Who's off then?

IT was one of the more popular questions of my recent live chat: Who's leaving this summer?

Let's have a stab.

Of course it's not that simple.

Albion, for starters, have gone to great pains to point out that no big-hitters are for sale 'unless silly money is offered'.

Ron Atkinson, when given a similar response by Albion at the time Manchester United asked about Bryan Robson in 1981, went onto describe such an answer as the 'biggest get-out clause you can get'.

And it is.

What do you class as silly money? We'll see in the summer. The Baggies don't need to sell. That much we know.

The departures are obvious. Luke Moore was someone they would have been prepared to listen to offers for in January had Miller not been ruled out for the season.

The fact Moore no longer gets brought for the ride while a 17-year-old does says it all. Tony Mowbray simply rolls his eyes when asked about Luke these days.

Another problem with Moore is getting a fee somewhere near the price Albion paid for him. He's also their highest earner. Again, it won't help.

Kim, I suspect, will be gone. As will Marek Cech, who, while unfortunate to find himself left out for the Villa derby, has not helped his cause with some disciplinary lapses. Again, he doesn't get to board the coach these days.

Ryan Donk? Probably more likely to leave than stay - more for non-footballing reasons.

Filipe Teixeira is a strange one. Clearly rated by Tony Mowbray last season, the Portuguese play-maker has lost his way since returning from injury. Where he was once a favourite he now seems to have lost favour. He's been made publicly accountable for the odd slip here or there, while other and more frequent offenders have escaped criticism. It doesn't bode well. He's been marginalised more and more. Graham Dorrans and Chris Brunt are leaving him behind.

Pele and Carl Hoefkens tend to merely make up the bench numbers when they do emerge onto the radar. Leon Barnett has been out injured for a while although I suspect he would have played little part anyway following the manager's frustrations at his display at Fulham. Again, he's one of those who seems to attract more criticism than others when he does make errors.

What of Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Robert Koren? Albion will seek to keep them.

Brunt has certainly played himself back into favour. Two or three months ago I'd have cast doubt over him but he's blossomed since. All three will attract attention. Bids for those three will test Albion's resolve. Mulumbu? Too early to say. He has the next five games to show something.

How about Borja Valero? Strange one. Again, he's lost his way - did he ever find 'his way'? - but Mowbray rates him highly. Yet somehow I can't picture Borja playing at Doncaster next season. But, as with Luke Moore, Albion will struggle to get their money back. His stock has never been as low. The best solution may be to try and loan him out to a Premier League club for a season with a view to him returning to The Hawthorns 12 months down the line in the event of Albion returning to the top flight. The experience would help him. You just need to find a club who would be interested.

Up front, Miller's return will be crucial. Elsewhere, Roman Bednar seems to be growing increasingly frustrated and Jay Simpson won't be returning. Marc-Antoine Fortune is liked but he made it clear that he wanted top flight football next season. Perhaps Albion can convince him otherwise.

So there you go. Not a definitive answer because until the offers start coming in then we'll not know how the summer unfolds. Some of those may yet stay. There may be shock departures.

One thing's for sure, we'll see the likes of Dorrans, Wood and a few more youngsters playing a more prominent part next season. And that in itself could be a breath of fresh air following this season's dismal effort.