Now, I could start this Blog by looking backwards, Wembley heartache, dismal away form, and the apparent attitude of some players that the season is over (excluding the Arsenal performance, or as I heard someone call it, the apology). Okay, I am looking backwards, but if I can get some negatives out of the way on Blog #1, we can then forever concentrate on the joys of the future.
It would be ungrateful for me, or any Bolton fan to make complaints about this season, we are (just about) in the top 10, and have witnessed some great football, especially at home. I have re-watched that Mark Davies goal against Blackpool about 60 times and it still makes me quiver with joy. The Reebok really has been a delightful day out for us fans this season, and apart from the Chelsea game I can honestly say that I haven’t walked away feeling disappointed, even the Liverpool loss and Saturdays visit from Sunderland were games I felt we should have won. I think we can probably justify using that “fortress” word again. However, in the 2nd half of this season we have played 9 away games and picked up only one solitary point, and this, as no philosopher has ever said, “just aint bloomin good enough”.
Time for some transfer shenanigans: Firstly, let’s assume that we are saying bye-bye to Mr Gary James Cahill. This means that we will need another centre-back. Coyle himself has confirmed that Boro’s Aussie defender Rhys Williams is “one of maybe 15 to 20 players we’ve looked at”. The Mail has also named FC Copenhagen’s Mathias Jorgensen as a possible replacement, he is a Danish international and apparently received his nickname “zanka” from the film Cool Runnings, and this makes him a potential superstar in my eyes.
There’s also talk of a Man city move for Cahill involving a “player plus cash” deal, names such as Bellamy, Wright-phillips and Boyata have been mentioned as potential offerings. Personally if a City swap was in the offering, I would rather see Vladimir Weiss back at the Reebok next season, he seems to have won over the blue Glaswegians with his direct performances and he would certainly command a much more realistic wage packet. Also, I follow him on twitter, and since Kevin Davies has decided to leave the tweeting until he retires, Weiss would be a good addition to the already healthy ranks of Trotter Twitterers. David Nugent’s name has also been whispered, he is out of contract in the summer, and would be a good free transfer, but he won’t lead the line, and seems to be the typical Championship striker.
The goalkeeping issue also merits discussion. I think it’s fair to say Jussi has had a few more uncertain moments this season than he usually does, and while I love the guy, I do wonder if it’s time to think about the future. We could choose to cash in on Ali Al-Habsi, I’m sure he has many a premier league manager sniffing around after some great performances for Wigan this season. However, perhaps he is the perfect long-term replacement were looking for. The great and powerful Bogdan has also looked assured whenever he has had his chances this season, so should we chose to cash in on Ali, I have faith that the most ginger keeper in the world would defiantly not look out of place in a more involved role.
Twitter fact of the week - Ivan Klasnic has scored as many Premier League goals as he has made Premier League starts in his career (12). (Thanks OptaJoe).
I shall be back soon with a look towards the weekends game against Blackpool, but first let me say congrats to Neil Warnock, I love his post match angry face and can’t wait to see it in full HD next season. Now I shall end this Blog in the style of the Sopranos, and the style of this season, a season filled with moments of magic, heartache, joy and potential, alas, in the end, it all feels a little…. “Cut to black”.
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