnerable at CB if we hit any injury problems. Rodwell to be backup there may be a roaring success or a disaster. An injury to Raya could be a big problem too potentially, though goalies rarely injure for long. Think we could have done better for loaning out our youth - Matty Platt and Wharton seem like they should have gone to the opposite clubs. Worried Travis could stagnate or want out this season if he doesn't get enough game time (and if he does, we may question other signings). Could have done with getting a cheap loan backup striker, an improvement on Nuttall so we could send him out for games and be stronger too. Also wonder how we don't loan far more out in general. Our academy play in the top 12 in the country, but academies like Forest's, two levels below ours I believe, churn out a conveyor belt of expensive talent and I imagine securing decent loans is part of that. I know the downsides part looks bigger, but mostly minor gripes. Good window.

Interesting, cheers. Not sure why he is so amazed - if we can spend 7 million on a 19 year old it's a small thing indeed to get an 18 year old for 50k. He clearly isn't close to Brereton's level yet. Bigger clubs may have been watching him, but even at that price they haven't jumped, so they can't have been bowled over yet. These clubs watch players all over the football pyramid and don't buy the vast majority, even though some of those named love to hoover up tons of young talent and hog them. Still though, encouraging, and perhaps we have got ourselves a steal by grabbing him now for a small fee instead of watching him another year like those teams. Our u-23s urgently need support anyway now their top scorer from last year is in the senior setup.

Playing some utter nobodies (Chasetown I think the announcer said) and I bet it was in the meaningless local cup thing they have (saw reference to to it when I was looking him up earlier, something like the Walsall Senior Cup). Shocking goalkeeping on his first. Shocking defending on his third. Still, you can only score against what's put in front of you. Good luck to the lad. Not sure we should consider this any different to most youth team signings, but I thought that about Nuttall. Edit - RovingRover just posted how he has been told Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham were all keeping tabs on how he gets on this season, so I certainly could be way off and he may be a gem. Being scouted doesn't mean everything of course - Henley was supposedly scouted by Real Madrid.

It doesn't benefit Pulis to hang onto Chapman when he isn't in his plans. If you're suggesting they see us as promotion rivals, well they never had to sell to us at all.

I feel like the smart thing to do (although I've only thought of it now, tbf) would have been for ourselves and Boro to set the deal up lock, stock and barrel, and sign it off nice and early today. But just include a recall and cancellation clause that had to be activated by say 8pm today. Would that fit existing rules, does anybody know? Then if they didn't sign a replacement today they take him back, if they do then happy days. Suits all parties.

Abraham is only a loan. Won't be too expensive. I don't think their net spending is all that? Can't say I've followed them too closely though.

I hope so (until January). Should reduce his price. If he breaks into their team there is a risk he signs a new deal and falls out of our grasp.

Not necessarily, Boro's Gazette haven't confirmed it yet and are still waiting to hear it seems. They haven't even mentioned Saville for hours. It would suck though if everyone else in the transfer triangle gets it done late and only we miss out.

Villa signed Tammy Abraham. Excellent signing for them.

Sharpe has just said on the LT live thingy that we may have more news at Rovers and Stanley and not go anywhere yet.

It doesn't work as simply as that. And we don't always hear things immediately anyway. The fact Sharpe hasn't posted a summary of the window at all makes me think there could be something...fingers crossed.