Plus, who's had not one but two career-ending injuries in two years. I'm not saying those injuries will end Ferguson's career; quite possibly not. We'll have to see. But they are the sort of serious injuries that have historically ended more than a few careers. Getting back on the pitch alone will be an achievement. Then, there's the question of getting back to being the player he was. That, for now, is a possibility but it's far from guaranteed. He is not coming back from a knock.

If Ferguson returns to his former self, and I think there's little chance of that happening until the start of next season at the earliest, then yes, he'd be a shoo-in as one of the two full-backs. Now we've filled in so many other gaps in the squad, the other full-back role might become a priority next summer. Meantime in terms of what we have now, I think Ward is harshly criticised here. He's probably past the peak of his career but he's serviceable and experienced and he and Clyne probably won't hurt us (at least too often) even if they don't help us. On the other side, I think we've got a good test for the new coaching staff part of whose job, let's face it, is to improve the players. One of Hannam, Mitchell, and Schlupp ought to be coachable into becoming a better left-back than any of the three are at present. You can't solve every problem in the transfer market; at some point you hire a coaching team because you think they can develop what you've got. Mitchell and Hannam are young; there ought to be room for improvement and I'd like to think we can make at least one of them a better player than he is now.

Personally, I think full-back is an area we can improve but I don't think the situation at present is anywhere close to desperate. It's probably one of the weaker areas of the team, but at least for this season what we have is just about adequate. Furthermore, I expect Viera's team to show a lot more intent than Hodgson's and aim to retain rather than cede possession of the ball. The fact that we probably won't spend 70% of every game in our own half as a result probably diminishes our reliance and the burden on our full-backs. That helps too.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

Huzzah! Having players further up the pitch helps, and one key word that PV mentions is "energy".