Last years midfield engine room and the man behind our undoubted success, Stephen Hughes, will be plying his trade with Manchester Uni .... Walsall next season. Kevin Kyle and Chris Birchall are expected to move on before the season starts, with Plymouth apparently preparing a bid that includes giving us money for the former, while there are rumours that Birchall could end up playing alongside Hughes at Walsall. Donovan Simmonds (Surely worth holding onto should Mifsud leave the building?), is on trial at Kilmarnock. He would have played in the fixture against Coventry City last weekend, but, surprisingly, he was injured!

Michael Mifsud, a player whose ego grew far bigger than his talent after he scored a few quality goals last season, is currently spending his days training with the academy players. To quote his once potential new boss, who has since decided he's not worth the bother: "[Mifsud], his representative and lawyer took negotiations to a new level that I've never been before, not as in finances, but in the way they were conducting business. In my opinion it wasn't very professional and certainly not respectful of this football club". Any potential move to Crystal Palace was also rejected, with Neil Warnock quoted as saying: "[I have] no interest in him whatsoever, I never have and never will".

Clinton Morrison has finally signed on the dotted line, for a month .... with a view to trying to sort out a proper contract! (Hopefully not dependant on somebody signing the Maltese mis-fit). And unless I missed it, Stephen Wright still hasn't signed for the club! With his potential replacement, Isaac Osbourne, nowhere near ready to play, his signature seems fairly imperative....

Scott Dann has been named as Coventry City captain for the 2008/9 season (A great choice, in my humble opinion) - not bad for somebody turning out for Walsall for a fair percentage of last season! (There's hope for Stephen Hughes yet then!). Dann is quoted as saying: "I am delighted to be captain of the club and it is something that I have always wanted to do .... Even though I am still young I will prove to the gaffer that he has made the right choice".

The last two pre-season friendlies:

Coventry City ended their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 at Kilmarnock, though the positive result was over-shadowed by an injury to Leon Best. Elliott Ward scored the first goal from the spot, while a quality effort from Gray sealed the win.

Team: Westwood, Wright, Fox, Ward, Dann, Tabb, Beuzelin, Simpson, Gray (McKenzie 86), Best (Morrison 20), Eastwood (Thornton 82). SNU: Ireland, Turner, Hall, Borrowdale, Kyle.

Worryingly, a tired performance against Livingstone (Not much time to build up the stamina before things start for real!), which resulted in a 0-0 scoreline. Worth noting another decent display from Ireland.

Team: Ireland, Wright (Borrowdale 70), Hall, Ward, Turner, Tabb, Beuzelin (Best 46), Thornton, Kyle (Eastwood 46), Simpson, McKenzie (Gray 70). SNU: Colett, Dann.

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