We had been linked with a £3 million move for Arsenal centre-half Igor Stepanovs. Stepanovs was brought across in that little wave of players, once people in Britain could actually find Latvia on a map. He is also best remembered for having a couple of complete mares in his early appearances. Unlike Scott Marshall though, Igor eventually recovered some way towards his experience Latvian international form of old and I thought in played quite well on a couple of occasions last season.
Now clearly, there is no chance of him making the Arsenal starting eleven, and his Latvian heritage makes him an obvious link with Pahars and Bleidelis at the club. However we already have enough centre-halfs and there's not a chance he's worth £3 million. Oh, and the club rubbished the link which is always a fair sign that it won't happen.
So let's move up the park and link us with a midfielder. Let's say a promising youth international, who's stuck at a club obsessed with trying to get any star name it can into the club (look forward to a celebrity chef midfield next season), let's call them Portsmouth. So the link is a rather tenuous one of Geography and the practicalities of any top youth player wanting to be in the Premiership.
And so nineteen year old Garry O'Neil is linked with a short trip from Pompey, and a large upward shift in style, to Southampton.
And then Pompey boss, and keen retired gardener, Harry Redknapp goes and spoils it all by saying O'neill's worth £4 million.
Harry said: "He`s a great prospect and I have no interest in selling him."
Ok. batting zero out of two so far.
What about a goalkeeper ?
Both the Pavel Srnicek and Lucas Castellazzi rumours were pooh-poohed last week so no joy there although the rumour is still doing the rounds.
Saints can't even keep a decent rumour surrounding world cup starlets going at the moment. The proposed moves for Lee Chun Soo and Song Chong Gug broke down completely when the duo became unavailable for the pre-season Scandinavian tour.
Rupert Lowe said: "We needed the players now or not at all. When we were told that they would not be available until the end of the year there was no point in continuing."
This sadly leaves us with the old faithful method of linking players form the managers old club. But Alas! They've all moved on. Hedman is off to Celtic, Breen has joined West Ham. Boateng has jumped form Villa to 'Boro, and even David Thompson is going elsewhere.
It's a sad day indeed for the rumour mill when even a Spurs midfielder such as Tim Sherwood and Darren "sicknote" Anderton are being linked with moves which don't involve the South coast at all.