Agent's role under scrutiny as the SPL transfer windae opens

Newspapers have always speculated about possible player moves... it helps shifts copies, and arguably meets the needs of fans, who all enjoy a bit of idle gossip and speculation from time to time about who might be turning up at which club. Such stories are often based on little in the way of hard facts, using "sources close to the club" and "insiders" to flesh things out... but in this context, it's usually a bit of harmless fun.

What has been happening in Scotland over the past couple of months has, however, arguably crossed the line into manipulation of the market. Willie McKay, an agent with an already dubious reputation amongst fans, and one of the few agents who refused to comply with the recent investigation into corruption in the English Premiership, began representing Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown of Hibernian earlier in 2006, and almost immediately began pushing for moves for them both. When his initial efforts were rebuffed by the club, he has waged an increasingly bitter campaign against Hibs, using a complicit Daily Record newspaper as his main weapon. Most recently, it ran a story with extensive "quotes" from Scott Brown, claiming that the fee Hibs are seeking for him is too high.

Now, the Daily Record, you can imagine, is quite happy with the arrangement. They get the inside information on a story involving two of the most highly-rated players in Scotland, and as long as the story runs, they can generate more and more copy. As the Hibs board have a long-standing policy of "not commenting on speculation", the paper has only one source for these stories, yet that has not dulled their enthusiasm. It is time to ask, however, if this blatant disregard of all the basic tenets of responsible journalism is acceptable.

For one thing, no one who knows Scott Brown personally believes for a moment that the quotes attributed to him actually came from his own mouth. That is not to say he didn't agree to them appearing alongside his name... almost certainly he did. But if even supposed direct remarks from an individual can now be ghost-written, it makes the reader question if anything in the paper can be taken at face value. Secondly, although Hibs are not speaking to the paper, surely they have a duty to investigate the situation anyhow, rather than just print one side of the story? Their most recent effort was to print a claim from Willie McKay that both players had "been more than threatened" by the Hibs manager, and told they would be dropped from the team - claims that were palpably untrue.

All of this has rather overshadowed the forthcoming month of wheeler-dealering, but here's brief summary of what might happen over the next 31 days:

Celtic: Started the ball rolling by signing Steven Pressley on an 18 month contract on Friday, unlikely to do a huge amount of business beyond this. They need a long-term replacement for Neil Lennon, but Strachan has stated a preference for waiting until the summer.

Aberdeen: There's been speculation over Russell Anderson, their inspirational captain and centre-back, who surely should have had more Scotland caps by now. Rangers dearly need him, but Anderson has said warm words about staying at Pittodrie. Jamie Smith may go in January if still refusing to sign a new contract. Have already brought in Craig Brewster as cover upfront.

Rangers: Their defence, in particular, is an absolute mess, and with Lee Martin and Phil Bardsley going back to Man Utd after their loan deals, they need reinforcements. Whether there is any money to bring in the kind of quality they need, though, is debatable. Scott Brown looks to be beyond their budget; Paul Hartley maybe isn't.

Hearts: There are anything up to 30 Lithuanians training in Edinburgh right now, so expect plenty new faces from Romanov's footballing empire to turn up at Tynecastle. Pressley's already gone, and there will be few surprises if Hartley and Craig Gordon get sold.

Hibs: need a new keeper, need a new keeper, need a new keeper. John Collins threw Scott Brown's transfer request in the bin, but if he and/or Kevin Thomson are sold, expect replacements. Collins will want to stamp his own mark on the squad he's inherited, but may wait until the summer.

Kilmarnock: Ongoing rumblings about their winger Steven Naismith, and Killie are after another striker, but money is, as always, tight down in Ayrshire.

Falkirk: Having just scored a hat-trick at Inverness, Anthony Stokes is attracting more and more attention by the day. Falkirk are desperate to extend the Arsenal player's loan until the end of the year, but may be outbid by another club down south. Alan Gow has interested Hibs, but they will probably only move for him if Scott Brown leaves.

Dundee Utd: Lee Wilkie has gone out on loan to Ross County (given he only signed a pay-as-you-play deal with Utd in October, who knows if he has any future under Craig Levein). The Arabs are absolutely flying under their new boss, but the chairman will probably want to wait before spending some more money, given the amount of cash that's been wasted on under-performing squads over the past few years.

Motherwell: Plenty speculation around striker Scott MacDonald, but happily Stephen Craigan has signed a new deal.

ICT: Charlie Christie will have been relieved when Craig Brewster got sacked at Utd, because it would stop him trying to sign all his players in the transfer window. They are a tidy outfit, though, and a number could still be coveted elsewhere. Here's some pure speculation - Hibs will make an offer for keeper Mark Brown.

St Mirren: deserved point against Rangers to sign off 2006, but St Mirren's recent results have been poor. Gus McPherson wants a few more players, and luckily he's familiar with the lower divisions, because that's where his budget will send him.

Dunfermline: Put simply, they need to sign the Messiah, because little short of a miracle is going to pull them out of this one.