New columnist Chicoazul suspects that Owen Garvan will leave the Blues over the summer and reckons Jim's January signings were made with this eventuality in mind.

Since Jim Magilton spent over £3 million on three midfielders in the January transfer window, the TWTD Message Board has been buzzing with scorn for his choices. Why didn't he buy any defenders or strikers? Why reinforce an area where we were well covered? Why didn't he sign Ronaldo, Nesta and Rio Ferdinand instead?

With hindsight it seems likely that Jim knew or believed that Owen Garvan would not be at the club next season, in addition to the unfancied Gavin Williams, Matt Richards and the released Legwinski, so he took the opportunity to get his new midfielders in early.

This would mean his midfield arrivals would have half a season to bed in and a pre-season together, so Jim could focus his transfer efforts in other areas - a replacement for the Canadian Cheerleader, trying to persuade Bywater to stay and to ignore the dipsticks who boo him every time he mis-hits a backpass, finding a fox in the box who doesn't mind when Pablo ignores him six yards from goal, signing a left-back who isn't blonde and can control a ball (blonde footballers are almost always rubbish, there's some golden transfer advice Jim!) etc.

You would think that if Owen does leave Jim might get a bit of credit but I doubt it. A lot of people felt that with the right new arrivals in January we could have gone up and they are holding a bit of a grudge against him for that - in fact, some people believe (wrongly, check the stats) that results tailed off with the arrival of three midfielders and two goalkeepers instead of the coveted defenders and attackers. Maybe soon it will look like Jim's transfer choices in January make a little more sense even to those people.

As for Owen and the should he/shouldn't he sign question, I'm torn on the issue. He is certainly a good player who looked increasingly influential and confident once he got back in the team from mid-February onwards, but I'm sure his agent and bank manager would appreciate him going to a Premier League bench for six months before he is loaned back to a Championship club in January with "too slow and too one-footed for the top flight" ringing in his ears.

Owen's family are football people so they may tell him his career is better served at Ipswich for another season of trying to finish above Watford, who knows. If he goes one thing is for sure, I will miss his funny camp limp-wristed run when he goes over to take corners and his moaning, sullen face every time Danny Haynes doesn't cut the ball back to him. We will know in a week-ish once Trapattoni releases him from his wizened clutches.

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