Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads. - A Visit From St Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore

In reality, I doubt that too many Rams fans have visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads; no, at this time of year there is only one thing that has every fan buzzing; the January transfer window!

Yesterday my fellow RamZone writer Nathan Morley touched on the same subject, so if the both of us can be considered as average fans, we are literally already past Christmas and New Year.

So what is the likelihood of squad reinforcements arriving in the next few weeks, and what positions should the Rams be looking to strengthen?

The reality is that the Rams are currently sitting in second place in the Championship, just two points behind leaders Middlesbrough, and a massive eleven points ahead of seventh position.

Just two teams have scored more goals than the Rams, and only one has conceded less. Some might say the club risks weakening an already strong team by making changes, and we should just stand pat.

And yet.

The club has spent over twenty million pounds on transfer fees for new players since the end of last season. Is it reasonable for Rams fans to expect more?

But then.

I am always among the last to advocate rushing into the transfer market to try and address any perceived weakness; but this is without doubt the season for the Rams to press hard for promotion, and there are, it seems to me, holes that need to be plugged.

So what are they?

Assuming that Scott Carson’s injury is no more serious than we have been led to believe and that he will soon be back, we do not need to recruit another goalkeeper.

We are also fine at centre back as Keogh and Shackell are in great form, and both have historically been players who do not miss many matches. Should there be injuries, we are pretty well off for supporting players.

At full back, Christie and Warnock are both playing well and should be solid going forward. We are reasonably well off for back ups, but it would not surprise me all that much to see a young left back brought in as ‘one for the future’. On the whole though, the defence is well set, and we should not expect to see very much happen there.

The midfield is for me an entirely different story. George Thorne and Bradley Johnson are quality players who look set to be permanent fixtures for a long time to come. As for the other available spot - I am a little less sure about Hendrick and Butterfield.

For me, Butterfield is a well regarded player who has yet to fully settle in; at Ipswich he had a wretched game, continually making bad decisions and executing them poorly. I am also not sure that Paul Clement seems entirely convinced by Hendrick; Jeff may be too similar to what we have in the other three central midfielders.

What we really need is to have Craig Bryson and Will Hughes back, but it seems that we can’t rely on that happening very soon. For that reason, perhaps we will see a more attacking central midfielder brought in. It does not have to be somebody really expensive: against Bristol City, I liked the look of Luke Freeman, a player with little pedigree who was picked up cheaply from the lower divisions but looked to be an excellent player against us.

I also have questions about the wide men. Tom Ince is playing well and looks the part, but neither Johnny Russell nor Andreas Weimann are quite there for me, despite their obvious efforts, I would not be surprised to see a wide man brought in. Again, it does not have to be someone costing millions; Freddie Sears at Ipswich showed up well against us.

That leaves us with the man up front. Chris Martin has not scored in open play since late October, even though the team as a whole is scoring quite freely. Darren Bent does not currently seem to have a regular role to fill with the club, so we are a bit light in that position. There is certainly no crisis, but I would not be at all surprised to see a striker coming in.

So it’s a central midfield player, a wide man, a striker and a left back as possible purchases. It sounds like a lot, but any signings may well be somewhat balanced by players leaving; something I plan to look at more in my article next week.

In the meantime, there is plenty of football to be played before January, and also some non-football related celebrating.

COYR and a Merry Christmas to all fans!

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls