SO, is he staying or is he going?

At the time of writing, no new bid had been received for Robbie Blake, but given the rumour and speculation which have centered around the player in the past few weeks, it would be no surprise if he had attracted yet more attention by the time you read this.

Supporters are growing increasingly concerned over the issue. Nottingham Forest's cheeky bid of £300,000 was easy to laugh off - it was the act of a desperate man designed to get the supporters on-side in a time of crisis.

But when Wigan Athletic got involved, suddenly we stopped laughing. The Latics are no Chelsea and Dave Whelan is a pauper in relation to Roman Abramovich, yet no other club in the Championship has their spending power.

The fear is that if Paul Jewell has managed to convince his chairman that Blake is the difference between Wigan playing at Highbury or Gresty Road next season, then Whelan will keep bidding for our skipper until our asking price is met.

What that asking price is is open to conjecture. How does one calculate the worth of a player who, although not hitting the heights of last season, is the biggest single reason that Burnley are not slumming it at the bottom end of the Championship table?

Were it solely up to Steve Cotterill, Blake would be going nowhere. Yet should Wigan's Godfather make Burnley an offer they can't refuse, the decision will be taken out of his hands.

However, there may be grounds for optimism. Wigan's regular striking partnership is Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington and much has been made of their almost telepathic understanding. Given that between them they have scored 24 goals in as many appearances, is the manager really likely to split them up?

The answer is probably not, meaning that Blake would have to settle for either a place on the bench or a deeper-lying role behind the front two.

And what happens if and when Wigan make the Premiership? Blake will surely find his place under threat when Whelan splashes the cash attempting to avoid relegation.

In closing, a big thank you to Lady Luck who helped us out tremendously in Sunday's FA Cup draw. Liverpool are not the all-conquering force they once were, but should still ensure a sell-out crowd and a big pay day.

It would be wonderful if Sky showed some interest and televised the game. And it would be even better if Robbie Blake was still here to try and help us cause a shock.