I've a Cutler

United have added yet another goalkeeper to their squad with the addition of Aston Villa reserve 'keeper Neil Cutler (right) on a one month loan. 24 year old Cutler, who has played about seven minute's worth of Premiership football, goes straight into the squad for tomorrow's match against Northampton following Richard Knight's error-strewn 'mare at Chester and David Kemp's scathing comments.

Also definitely featuring tomorrow are on-loan midfielder Keith Andrews and new signing Wayne Hatswell, who may well convert to left-back following the departure of Keith Brown back to Barnsley, although both Neil McGowan and Paul Powell are also available. More intriguing is who is going to partner Phil Gray up front now that Derek Lilley has gone to Dundee United, the only club in the whole of Britain with an even worse record than United's. There are a number of options, all of them crap. With United's inability to score and equal inability to prevent being scored against this game looks like an away banker, despite the fact that Northampton have never won at the Manor (“History is bunk” – was that Mike Ford?). Rage Online prediction: 2-0 to the Cobblers, with Marco Gabbiadini failing to register.

United have failed in an alleged bid to sign Kjetil Pedersen, of Norwegian club IF Elfsborg. The 27 year old defender claims that he is better than Division Two standard, and now looks likely instead to sign for German Second Division side Greuther Fuerth, although he is also being eyed by Austrian side LASK Linz. Pedersen said of the United offer “It was good money and I could have got a contract with them immediately.”

Brief Minchery update

Building work at Minchery Farm is continuing apace and is still apparently on schedule, the Les Wells situation not being considered too serious a threat to its continuance. A large delivery of steel is expected before christmas, so let's hope that Birse don't take too long a holiday break.