Cardiff City's winter transfer window proved to be far more hectic and active than many had anticipated.
But Steve Morison and his staff knew there needed to be a real injection of life into this squad as the prospect of relegation threatened during a stretch of unenviable fixtures.
Cardiff unashamedly announced early on that they were in the loan market during this window. No funds were available to spend on permanent transfers so the club set about drawing up shortlists of players available on short-term deals.
The key to it all was early planning. From the back end of December the club were adamant they wanted more pace in the side, more legs and attacking endeavour.
As well as addressing the lack of pace within the squad, the midfield was also an area of concern. That particularly important area of the squad was underperforming at the start of the season and it needed help.
The early recalls of Ryan Wintle and Max Watters were in the pipeline for some time. Morison watched both of them play following positive reports from their loan clubs and it made sense to recall them when the time arose to trigger their clauses.
Cody Drameh at Leeds United and Tommy Doyle at Manchester City were also high on Cardiff's wishlist.
Drameh was a player Cardiff identified early on and didn't foresee any issues in getting him through the door. Morison had decided that Tom Sang was a midfield player and Perry Ng was being earmarked to potentially move inside to right centre-half, which he was for the game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
But Leeds United's injury crisis threatened to throw a spanner in he works for Drameh's deal. To Cardiff's delight, though, the youngster was forceful enough to push through a move, despite manager Marcelo Bielsa openly stating he was disappointed the 20-year-old left.
Cardiff kept getting knocked back by clubs who told them they had to wait until deep into the month. The rise of the Omicron variant, the Africa Cup of Nations and a mid-January FA Cup round meant clubs were pleading patience - for Cardiff, who needed results immediately, it was a frustrating wait.
Doyle's arrival was very much welcomed in that sense. The paperwork to conclude his Hamburg loan took the best part of a week, so the midfielder trained at Cardiff for days while the Bluebirds patiently waited for documents to be signed in Germany before Manchester City could sanction the deal.
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He was thrown straight into the starting line-up at Ashton Gate and showed exactly what he was capable of.
While this was all in motion, Cardiff had two other players in their crosshairs.
Ever since Wolves recalled Ryan Giles, Morison was on their case about getting him back as soon as possible. Cardiff had heard whispers the Molineux club were keen to let Giles back out on loan following their FA Cup clash with Sheffield United on January 9, but Wolves dragged their heels agonisingly.
Cardiff were tapping their fingers on their desks as they waited for Bruno Lage to give the green light for Giles to return, with Morison keeping in constant contact with Wolves for updates on the situation.
Last week, though, Cardiff decided they wouldn't wait any longer and decided to move on. They could not afford to wait until the final day of the window only for Wolves to possibly say no.
Cardiff had to be nimble on their feet and they quickly identified Alfie Doughty as a capable second option in the event Giles fell through. The Stoke City man arrived in Cardiff on Thursday and his signing was wrapped up and unveiled by the Saturday. It was something of a whirlwind and out of left field, but Cardiff must be credited for moving quickly and decisively.
Giles eventually joined promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers late on deadline day, which some fans vented their frustrations at. But Cardiff might well have been burnt had they thrown all their eggs in his basket and that left wing-back position is one which desperately needed bolstering.
While all these deals were bubbling along, though, there was a disconcerting undercurrent pertaining to the striker situation at the club.
Watters was brought back, but Cardiff were adamant they needed more firepower.
Morison had Jordan Hugill in his crosshairs right from the start of the month, when the Bluebirds drew 1-1 on January 2 and the forward was not even in the Baggies' squad.
Hugill went back to Norwich City and had a frank talk with Dean Smith, voicing his desire to cut his loan spell with West Brom short in order to seal a move elsewhere for more game-time.
It was music to Cardiff's ears, but they had to remain patient while West Brom and Norwich got their houses in order before they could pounce and seal the deal. Once Cardiff got wind that Hugill's loan to the Baggies was cut short, it was a whirlwind 48 hours which saw Cardiff seal their No.1 target.
An increasingly worrying narrative towards the back end of the month, though, was Kieffer Moore.
Cardiff fought off interest from Wolves back in the summer, but it seemed almost inevitable they wouldn't be able to keep hold of him this time around.
What we weren't to know until early on deadline day, however, was that Moore forced through a move with the handing in of a transfer request. He is 29 and felt he had one more big contract in him, which promotion-chasing Bournemouth offered with a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Cardiff wanted to keep hold of their prized asset, of course, but it all turned sour pretty quickly and it became pretty clear that Moore's future lay elsewhere.
That set wheels in motion for Cardiff to find a replacement and a late scramble ensued.
Cardiff had made their interest in Uche Ikpeazu known a fortnight ago, but Middlesbrough were adamant they would only allow the striker to leave on a permanent deal.
City then moved away from that option, believing it to be unsalvageable. Nahki Wells at Bristol City became an option late on Sunday night, when Cardiff were resigned to Moore's exit, but Bristol City were particularly obstructive in their stance.
The Robins were not going to allow Wells to leave on loan and he certainly wasn't going to their Severnside rivals, which Nigel Pearson made pretty clear.
So, on deadline day morning, Cardiff thought they had struck a deal with Stoke City to sign Sam Surridge on loan. The deal was at a fairly advanced stage before Nottingham Forest gatecrashed the party.
Steve Cooper, who had worked with Surridge at Swansea City, of course, moved quickly after Lewis Grabban was injured against the Bluebirds on Sunday to hijack the deal. They had the financial clout, tabled a £2m bid and swooped to snatch his signature from under Cardiff's nose.
The Bluebirds were back at square one, so to speak, but decided to touch base with Boro again to see if their stance had softened, given it was so late in the window. Fortunately, it had and a deal could be concluded.
A final flurry of exits rounded of City's window, with a handful of first-team fringe players heading out to seek game-time, having been forced down the pecking order by the seven new arrivals.
Kieron Evans (Linfield), Keenan Patten (Hereford), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United) and Tom Sang (St Johnstone), got some final wages off the bill and the opportunity to go and get some senior football under their belts.
After seven incomings, including two loan recalls, and five outgoings, it is fair to say it was an extremely active window for Cardiff, which was desperately needed.
Moore's bombshell transfer request threatened to sully things, but, all told, Cardiff, and many fans, believe this to be a far more rounded and capable Championship squad.
They must now all pull together as one to get themselves out of this relegation fight in the months to come.
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