Reid goes. Same old, same old. Groundhog Day. January 31st. Charlton Athletic sell their best player. Again. Stop.

Bullshit isn't it? Yes he was rather on the chubby side and yes he did make us a little bit one dimensional, bit like that crappy Arsenal team with Thierry Henry in it and yes he is injured. But come on, he was our best player, and probably the best player in The Championship and "a deal worth up to £4m." Seriously how much have we put of that in our current account tonight?

Reidy's game wasn't all about brute force, gamesmanship, fight and determination. It was about quality and creativity. He was our best player, he was arguably the only player of Premiership quality in our squad and now he's gone. The board have done it to us again.

Of course the little Oirish fella could have said no, but nope he hobbled up to the Stadium of Light, forgetting about his public pact with Pardew and got himself a big cheque. "It wasn't a case of I was unhappy at Charlton, it was a case of an opportunity presenting itself, it was too good to turn down." (more)

Lee Cook and Greg Halford have come in on loan. Halford has blatently failed at his last two clubs and his only claim to fame is his long throws, Cook is just as injury prone as Reid. Sorry but on paper we look like a real Championship club today.  ¶ 18:16