Kids fly the nest

Jose Enrique's defection to Liverpool has overshadowed the departures of two other Toon players, though both are rather lower-profile and both remain in our employ, having been farmed out on loan. James Tavernier was a regular during our first-team pre-season fixtures so may feel a little aggrieved at being sent along the A69 to Carlisle. Striker Phil Airey, meanwhile, has been borrowed by Hibs, whose manager Colin Calderwood knows about the youngster from his time as part of the management team at St James' Park. An interesting move given that Alan Pardew had said in respect of Fraser Forster's time at Celtic that he didn't feel the standard of Scottish football was high enough for loan spells north of the border to be worthwhile...

In other news, ASBO continues to be linked with a move away, most recently to Stoke, whose current central midfield I noted is weak, or to Zenit St Petersburg, who might be able to offer him the wage packet he's demanding. He might yet be gone by the time we play our League Cup second round tie against Scunthorpe - not a fixture we'll be looking forward to with too much relish, given that we came horribly unstuck on our last visit to Glanford Park.