Good Luck Rog

So obviously Roger doesn't want to ply his trade at the CCS next season, and Birmingham - like the Mounties - have got their man. Seeing that they've spent a fair amount already on their defence, I really hope Birmingham make a go at it this time, and I'll no doubt enjoy seeing Roger rubbing shoulders with Rooney and Drogba next season on MOTD. Makes me wonder though whether Ridsdale could've held out for another 1 or 2 million. Anyway, the deals done, he's off to pastures new, and with money in the transfer kitty new arrivals are imminent.

And this shopping list of rumoured new arrivals gets longer by the hour. So far we have Damien Delaney (QPR) Craig Cathcart (Plymouth) Zak Whitbread (Millwall) Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham) Paul Quinn (Motherwell) Miguel Angel Llera (MK Dons) Kaspars Gorkss (QPR) Mark Hudson (Charlton) Liam Miller (QPR).

So take your pick, place your bets and lets see what happens

Stuff and Nonsense

I must admit, I admire Birmingham's tenacity. They're like a dog with a bone when it comes to getting their man i.e Roger Johnson. Nothing's happened yet, and I don't think it will. Why would Big Rog want to go and sign for another Midlands yoyo club when he could plying his trade at the CCS next season. The structure of Birmingham's offer takes the Michael too. They want to pay 1 million up front, then another 1 mill a year until 2012. I don't think this over though. I'm sure Birmingham will test Cardiff's resolve even further.

Next season's fixtures are out, although most of them will already have to rearranged, due to visiting Irish rock bands (if anyone has any U2 tickets for sale, drop me a line) and egg-chasing autumn and 6 nation internationals. Home to Scunthorpe is a decent opener, and hopefully 3 points in the bag from the off. The list of fixtures seemed a bit predictable to me. Plymouth home on Boxing Day and Swansea home early April. The one game everyone has their eye on was the Newcastle away game in early Feb, which I must admit sounds like a good one.

Motherwell striker Dave Clarkson is the latest name to be linked. Aren't we barking up the wrong tree hoping to find another Ross McCormack? He's not that good by some accounts.

The funniest thing I've heard in a long long time is that Inter Milan have valued Zlatan Ibrahimovic at a whopping £80 million. How I laughed. It's even funnier that Pete Waterman trying to pass off a bowl of garlic mash as a starter on Celebrity Masterchef (if you saw it the other night you'll know where I'm coming from) A valuation comparable to Ronaldo but with one slight difference.... Ibrahimovic can barely stand up, let alone kick a ball. If there was ever an award for the most overrated player, he would win hands down, every year for the rest of time. That's what I love about the silly season ....outrageous valuations.

Stateside with Peter Ridsdale

No, this is not another lame effort from ITV2, but news that The Riddler is in Gotham City...sorry New York City on a bit of a jolly with the intention of securing cash backing from American investors so that the Langston noose around Cardiff City's neck can finally be removed.

What is also interesting is that whilst in NYC Ridsdale is meeting officials from the New York Mets. If your knowledge of American sports is a bit limited, the Mets play baseball at their brand new Citi Field stadium which they moved to in April. What Ridsdale is hoping for though is a whole host of American style tips and ideas on how to maximise the earning potential at the CCS, and ways of making matchdays not just about 90 minutes of football.

He could be onto something here. From my experience of going to a few baseball games in the States, the atmosphere at baseball games is superb and very family orientated. If anyone knows how to add that something extra to sporting occasions, it's the Americans.

In the cold light of day, I'm not sure how it'll look at a Championship level, and some football matchday purists will think it a complete waste of time. Is it going to be all chilli dogs, foam fingers and watered down lager? but applying these tips and ideas at a family level could be very succesful indeed.

Perhaps our American friends can tell him that the ticketing policy needs reviewing. Safe trip home PR.

Do you have Sculptor's hands?

The hunt is on for a sculptor to produce the long overdue statue of 1927 FA cup winning captain Fred Keenor. Fans have signed the petitions in their thousands (including myself) and a nice bronze statue of the Cardiffian would look dead posh outside the ground.

One person however who will not be offering his sculpting services is my good self. I can barely knock up something recognisable from my kids playdough, and I don't think a lifesize immortalisation in plasticine would quite fit the bill.

So if you're a internationally renowned sculptor, and preferably a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, then pick up the phone now.

Latest Goss 2

Ross McCormack -The pint sized striker has apparently caught the eye of Birmingham manger Alex McLeish, but could cost around 4 million. But then again McCormack's supposedly happy in South Wales.

Roger Johnson - another 'hands off Birmingham' bid has been turned down. This one in the region of 3.5 million.

Two new names to slip onto the CCFC radar are

Dave Martin - Millwall left winger. He was a mainstay of Millwall's successful and almost promotion winning season. At the moment it seems that his 1 million squid valuation is putting Messrs Jones and Ridsdale off, so it's back to that long list of transfer targets for the time being. Mick' Irishman' McCarthy looks favourites to add Martin to his new Premier League squad.

Andrew Surman - The Sun are reporting that 22 year old South African born Southampton left footed midfielder is poised to join. A Saints regular last season, could be available cheaply as a result of Southampton's financial problems, and could be Ledley's replacement.