http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/6751387.stm

Good grief. Seventeen million quid strikes me as a hell of a lot of money for Darren Bent. Yes, he is a talented young player certainly, fast and strong, and with a good goalscoring record at the highest level. However, it is not as if he is a regular in the England side is he, he is a squad player at best. Also, for that sum of money, I would expect a player who could grace the Champions League with aplomb. Is it only me who cannot see Mr Bent knocking in ten European goals in a season? Nevertheless, he will be well rewarded to the tune of seventy five thousand pounds a week. An astronomical wage for a player of less than astronomical talents.

However, the above example is simply the biggest in what seems to be a summer of bloated transfer spending and speculation. Football is very quickly becoming an inflated bubble again, even as Leeds United plight continues to show the results of what happens when the bubble pops. I see West Brom are looking for six million pounds for Diomansy Kamara. 6M?! For a player who during his Premiership tenure looked like he couldn't trap a bag of cement and had the positional play of someone who received a frontal lobotomy from the club physio. The new TV deal signed has certainly brought in some extra cash, but not enough to justify extravagance like the above. All in all, it means I am quite happy to see Wattie at the Gers showing a bit of frugal restraint. 4.4 million for Scott Brown? Thatsa too spicaya meataball!!