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Thank you, Mambaman. I suspected, from your writing style, that you'd particularly appreciate this one!

Damien, much appreciated as always!

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Wednesday, 26th December, 2007. Championship - Game 24, vs Brighton.

Boxing Day saw us open the second half of the season as hosts to 19th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, a side which had won only once in their last seven attempts, whom we had beaten 2-0 in Brighton to open the season. Oddly, in our last four matches with them, the away team had won. Of course, that had been us three times. Their past three seasons in the Championship had been fairly strong, with placings 8th, 13th, and 10th, but this year's squad was scoring less than a goal per game, and conceding double that many.

With matches so close on each other's heels, I started an entirely alternate lineup. Allan McGregor remained in goal, but Jordan Holmes spelled McCormack at right back, Chris Morgan and Jamie Cooper were paired in central defense, and Joe Keenan came on at left back. On-loan midfielder Mathieu Berson made his second start, while the wingers were also loanees, young Andrew Schofield on the left and Leandre Griffit on the right. Hugo Viana continued the trend, making the first start of his second 3-month stint with the side, partnered with one of our own, John Melligan. Up front, my options were very limited, and Billy Sharp was the only fit first-team striker. On the substitutes bench, I had to name an Under-18 striker with no professional appearances, Paul Preston, to come on in case of injury.

As I had in the previous match, at home against a weaker opposition, I set the side out in the 'patient buildup' tactic, letting players go forward in the attack, but encouraging them to take their time, play short passes, and trust that superior skill and creativity would generate chances. As it had on Sunday, this resulted in an early goal, but this time it was not one that pleased the Bramall Lane crowd. In the 4th minute, Johnnie Jackson took a throw-in deep down the left sideline for Brighton. He played it to left wing Sebastian Wallis-Taylor, a 20-year-old on loan from Southampton, who sent in a cross. Both of my central defenders were sucked out of position by dummy runs, leaving Mark Burchill uncovered at the near post. Joe Keenan spotted it, and tried to close down from the far side, but he couldn't arrive in time, and Burchill drilled a spectacular spinning volley from the corner of the six to make it 0-1. It was a great start for Brighton, and a dismal one for us.

Captain Chris Morgan caught my eye as though to ask 'are you sure about this', but I had no new intructions for him. Brighton were going to play defensive now, and we struggled to make chances, as 'patient' meant we weren't taking half-chances, and always looking for a better option. This meant that many of our buildups were stifled without ever putting a ball into the area, and Jackson's half-volley at the other end looked more dangerous than our best effort. The Bramall Lane faithful were getting restless by the 29th minute, when Jordan Holmes took a throw deep down our right side. He played short for Matheiu Berson, who rather than send a high, hanging cross into the six, played a low pass to the feet of Leandre Griffit. The Frenchman was on a diagonal run towards the near post, and the pass found him in stride. A deft touch made John Hills miss as Griffit dribbled into the six, and from close range he shot... and equalized at 1-1!

Brighton returned to a normal style of play, willing to bring it forward at us, and in the 35th minute, Burchill, flush with success, tried a spectacular half-volley from range. He got it all wrong, however, not coming close to troubling Allan McGregor. In the 44th minute, Griffit was brought down hard by Johnnie Jackson, and the crowd booed when Jackson didn't even receive a card. Behind me, I heard some of my bench players muttering about 'retribution', but whether they meant for the injury, or in response to Griffit's goal, I didn't know. At the intermission, we learned that Griffit wouldn't be able to continue, and that brought on Darren Wrack to play the right wing.

We came out for the second half looking very strong: Wrack earned an early corner kick, that led to another, but Hugo Viana's shot through traffic went inches wide. Viana also tried from long range, but the ball went flying over the bar. The creative Portugese international then set up Billy Sharp with a well-weighted pass, but the striker's nineteen yard effort was saved by Peter Enckelman. In the 53rd minute, we earned yet another corner kick, and this one Viana played out to John Melligan about sixteen yards from goal. Melligan was upended by David McNamee, and though referee Michael Jones did take a moment to look to his assistant, it was a clear penalty!!

Wrack stepped up, the veteran with calm nerves, and drilled it to the keeper's right. Enckelman guessed correctly, but even so he couldn't keep Wrack's shot out, and the experienced winger's first goal of the season put us ahead, 2-1.

Shortly thereafter, Johnnie Jackson was helped off injured after a crunchingly hard tackle by Jamie Cooper. No card was awarded, but I could see how the game was played. If the referee wasn't going to call a foul, it was up to our defenders to be the enforcers. With a one-goal lead, I decided to shift to the conservative, counter-attack style we were used to, just as Brighton pushed forward into a 4-3-3. As seems to happen, our counter-attack was perfectly suited to this aggressive stance from the visitors. In the 59th, Viana took a ball on his chest with his back to goal, then layed a fine pass to his left for Andrew Schofield, but the youngster hit side netting from 20 yards. In the 65th minute, Wrack had a dangerous free kick, right on the 18 and centered in the arc. He curled it beautifully around the wall, a model shot for the training videos, but Enckelman made a diving save at the post to deny the 31-year-old a second.

In the 67th minute, I brought on Paul Preston and Joe Newell up front to replace Sharp and Viana. 18-year-old Preston was a product of the Everton youth programme, whom we'd acquired on a free transfer in the offseason. He hadn't been two impressive, with 2 goals in 13 chances in the Reserve and U-18 matches this year, but he was the only other striker over the age of sixteen on the payroll, and he got his chance now. In the 79th minute, Newell set up Preston with a golden opportunity, a short pass into the area which gave him time and space, but the excitable youngster blazed it high and wide.

I moved the lads back to our defensive outlook for the final ten minutes, but still Schofield set up Preston, and this time his shot was on target, but saved by Enckelman. The rebound fell right to Newell, about twelve yards out, and he looked certain to score, but the Finnish keeper got back to make a fantastic double-save. That held it to a one-goal margin. In the 85th minute, Berson played a wonderful ball from the center circle for Preston. Though not naturally fast, Preston beat David McNamee on sheer fitness, dribbling at pace into the area, and lacing it past the onrushing Enckelman. It was an outstanding strike from the 18-year-old, and he'd scored on his professional debut!

I though surely a 3-1 lead settled it, but in the 90th minute, Berson again got things started, playing a fine ball out of midfield for Melligan, who linked up with Newell. Just outside the area, Newell played a first-touch pass ahead of Preston, who had split the central defenders. With the crowd of 27,604 roaring in approval, the youngster buried it for his second goal in just five minutes!!

Sheffield United 4, Brighton 1
Griffit 29, Wrack pen 54, Preston 85, 90; Burchill 4
MoM: Preston

Its very rare for a player to earn Man of the Match honours for just 23 minutes, but Paul Preston had been absolutely electrifying in his debut. The man who I had put in only as a last resort, literally my sixth-choice striker on Opening Day, had won the hearts of the crowd and was a sentimental choice for the honour!

I told the lads how glad I was to see them keep their cool after the early goal conceded, as it had taken us a while to break down the determined Brighton defense, but they stayed true to the patient tactic I'd had in place.

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Thursday, 27th December, 2007.

Derby County had lost 1-0 at The Circle, and Hull's victory meant we were back into first place, two points clear of Derby and Ipswich, three clear of Q.P.R., and seven ahead of 5th-placed Millwall. I was happy with the win, but the board were absolutely delighted that we found ourselves top of the table here in the second half.

The brutal tackle on Leandre Griffit had left him with strained knee ligaments, which would require a visit to a specialist and at least two weeks, perhaps as many as four, of physiotherapy. The news wire also informed me that Jamie Cooper had broken Johnnie Jackson's jaw, and though the Brighton papers were calling Jamie a thug, the Sheffield papers glossed over the incident, and I found myself condoning it.

In other injury news, Under-18 attacking midfielder Mark Whitehead had come up injured Wednesday morning, ruling him out of the Reserve match. The injury? Another strained groin, which simply cannot be a coincidence. We're doing something wrong, which is causing the preponderance of occurrences of this injury, and I gathered my three physios together to see if we could suss out a reason. In the meantime, Whitehead was off to a physiotherapist, out at least three weeks if not more.

Temporarily, that strengthened the Reserve squad, as I let Marc Bridge-Wilkinson start in his place, a rehabilitation effort as the first step back for the attacking midfielder, who had been rehabilitating a groin injury for over a month now. The star of the senior squad lasted 56 minutes, partnered with Robert Cousins, in a home Reserve match against Notts County, but the visitors found a way to score and won 1-0. I hoped that a steady program of Reserve matches could get Bridge-Wilkinson fit enough to come off the bench, if needed, in the F.A. Cup match in January.

Defensive midfielder Paul Thirlwell was one of those whose contracts were expiring at the end of the season. I was currently paying him about £275,000 per annum, but he was demanding a cool half a million to re-sign. He's been playing a lot for us, leading the team with 52 starts last season, and having started 15 of our 23 league matches thus far this year, but I just couldn't justify paying that much for the 28-year-old. He certainly won't be good enough if we promote to the Premier League, and even at the Championship level, Stuart McCall thinks I should have no trouble replacing him. With that decision made, I opted to sell him now while I could still get some value in return for him.

Only Oldham Athletic was willing to play, with other teams preferring to hold out to try and sign him on a Bosman. Oldham were willing to pay £500,000 for him, and graciously allowed the transfer to occur at the end of his contract, when he would have been able to move on a free. It was more than I'd hoped to squeeze out of anyone, but the Oldham manager was apparently keen to secure his services without a bidding war. The transfer was agreed, effective June 4th.

There was trouble brewing for me in the form of Allan McGregor. A story in the Christmas issue of The Star indicated that he was looking to renegotiate his contract, which runs through next season. Supposedly, he wanted to commit his future to the club, but the prices mentioned in the article were fairly exorbitant. I could afford to re-hire him, but he wanted to be thought of as a 'Key Player', and paid accordingly. While he'd played very well this season and last at the League One and Championship level, I really wasn't confident that he could survive in the Premiership, and didn't want to commit myself to him with a long-term contract which might become an albatross around my neck. I brought his agent in Thursday to discuss terms, but unfortunately we're a long way apart.

I also had a bit of trouble with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who had been recovering from injury for the past month, and expressed his dissatisfaction to The Star, basically complaining that he should be a first team regular. My explanation to him that his health was more important than a few mid-season league matches apparently hadn't done the trick, nor had his lack of match fitness. The article read:

"Continually an onlooker?"

They seem to have gotten their facts mistaken: although he's started only half of our matches, he's number two in goals scored and he's definitely indispensible to the club in my mind.

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Saturday, 29th December, 2007. Championship - Game 25, at Cardiff City.

After two matches against lesser opposition, we had a trip to Wales to face 12th-placed Cardiff City. In their fifth year in the Championship after a number of seasons down in the League, Cardiff had pulled off a 2-1 win over Oldham Athletic in their last match, and had beaten us 1-0 earlier in the year. That was enough to make them the favorites at St. David Stadium, even if we were first in the league.

I continued the practice of extreme squad rotation with another near-full change of players. Allan McGregor stayed in goal, but ahead of him was what I considered my 'F.A. Cup side': Sean Dillon, Hayden Foxe, Steve Foster, and Keith McCormack in goal, with Paul Thirlwell in the defensive midfield role. Jonathan Forte was on the left wing, with Graham Allen taking advantage of the away match to earn another start. Jack Lester and Joe Newell were paired in the attacking midfield, and Billy Sharp got the nod at striker despite Paul Preston's impressive debut mid-week. There wasn't a player in the side quite at 100%, but Cardiff had had a rough time as well, and our lads were much more fit.

Our Welsh hosts came out in a 3-5-2, which I thought gave us a good shot with our conservative, counter-attacking 4-5-1. We almost saw an early goal for the third straight game, this time inside a minute and a half when Billy Sharp drew the Cardiff right-side defender towards him at the center circle, then passed into the space vacated, where Joe Newell was cutting. The 18-year-old dribbled nearly thirty yards into the Cardiff area, only to be caught by midfielder Keiran Richardson, who got a foot in just as Newell shot to put it out for a corner.

We definitely got the better of the chances through the first half, playing solid defense, and cutting ribbons through the Cardiff midfield, but we just couldn't seem to find the killer ball. Several times we had good shots blocked, and once Paul Thirlwell came up the left wing to the end-line, looking more like a winger than a holding midfielder, but his cross was too close to the goalmouth, and nobody could get to it. Just before half-time, Cardiff had their best chance, with Darren Huckerby beating our defense into the area, onside, but Allan McGregor proved up to the task of saving his close-range shot, and it went to half-time scoreless.

In the 56th minute, Jamaican midfielder Richard Langley took a shot from outside the 18 when our defense was set. Hayden Foxe threw himself in the way of the shot, and it deflected towards the far post. There was nothing McGregor could do about it, but it went inches wide, to the united groan of the 21,198 in attendance. Three minutes later, Sharp broke up the right wing, then sent a cross over the top of the 3-man defense for Joe Newell, unmarked at the 18. He shot hard and low, and only a fantstic save by Argentinian goalkeeper Julian Speroni denied him.

Keith McCormack was again playing well, definitely staking his claim to a first-team berth, and in the 67th minute, he nearly scored a goal. We had a free kick to the left of the box, which Jack Lester played to McCormack about 12 yards out. He tried a spectacular pirouette and half-volley with his left foot, but he's much stronger with his right, and got well under the ball, golfing it into the stands behind the net.

In the 76th minute, Jonathan Forte's cross to substitute John Melligan past the far post gave the best chance either side had seen all match. Melligan dribbled in to the corner of the six, in a move reminiscent of Leandre Griffit's goal against Brighton, but rather than shoot, he passed back for Billy Sharp, in heavy traffic at the penalty spot. For an instant, it looked a golden opportunity, but Keiran Richardson again came up with a great last ditch tackle, and the opportunity slipped from our grasp.

The final minutes ran out meekly, as though both sides had given their best effort in the earlier part of the match and were content with a scoreless draw, and that was, indeed, how things finished.

Cardiff 0, Sheffield United 0
----; ----
MoM: McGregor

After ten goals in our last three games, I wasn't expecting a scoreless outcome, but it definitely felt like we'd had the upper hand, and really, if Keiran Richardson, naturally an attacking midfielder, hadn't played so well on defense, we might have had two goals. Allan McGregor, who had had three saves, was named Man of the Match, which surprised me a bit, as I thought there were more deserving players on the home side.

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I was looking to catch up on some sleep half an hour ago but couldn't resist reading the story since I posted last. :p I'll regret it in the morning.

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Muwahahahahaha... my evil plan to disrupt the Essex economy for nefarious purposes in on track...

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Sunday, 30th December, 2007.

Derby and Ipswich had both won their matches, 3-2 against Leicester, and 2-1 at Reading, respectively, so we were now in a three-way tie for first at 51 points. Technically, we still held the advantage on goal difference, but that was a precarious lead at best.

Sunday afternoon, our U-18's played their rivalry game against Sheffield Wednesday U-18's. It was a hard fought game which took only three minutes to see its first yellow card, and was decided when Jamie Cooper conceded a penalty in the 23rd. At halftime I switched to the 3-5-2 patient buildup, with the forwards drifting wide to make space for the attacking midfielders, and I was quite pleased with the number of chances that generated: it was hardly the tactic's fault that the youngsters only managed to put one shot on target; there were several off the woodwork or inches wide, and I fully felt we could have won it. Nicky Thomson, in particular, put in a sensational performance to earn Man of the Match honors.

That was the last significant action of the year - though the team New Year's Eve party did promise to be entertaining!

I just hoped the lads would be sober by kickoff the next day.

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Tuesday, 1st January, 2008, afternoon.

With the injury crisis at striker, I had been seeking a replacement on loan, not wanting to wind up in the F.A. Cup without a healthy senior striker. Not that Paul Preston's shocking debut hadn't impressed me a bit, but considering his fair-at-best performance in the Reserves, I confirmed a three-month deal with Newcastle for striker Lewis Guy. Unfortunately, he fractured his ribs last night, riding, of all things, a mechanical bull at a New Year's Eve party! So, where I'd anticipated a struggle to get him registered in time for today's match against Wigan, instead I found myself pencilling Preston into the starting lineup, with another injured striker on the books.

SC Lewis Guy, 22, England, 3 U-21 caps, 1 goal: A product of the Newcastle youth system, this youngster has only made one appearance for them, but has scored 26 goals in the past four seasons on loan to teams in League One and the Championship. He first came to national prominence when he scored 10 in 26 Championship appearances last season for Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle aren't about to let the promising youngster go. He has fine finishing, and very good instincts off the ball. Beyond that, he's not spectacular in any area, but the polish of his game in general is impressive for a player of his age. He doesn't show much flair, but for his career, pace may be the limiting factor; though reasonable for the Championship level, it will never be fast enough at the Premiership and international level.

We'd also seen a player out, with slow but polished right back Rory Beanes let go to Charlton for the sum of £400,000.

Rory Beanes, DR, 22: July 2003-December 2007: 3 seasons, 44 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 1 MoM, 6.62

The monthly meeting with the board took an hour in the middle of the afternoon. They remained delighted with the performance on the pitch, especially so as we continued to exceed their expectations, and in particular I was told that I am very popular with the fans thus far - after promotion, and top of the table, I suppose that was predictable!

On the financial side of things, including the transfer fee for Rory Beanes, we had made a net profit of £700,000 for the month. That still left us £2.2M down for the season, with a bank balance of £9.7M and a debt of about £4.0M. With the transfer window opening, Derek Dooley approved another £300,000 in transfer budget, letting me re-use what I'd received for Rory Beanes, but made it clear that I should be looking at Bosman transfers or further sales to build capital.

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Tuesday, 1st January, 2008, evening. Championship - Game 26, vs Wigan Athletic.

We had an evening match on New Year's Day, at home against last-placed Wigan Athletic. They hadn't won a match in almost a month, and were demoralized and exhausted after the fixture congestion: with such a small squad, most of them were playing every match. Their injury list was almost as long as ours, with three members of their starting defense out, two injured and one suspended, plus goalkeeper John Filan away on international duty, though his replacement, veteran Tony Warner, was in excellent form. Still, they had lost to us 2-1 at their ground, and I didn't see anything that worried me: forward Leon Knight looks like their only real threat, with 8 goals.

I had things set up in perfect cadence so that I could bring the weaker of my two squads. Allan McGregor, of course, remained in goal. Chris Morgan was captain from central defense, with Ben Hammond making his return to the starting rotation, and Joe Keenan and Jordan Holmes the fullbacks. Mathieu Berson has played well at defensive midfield, and young Andrew Schofield was the left wing. Making his 100th league appearance for Sheffield United, Darren Wrack would provide veteran leadership from the right wing. Even though he was far from match fit, I gave Marc Bridge-Wilkinson a start with Hugo Viana at attacking midfield, hoping that playing time would help to assuage his concerns about playing time. But the biggest cheer from the crowd was reserved for my striker, 18-year-old Paul Preston, making his first start after scoring a brace on his debut.

As we had in December, we held a pre-match award ceremony to honour with the fans those players who had won league awards for the month of December, and we had acheived a number of awards! Jordan Holmes won the Young Player of the Month for his solid performances on the left side, which I felt was hard luck for Keith McCormack, who had been equally deserving on the right. Paul Preston's goal on his debut was named number three on the Goal of the Month balloting, but the winner was Joe Newell, for the curling shot from the edge of the area against Doncaster on the 23rd. The highlight, however, was completing the sweep with left wing Jonathan Forte, who won Championship Player of the Month after a number of eye-catching performances. Not bad for a 'mediocre' player who was supposedly my 'weakness' at the start of the season!

We used our 'patient buildup' tactic, and, perhaps buoyed by the pre-match celebrations, we completely dominated posession from the start of the match. Wigan seemed to be playing for a scoreless draw, with a 5-3-1-1, while we pressured them from the beginning, getting three corner kicks in the first fifteen minutes. In particular, Andrew Schofield clearly outmanned his opposite, Adam Burton, and time and again Schofield's work up the left sideline generated chances, crosses put out for corners, etc. In the 24th minute, his cross picked out Paul Preston in the area, but the young striker's header was saved. The rebound fell to Darren Wrack, who shot wide.

We were obviously tiring out the defense, with constant passes to switch sides, forcing them to chase, and it was working out well. In the 36th minute, captain Chris Morgan spotted Schofield unmarked, switching from the right side to the left with a 40-yard pass. Wide open, Schofield dribbled unmolested into the corner, and sent in the cross. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson met it with a diving header from the six, an outstanding goal both in build-up and in finish, and our crowd of 27,121 let their approval be known.

Schofield nearly scored himself just before half-time, putting it narrowly over from fifteen yards, but we felt thoroughly confident when we went to half-time, up 1-0, without having conceded a shot or a corner kick. I told the lads to keep on, but pulled back to our more conservative style of play, expecting Wigan to come forward, and hoping to hit them on the counter.

In the 50th minute, however, the visitors put paid to that plan, when Leon Knight earned a corner kick out wide right, about 30 yards from the end-line. Ben Watson played a pass laterally for Paul Boertien, a 28-year-old wingback on emergency duty, making only his fifth start for the side of the season: he'd spent most of the year on loan to Chester down in League Two. He let fly with a left-footed shot from the curve of the penalty arc, which found the top corner - his first goal in four seasons with Wigan, and only the fifth of his career. That stunned the crowd, and my defense, leaving it 1-1.

We had plenty of time to get a second goal, and I returned the lads to the patient strategy which had dominated the half, even going so far as to instruct them to focus their passing down the left flank. Wrack had a chance in the 59th, but was denied by Wigan keeper Tony Warner. The resulting corner kick came to Viana, who played a laser pass through traffic to Jordan Holmes at the far post. The right back let loose from close range with a first-touch shot, but Kevin Lee threw himself in the way to block it out for a corner.

In the 70th minute, Schofield shot narrowly over, and in the 79th minute Warner made a fingertip save to deny Viana. Not even the late debut of 16-year-old Dean Reid, or the speed of Carl Motteram, or switching to a 3-5-2 could make a difference: I watched incredulously as the final moments ticked away. Somehow, Wigan had defied the odds to escape Bramall Lane with a 1-1 draw.

Sheffield United 1, Wigan Athletic 1
Bridge-Wilkinson 36; Boertien 50
MoM: Boertien (Wigan DR)

The locker room afterwards was quite subdued: my players and I both took a draw at home against the weakest side in the Championship as about equivalent to a defeat on a normal day, and everyone was quite conscious of the fact that it had dropped us from top of the table to a playoff spot - Derby and Ipswich had both won their matches.

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Friday, 4th January, 2008.

In Australia, Hayden Foxe had been called up for Australia's Oceania Nations Cup match against New Zealand. Unfortunately, he only lasted about 25 minutes before falling and injuring his elbow, an injury which would keep him out for at least a week, ruling him out of our F.A. Cup match. I was very disappointed, being as he'd only just returned to match fitness.

The match was a wild one: it was already 2-1, Australia, when Foxe came off, and it was 3-1 at halftime, but in the second half Australia were reduced to nine men on a pair of red cards, which saw New Zealand come back, and only desperate defending by Foxe's mates kept the lead at 3-2.

It was a busy few days for me, with the transfer window opening and many players from my shortlist becoming available on Bosman transfers: with their contracts expiring, I could sign them as free agents for next season. I'd prepared a number of contract offers through December, and flooded the market with them, hoping that if I was one of the first to place a contract in front of players, that they'd take the offer more seriously.

Injured right back Eric Deloumeaux was one of those expiring, and the 34-year-old signed a one-year extension, essentially to be a backup at his position. Defensive midfielder felt like my biggest need, with Paul Thirlwell's off-season transfer already arranged, and Mathieu Berson only on loan. Unfortunately, Berson wasn't willing to sign a contract to make the move permanent, and one of my preferred targets, German Deitmar Hamann, re-signed with his current team.

Almost lost in all of that was a Reserve game at Shrewsbury, where a mostly-amateur Sheffield United side looked amateur in a 2-0 defeat to their hosts. Noel Hunt saw a few minutes of playing time at the end to rebuild his match fitness, but third-string goalkeeper Dean Bond had a torrid day, conceding both goals and stubbing a toe badly enough that he had to come off. Any hope of winning their Reserve group had faded: the side were now 6th, 15 points back of first-placed Doncaster, and only 2 ahead of Sheffield Wednesday. That was okay, as the focus for our young players had become the Under-18s Cup.

Obviously, Noel Hunt had begun training again, as had Peter Weatherson, after missing four weeks with a shoulder injury. With our top two strikers returning to action, that made the loan deal which brought striker James Lloyd in from Charlton for three months seems a little unneccessary.

SC James Lloyd, 19, England, uncapped: A fine prospect for Premiership side Charlton Athletic, this youngster shows great concentration, a fine work ethic, and an aggressive bent to his play. In many ways, he's well-fitted for the Championship level at the moment: he isn't incredible in any of the technical aspects of the game, and his pace and fitness won't impress at the Premiership level, but are fine for us. I'd brought him in to help assuage the injury crisis at striker, and still felt that he could do a fine job part time there. However, his lack of determination and his weak skills in the air seem to contra-indicate a permanent move.

I could feel the storm of the injury crisis beginning to lift. No sooner had I thought that, than Tom Mitchell materialized at my door to inform me that 18-year-old attacking midfielder Robert Cousins had slipped a disk while lifting weights. Surgery was the indicated course of treatment, and the projected five months of recovery ended the season for the young prospect.

That made sense of the first of my Bosmans, 27-year-old Bury attacking midfielder Mike Flynn, who agreed to terms Thursday. He was willing to accept a backup's role for next season, to promote up from League One. Shortly after that, French international Laurent Robert inked a deal as well. The 32-year-old left winger had been playing for Swansea in League One, and he, too, was excited at the prospect of playing at a higher level. Both signings were intended primarily to provide more depth next year, in case of further injuries.

After considering a number of options at goalkeeper - Croatian keeper Stipe Pletikosa looked far-and-away the best option out there, but even though his contract was expiring, I couldn't make a Bosman offer to him, and didn't have the £2.2M Shakhtar Donetsk were asking for - I had begun a negotiation process to re-sign Allan McGregor. He wanted a significant raise, and got it - signing through the end of the 2009/2010 season.

That took care of one unhappy situation - if only I could resolve Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's concerns so easily!