Welcome back! Part 7 was out of this world. I really didn’t expect to be promoted to Division 1 at the first attempt so winning Division 2 came as a complete surprise. This update will pick up in the close season and will take you through to October 99 – which means I owe you a graduates update but as I alluded to at the end of Part 7, there’s more on the move. Sigh.

Everton can’t afford Twiss! So he’s had to go to Wolves.

Silly Everton. I’ve signed Cambiasso on a free.

He’s average at best but his versatility means a lot to me. Weathers and Smith are moved on for a combined £300k, both barely feature so I’m quite happy to move on some of the fringe members of the squad. With the two backup keepers asking for transfers, I’ve moved for two new backups in case somebody is stupid enough to buy them

Cox Mail sounds just awful.

Bids arrive for the last remaining “wanted” amongst the squad.

Sheff Utd and Crystal Palace also table offers, as well as a late bid from The National Lottery. On the advice of Vernon Kay, Jeff chooses Bolton.

Third choice keeper Freeman heads to Cowdenbeath for £275k and that ends the outs before the season starts. There’ll be a couple of frees coming in to add some depth but overall, we’re obviously weaker. I just have to hope the lads we do have continue to improve.

Right then, as promised, here’s a full list of the graduates so far:

Danny Gee – Yet to make an appearance for Wimbledon after joining from Swindon for £400k. Vinny Jones is the new manager there so God help him.

Lee Norfolk – Did well for Huddersfield and got a “big” move to St Johnstone. £625k is actually less than the £825k we received for him.

Gary Simpson – Our former captain was sold to Man City for £475k. He played 10 times before losing his place and being sold to Watford, also for £475k. After making 8 appearances for the Hornets, Bolton swooped with a £475k offer. He’ll be a Premier League player this season if he makes an appearance.

Stuart McCaffrey – Was sold to First Division Stoke for £120k. Played 36 times for Stoke in 98/99 before moving to Huddersfield for £450k. Could come up agains us this season.

Gerard Lyttle – Sold to Premier League Leicester for £375k. Has made 13 appearances for them and finished the season in the team.

Anthony Betterton – Went to Barnsley for £1.2m part way through last season. Was backup to David Watson but took over as number 1 when Watson left for Derby. Made 8 appearances at an average of 7.62 but Barnsley were relegated.

Ryan Morrison – Also sold to Barnsley, for £1.4m. Made 5 appearances in the Premier League before relegation.

James Stones – Took over as captain but left for Blackburn who tabled at £1.2m bid. Has made 13 appearances but will be looking to impress new manager Ron Atkinson.

The following have just left, so nothing to report just yet.

Huddersfield are our first visitors and we get an early indication of the task at hand

Reinforcements arrive. Dow is just back up, whereas Hussin wants £25k a week which means he is a re-gen of somebody good. I hope.

We are absolutely loaded after the summer so it’ll not be an issue.

He makes his debut at home to Tranmere in the League Cup.

This is going well. Tranmere are at least a Division 1 side too.

Morrison and Betterton are back at the Arena and once again we throw away a lead, though I think Barnsley will do well this season so I’m not too upset with a draw.

A bad night in front of goal ends our involvement in the League Cup.

It’s just not happening for us at the moment. I miss Jeff. And Twissy.

Gowshall is banned as Charlton are in town. Cassin scores twice and despite a late Mendoca onslaught, we win. 3 precious points.

A midweek trip to Southampton is always a treat. A losing treat.

Early signs are that this will be an eternal struggle. A 1-1 draw with Oldham does little to change my opinion, though Nicky Byrne’s 30 yard strike is a rare highlight.

Billing recovers from a fractured wrist to hopefully give us more firepower. Pearson has been quite poor so far, but he was the same last season. But now we have 4 away games in a row. Great scheduling.

Hussin hasn’t looked great at all but he’s in the England Under 21 squad. So I think that means he will be good.

Billing’s return brings immediate dividends as Festa the clown takes him out in the opening seconds. Boro have to play 89 minutes with 10 men and Billing runs wild, Buckley helps out and even Pearson scores. It’s a mess and we’d probably have lost 11 vs 11, but this is a big win. Probably our biggest to date.

Tranmere are top having won 6 out of 6 whilst Charlton are second having only lost to us. It’s a funny old game.

Our trip to bottom club Braford continues our rebuilding process. Billing remains our saviour.

No matter how much you think you have improved, when you concede a first half hat-trick to Peter Ndlovu it can’t be good news. We are 10th.

Have we sold our ground or something? Actually, don’t give him ideas. Another poor result.

Pearson’s value has dropped to £800k. From £3m, that’s quite a fall. It’s like the game has decided he has peaked and that’s it for him. He has 76 in 116 for the Academy, but 3 in 11 so far this term. Morrison’s injury opens the door for the Walshinator.

The Walshinator lasts 37 minutes.

I’ve written us off from worse positions but this is definitely a step up in class and I’m worried that our former main man is now garbage. Maybe it’s time to step back into the freebies market?

Before there’s time to strengthen our ranks, it’s Pompey at home. Proof we can still mix it.

Siri Scout, can you find me somebody who is quick, determined and a good finisher but is weak as a kitten and smokes 90 a day?

Welcome aboard.

Ugo makes his debut at home to Coventry. Gallagher scores after replacing Buckley but John Salako, who must be pushing 40, equalises.

Off to Fulham next and a drab encounter is settled when Pearson emerges from the bench to replace the disappointing Howard to net the winner. That my friends is man management.

Gowshall out for a month. Centre halves are falling apart.

We shared 10 goals with Wigan last season and now we meet a division higher. There are less goals, in fact we score half as many as last time but that doesn’t matter. We’re mint.

Maybe we’ve cracked Division 1 life. We’re just on the cusp of the playoffs and it’s Wimbledon at home to finish this update. Big Bill Davies is the latest centre half to depart on a stretcher and it turns out Cambiasso is not big enough to deal with Wimbledon’s directness.

Sigh. That drops us to 12th – I mean, I’m not blameless in this but I lose a centre half a match at the moment.

Tranmere and Coventry flying the unbeaten flag. Our goals against column is the worst in the top half by a long way.

I did an Academy update earlier so it will return to it’s rightful place at the end of the post next Sunday. I think a goal difference of zero really sums up where we are. Very average in this league bit that’s fine. We’re in no hurry. Nobody wants any of the squad which probably means they’re all crap. We’ll see. Bye for now!