That noted Paper of Record (viz. De Heddild) is reporting that Aidan O’Shea didn’t sign a contract with any Aussie Rules club ahead of yesterday’s deadline and so it looks as if he will, indeed, be back in the Northern Hemisphere shortly and will be available to play for the county in 2010.

This should come as no surprise to anyone as Aidan made it abundantly clear in advance of his departure that his sojourn Down Under this winter was, for him, purely for tyre-kicking purposes.  The big issue for us (and, of course, for Aidan himself) is what the crack will be “down the road”.  If the Tommy Walsh precedent is relevant, then what happens in 2011 could be the main worry but it goes without saying that there’s absolutely no point in our fretting about that at this juncture.

Another year’s football lies just over the horizon now and Aidan will, we hope, have a big part to play for us – both at U21 and senior level – over the course of the year to come.  A lot can happen in a year (just ask Tom Parsons) so the fact that Aidan will be coming back and will be lining out in the Green and Red in 2010 should be all that concerns us now.