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At least the rumours about him going to County proved unfounded. I’m surprised he has not landed a club at a higher level but wish him well.

You beat me to it, just!

Reece McAlear has joined Tranmere on a 2 year deal. Still only 20, I think his long term future ought to be at a higher level than League Two.

Tranmere Rovers have signed former Norwich City midfielder Reece McAlear on a two-year contract. Good luck to him he did well for us while on loan.

Club accounts for 2020/21 are tough to analyze because of Covid losses - and also because of the funding clubs received from the government as a result. As regards ICT's own situation, I would put forward this question - How many full-time clubs in Scotland are not running either at a loss or close to the wind, year-in, year-out? At the top end you have Rangers and Celtic. Rangers have run up extraordinary losses since 2012 and probably require Champions League football to make a profit. Celtic either need Champions League football or to see a player for an eight figure fee to cover the shortfall. In last season's Premiership there was also Aberdeen (wealthy American backer), Hearts (fan-owned but getting more than £3m a year in 'donations' from a wealthy supporter), Hibs (wealthy American backer), Dundee United (wealthy American backer), Dundee (wealthy American backer) and Ross County (uncle Roy). That's six more clubs not really living within their means. The other four are St. Mirren, Motherwell, St. Johnstone and Livingston, each of whom are very frugal and each of whom could quite conceivably end up stuck in the Championship for a sustained period like us. In last season's Championship there was Kilmarnock (who will have run up a big loss to get back into the top flight). The other full-time clubs in our league with similar budgets to ours were Hamilton, Partick, Raith and Dunfermline, none of whom are raking it in. Ayr, Morton and QOS I think had even tighter purse-strings. Below us were Queen's Park (wealthy backer), Airdrie (who have a hybrid of PT and FT players) and Falkirk (who are a basketcase). My belief is that unless you have a lot of outside money coming in, then a club of our size can't currently turn a profit unless they are in the Premiership and probably punching above their weight (ie in the top six). It's also my belief that the only way to make a small fortune out of a Scottish football club is to start with a big fortune. The two concerns going forward for us and clubs like us are 1) that directors at some point can no longer be persuaded to cover the shortfall (which seems unlikely but can never be ruled out) and 2) that we get overtaken by smaller clubs who do have money. Queen's Park are a potential example; Cove Rangers (who are currently part-time) could be another in the future. The only answers to our problems are 1) getting promoted or 2) getting our own Roy MacGregor.

In fairness I don't mind looking back at times provided the player can still offer us something. Billy Mckay coming back has been a good move as was resigning Barry Wilson many years ago. But equally there have been others like Dennis Wyness who didn't quite hit the same heights as their original spell. Scott Allan has been released by Hibs and I'd love to have him back at TCS but I suspect he'll head to someone like Saint Johnstone or a Dundee.

But also every penny. Getting out of the group stage and maybe landing a tie later on against either of the Old Firm or Aberdeen would be a boost in that regard. As with most things, there is a balance to be struck.