Day 65

Kanouté and Taylor both started for their international youth teams yesterday. Taylor didn't do so well for the Finland Under 21s in their European U21 Championship qualifying match. Kanouté impressed for the Mali Under 20s in their friendly win, with an assist and a vital header during his 72 minutes on the park.

Scout Grant Brown gave Gillingham defender Garry Richards a glowing report. I don't see any way for us to sign him, though—he's happy and under contract, and we have no transfer budget. Still, it's good to know we have options if we come into money.

Brown also suggested that Blackpool's young transfer-listed keeper Mark Halstead would walk straight into our starting lineup. I decided to put in a loan offer for the lad, in the hope that we could get him for the short-term then sign him on a free transfer at the end of the season. With the transfer window closed, we can only loan players for up to three months. I hope to extend that deal to the end of the season when the opportunity presents itself.

But one thing at a time—first we need the lad to join us on loan.