AS BUSINESSES up and down the land prepare themselves for their annual stock take,

UEFA’s largely pointless transfer window will have the same effect as the financial year end in forcing football clubs to assess which of their assets still have significant value and which should be heading for the skip, deemed not worthy of the cost of their upkeep.

Of course, much attention will be focused on Liverpool, not least because it is the first chance for the new owners to demonstrate their commitment to bringing in quality players.

A token of their intent will be expected by many fans still scarred by the tenure of the last owners, though they, and Roy Hodgson, have rightly warned against the difficulty of attracting top players during this window, given that almost anyone worth their salt is still going to be in the Champions’ League.

In addition, the manager has highlighted the difficulty of moving on players more concerned with their wages than playing.

Our expectations suitably dampened, we’re left to ponder who exactly are the ‘dead wood’ that are apparently keeping their distance from bonfires, and who form the basis of the squad we’re building to restore our former glories.

For me our current squad falls into three categories: the Healthy Oaks, the Common Hawthorns and the Weeping Willows.