Sick of it !

It's early June and I am already wishing away the weeks until the transfer window closes. It seems that we are linked to every player in Europe. Often there is absolutely no substance or evidence to the stories - names seem to be plucked out of thin air (or from a computer game), they rise up and steal the headlines for a few hours and then we hear no more. There seems no way for us to differentiate between the true stories and the dross, so I have chosen to ignore them all. When we sign someone, then I will start believing!

I also think the key to the quality of any new signings we make will depend on us keeping Gareth Bale. The sooner we can announce for sure that he is staying, the sooner that potential targets can imagine playing in the same team as one of the most exciting players in the world. Our Chairman needs to finalise a deal for Bale sooner rather than later - of that I think we are all agreed.

However, I do believe we have done a couple of excellent deals already - the releases of Bentley and Gallas.