By Lisa knight
July 31 2005

Sam Allardyce has confirmed that both Spanish defender Juanfran and Mexican striker Jared Borgetti have OFFICIALLY signed for the club "I've got good quality players but I'm still five or six short, and I'm still looking to get more players in," the gaffer revealed after our 1-0 defeat to Hull "Juanfran is coming in from Besiktas for a year's loan and we've got Borgetti, but after that we need another three or four to fill the positions"

I believe a striker is a must, preferably with some pace. There is a genuine lack of it in our squad. Recruiting a 20 goal a season player is out of the question due to their cost, though you should note that very few teams have one anyway!

I also think we need an Okocha clone, having only the one genius means once he is marked we do struggle to make an impression on the oppositions goal. Giving teams another person to worry about would inevitably give the Nigerian the space to express himself that he lost since Djorkaeff left the club

After that, its all about numbers. Depth is vital with the extra games this year

"Defensively, midfield and up front, we are still way short of securing the quality and midfield that we need. We had 22 quality players last season but we have only 18 this season"

I agree. Though only losing Candela and Hierro bothered me. So although we have less, what we do have is better