Left-back Ryan Dickson was out of contract at Brentford when Southampton offered him a three-year deal. The fee had to be settled by a tribunal with the vendors holding out for £500,000, against an offer of less than £100,000. The tribunal ordered Southampton to pay £125,000, plus a further £25,000 for every 10 appearances up to 40. And there was an additional £25,000 to be found in the Saints gained promotion any time in the next three seasons. Two promotions were achieved within two years to trigger that last clause with ease.

Competing with Dan Harding for a first-team slot, Ryan played a modest part in the club’s reaching the Championship in 2011, being involved in the run-in, in which he scored a vital goal at Plymouth. But the arrival of Danny Fox meant that Ryan never featured in the 2011-12 ascent to the Premiership, spending loan periods at Yeovil and Orient, instead.

A capable enough defender and still the right side of 25, he seemed to be an Alan Pardew-purchase who was not rated by Nigel Adkins.

All of which meant that he began the 2012-13 season at Orient, still one short – on the assumption that a solitary JPT appearance as a sub does not count – of triggering the fourth payment of £25,000. Following another loan to Bradford City, Ryan’s contract was now up and so he embarked on a tour of the lower leagues ending up on the English Riviera.