It's often said that within sports, the best laid plans of mice and men go awry, and it's no different in football. Over the years, there have been countless teams that looked, on paper at least, to be top quality. Unfortunately for them however, that hasn't necessarily always translated into results.

It's no different in any league - least of all in England's Championship, League One and League Two, the three divisions that make up England's Football League. Indeed, while fans of some teams will have been pleasantly surprised at how well their team is playing this year, there's a good chance that even more will be disappointed.

The good news for these fans though, is that January brought with it the transfer window - the period in which teams can strengthen their squads for the remainder of the season and offload players that haven't quite done the job their managers were hoping they would. But what teams strengthened their squads to the full effect over the period?

Well, Championship side Blackpool brought in a few players that their boss, the ever-charismatic Ian Holloway, will be hoping can help them in their push to get back into the Premier League. The side have managed to secure the signatures of highly-rated Scottish duo John Fleck and Danny Wilson - who will be joining the club on-loan until the end of the season from Rangers and Liverpool respectively - and Czech striker Roman Bednar (who has agreed to a free transfer from Premier League side West Brom).

Another Championship side that have strengthened their side in the hope to push towards promotion is Reading, who have recently signed Jason Roberts from Blackburn Rovers of the Premier League. It's thought that Roberts had fallen out of favour with Blackburn manager Steve Kean due to a contract dispute, and now Reading will be hoping that his loss will be their gain. Additionally, the club have signed highly-rated defender Matthew Connoly on loan from Queens Park Rangers until the end of the season.

Other Championship sides that have strengthened their squads include Crystal Palace, who have managed to secure the signature of 17-year-old non-league starlet Michael Chambers. The youngster had made such an impression while playing for Dulwich Hamlet that a number of big-name clubs - including Manchester United - were interested in his signature, and the move could prove to be a real coup for Palace boss Dougie Freedman.

Because of the financial situation that's hit much of football, Championship sides managed to strengthen their squads more so than their counterparts in League One and Two. However, there's been activity in that half of football league as well, with Leyton Orient's loan signing of Cardiff midfielder Solomon Taiwo and AFC Bournemouth's club record £800,000 move for Crawley Town striker Matt Tubbs being of particular note. Who Crawley - currently the pacesetters in League Two - will bring in to replace Tubbs remains to be seen.

Bruce Giles writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.