So at last the 'phoney war' of speculation and idle internet chatter is over and the rebuilding of McCity in Grant's image has begun in earnest. Granty has started bringing in the new pieces he needs with which to build his promotion jigsaw.
At one point Stanley was convinced that Grant would be forced to look down the back of the settee for the those frustrating missing pieces, but it now seems that McCinders will go the ball after all, thanks of course to Grant's fellow Scot Billy Davies.
Little Ern leaving was sad in some ways, but a necessary evil ultimately if we are to move forward. A simply incredible goal to game ratio, but Stanley was never convinced that both Earnie and Hucks could play in the same team.
Plus of course it was only by selling Earnie that you would be able to raise any money for Grant to spend, ?3.5m worth to be precise. So we take a step backwards in selling Earnie, in order to take two steps forward in signing those three or four new players we need in order to strengthen, quite frankly, all areas of the pitch.
This leads us to Jamie Cureton. For Stanley's money there are two very important things to remember about this transfer over and above the fact that the boy was the Championship's leading scorer last season. Firstly, Jamie wants to be here, this is his first choice, a club where he started and the club where, you fancy, he'll finish.
If you don't think that counts for much think about Hucks then think about Damien Francis. Secondly, in getting Cureton you just wonder if that was the first piece of luck Grant has had since he's been manager. The right player, at the right price, in the right form, at the right time, becomes available.
But not just that Grant's first choice, Billy Sharp, didn't fancy coming. A player who for Stanley's money, wasn't the right player, at the right time. Either Sharp wouldn't live up to the price tag or if he did he'd be the next Earnie.
Cureton not only guarantees goals he also won't be going anywhere. For team stability and team building that's a priceless quality. It reminds Stanley a bit of Worthy trying to buy Alan Lee, but failing and ending up having to make do with Crouch and Huckerby on loan. The rest, as they say, is history.
So Earnie out and Cureton plus A.N.Others in, a good piece of business as far as Stanley is concerned.
Of course who the A.N.Others are is key to future prospects. If Marshall does finally turn to be a our latest Scottish custodian then that really is a major, 6ft-plus, piece of the jigsaw in place. It is then a case of adding three more 6ft-plus pieces to the jigsaw up front, in midfield and at centre-half. A 6ft 3in bouncing Czech up front will be a priceless addition, if only for all those last minute equaliser 'Czech-mate' headlines.
Yep all this transfer activity is enough to finally put a spring in Stanley's step, a Prague one at that.
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