Burton were the only side not to get one. Scarborough had four come in and four go out. Kidderminster saw three leave and six join. Aldershot now have four more than they started with.

Yep, the January transfer window has seen a lot of activity, even at our level, but it's all about quality, not quantity. So which were the key deals that will make or break the rest of the Conference season? Here's my Top Ten...

COMING IN...
Crawley need goals in their fight against relegation so it's no surprise they bagged former Lincoln striker Omari Coleman to do just that. The 25-year-old, who's signed until the end of the season, was at Watford before joining the Imps last summer but was released last week after failing to break into the first team. He's also got Conference experience this season through loan spells at Aldershot and Gravesend, where he scored against his new teammates, so they'll know what he can do.

27-year-old Bury midfielder Jake Sedgemore joined transfer-window junkies Kidderminster on a free for 18 months, having has spells at Shrewsbury and Northwich Victoria. If the name rings a bell, it's probably due to his recent loan spell at Burton, where he played twice against Manchester United in the FA Cup. "He wants to win things," Harriers boss Mark Yates said, "and hopefully he's come to the right place." He must be thinking of somewhere else, surely...

Conference promotion challengers Morecambe have also raided Bury's squad, and snapped up ex-Everton and Wigan striker Stuart Barlow. The 37-year-old 'veteran' moved to Christie Park on a free transfer for the rest of the season, rejoining boss Sammy McIlroy, who used to manage him at Stockport. He may not have the speed and agility of a young man, but having seen Iwan Roberts at the Abbey, we all know not to underestimate the influence of someone with such experience.

OK, it's two in one here, with Forest Green Rovers now sporting a new-look front-line in previously unattached Julian Alsop and Bristol City's Guy Madjo. Alsop is a big, old-fashioned bruiser of a target man who'll run through brick walls if he's told too - in fact, he's the guy who put Tamworth keeper Scott Bevan in hospital last week with a shattered kidney. Cameroonian striker Madjo, on the other hand, is a trickier customer. Although he made just one league start for the Robins, he's set the Lawn on fire (as it were), netting five goals in six games as a loanee before his free transfer went through. And the fact that Rovers fans promised to dig deep into their pockets if the club retained his services speaks volumes...

MOVING AROUND...
Woking striker Mark Rawle was recently placed on the transfer list by Cards boss Glenn Cockerill, despite a scoring ratio of almost one goal every two games this season. OK, so it was only three goals in seven starts, so Conference rivals Gravesend, who have taken him on loan for the rest of the season, are taking a punt. But Rawle's been around the lower leagues, having played for Boston, Southend, Oxford and Kidderminster, as well as a loan spell at Tamworth last season, so he'll be a valuable asset in their bid for the play-offs.

Jon Brady's move from Hereford to Cambridge in the first week of January could yet prove to be one of the shrewdest inter-Conference moves of the season. The 30-year-old Australian (above), recently labelled by Rob Newman as one of the best wingers in the Conference, can play anywhere on the right-hand side, and has already proved himself an adept crosser and corner-taker. His experience, which includes winning the Conference with both Rushden and Chester, also means he'll be able to help the younger U's alongside him.

SHIPPING OUT...
Kettering won the mad scramble to sign Stevenage's sought-after marksman Anthony Elding, even though Barnet had been due to hold talks, and Accrington, Burton, Scarborough, Cambridge and Southport had all been interested too.

But Graham Westley wasn't best mates with Elding and also wasn't keen to sell him to a Conference rival, so it didn't take long to snatch the 40 grand Kettering offered. But will the money make up for the fact that Borough have lost a 50-goals-in-100-starts striker?

Rochdale boss Steve Parkin swooped to sign Kidderminster's Iyseden Christie, along with Mark Jackson, in a joint £35,000 deal. Parkin has supposedly been trailing Christie for weeks and with 13 goals on the board this season, it's no wonder. Despite the flurry of transfers at Aggborough over the last four weeks, I can't help thinking the Harriers can ill-afford to lose someone of Christie's pedigree.

Earlier in the transfer window, it was curtains for Aldershot striker Tim Sills, who joined League Two side Oxford United for an undisclosed fee. Although the Shots recruited five players in January, the 26-year-old striker will be a hard man to replace, given his 52 goals in 126 appearances since joining in May 2003. Previously at Kingstonian, where he scored a record 33 goals in 66 games, Sills was also an England National Game XI regular, so he'll be missed big time.

Sean Tyler

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