Understandable to find it frustrating definitely. Not think though that given last year's disaster and the bad luck of our successful rebuild getting devastated by Manning's sudden departure and a severe injury crisis contextualises why we need a longer-term goals?
Like many I'm sure, I looked at the league at the start of the season and thought wow this might be as weak as it gets, there's a strong chance of promotion here. In reality, I think the top of the league isn't on the same level as Sheff Wed, Plymouth and Ipswich, but the rest of the league has been really competitive both in transfer muscle and in tactical setups. The marginal gains we had at the start of the season (a clear plan with Manning, a fit Marcus Browne, fresh legs for high-intensity pressing game) have diminished not by design but more by bad luck and we look pretty average as a result.
I don't think this is something a month of a transfer window can really rectify, but I do reckon that we will see other teams experience similar problems later on in the campaign just as we work our way out of the them. Honestly though, unless Bolton, Posh or Derby experience some really bad luck or unexpected form I don't see how we can demand promotion this season. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't demand a clearer game plan and attacking purpose, but our wide options at the moment simply don't have 75 mins+ of pressing and taking on the fb 1-on-1 - something all the other teams around us have.