Bolton's annual transfer struggle (part 23)
Posted by Ratbert in Bolton, Premiership, Transfers | 5 June 2006
You don't need me to remind you of the Andy Johnson fiasco again, so I won't. All I'll say is that whilst £8.5m was encouraging in terms of ambition (and I'm sure it wasn't a ploy to sell season tickets - if it was you might as well go for Ronaldinho) it would have been a gamble. And it looks like Fortune is off to play some, ahem, competitive football in Scotland. Meanwhile Sam, he who planned to bring in six new players by the start of the World Cup (five days to go, nowt to show) has revised his views.
Sad to say, but it's like this every year, isn't it? Big plans, top rank targets, and they always say "no." There are any number of reasons for this. Do we not offer an attractive enough financial package? Is it the innacurate propaganda carelessly bandied about by the likes of Alan 'not good enough for TV' Green? Are we naive insofar that agents use us in the knowledge that bigger fish can easily gazump us? Or is it, despite three straight top eight finishes and a season in Europe, that footballers still have to get out an atlas to look for Bolton?
I suspect it's probably a mixture of all the above. A few years ago, when the likes of Djorkaeff and Okocha were wowing the world with their decision to head for the Reebok, we'd stolen a march in mastering the art of the Bosman transfer, mixed with a spoonful of sweet talking. Then the rest of football got wise, and, with better resources, were able to outflank us at our game. Throw into the mix greedy agents and a hostile media, plus a stubborn refusal by Sam to change his transfer market tactics, and we've been screwed.
So my advice, for what it's worth, is: stop going for the big guns in the folorn hope they'll say yes. Concentrate on the academy, get in some good promising young players or unused resources, and exploit those with your magic. We can't pretend our image or funds are good enough, so cut our coat according to our cloth accordingly.
Sadly, it will be more a case of 'who he?' in the third week of August. Again.
Some news of note: the agitated prop that is Nicolas Anelka is, god forbid, being targeted, preumably he and Diouf will make for good playmates; whilst West Ham are sniffing around Tal Ben Haim. How on earth Alan Pardew thinks that deserves to happen I don't know.
Comments
Ratbert
I share your pain, I have been there many times as an Everton fan. Sissoko last year being the worst example.
I should take some comfort from the fact that you infer we're a bigger fish but we both know that isn't true.
We're both in a different world compared to the big 4.
Good luck for next season anyway.
Beefy
