Richard Sutcliffe: Yorkshire clubs make final gamble in a bid for promotion or survival

RARELY has a year started with so much at stake for Yorkshire’s footballing brotherhood as it did in 2017.

Six White Rose clubs were occupying either a play-off place or automatic promotion slot as the last strains of Auld Lang Syne faded away with another two sitting in the relegation zone of their respective divisions.

No wonder, therefore, the transfer window was seen by all 10 of our clubs as potentially season-defining. In that respect, it has been a fascinating 31 days for the county with the likes of Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Doncaster Rovers getting their work done early, while others left it so late that the scramble to get deals done last night bordered on desperation.

Hull City epitomised the latter approach as a truly remarkable month of change at the KCOM Stadium ended in fitting fashion with seven new arrivals.

Whether the work done by Marco Silva will be enough remains to be seen. But a man only appointed five days into January to kick-start an overhaul that saw so many comings and goings that it must have been tempting to install a revolving door at Hull’s training ground during recent days has certainly stamped his mark on the squad.

Out went Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore, arguably Hull’s two most consistent performers in the first half of the season, for £20m and in came a host of signings that can be firmly marked down as ‘gambles’.

Focusing on loanees and permanent signings from abroad in markets well known to Silva can work, of course, and lead to hidden gems being uncovered.

But, equally, the English top flight is a league like few others and expecting a new arrival from Greece, Portugal or even Italy to get up to speed immediately can be a big ask.

What this approach has done, though, is fit in with a January that has seen Hull, as a club, take a leap of faith into the unknown. Replacing not only Mike Phelan but also an entire backroom staff with a team unlikely to hang around if relegated is a huge risk. Ditto, signing a host of loan players who will also not be hanging around if the Tigers are unable to escape a relegation zone that has had the club in its grip since October 22.

The possible upshot is, come the end of May, Hull looking for not just a new manager and a new coaching team, but also reinforcements for a squad that will by then be down to the bare bones – and all from a standing start. In that context, relegation really is unthinkable.

Middlesbrough are in a much more stable footing despite Aitor Karanka’s recent outbursts in the past 10 or so days. Patrick Bamford and Rudy Gestede are hardly additions to set the pulse racing, but Boro’s squad looks like having enough to avoid the drop, even if the arrival of a winger yesterday would not have gone amiss.

In the Championship, ‘save the best for last’ was very much the theme yesterday as Sheffield Wednesday left it very late before bringing in Jordan Rhodes from the Riverside.

His arrival brings proven quality to the Hillsborough frontline, though with Rhodes very much being a goal poacher rather than creator there remains a suspicion that, barring the impish qualities of Fernando Forestieri, the Owls lack a true creative force capable of providing the necessary supply.

Unlike Carlos Carvalhal, Huddersfield Town’s David Wagner, as was the case last summer, got his work done well before the scramble got under way and the early signs are good.

Collin Quaner brings an aerial presence Town did not previously have in attack unless shoving a centre-half or two forward, while Izzy Brown has brought the much improved form of his final weeks at Rotherham United to the John Smith’s Stadium.

Garry Monk may have been made to wait for Alfonso Pedraza and Modou Barrow but the Leeds United chief can be satisfied with his club’s work, albeit with the caveat that an injury or loss of form for top scorer Chris Wood could have fatal consequences for a possible Premier League return. Ashley Fletcher at West Ham United would have been a great fit, but a deal could not be done so Monk has to keep his fingers crossed that Wood, who has scored four times more goals than anyone else at Elland Road, stays fit.

Paul Heckingbottom has had perhaps the toughest January of all Yorkshire’s managers due to several of his peers plundering the Barnsley squad. But, as was the case last summer following the departure of several loan players who had been integral parts of the club’s promotion, he moved quickly to plug several gaps.

Completing Yorkshire’s Championship contingent are Rotherham United, whose signings smack of preparing for League One next season with potential and promise clearly high on the list of attributes wanted by Paul Warne.

As for the bottom two divisions, Sheffield United and Doncaster Rovers were able to relax yesterday after getting their business done early. James Hanson’s capture from Bradford City filled a hole in Chris Wilder’s squad, while Ian Lawlor’s arrival at the Keepmoat Stadium from Manchester City was timely following the loss of Marko Marosi for three months.

Bradford City, in contrast to the Blades and Rovers, left it late yesterday but the addition of Carlisle United striker Charlie Wyke after a protracted saga was definitely worth the wait.

Automatic promotion may be beyond the Bantams, but Wyke and Alex Jones may just be the answer to the club’s goalscoring problems.