[SaltergateBorn]

No problem, Pooch; no problem at all. You join a long and illustrious list of people who have disagreed with me (most of whom have turned out to be right, as it happens).

To be fair, I actually don`t think we disagree that much. The decision as to whether we 'cash in', as you put it, is not mine to make; it`s the club`s. Ideally, I would love to see SM stay with us - not just for another year, but another 2 or 3 years. I think a combination of him, Martinez (who I`ve already said I rate highly) and O`Neil (who I don`t know so well but from what I`ve been told personally and from what Ska posted a while ago) in midfield could be a real handful at League 1 level. I just don`t think it`s gonna happen.

Clubs have to make tough commercial decisions these days about players coming to the end of their contracts; have done ever since Bosman. We`re not a Man United, who can stick two fingers up at Real Madrid over de Gea and say that we`ll forgo £25 million just to show that we`re not prepared to be pushed around by you; we have to accept the realities of our financial status. If we get a concrete offer of something around £500k for a player in the last year of his contract, it`s going to be very difficult for us to turn it down. I don`t know what the club will decide if and when the decision has to be made; I`m just glad I don`t have to make it.

Thanks for the invite as regards the Prediction League, Matt. I shall consider very carefully whether I am prepared to make a complete prat of myself by joining in and making clear to the universe my complete lack of knowledge about this stupid bloody game. If past history is anything to go by, I probably will on both counts (join in and make a prat of myself, that is).