Money Down The Back Of The Sofa?

So, the Andy Gray deal is almost done and dusted - £1.5 mill to Burnley, which could rise to £2 mill, although for now he's officially on an 'emergency loan'. A lot of money for a 30-year old, but I'll reserve judgement on a player that has scored 11 league goals this season.

The thing I'm unsure about is where the money's coming from.

It's no secret that the coffers at The Valley have shrunk dramatically after Dowie's spending spree last year, and our eventual relegation. I'm no accounting expert, but the breakdown of our finances in Wyn Grant's excellent post suggests we have a debt in the region of £23 million. £23 million – that's a rather large pile of cash to find, and highlights the importance of this season's campaign to the club.

I'm guessing Richard Murray's not just found the cash down the back of the sofa, so how will the move be financed?

Well, for a start we're already £200k down - James Walker's move to Southend is reportedly off after a failed medical, and he'll be returning to The Valley.

Despite his lack of end product and rumours of bids, I think Jerome Thomas may stay – I've a feeling Pards thinks he can get something different out of him, although hopefully more than a few bloody show-pony stepovers.

My feeling is that Marcus Bent will be the one to leave. According to the Charlton website, Andy Gray has already been given Bent's number 9 shirt, which is hardly an indication of desire to get him back from Wigan. It makes sense – Bent could command a similar fee to Gray, and with any luck we'll get some offers on the table soon.

The one thing I desperately hope is that clubs don't start sniffing around Andy Reid. Things have gone oddly quiet about his recovery from injury, and a £5mill+ bid from a Premiership side for possibly the most gifted midfielder in the league may be too attractive for the board to ignore...