Royals grab Rab

On the day it was revealed that our chances of resigning Homer have been scuppered by a broken foot (doh! indeed), it transpires that any possibility of solving our current defensive crisis by bringing Blackburn's Zurab Khizanishvili back to St James' Park for a second loan spell has also vanished. The Georgian captain has instead pitched up at Reading, and so could conceivably be in the side set to face us on 23rd February - assuming, that is, that the Royals' FA Cup Fifth Round match against our Fourth Round conquerors the Baggies doesn't require a replay.

Meanwhile, it's interesting to see that Darren Ferguson has managed to persuade Pops to lend him Danny Welbeck until the end of the season. Given the square-jawed lunks Fergie Jr currently has at his disposal at Preston, the youngster is likely to be an automatic first choice - and, to be truthful, I think we should be a little bit envious of the deal. Welbeck looks to be a genuine prospect at Premier League level, let alone in the second tier, and we could certainly have done worse than to try and get him ourselves.

Who else to fix our sights on? The rumours about James Beattie leaving Stoke continue to abound, but I doubt we could afford any permanent deal and in any case he might be a bit too similar to what we've already got in Big Lad, Bigger Lad and Nile Ranger. Perhaps we could switch our attentions from one Villa player to another, from Homer to Nathan Delfouneso? Perhaps, if Benni McCarthy leaves Blackburn for West Ham, we might be able to pick up one of the Hammers' clutch of young forwards? Perhaps now that Arsenal are out of the FA Cup as well as the League Cup, Arsene Wenger might be more inclined to loan out his reserves? All possibilities worth exploring - though, as Paul said, it's suddenly our defensive deficiencies that are giving the greatest cause for concern.