Bye Bye Baird, but Hello Hammill

So Chris Baird has eventually left for Fulham. It's a shame to see him go, but if he really wanted premiership football then fair play. It was interesting to see him snub a move to Sunderland in favour of waiting for one to Fulham. There are probably two good reasons though; Lawrie Sanchez and Mrs Baird (apparently she doesn't want to leave Hampshire). Plus we could do with the £3m we received to bolster the defence. We still need at least two centre backs and maybe another full back.

Looking at a full-back is exactly what Burley is going to do, Saints have taken Gregory Vignal on trial from Lens, where he would be available on a free transfer. He first came to England when he signed for Liverpool back in 2000, when he was one of the most promising french prospects, despite winning some cup winners medals, he struggled withg injury which led him to be sent out on loan to Rangers. He then opted to join Pompey (under Perrin), but was released when Redknapp returned. He sounds a good prospect and hopefully he can impress over the next week or two and can win himself a contract.

Another missing piece of the puzzle was a winger, someone to add pace, creativity and a cutting edge going forward. Hopefully this may have been filled with the arrival of Adam Hammill on a years loan from Liverpool. The 19 year old winger, who can play on either flank, played most of last season at Dunfermline in the SPL, where he helped them to the Scottish cup final. Hopefully he can proved an excellent addition to the midfield and add some really quality.

In takeover talk, something may or may not happen tomorrow or at the beginning of next week. But that is what's been said nearly every week for the last couple of months. The talk this week has sounded more believable with many people in the know (ITK) all agreeing on a big story, but not letting anything slip to the rest of us. Although, it has been commented that the proposal of one of the possible interested parties would rock the whole footballing world. To be honest this probably sounds to good to be true, which it usually is for Saints. Anyway, getting bored of the whole saga, lets just hope the whole thing is sorted (either way) sooner rather than later, so we can get back to concentrating on the football!

A musical tribute to Adam Hammill from the Dunfermline fans: