City: The Exodus

We knew that players would have to go to reduce the wage-bill. Now the exodus has started: Thorne to Norwich; Bullock to Hartlepool; Williams released; Vidmar and McAnuff already gone of course. Rumours that Gabbidon, or Gabbidon and Collins, will go to West Ham. Forest are said to be interested in Barker. Thorne apparently has gone on a free, with the club to get £200,000 if Norwich are promoted. Thorne has performed well with us, and worked well with Earnie and latterly Jerome. But he was expensive to buy and expensive to pay. We paid well over the odds for him, frankly. He was also injured a lot.

Even Sam Hammam is now saying it is probable that Collins will go, in an article on the official club website, which indicates that the financial issues may be even more pressing with regard to monies owed to the Inland Revenue. It's an honest and self-critical piece - there are a lot of mea culpas in the article -but it also raises lots of questions. I hope I'm reading this wrongly, but some of it suggests worrying signs of a bunker mentality developing.

On the positive side, Jeff Whitley has now joined us and there is talk of getting Koumas on loan. But next season already looks as if it's going to be another bumpy ride.