Last updated 11:24, Tuesday, 02 December 2008

ONE new signing in and two familiar faces out on loan deadline day as Greg Abbott continues to reshape the Carlisle United squad he inherited from John Ward.

Making his mark: Greg Abbott

Not only does the capture of Chris Birchall from Coventry bolster the caretaker boss’s midfield options but it increases the number of full internationals on United’s books to four, with Scott Dobie, Graham Kavanagh and Peter Murphy also having represented their respective countries.

And leaving Brunton Park, albeit on a temporary basis, were Josh Gowling and Luke Joyce. While both could perhaps argue that their first team opportunities have been limited, neither really grasped the nettle and made the most of the chances they got to impress. Whether they still have a future at United, it remains to be seen.

And with John Welsh returning to Hull after the completion of his month’s loan and Shaun Vipond joining Workington Reds permanently, Abbott is clearly putting his own mark on the side.

This would appear to be a taste of things to come as it looks likely that there will be significant movement in and out in the January transfer window.

Hopefully one of the first things Abbott will do is extend the loan deals of Kavanagh, Michael Liddle and Tim Krul, ideally for the rest of the season. They have all performed well in their brief spell with the club and complemented the other players in the United side.

He should also look to get cover in at right back and find a partner to share some of the goalscoring burden with Danny Graham.

If United are to hit the dizzy heights again, they really need two frontmen capable of bagging twenty goals apiece.

Could Michael Bridges be one half of that duo?

We would all love to see him roll back the years and conjure up some more magical memories for us, but form, fitness, injuries and the reluctance of those in charge to select him have restricted the crowd favourite to a handful of cameo appearances and a solitary goal.

I hope he comes good, but his second spell hasn’t worked out, well so far anyway. I think Abbott must decide if he is part of his plans and if so, use him more rather than keep him clicking his heels on the bench. Bridges has shown that he is still capable of influencing games at this level.

With the youth team performing outstandingly well, there might be a few Brunton Babes who will emerge before too long.

We’ve already seen glimpses of what Gary Madine is capable of and promising youngsters Tom Aldred and Jonny Blake were unused substitutes at Grays.

Others such as Jamie Cleary, Connor Tinnion and the prolific Andy Cook may join them on the fringes in the near future.

It is wonderful to see United’s youth policy which produced so many fantastic players in the nineties thriving again.

That bodes well for the longer term future of our club.

n Chris Ayers’ column is in no way representative of the views of the management of the Beehive.