If Mark Kinsella's return to the Premiership with Charlton is good news for one Michael McCarthy, he'll be even more encouraged to learn that two more of his midfield men, Matt Holland and Lee Carsley, might be joining him there next season.

Holland will hope to make it without having to up sticks, by winning the promotion play-offs with Ipswich, but if he doesn't our sources tell us (i.e., a football website that has a 0.4 per cent record of accuracy in these things) that Joe Royle would like nothing better than to bring him to Manchester City. And City (or Everton) may also be the next destination for Carsley, who was put up for sale by Blackburn last week.

Phil Babb will also be on the move this summer, after his contract at Liverpool expires, and, until now, a switch to Spain seemed to be the favoured option amongst the football rumour mongers. But the latest tittle tattle suggests Babbsie may return to Coventry, from whence he came, with Gary McAllister moving in the opposite direction. All of which might hasten Gary Breen's departure from Coventry - he's being linked with Manchester City (are we going around in circles here?).

Meanwhile, Alan Quinn has pledged his future to relegated Sheffield Wednesday, which means that we wasted countless, precious column inches in recent weeks linking him with everyone from Arsenal to Zaragoza. Are we embarrassed?