There are one or two boys on our particular 'circuit' that you trust more than most.
Principally, the only reason that you trust them more than most is because you know them better than most. You've together knocked around the Championship or just beyond for longer than you both care to remember.
Anyway, the word from the Midlands this morning was that Martin 'Tiny' Taylor was, indeed, a good player; a decent lad; and up that way, many are likewise slightly mystified as to why Blues' managers past and present seem reluctant to entrust the 28-year-old with a Premiership future.
He was a rock at the heart of that Blues defence in their promotion season; he was also City's stand-in skipper that year as Steve Bruce survived that grisly night at home to Norwich City and led Birmingham back into the top flight at the first time of asking.
And all with Taylor pretty much centre-stage. Happy enough to reward the lad with a new St Andrews deal in the summer, you sense from afar that Bruce – and now Alex McLeish – had something of a Malky moment; that they just didn't fancy someone they saw as that tall and, presumeably, cumbersome.
So, all of a sudden, Bruce was back rifling through Arsene Wenger's drawers for the next hot loan thing – as well as crossing the great Brum divide to haul Liam Ridgewell out of Villa and plop Taylor on the bench. Or beyond.
The fact that both Blues centre-halves have, by common consent, proved slightly green round the edges has it seems done little to improve Taylor's fortunes.
The one and only time he has dropped his affable guard was when a reporter – not unreasonably – quizzed City's November Player of the Month as to whether or not he was surprised to be told by McLeish that his future lay elsewhere when he had never, actually, seen him play.
The look spoke volumes as Taylor suggested everyone get back to talking about the game. But 'Yes!' was clearly the answer to that question.
The fact that the ex-Scotland boss was then on the record as saying that Blues needed to strengthen in that area come January – and all as he looked to bundle Taylor out of the nearest back door – probably didn't improve Taylor's mood either.
All of which would suggest that City now have a golden opportunity to fill a glaring vacancy in their back four once and for all – one that they would be ill-advised to let slip.
There was more than a touch of the Nelsons about Glenn Roeder after the game on Saturday; not only was the old blind eye routine being directed at Matthew Kilgallon's late 'goal', but there was also more than a dash of the 'Glenn expects every director to do his (or her) duty…' when the conversation turned to whether the money would be made available to fund Taylor's full-time signature.
It is an expectation that he shares with the vast majority of the supporters, whose extraordinary loyalty this season deserves something of Taylor's ilk.
For sometimes transfers can be about more than just signing an individual; it sends out signals; it delivers a message.
Taylor's arrival would do just that. It shows intent; it shows ambition. It also gives Delia a reason to get behind the cooker this Christmas – that for every perfect fondue dished up on the small screen there was another little bit of 'Tiny' Taylor heading Norfolk's way.
And then there are the Turners. In amidst all the finger-pointing at the Annual General Meeting – spurred on by Marcus Evans' arrival down the road – there was a lot of hand-wringing as to where, oh where, was our investor going to come from?
Who was going to ride to our rescue in this, the club's darkest hour of need?
There has long been a certain assumption in both the boardroom and beyond that that question has already been answered; that the ?2 million 'loan' that accompanied the Turners arrival this summer was but a deposit; a ticket to the party.
That assumption has now got to be put to the test. Without going all the way down the line, having got on the pot this summer, the Turners have now got to do the business.
It is probably worth noting that their world might have changed slightly since everyone last spoke.
The word 'sub-prime' might not have meant much to people nine months ago; 'credit crunch' could also now make its way into the Oxford English Dictionary this time next year. Both are likely to have crossed the lips of anyone in the loans business of late.
The sponsorship manager of Newcastle United is likely to be a very wary individual as Northern Rock's future hangs in the balance.
But in many ways, such thoughts and possibilities are always going to remain hidden behind a boardroom door; in what was a very Norfolk moment, the Turners slipped onto the board with no Evans-like fuss and performance.
No T-shirts saying 'I'm Marcus Evans'; no concerns about having his photograph actually taken; they were in the building; job done.
And whether they've just slid ?30 million or ?3 million across the table is for the board to know and the rest of football to guess.
That's the beauty – potentially – of the Turners' under-stated arrival. No-one outside that boardroom knows whether or not they should be asking the Canaries ?30 million-style prices or else working on the traditional assumption that Prudence still had her hands on the purse.
It will only be in their actions that the truth will be known. And even then, the reality will only slowly seep out.
The assumption could remain that it is Delia's return in front of the nation's TV cameras that is funding Roeder's plans this January – which, you strongly suspect, she will be.
What the Turners are doing behind the scenes is the key.
Right now Norwich have belief, passion and no little ability surging back through their limbs; momentum is with them; a drive is on.
Stalling now would threaten the togetherness that has returned to Carrow Road. Now is the time to put the foot on the pedal; to reach for the purse; to not take 'No!' for an answer.
Roeder clearly expects – as do his legion of followers on the terraces.
Expectation, as we all know, can be a dangerous beast. Exceed it and everyone loves you; fall beneath it, and chins drop, hearts waver and momentum stalls.
Now is not the moment to waver.
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