Another January, another shuffling of the pack - this year as last thirteen players have either arrived or left;  unlike last year, we look considerably sturdier for the experience which, given that Marlon counts amongst the departures, is somewhat remarkable.

That’s not to say that last January should be written off as a complete disaster.  The context was very different for one thing… already looking a bit forlorn at the foot of the table we were without one key player through injury and were in the process of auctioning off another.  Much as we’ve struggled for form of late we’re a much easier sell than we were twelve months ago, and in a position where much less is required to make a visible impact.

Nonetheless, it’s difficult at this early stage to come to any other conclusion than that Aidy has played a bit of a blinder over the transfer window.  We look sturdier and more balanced all round, with competition in almost every position.  I’m slightly concerned about the goalkeeper, and we’re perhaps still short both of variety in the middle of the park, and of leadership on the pitch, but we’re an awful lot further forward than we were.

The first action of January was the much heralded departure of Gavin Mahon to Queens Park Rangers, initially on loan.  In some ways I’m sadder about this than about the loss of King, perhaps since the move was clearly not instigated by a player who, fluctuations in form aside, has been a trooper for the duration of his time at Vicarage Road.

Having debuted under Gianluca Vialli as a lanky midfielder with a distinctive hairdo, he re-emerged after injury as a stocky, bald powerhouse.  At his best he was the driving force behind the team, never better exemplified than at Home Park at the start of the play-off season when his half-time introduction rescued the game and kick-started our season as he stomped all over the midfield.  Never a player who coped particularly well fitness-wise without a pre-season, his dips in form did seem to attract more criticism than they merited.  The decision to let him leave certainly demonstrated Boothroyd’s characteristic boldness - and he’d probably argue that he was doing the player a favour by being up front with him.  For a while, though, the decision looked horribly premature as the side struggled for direction in Mahon’s absence.  It may still prove so.

The first arrival, formally, was Lionel Ainsworth who saw his move from Hereford made permanent for the now traditional undisclosed fee (which, nonetheless, is rumoured to have broken the Bulls’ transfer record of £200,000 for Darren Peacock in 1990).  A swift turnaround for a player who was released by Derby County in the summer and Boothroyd has put the pressure on a bit with early comparisons to Aaron Lennon, but Ainsworth looks a lot of fun and can probably claim an influence in Tommy Smith’s remarkable recent form.

The next action of the window saw Jordan Parkes on the way to Brentford on loan, which in itself heralded the arrival of a new left back as competition for Jordan Stewart.  Parkes looks like he might be a player;  some first team experience should help him curb his occasional attacking excesses.

The following day saw further departures.  Moses Ashikodi got another chance to kick-start his career with a loan at Swindon Town whilst Anthony McNamee, having finally run out of such chances at Vicarage Road, also joined the Robins for a nominal fee.  There will no doubt still be people claiming that McNamee wasn’t given enough of a run, was underutilised and undervalued.  Ultimately, three successive and very different Watford managers thought differently.  It’s nearly six years since he made his debut - of the current squad only Lloyd Doyley and Tommy Smith debuted earlier - and in that time for all his occasionally eye-catching wing play McNamee neither created enough goals nor threatened to establish himself in the team.  He’s 24 now, and this move was long overdue - for his own benefit as much as ours.  Of all the departures, his might be the most interesting career to monitor.  I know what my money’s on, but I hope he proves me wrong.

The same day saw Calum Davenport arrive on loan from West Ham United, ostensibly to cover Danny Shittu’s enforced absence but also to provide an option in the longer term.  A very decent option he looked too, for all of forty minutes until fate and an unfortunate collision intervened.

Alex Campana, who looked like a player making decent progress in the League Cup earlier in the season, departed for Wealdstone on loan - a slight concern that at 19, Campana couldn’t secure a loan above the Ryman Premier; we shall see. 

The final week of January began with the first “new” permanent recruit of the transfer window, Mat Sadler arriving from Birmingham for £750,000.  This was obviously a hole that needed filling, with Jordan Stewart badly in need of serious competition for his position and more than a little uncertainty surrounding his long-term future.  On evidence thus far, Sadler looks like quite a different left back to Stewart - unflashy, solid and defensively reliable… and he takes a decent corner too, which is something we’ve been crying out for.  The only concern perhaps is why his parents chose to spell his name with a single “t”…

Four days later, the much trumpeted arrival of Collins John, Marlon’s heir apparent on a loan from Fulham until the end of the season with a view to a permanent transfer.  John’s signing echoes that of King in many ways… undoubted ability that, for whatever reason, hasn’t been fully exploited with more than a suggestion of excessive self-confidence.  If Boothroyd gets inside John’s head to the extent he did Marlon’s Collins John will be the signing of the season not just at Watford but in the second division as a whole.  If not… whilst a loan with an option isn’t a great risk, the impact on our chances of promotion this season might be more severe.  On the same day Scott Loach, who had already had one loan spell at Morecambe aborted earlier in the window as the Shrimpers secured a longer-term option, continued to demonstrate that he’s a man in demand by securing further first-team experience at Bradford City.

And whilst all of this was going on, of course, the painfully protracted departure of the iconic Marlon King, which had been inevitable whatever the truth of his failed medical from the moment we accepted an offer from Fulham, drew closer.  The best stab at the subsequent passage of events seems to be that Fulham found something with his medical and tried to play hardball by drastically reducing their up-front payment, with a larger fee dependent on appearances.  I know that a lot of tapping up goes on and that it’s unrealistic to expect no contact to have been made with King before the event;  I know too that the point of medicals is to show up problems if they exist.  But I can’t have been the only one grinning when Wigan came in with an offer to trump Fulham’s now irrelevant negotiating position - albeit guaranteeing us considerably less than the £5million initially suggested. 

It’s easy to revise history in the light of events, but a big part of me isn’t overly distraught that King has gone.  Whether his injury flares up or not, there’s little doubt that whilst he retains his strength, intelligence, skill and aggression he lost the fabled yard of pace during his spell out, and that leaves him a very good striker rather than the irrepressible talisman that we all want him still to be.  Having said which, “are you watching Marlon King” rather ignores both his immense contribution to the club during his time here, and the necessity of an individual with a criminal record (and, potentially, a lingering injury problem) to maximise his earnings before he retires.  With £1m reportedly riding on Wigan staying up that’s something we should all be hoping for, particularly if it condemns Fulham in the process.

The transfer window closed with two impressive-looking signings on deadline day.  Leigh Bromby joined the Hornets for an initial £600,000 less than twenty-four hours after facing us at Bramall Lane as a decent looking replacement for our original candidate for this role.  I must confess that my mental image of Bromby was dominated by his ridiculously long throw and being absolutely skinned by Marlon at Bramall Lane two years ago; whilst his debut went some way to allay concerns provoked by the latter, his throw in is a thing of wonder… Doris and Danny will have lots of fun with that, one suspects.  It’s worth noting also that someone who made the move from Hillsbrough to Bramall Lane isn’t short of balls.

Finally, ticking any number of boxes, John Eustace arrived for a cheap-looking £250,000 from Stoke City.  The Potters may feel they’ve traded up in replacing him with the sought-after Glenn Whelan from Wednesday, but we’ve badly lacked the experience and leadership that 28 year-old Eustace provides.  The contrast between yesterday’s performance and that a week previously was down to him more than to any other individual, however strong individual performances were elsewhere.

It may well be that a year ago I’d have been eulogising the potential of Cavalli, Avinel, Hoskins, Rinaldi (Ha!)… I dunno.  All you can do is call it as you see it.  On yesterday’s evidence, it looks pretty good…

I’m frankly too angry to be particularly coherent about this.  I have a ball of fury welling up inside that really needs a release… it’s probably a good job that I’m not playing football today, but I pity the bastard that cuts me up on the way home.

The Official Site today reports that Al Bangura has had his application for leave of stay in the UK turned down by the Asylum and Immigration authorities.

Let’s leave aside for the minute that he’s a professional footballer carving out a respectable career by those standards and earning a very decent living by anybody else’s.  I’m not sure that this is irrelevant to the issue - surely his gainful employment and contribution to the exchequer has to carry some weight.  But Al’s case stands up very well without it.

You have to ask yourself what sort of tin-pot “justice system” offers asylum to an individual as a minor, allows him to set up a life, start a family, and gain employment only to turf him out again when his carriage turns back into a pumpkin.  There is, of course, a need to vet such applications, but the decision having been made to grant him asylum at such an age, whether appropriate or not (and we’ve all heard enough of Al’s story to make our own judgments on that one) Al should surely be allowed to continue the life he has set up for himself.  Otherwise, all the Home Office does in offering such temporary asylum is breed instability - having escaped Sierra Leone once, whatever the circumstances, to expect Bangura to spend a few years in limbo before being sent back again is plainly absurd.

We are lead to believe that an appeal against the decision is planned; the Official Site doesn’t sound overwhelmingly positive with regard to the chances of the appeal’s  success.  If the worst comes to the worst, the least we can do is kick up such an almighty stink about the issue that people actually start to look at our asylum laws through something other than the Daily Mail’s bigoted goggles.

Not that this will help Al Bangura.

Now admittedly, in the grand scheme of things, there are more important concerns that one could spend one’s time getting agitated over.  And even within the world of football in general and Watford in particular, our current wobbles probably warrant more attention.

 Nonetheless, as a paying customer it’s my prerogative to get wound up about what I choose to get wound up about, and the mathematician in me does like a balanced fixture list.

It’s been a source of modest disquiet for several seasons that the “fixtures computer” has appeared unable to concoct a schedule that hasn’t seen us facing the same opponents twice in short succession in mid-season (from last season backwards… Liverpool (21 days apart), Leicester (38),  Derby (21), Forest (28), Ipswich (27) and so on).

I guess it’s not a big deal… but reasonably well spaced fixtures just feels fairer.  One is less likely to come up against a team twice during the same run of form, or injury crisis - on either side.

But this season, for the first time I think, we have a double whammy.  Watford travel to Colchester tomorrow night a mere 24 days after an exhilarating 2-2 draw with the same opponents at Vicarage Road.  And lo… come the start of 2008 we face Charlton Athletic twice within 28 days.

The fixtures this mid-week are the exact reverse of those of three and a half weeks ago, similarly the fixture lists when we play Charlton.  So I’m struggling to justify this bizarre imbalance.  When the media occasionally focuses on the fixture list (normally during the mid-june post-season pre-transfer window fast) we’re told, in a rather patronising fashion,  that there’s an awful lot more to the fixture list than meets the eye… avoiding rivals playing at home on the same day irrespective of division, policing requirements and so forth.

But given that on two of the four dates in question there were/are no Premiership games scheduled at all, and thus far less to clash with, it’s difficult to understand why one of the Colchester “fixture blocks” couldn’t have been switched with one of the Charlton “fixture” blocks at no great cost, resulting in the two pairs of fixtures being much farther apart.  If the Sheffield derbies, which coincide with the Charlton games, need to be on a Saturday then either could surely have been switched with the weekend fixtures of three weeks ago.

Quite apart from which… if it’s such a horrific logistical impossibility to come up with a balanced fixture list then one wonders how the Germans manage it - with almost as many fixtures spread over a larger country and an international break to boot - the second half of their season is an exact reverse of the first.

And to add insult to injury (and not that I’ve got an axe to grind or anything) the football authorities continue to claim Intellectual Property Rights over the fixture list. As if a blind gibbon with a broken crayon and a couple of marbles couldn’t do a better job…

It’s difficult not to be cynical about ex-footballers in administrative positions. 

Team management and coaching is one thing;  top ex-players have obviously been there and done that, been exposed to a range of top coaches and therefore have something of a head start (even if a glittering professional career isn’t a prerequisite to a successful coaching career - witness Wenger, Taylor, Boothroyd, or even a guarantee of one - too many examples to mention).

But administration is something different, several steps away from the goings on on the pitch of which a player has direct experience.  So it was difficult not to be a little cynical when Michel Platini was elected as head of UEFA in January.  Yes, he had managed the national side, yes he had masterminded the successful 1998 World Cup in France.  But this is the top job in European Football, for which being able to pick a pass as well as anyone of his generation was no preparation at all.

Since when Platini has been something of a breath of fresh air.  Things started well, with the riling of a good number of folk who deserve to be riled as he proposed changes to the hugely lucrative Champions’ (sic) League structure - his suggestions including the limiting of number of entries to three at most per nation, the enforced withholding of one place for the Cup holders and the reserving of a larger number of places for a broader range of national representatives.

Cutting to the crux…  the Champions’ League has been a hugely successful moneyspinner for those in on the act whose success is measured in pounds or euros.  For everyone else, it’s a bit of a disaster.  Across Europe the financial rewards of qualification for the group stages have been hugely divisive - not just in England, where the top four’s dominance has only been perturbed by Everton’s fourth place in 2005 within the last four years, but across Europe.  Success, and its financial rewards, tend to breed success of course.  It was ever thus - but the gap between the haves and have nots has never been as large, as insurmountable.  Add to this an inherently conservative (some might say criminally anticompetitive) statistical system for assessing the number of qualification places each nation receives, and you have a situation where the status quo can only be disrupted by a monstrous external investment (on behalf of a competitor) or chronic incompetence (on the part of one of the incumbents).

Entertaining as this is when it happens (Guten Tag, Bayern München) it’s hardly enough to sustain interest in an increasingly closed shop.  I’ve got no problem with Manchester United, say, or Chelsea or whoever winning the League based on being the best team in the competition.  I do have issues with the state of play being so much in favour of preserving the status quo.

This was always the motivation behind the Champions League, of course;  the vastly inflated incomes of those involved act as a huge barrier to entry to any domestic challengers unable to compete in terms of wages and transfer fees, much as the Premier League structure does the same domestically.  And however repellent the G14 concept is, and whatever the conceit of many of those involved, the bottom line is that the guys involved are doing what they’re paid to do - protect the financial interests of their employers.

Given that the Champions’ League is UEFA’s flagship club competition, its hugely encouraging to hear their new President make such inclusive, provocative statements.  The limit to his influence was betrayed this week, however, when his proposals were largely dismissed by UEFA’s European Professional Football Strategy Council.  A body that includes Peter Kenyon, the chairman of the FA Geoff Thompson and the chairman of the Premier League Dave Richards.  Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas after all.

It’s occurred to me in the past that one way that joe public might effectively influence the passage of events might be to organise a public boycott of the shirt sponsors of G14 clubs.  After all, however many football fans follow the continent’s largest clubs, very many more of them do not, and even those that do aren’t all driven by self interest.  In reality, however, these revenue streams are dwarfed by those from television… and a sponsors boycott might be difficult to popularise if the G14 carries through its plan to double in size.

Officially this move was to make their “voice of the clubs” moniker more defensible by greater representativeness.  In practice, self-interest on a wider scale is another step towards a European league.  Interest in such a thing would surely be far less from country to country than domestic championships currently enjoy, but those involved would glean a much greater share, albeit of a reduced whole.

All in all, it’s difficult to see football as anything other than on a path to eating itself.  Whatever Monsieur Platini’s admirable intentions.

This is surely the best bit.  The Ellington / King partnership can’t possibly live up to the mental image in my mind’s eye, so this evening, pre- the Ipswich game, is the time to savour the possibility of a really evil forward line.  Tomorrow, of course, we might discover that the West Brom fans glad to be rid are not, as suspected, in the same boat as the Forest fans who waved King off with a “we won the European Cup, you know.  Twice”.  Tomorrow he might get injured.  Tonight, we have a fifty-goal forward line, and until 3pm tomorrow you can prove any different…

BARNSLEY

Ins: Kayode Odejayi (Cheltenham Town, £200,000), Marciano Bruma (Sparta Rotterdam, Free), Andy Johnson (Leicester City, Free), Rob Kozluk (Sheffield United, Free), Rohann Ricketts (Wolverhampton Wanderers, Free), Dennis Souza (Charleroi, Free), Dominik Werling (Sakaryaspor, Free), Miguel Mostto (Cienciano, Undisclosed), Lewin Nyatanga (Derby County, Loan)

Outs: Paul Hayes (Scunthorpe United, Tribunal),  Daniel Nardiello (Queens Park Rangers, Undisclosed), Robbie Williams (Huddersfield Town, Undisclosed), Anthony Kay (Tranmere Rovers, Free), Marc Richards (Port Vale, Free), Dale Tonge (Rotherham United, Free), Thomas Harban (Bradford City, Loan), Paul Heckingbottom (Bradford City, Loan), Nathan Joynes (Bradford City, Loan), Neil Austin, Stefan Holt, Nathan Jarman, Ryan Laight (all released)

Their ex-Orns: Martin Devaney, Rick Holden (assistant manager)

Our ex-Tykes: None

Significant Others: That nice Rob Kozluk, and aggro midfielder Andy Johnson

Verdict:It’s hard enough to pass judgment on those we left behind a year ago without having to consider the likes of the Tykes, who we haven’t faced in the five years since Peter Fincham was evicted from Oakwell in his boxer shorts.  Barnsley’s survival was quite a narrow thing last season and although they’ve brought a few players in they’re hardly unique in that regard.  Of the more familiar names, Ricketts, Kozluk and Johnson are signings that will help drop anchor at best, and although the Tykes seem to be pleased with the signing of Mostto it would seem that survival is the best Barnsley can hope for.  Touch and go.

BLACKPOOL

Ins: Gary Taylor-Fletcher (Huddersfield Town, Undisclosed), Stephen Crainey (Leeds United, Free), Michael Flynn (Gllingham, Free), John Hills (Sheffield Wednesday, Free), Paul Rachubka (Huddersfield Town, Free)

Outs: Matty Blinkhorn (Morecambe, Undisclosed), Marc Joseph (Rotherham United, Free), Paul Rierney (Stockport County, Loan), Simon Wiles (Macclesfield Town, Loan), Ciaran Donnelly, Sean Paterson (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Seasiders: Clarke Carlisle

Significant Others: Andy Morrell, long-time non-scoring Coventry forward, and Michael Jackson, who once a fine own goal at the Vic in a 1-1 draw with Preston

Verdict: The Seasiders finished their promotion season like a train with two draws and just one defeat in their last seventeen games, and looked a class act in the play-off dismissal of Yeovil.  They’ll want to get the Tevez-esque signing of Wes Hoolahan sorted out, and do appear to have signed a number of Championship plodders to strengthen their squad with, but would seem to have the best chance of the promoted clubs of making an impact.

BRISTOL CITY

Ins: Lee Trundle (Swansea City, £1,000,000), Marvin Elliott (Millwall, Undisclosed), Michael McIndoe (Wolverhampton Wanderers, Undisclosed), Ivan Sproule (Hibernian, Undisclosed), Stephen Henderson (Aston Villa, Free), Tamas Vasko (Ujpest Dosza, Loan)

Outs: Elliott Benyon (Torquay United, Free), Aaron Ledgister (Cheltenham Town, Free), Craig Woodman (Wycombe Wanderers, Free), Frankie Artus (Exeter City, Loan), Dean Grubb, Andy Smith, Sean Thomas, Danny Wring (released)

Their ex-Orns: Steve Brooker, Lee Johnson, David Noble, Gary Johnson (Manager), Keith Millen (Assistant Manager)

Our ex-Robins: None

Significant Others: One-time Luton lummox Enoch Showunmi, former Fulham and Barnsley striker Kevin Betsy

Verdict: City have taken longer than they might have hoped to return to this level since their last promotion behind us in 1998, after which they prematurely disposed of John Ward and were immediately relegated.  They weren’t hugely impressive in gaining promotion last season from our distance, but have made some reasonably impressive recruits over the summer who ought to do enough to guarantee safety.  Lee Trundle, in particular, is just the sort of iconic striker that you’d want to hang a backs-to-the-wall campaign on.

BURNLEY

Ins: Besart Barisha (SV Hamburg, £340,000), Robbie Blake (Leeds United, £250,000), Stephen Jordan (Manchester City, Free), Gabor Kiraly (Crystal Palace, Free)

Outs: Graham Branch (Accrington Stanley, Free), Danny Coyne (Tranmere Rovers, Free), Frank Sinclair (Huddersfield Town, Free), John McGreal (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Clarets: None

Significant Others: Ade Akinbiyi, responsible for £15m-worth of transfer fees and counting, and hard-nosed former Sunderland skipper Stephen Caldwell

Verdict: My mate Chris is convinced, seemingly arbitrarily, that Burnley are a good tip for promotion this season.  I can’t see it myself.  The Clarets probably have too much quality to qualify as relegation favourites, but they do seem once again to be trying to get away with a painfully small squad - quality at the expense of quantity, perhaps.  You kinda feel that they can only get away with this for so long.  The rumoured signing of Hasselbaink is also a curious one - if you can only add a few players to the squad, why make two of them Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink?

CARDIFF CITY

Ins: Tony Capaldi (Plymouth Argyle, Free), Warren Feeney (Luton Town, Free), Robbie Fowler (Liverpool, Free), Steven MacLean (Sheffield Wednesday, Free), Gavin Rae (Rangers, Free), Trevor Sinclair (Manchester City, Free), Ross Turnbull (Middlesbrough, Loan)

Outs: Michael Chopra (Sunderland, £5,000,000), Neil Alexander (Ipswich Town, Free), Chris Barker (Q.P.R., Free), Michael Corcoran (Oxford United, Free), Mark Howard (St.Mirren, Free), Joe Jacobson (Bristol Rovers, Free), Willo Flood (Dundee United, Season Loan), Scott Allison, Kevin Campbell, Greg Coombes, Jamal Easter, Luigi Glombard, Scott McCoubrey, Curtis McDonald, Nick McKoy, Jeff Whitley (released), Martyn Margetson (retired)

Their ex-Orns: Terry Burton (Assistant Manager), Paul Wilkinson (Reserve Team Manager)

Our ex-Bluebirds: Jobi McAnuff

Significant Others: Brutal centre-back Darren Purse, Peter “son of Guy” Whittingham

Verdict: The Bluebirds seem set for a promotion campaign with slightly more legs than last time around, with some eye-catching signings.  I’m unconvinced about the Fowler thing, personally - there’s no doubting his quality, but if he can’t get himself in shape and focused when playing for Liverpool, then the sort of midweek away trips that await this season are hardly going to get him going.  More significant perhaps are the recruitments of MacLean, Rae and Capaldi, all very decent players at this level.  Concerns remain between the sticks, with no obvious senior replacement for the departed Alexander recruited, and on balance Cardiff perhaps look a little short of the top sides in the division, but with a prevailing wind could make the play-offs.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC

Ins: Luke Varney (Crewe Alexandra, £2,000,000), Paddy McCarthy (Leicester City, £650,000), Yassin Moutaouakil (Chateauroux, £400,000), Dean Sinclair (Barnet, £125,000), Chris Iwelumo (Colchester United, Free), Chris Powell (Watford, Free), Jose Semedo (Sporting Lisbon, Free), Svetoslav Todorov (Portsmouth, Free), Nicky Weaver (Manchester City, Free)

Outs: Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur, £16,500,000), Luke Young (Middlesbrough, £2,500,000), Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax, £680,000), Simon Walton (Queens Park Rangers, £200,000), Hermann Hreidarsson (Portsmouth, Free), Bryan Hughes (Hull City, Free), Talal El Karkouri (Qatar SC, Free), Radostin Kishishev (Leicester City, Free), Kevin Lisbie (Colchester United, Free), Donovan Simmonds (Coventry City, Free), Myles Weston  (Notts County, Free), Grant Basey (Brentford, Loan), Kelly Youga (Scunthorpe United, Loan), Nathan Ashton, Rurik Gislason, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Alistair John, Thomas Myhre(released)

Their ex-Orns: Chris Powell, Mark Robson (first team coach) - 45 minutes on loan in 1989

Our ex-Addicks: Dan Shittu

Significant Others: The tubby Andy Reid and much-travelled Marcus Bent, both with a respectable record at Division Two level.

Verdict: Charlton’s greatest challenge will be overcoming the turmoil of vast player turnover, and the club’s first season outside the top flight since 1999/2000.  In the playing squad and the management team, however, they’ve got plenty of experience of this division, and their summer recruitment has been strong.  Theirs to stuff up.

COLCHESTER UNITED

Ins: Clive Platt (Franchise, £300,000), Mark Yeates (Tottenham Hotspur, undisclosed), Danny Granville (Colchester United, Free), Luke Guttridge (Leyton Orient, Free), Kevin Lisbie (Charlton Athletic, Free), Teddy Sheringham (West Ham United, Free), Bela Balogh (MTK Hungaria, Loan), Matthew Connolly (Arsenal, Loan)

Outs: Wayne Brown (Hull City, £450,000), Jamie Cureton (Norwich City, undisclosed), Garry Richards (Southend United, Undisclosed), Richard Garcia (Hull City, Free), Chris Iwelumo (Charlton Athletic, Free), Lawrie Wilson (released)

Their ex-Orns: Johnnie Jackson

Our ex-Us: Alec Chamberlain

Significant Others: Former Reading midfielder Kevin Watson, pun-friendly keeper Dean Gerken (”got into a bit of a pickle with that cross”, etc)

Verdict: Having grown up in Essex I find myself now with several nouveau-U’s amongst my friends - admittedly affinities dating from slightly before their recent, extraordinary successes.  Like many, I thought they’d go straight back down last season and Seth B. Ramall in particular (see giroscope on our Blog Roll) delighted in reflecting on the inadequacy of my prediction throughout.  I can only hope that the same prediction has the same effect this time; it’s fantastic that a club like Colchester with a rubbish ground and tiny squad can finish above the likes of Ipswich, Palace and Leicester - not to mention a division or so higher than certain others.  Unfortunately, with many of last season’s star turns bailing out over the summer the challenge is on for Geraint Williams to refashion a few new rough diamonds from somewhere - Clive Platt certainly seems to fit that bill.  Will do well to stay up.

COVENTRY CITY

Ins: Robbie Simpson (Cambridge United, £40,000), Leon Best (Southampton, Tribunal), Gary Borrowdale (Crystal Palace, Tribunal), Ellery Cairo (Hertha BSC Berlin, Free), Julian Gray (Birmingham City, Free), Michael Hughes (Crystal Palace, Free),  Dimitrious Konstantopoulos (Hartlepool United, Free), Donovan Simmonds (Charlton Athletic, Free), Arjan de Zeeuw (Wigan Athletic, Free)

Outs: Colin Cameron (Franchise FC, Free), Don Hutchison (Luton Town, Free), Arran Lee-Barratt (Hartlepool United, Free), Andrew Whing (Brighton & Hove Albion, Free), Che Bunce (released)

Their ex-Orns: Wayne Andrews, Robert Page, Stephen Hughes

Our ex-Sky Blues: None

Significant Others: Former Sunderland battering ram Kevin Kyle, Maltese striker Michael Mifsud

Verdict: Cov seem to have settled comfortably in Division Two into the same role that they occupied for so long in the top flight - bottom half fodder.  Modest summer recruitment means that mid-table is surely the best that the Sky Blues can hope for - the most interesting aspect of their season surely being whether Iain Dowie can justify his erstwhile reputation.  One of several sides that could struggle badly if they’re unlucky with injuries.

CRYSTAL PALACE

Ins: Tony Craig (Millwall, undisclosed), Jeff Hughes (Lincoln City, Undisclosed), Jose Fonte (Benfica, Loan)

Outs: Jobi McAnuff (Watford, £1,750,000), Darren Ward (Wolves, undisclosed), Gary Borrowdale (Coventry City, Tribunal), Tommy Black (Southend United, Free), Jerahl Hughes (Yeovil Town, Free), Michael Hughes (Coventry City, Free), Gabor Kiraly (Burnley, Free), Danny Granville (Colchester United, Free)

Their ex-Orns: Carl Fletcher, Peter Taylor (Manager)

Our ex-Eagles: Steve Kabba, Jobi McAnuff

Significant Others: Flaky ex-Blades winger Paul Ifill, Finnish striker Shefku Kuqi (pronounced “Coochie”.  As in “Souness pulls off a Kuqi coup”…)

Verdict:  Like Norwich and Southampton, Palace’s summer dealings betray the disappearance of parachute payments.  With the less than inspiring Peter Taylor in charge - surely one bad run away from a supporter revolt, whichever club he’s in charge of - it’s mid-table stodge at best for the Eagles.

HULL CITY

Ins: Wayne Brown (Colchester United, £450,000), Dean Windass (Bradford City, £150,000), Richard Garcia (Colchester United, Free), Bryan Hughes (Charlton Athletic, Free)

Outs: Jon Parkin (Stoke City, £275,000), Darryl Duffy (Swansea City, £200,000), Nicky Forster (Brighton & Hove Albion, £75,000), Tom Matthews (Boston United, Free), Scott Wiseman (Darlington, Free), Michael Byron, Russell Fry, Ray Parlour (released)

Their ex-Orns: Wayne Brown

Our ex-Tigers: None

Significant Others: The “enigmatic” Nick Barmby, former Millwall plodder Dave Livermore

Verdict: Another leftfield outside tip for promotion, this time from Peter Fincham whose links to Hull must have coloured his judgment.  The Tigers have been linked with a few impressive names that, at the time of writing, haven’t come off but even with the likes of Chris Riggott and Alan Lee in tow it’s difficult to see City challenging.  Should survive a little more comfortably this time, though.

IPSWICH TOWN

Ins: Neil Alexander (Cardiff City, Free), Pablo Counago (Malaga, Free), Tommy Miller (Sunderland, Free)

Outs: Lewis Price (Derby County, Undisclosed), Scott Barron (Millwall, Free), Darren Currie (Luton Town, Free), Darryl Knights (Yeovil Town, Free), Ian Miller (Darlington, Loan), Martin Brittain, James Krause (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Blues: Alec Chamberlain

Significant Others: Former Fulham man Sylvain Legwinski, and Danny Haynes, who didn’t look at all silly on his last visit to the Vic.

Verdict:  Town’s prodigious production line will relied on all the more heavily; whilst few senior players have left, the names coming in won’t exactly have got the pulses racing either.  Ipswich showed enough during their Cup visit last season to suggest that the latest crop of kids have got something about them, but they finished an underwhelming fourteenth last season and with several teams below them strengthening more significantly, Ipswich could be sucked into the relegation battle this time around. 

LEICESTER CITY

Ins: DJ Campbell (Birmingham City, £1,600,000), Stephen Clemence (Birmingham City, £750,000), Hoessein Kaebi (Persopolis, Undisclosed), James Chambers (Watford, Free), Carl Cort (Wolves, Free), Jonathan Hayes (Reading, Free), Sergio Hellings (Apeldoorn, Free), Radostin Kishishev (Charlton Athletic, Free), Shaun Newton (West Ham United, Free), Jimmy Nielsen (AaB Aalborg, Free), Bruno N’Gotty (Bolton Wanderers, Free), Ricky Sappleton (Queens Park Rangers, Free)

Outs: Paddy McCarthy (Charlton Athletic, £650,000), Danny Cadamarteri (Huddersfield Town, Free), Andy Johnson (Barnsley, Free), Nils-Erik Johansson (AIK Solna, Free), Louis Dodds (Lincoln City, Loan), Scott Lycett, Danny Tiatto (released)

Their ex-Orns: James Chambers

Our ex-Foxes: Jordan Stewart, Gareth Williams

Significant Others: Australian utility man Patrick Kisnorbo, Canadian international striker Iain Hume

Verdict: Well it won’t be dull.  Leicester needed an overhaul and appear to have gotten one, even if in the likes of Clemence, Kishishev and Chambers the emphasis is more on solid functionality than on the spectacular - as one might expect from Martin Allen.  Some of the other recruits raise eyebrows - at 36, Bruno N’Gotty’s best years are surely behind him, Carl Cort’s injury record is prodigious and Shaun Newton is still a flaky nearly-man at the age of 32.  Worth keeping an eye on though, and probably a reasonable shout for the play-offs - which given Allen’s record of failing in play-offs for the last three years despite managing favourites each time perhaps doesn’t augur too well.

NORWICH CITY

Ins: Darel Russell (Stoke City, £600,000), Jamie Cureton (Colchester United, Undisclosed), David Marshall (Celtic, Undisclosed), David Strihavka (Banik Ostrava, Undisclosed), Julien Brellier (Hearts, Free), Matthew Gilks (Rochdale, Free), Jon Otsemobor (Crewe Alexandra, Free), Jimmy Smith (Chelsea, Loan)

Outs: Rob Earnshaw (Derby County, £3,500,000), Dickson Etuhu (Sunderland, £1,500,000), Jurgen Colin (Ajax, Undisclosed), Youssef Safri (Southampton, Undisclosed), Ian Henderson (Northampton Town, Free), Peter Thorne (Bradford City, Free), Joe Lewis (Morecambe, Loan), Gary Fisk, Mathieu Louis-Jean, Paul McVeigh (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Canaries: Adrian Boothroyd, Damien Francis, Martin Hunter, Matt Jackson, Malky Mackay

Significant Others: Pin-up Luke Chadwick, the much-travelled Dion Dublin, now 38

Verdict: Norwich’s fire-sale doesn’t compare to that at Palace, but they’ve still lost three of their strongest players and will need the replacements, including the well-quoted sulky Strihavka, to come off to just tread water.  Mid-table, with half an eye over their shoulders come Easter.

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

Ins: Peter Halmosi (Debrecen, £400,000), Krisztian Timar (Ferencvaros, £75,000)

Outs: Hasney Aljofree (Swindon Town, £50,000), Tony Capaldi (Cardiff City, Free), Tim Sandercombe (Notts County, Free), Josh Clapham (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Pilgrims: None

Significant Others: The tidy-looking Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, old lag Barry Hayles

Verdict: Argyle have recruited quite modestly at the time of writing, but finished a strong mid-table and looked a tidy side during our cup tie.  Much as every away trip is a long slog for the Pilgrims (bear in mind that even Bristol is closer to Watford than Plymouth as the crow flies), Argyle’s home advantage in bringing teams down to Devon isn’t lost on Ian Holloway.  Comfortably mid-table again.  Which is a Good Thing.

PRESTON NORTH END

Ins: Karl Hawley (Carlisle United, Free), Billy Jones (Crewe Alexandra, Free), Kevin Nicholls (Leeds United, Free)

Outs: David Nugent (Portsmouth, £6,000,000), Carlo Nash (Wigan Athletic, £300,000), Kelvin Wilson (Nottingham Forest, £300,000), Danny Dichio (Toronto, Free), Dave Hibbert (Shrewsbury Town, Free), Ben Hinchcliffe (Derby County, Free), Michael Ricketts (Oldham Athletic, Free), Andrew Murphy (Northwich Victoria, Loan), Warren Beattie, Ashley Parillon, Pavel Pergl (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Lilywhites: None

Significant Others: Graham Alexander, still.  And Neil Mellor, scorer of THAT goal for Liverpool against Arsenal.

Verdict: Preston are a team that I like to see do well in an “if not us then rather PNE than plenty of others” kinda way.  Unfortunately it’s difficult to see Karl Hawley stepping into David Nugent’s shoes, and whilst Billy Jones will prove an excellent signing it’s difficult to see the Lilywhites sustaining their promotion challenges of recent seasons.  Mid-table.

QUEENS PARK RANGERS

Ins: Lee Camp (Derby County, £300,000), Simon Walton (Charlton Athletic, £200,000), Daniel Nardiello (Barnsley, Undisclosed), Chris Barker (Cardiff City, Free), John Curtis (Nottingham Forest, Free), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea, Loan), Ben Sahar (Chelsea, Loan)

Outs: Lee Cook (Fulham, Undisclosed), Marc Bircham (Yeovil Town, Free), Paul Furlong (Luton Town, Free), Kevin Gallen (Franchise, Free), Steve Lomas (Gillingham, Free),  John Munday (Kidderminster Harriers, Free), Simon Royce (Gillingham, Free), Ricky Sappleton (Leicester City, Free), Paul Jones, Mauro Milanese, Arnel Tchakounte (released)

Their ex-Orns: Danny Cullip, Warren Neill (First Team Coach)

Our ex-Rangers: Clarke Carlisle, Matt Jackson, Danny Shittu

Significant Others: Veteran winger Gareth Ainsworth, Luke Moore’s rubbish brother Stefan.

Verdict: It’s difficult to fathom how John Gregory has swung another managerial position, and with things looking far from stable off the pitch QPR would have been a reasonable relegation shout.  The loan signig of Sahar, however, looks a real coup, and could be enough to secure Rangers’ future in the division.  Not much more, though.

SCUNTHORPE UNITED

Ins: Kevan Hurst (Sheffield United, £200,000), Jonathan Forte (Sheffield United, Undisclosed), Paul Hayes (Barnsley, Tribunal), Martin Paterson (Stoke City, Tribunal), Izzy Iriekpen (Swansea City, Free), Kelly Youga (Charlton Athletic, Loan)

Outs: Billy Sharp (Sheffield United, Undisclosed), Steve Foster (Darlington, Free), Richard Hinds (Sheffield Wednesday, Free), Neill Mackenzie (Notts County, Free), Lee Ridley (Cheltenham Town, Free), Steve Torpey (Lincoln City, Free), Ashley Allanson, Ramon Calliste, Robbie Foy (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Iron: None

Significant Others: Experienced ex-QPR and Notts County man Ian Baraclough, ex-Tranmere prodigy keeper Joe Murphy.

Verdict: Division Three champions or otherwise, staying up was always going to be the priority for Nigel Adkins’ side.  With Billy Sharp departing and Jermaine Beckford returning to Elland Road on the back of Andy Keogh’s January move to Wolves, Scunny have already lost their three leading scorers from last season, and are hoping that a Stoke City reserve and a returning striker who scored five goals for Barnsley at this level last season will do the business in front of goal.  It’s thirty years since we last played Scunny, during GT’s Division Four championship season, and it would be nice if their defensive capabilities prove sufficient to keep them around for a year or two.  Doesn’t seem likely though.

SHEFFIELD UNITED

Ins: James Beattie (Everton, £4,000,000), Gary Naysmith (Everton, £1,000,000), David Carney (Sydney FC, Undisclosed), Billy Sharp (Scunthorpe United, Undisclosed), Lee Hendrie (Aston Villa, Free)

Outs: Phil Jagielka (Everton, £4,000,000), Claude Davis (Derby County, £3,000,000), Jacob Mellis (Chelsea, £1,300,000), Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahce, £1,250,000), Kevan Hurst (Scunthorpe United, £200,000), Jonathan Forte (Scunthorpe United, Undisclosed), Rob Kozluk (Barnsley, Free), Chris Robertson (Torquay United, Free), Ben Starosta (Brentford, Loan), Paul Gerrard, Craig Short, Alan Wright (released)

Their ex-Orns: Danny Webber, Tony Daley (Fitness Coach)

Our ex-Blades: Steve Kabba

Significant Others: Geoff Horsfield, still.  And the unfortunate Luton Shelton. 

Verdict: One of the most depressing aspects of the whole Tevez thing has been the failure to acknowledge, amidst the mind-numbing column inches devoted to the transfer, that the Blades really were screwed over after all.  Not that this wasn’t painfully obvious from the moment West Ham claimed to have torn up the third party agreement with MSI (who were never going to write off their prize asset so tidily).  But it would be nice to see someone make United’s case.  Perhaps everyone’s just too tired of the whole thing.  That said, it was difficult to suppress a smile when Kevin McCabe’s inane hyperbole about an experienced manager (”like Peter Reid”) to replace the departing Warnock preceded the appointment of Bryan Robson.  Talk about a double whammy for Blades fans - improbable, unjust relegation.  And that “Captain Marvel”.  Jaysus.  Even Robbo will have to go some to keep t’Blades out of the play-off picture this time around, although plenty will be hoping that James Beattie falls on his more than ample backside in the process.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

Ins: Rob Burch (Tottenham Hotspur, Free), Lee Grant (Derby County, Free), Richard Hinds (Scunthorpe United, Free), Steve Watson (West Bromwich Albion, Free)

Outs: Chris Adamson (Stockport County, Free), Barry Corr (Swindon Town, Free), Graham Coughlan (Rotherham United, Free), John Hills (Blackpool, Free), Steven MacLean (Cardiff City, Free), Steve Adams, Andy Broadbent (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Owls: None

Significant Others: Former effete Crewe captain Kenny Lunt, the original Reggae Boyz’ Deon Burton

Verdict: After a strong end to the last campaign and with biggish names being linked over the summer, Owls fans can be forgiven for being a little underwhelmed with how they’re shaping up for the new season.  With the loss of MacLean to Cardiff a real blow, Wendy look light up front and will do well to repeat last season’s ninth place.

SOUTHAMPTON

Ins: Marek Saganowski (Troyes, £680,000), Youssef Safri (Norwich City, Undisclosed), Alan Bennett (Reading, Loan), Adam Hammill (Liverpool, Loan), Gregory Vignal (RC Lens, Loan)

Outs: Chris Baird (Fulham, £3,000,000), Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur, Undisclosed), Martin Crainie (Portsmouth, Undisclosed), Leon Best (Coventry City, Tribunal), Djamel Belmadi, Kevin Miller, David Prutton, Sean Rudd, Michael Svensson (released)

Their ex-Orns: David Hockaday (Youth Team Coach)

Our ex-Saints: None

Significant Others: Bradley, brother of Shaun, Wright-Phillips, the much travelled Kelvin Davis

Verdict: Despite Marek Saganowski’s move having been made permanent, the Saints look weaker for the summer transfer activity.  Adam Hammill was another coup by all accounts, but Southampton are out of parachute money and will do well to challenge for the play-offs.

STOKE CITY

Ins: Jon Parkin (Hull City, £275,000), Richard Cresswell (Leeds United, Undisclosed),  Stephen Wright (Sunderland, Loan)

Outs: Darel Russell (Norwich City, £600,000), Martin Paterson (Scunthorpe United, Tribunal), Adam Vass (Brescia, Undisclosed), James Curley, Hayden Doyle, Robbie Duggan, Kevin Harper, Geoff McGaw, Sean Robinson, Keith Thomas (released)

Their ex-Orns: None

Our ex-Potters: None

Significant Others: The-other-bloke-from-Senegal, Salif Diao, and another former Liverpool man Dominic Matteo

Verdict: Even Potters fans must find Tony Pulis a difficult man to love at the best of times, and they’ll be struggling all the more after a summer of inactivity that saw three members of last season’s loan army, Andy Griffin, Lee Hendrie and Jon Fortune opt against permant moves to the Britannia Stadium.  Stoke have signed a known quantity in Cresswell, and if he can stay fit City should have enough to avoid any concerns at the bottom of the table.  They shouldn’t expect much more than that though.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Ins: Leon Barnett (Luton Town, £2,500,000), Craig Beattie (Celtic, £1,250,000), Filipe Teixeira (Academica de Coimbra, £600,000), Tininho (Beira Mar, £230,000), Shelton Martis (Hibernian, £50,000), Bostjan Cesar (Marseilles, Loan)

Outs: Diomansy Kamara (Fulham, £6,000,000), Jason Koumas (Wigan Athletic, £5,300,000), Paul McShane (Sunderland, £1,500,000), Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United, Undisclosed), Rob Elvins (Aldershot Town, Free), Chris Perry (Luton Town, Free), Steve Watson (Sheffield Wednesday, Free)

Their ex-Orns: Kevin Phillips, Paul Robinson

Our ex-Baggies: None

Significant Others: The really very old Dean Kiely, Johnny “big pants” Hartson

Verdict: Last season was the Baggies’ big chance and they blew it in uninspiring fashion at Wembley.  They’ve since taken the difficult but probably sensible decision to cash in on several sellable assets, with Curtis Davies and perhaps Paul Robinson seeming likely to follow Kamara, Koumas and McShane out of the door, but as far as it’s possible to judge Tony Mowbray’s not doing a bad job of bringing in more modest replacements - it’s hard to question the judgment of a man who was keen to add Helguson to his squad, after all - and Albion will still be there or thereabouts. 

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Ins: Fredy Eastwood (Southend United, £1,500,000), Stephen Elliott (Sunderland, Undisclosed), Matt Jarvis (Gillingham, Undisclosed), Darren Ward (Crystal Palace, Undisclosed), Michael Gray (Blackburn Rovers, Free)

Outs: Michael McIndoe (Bristol City, Undisclosed), Carl Cort (Leicester City, Free), Jackie McNamara (Aberdeen, Free), Michael Oakes (Cardiff City, Free), Rohann Ricketts (Barnsley, Free), Daniel Jones (Northampton Town, Loan), Keith Lowe (Port Vale, Loan), Kevin O’Connor (Gillingham, Loan)

Their ex-Orns: Darren Ward

Our ex-Wolves: Gavin Mahon

Significant Others: In Gary Breen and Jody Craddock, a very lumpy central defence

Verdict: It pains one to say it, but Wolves look in ruder health than they have done for a very long time.  Last season’s side, so un-Wolves in its reliance on youth and zest rather than stale “experience” has been augmented with some very sharp signings.  Wolves should be looking at the top two this time around.

 And finally…

WATFORD

Ins: Jobi McAnuff (Crystal Palace, £1,750,000), Douglas Rinaldi (Veranopolis, £200,000), Mart Poom (Arsenal, Undisclosed), Bodon Antal (Ujpest Dosza, Free), Matt Jackson (Wigan Athletic, Free)

Outs: Harry Forrester (Aston Vila, Undisclosed), Dominic Blizzard (Franchise FC, Free), James Chambers (Leicester City, Free), Ben Gill (Cheltenham Town, Free), Chris Powell (Charlton Athletic, Free), Joel Grant, Albert Jarrett (released), Alec Chamberlain (retired)

Verdict: Oh who the hell knows.  Both lists above should be added to considerably by the end of the month, with Izale McLeod seemingly on his way in, perhaps with a loan or two, and Bouazza definitely on his way with question marks still over Shittu, DeMerit and Henderson, and with Diagouraga and Robinson expected to join Hereford on loan.  If Marlon has refound his sharpness and lost none of his focus we have arguably the best player in the division, but I’m not the only one underwhelmed by our limited success in building the squad.  We were promoted unexpectedly, and yet still made a considerable profit in the transfer market over the season, add parachute payments and the Lee Cook windfall and yet we look like making a transfer profit again this summer.  I guess that the implied complaint sounds daft - not so very long ago we would have given anything to be able to sell a raw striker for £4million just to keep the club afloat.  But in terms of us challenging this season - it’s certainly possible, but I’d expected to be more convinced than I’m feeling at the moment.

Y’know, football doesn’t often gladden the heart these days. Or it doesn’t often gladden my heart, anyway…and, yeah, I know that’s probably because I’m getting old and stuff. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that wasn’t actually better in my day. So there, sonny.

So, here I was, all ready to pen a tribute to Big Doris on his transfer to Preston, an open secret for a wearisome eternity. Frankly, it would’ve been damn hard to avoid criticising the manager in the process: we’ve spent far too long watching somewhat forlorn attempts to catch the eye of a passing striker over the last couple of years. This time, we seem to have compounded the problem by (nearly) off-loading key players before signing replacements…and then, rather comically and entirely transparently, attempting to repair the damage (”The more time goes on the more I’m looking to keep him”). One is tempted to refer to “twenty-first century man management”, an oft-used phrase two-and-a-bit years ago, but one is aware that it would be a little churlish. And, more importantly, that those comical and transparent attempts might have succeeded.

Thank heavens, I say, that Darius Henderson will be a Watford player next season. Thank heavens, because we’re going to need him. It’s not just about his strength of character, although few players could have stood so tall, proud and unbowed in last season’s difficult circumstances. For me, that made him the player of the season: not the best player of the season, sure, but the one who characterised the struggle at the heart of it and the little that I’ll remember fondly. Others would simply have crumbled. Have simply crumbled. Doris was right there, whenever we needed him. Right there, right to the end.

But it’s not just about that. It’s about the player. Because I don’t care what style of football we’ll be playing next season; at some point, probably when the rain comes and our pitch disintegrates again and Burnley come to visit and we remember what the Second Division is really like, there will be absolutely no substitute for a hulking great big centre forward who can knock people around, flick things on, get stuck in. If that hulking great big centre forward is Darius Henderson, you get all of that and a whole bunch more, for it really doesn’t do to underestimate his touch and control and all-round play when the ball isn’t just walloped in his vague direction from fifty yards away. He’s a better player than you think he is.

So, Doris is staying. We’ve got a centre forward, a proper old-fashioned one who your granddad would recognise (haircut aside). And the chances of paying hard-earned cash to watch Jay Demerit up front have just significantly diminished. A good day.

This article’s not really about the tremendously positive recruitment of Jobi McAnuff; I just noted that the “open goal” headline above seemed to have gone untaken…

It’s significant, however, that his fee represents the most we’ve shelled out on a player since we were last in the position of floating down from the Premiership on parachute payments - in terms of a transfer fee, at any rate. And despite having tempted fate at the start of the season just gone by insisting that 1999-2000 would bear no resemblance to what was to come (ultimately it did, in one key detail in particular), it perhaps makes sense to reflect back on the following season when, as now, we had some justification for looking ahead with optimism.

Nestled in the middle of a somewhat eventful six-year spell it’s tempting to overlook GT’s final season. In the previous three campaigns we had first won the Division Three championship (or whatever it was called back then, I lose track), then the play-offs in theatrical style followed by immediate relegation. Post-Taylor, of course, came the Vialli catastrophe, and in the following season, Ray Lewington’s first, the financial fall-out with a Cup Semi Final to boot.

But 2000/01 contained its fair share of highs and lows. The start of the season saw us optimistic, as described by ig’s season preview which nonetheless contained ominous portents of what was to follow the next summer… the squad had been exposed in the Premiership, not only by two promotions in two seasons on the back of relatively modest investment but also by a calamitous run of injuries. The anticipation was that the injured players would return, and that the eye-catching recruitment of Allan Nielsen and Espen Baardsen would leave us with a squad more than capable of pushing for an instant return.

It didn’t quite work out like that. Nielsen probably goes down as a success, even at £2.25m, but the same can’t really be said of Baardsen whose occasional strong performances were too isolated. And as for the injuries… Johnno didn’t feature until the end of the season, Nicky Wright made one forlorn appearance in the Cup defeat to Birmingham, Peter Kennedy didn’t play until December and Ben Iroha never came back at all. Gifton did make a return, but never with the devastating effect that had been hoped for and anticipated, Allan Smart barely featured and Nordin Wooter’s frills-to-consequence ratio got worse, not better, in the face of less stiff competition. Even Heidar Helguson, encouragingly single-minded in his half-season in the top flight, betrayed a fragile self-confidence that took him a couple of years to get over.

It didn’t start badly though. We won twelve and drew three of our first fifteen league games, and whilst that astonishing record which kept us on the heels of runaway Fulham may have slightly flattered our performances there were some terrific moments in that run too. Sheffield United were one of several sides demolished at Vicarage Road, one of eight three-plus goal hauls by mid-October. Away from home an extraordinary 4-3 win at Blackburn will live long in the memory of those who braved the petrol blockades to witness it, whilst a 2-0 victory at Nottingham Forest ranks amongst the best team performances of Taylor’s second spell.

And then, just as dramatically, it all fell apart. Some might point towards the effortless canter with which a Manchester United reserve side featuring now familiar names like Greening, Brown and O’Shea knocked us out of the League Cup, but I think we might have ridden that. An ugly, joyless defeat at home to a struggling Sheffield Wednesday was the sucker punch we didn’t see coming. We had finally overhauled Fulham and were eight points clear of third-placed Birmingham with a game in hand. By the time we lost 5-0 to Fulham at an icy Craven Cottage on Boxing Day, eight games but only a single point later - a run that featured a defeat to an appalling Huddersfield side that ranks amongst the worst performances in living memory - we had slipped to eighth and never refound that momentum.

As for the rest of it… well we won a few games, mercifully, but lost a few too - the sorts of games , West Brom away, Grimsby away, that we always seem to lose but that you can’t really get away with if you’re really intent on getting promoted. Nonetheless we were still hovering on the edge of the play-offs when Taylor announced his end-of-season departure at the end of March, thanks in no small part to Tommy Mooney turning attacking the far post into an art form for much of the season. Somewhat inevitably we tailed off and finished ninth some five points off the play-offs. The final game of the season at Burnley was as miserable a trip as many have made, even by Turf Moor standards; we saw GT off as the locals gurned behind him post pitch-invasion but by that point we had witnessed not only our traditional Turf Moor defeat, but a side much more limited than our own leap-frogging us into seventh. As if to rub salt into the wound, the end-of-season silver lining Lee Cook was carried off having caught his studs, not to play again until the end of the following March.

We had a talented side that season, a side that ought to have made a much better fist of things really, even in retrospect. That the side capsized owed something to Taylor’s impending departure perhaps, his understandable and utterly forgivable lack of stomach for the rebuilding job that was to go so horrifically wrong under Vialli. But it owed an awful lot to the side suddenly, after three years of first irrepressible success, then success in spite of expectation, then a tiresome, galling, but not unpredictable failure, experiencing the weight of expectation for the first time in the face of a drop in form.

For the first time in years, certainly for the first time under Boothroyd and probably the first time since Vialli, Watford will be expected to win games next season. The signs are good - we’ve held on to most of our main men at the time of writing - Ben Foster’s inevitable departure notwithstanding. We’ve recruited well so far, with the suggestion of more to come. The spirit that defined the promotion season was admirably maintained throughout the Prem campaign - we were regularly outclassed, often beaten, but rarely before we stepped out onto the pitch. And yet here’s a new challenge, something Betty’s not had to face before.

A lot will depend on how well he meets it.

I think we’ve been here before.

 Everyone has a position on this.  The Franchise thing isn’t really something that merits any more debate - either you find it utterly repulsive or you don’t.  But given that quite a lot of people do, enough to have provoked the cancellation of Watford’s last ill-advised attempt to arrange a friendly with Franchise a few summers back, quite why the club feel that the passage of time would make the idea any less repellent to those concerned is beyond me.  This isn’t something that’s done and dusted, something to move on from.  The MK Franchise’s cuckooing within the Football League structure hasn’t grown out of being an abomination.

In particular it strikes me as odd in the context of the club’s ongoing dispute with the Watford Observer, that they should choose to risk alienating yet another section of their support for the sake of a pre-season friendly.  This betrays a serious lack of judgment at best, and a peculiarly antagonistic decision at worst.

 Watford claims to be a club that values its role in its community.  The very existence of the Community Sports & Education Trust bears testimony to this.  As such it strikes me as odd that a pre-season friendly against  a club defined by a disregard for its original community should be deemed appropriate.

The Official Site’s announcement, trumpeting the fixture wholly inadvisedly, includes the assertion that “the club have forged links with the Dons over the last year” on the basis of two loan moves.  It’s a rather depressing reflection of the perspective of the club that this relationship is deemed more profound than the links formed with AFC Wimbledon supporters.  Five years ago many of us protested with fans of the old Wimbledon as their club was in the process of being wrenched to Milton Keynes.  This was before a match televised by the ill-fated ITV Digital, during which pundit Graham Taylor was more explicit in his distaste for the MK charade than his studio colleagues had perhaps anticipated.  More recently a coach was organised to carry Watford supporters to Kingsmeadow to watch AFC Wimbledon as Watford travelled to play the Dons.  Watford supporters are shareholders in AFC Wimbledon, and some have supported the fledgling club more explicitly still. 

 So I’m afraid that I can’t share the Official Site’s delight at the prospect of being amongst the first to visit the Franchise’s new stadium.  I won’t be doing so.  If you’re coming from a similar position to me, I’d suggest contacting the club with a view to the cancelling of the friendly as soon as possible.

We have witnessed what is popularly referred to as a “flurry” of transfer activity over the last week, with three coming in and five going out, plus confirmation of Alec’s retirement.

None of the departures are enormously surprising albeit, as previously documented, it’s a bit of a shame to see Dom Blizzard moving to Franchise.

Of the guys coming in, the two “proper” new signings in particular will add some experience - as the euphemism goes - to the squad.  Matt Jackson seems set to fulfil the Mackay role of shouting at people when they need shouting at;  if Mackay’s playing days are genuinely behind him then this is probably a necessary signing.  It’s worth noting that Jackson is actually a few months older than Malky, but nobody at Wigan seems to have had a bad word to say about him, and Betty’s most successful signings have been those he has previous knowledge of.  Jackson, like Mackay, first met his new manager at Norwich.

Mart Poom meanwhile arrives from Arsenal to fill the goalkeeping vacancy;  of a similar age to Jackson, although being 35 is generally seen as less of a handicap between the sticks.  Perhaps the greatest concern with Poom is that he’s barely played a competitive, domestic game for two-and- a-half years, but he was a terrific keeper with Derby and Sunderland - again, both clubs’ fans speak very highly of him in messageboard conversations discussing this move.  Those of us who can be bothered to watch will catch an early glimpse of our new stopper as England travel to Estonia in a couple of weeks’ time.  You might have heard about it.

Finally, Douglas Rinaldi has signed a permanent deal;  as previously scribbled, this surprises me a little bit but hopefully he’ll start imposing himself a little more on games.  And there’s undeniably something cool about having a Brazilian in your squad, even one called Douglas…