Real improvement, speculation and silly season

There was no post yesterday because there was little I could write. We ended up ninth in the table, The Clowns are back where they belong and all things considered, transitional season and all that, you have to be happy.

You just have to be happy and beating Liverpool and Arsenal before that, is no mean feat. The way we beat Liverpool was also very good - you could actually see players making space, you could see players looking for the ball and you could see us wanting to pass. You could see real improvement.

That was then, this is now

But all good things come to an end and this season is over. The season wasn't great, but it was getting better. It also means that the transfer window is now open and this is when we start to move away from what is really happening to what might and what probably won't.

You see, there are already rumours flying about all over the place about certain players. Sometimes there is no smoke without fire but I think things will be done fairly quickly the names below.

• Ashley Young - whatever is going on, I suspect we will find out sooner rather than later. If he wants out, lets get it done, otherwise, we offer him the £100,000 a week to stay and he either signs a five year deal or he doesn't. It has to happen quickly, which is why I think it will.
• Brad Friedel - this baffles me a bit. There is talk that every other club is interested in him, including Liverpool. I'm also fairly sure he is out of contract so he is pretty much free to go wherever he wants and I suspect it will come down to money.

Rumours are rumours but there is sometimes no smoke without a little fire and I'd not be surprised if both those players above were playing somewhere else next season. It doesn't matter what we think though, these decisions are made, it is now just about the details.

So, silly season is upon us, the ash cloud is back and my prediction for next season is better than this one and here is one for now; while I wouldn't be surprised if Ashley left, I wouldn't be surprised if we offered him the money and he took it.