The king is dead, long live the king. As we all regularly check the website and thumb through the sport pages of the newspapers, the question however still remains: who is the new 'king'? Appropriately, of course, it would be the return of Elvis, but I think Nigel and the board have others in mind.

The king is dead, long live the king. As we all regularly check the website and thumb through the sport pages of the newspapers, the question however still remains: who is the new 'king'? Appropriately, of course, it would be the return of Elvis, but I think Nigel and the board have others in mind.

Once again, I can't help questioning the current transfer window system. The high profile nature of Ashton's sale, West Ham's record signing, simply acts to fuel the greed of the likes of Cardiff's chairman, Sam Hammam.

With February only a few days away, clubs are only too aware that this may be their big chance to get an inflated slice of the cash. Hammam's £3.5 million rating of a 19-year-old, with less than 35 games under his professional belt, is nonsense and quite rightly should not be entertained; I'm sure Mr Doncaster has made that crystal clear.

So with just a few days left, who on the Nigel Worthington shopping list are we going to buy? Speculation was rife prior to Dean's departure and has naturally escalated since he signed on the dotted line.

Now that Cameron Jerome's monster price tag has forced the management to look elsewhere, attentions would appear to be directed at, amongst others, Coventry's in-form Gary McSheffrey and West Brom's unwanted Robert Earnshaw. Both can certainly score goals, but neither would be a direct replacement for the powerful Deano and so presumably a bigger, stronger target man may also be a natural requirement.

Either way, fans are desperately calling for new blood. At the beginning of the season, I truly thought that Dean Ashton would be the linchpin of our rapid return to the Premiership.

It wasn't to be and the tidy sum we have in return of his departure will hopefully aid to propel Norwich City into a fruitful and exciting new era. The manager has been criticised for some of his more recent signings and so all eyes will be on those brought in before February. With Safri's likely swift return and a much needed injection of fresh faces to the squad, a play-off place is still within our reach. I can't think of a better way to start a genuine challenge than a home game against the old enemy, so let's get behind the lads afresh.

Thanks for the memories, Deano, and all the best.