So Alan Nixon has finally revealed the "surprise/bonus signing" he has talked so much about on his Twitter page and the mystery man is...
David Alaba?
No, me neither. Don't really know what to say as I've never heard of him and even YouTube is struggling to help me out with this one. It is another loan and doesn't really seem to me what we need at the moment as he looks more like a CM than a winger but with my expectations becoming increasingly lower as the days go on I can't say I'm surprised.
Will we finally sign one of our targets? I personally can't see it happening with this one as he is already getting the odd game for Bayern Munich so why would he want to?
So with 10 days left of the transfer window that is supposed to save our season, and IMO the only reason OC is still in the job, we have sold our best player and brought nobody in. We can talk about how hard the club are trying to get people in as much as we like but the bottom line is, the squad we have at the moment isn't good enough and people need to be brought in for us to stand any chance of staying up.
Call me negative all you like but if come the 1st February we have only signed Ream and possibly Le Toux with Gartside telling us all they tried and failed with Dos Santos, Hoilett, Jese, Iturbe etc. but hey, that's the nature of the January transfer window, then we made the wrong decision not to sack Coyle in December and we are as good as down. And no, the return of Chungy and Mears (who we've not even seen play) will not keep us up.
David Alaba
posted on 21/1/12
HH
I thnk what most Bolton fans want right now is a player ready to go with Prem experience who can make an impact from day 1 as we only have 17 games to sort this mess out.
Besides Ream for Cahill, we should be looking for a 5mil player from the Prem and not some kid for the future.
Coyle is not Arsene Wenger.
posted on 21/1/12
It's just a case of wait and see, not wait and moan.
You can't tell me Jack Wilshere didn't come straight in and have a big impact, and he was younger and less experienced than Alaba.
posted on 21/1/12
I thnk what most Bolton fans want right now is a player ready to go with Prem experience who can make an impact from day 1 as we only have 17 games to sort this mess out.
Besides Ream for Cahill, we should be looking for a 5mil player from the Prem and not some kid for the future.
--
Every single time we have been near a £5m player this window, there have been tons of comments like we are trying to increase sales, or we won't get them, I doubt most people on here expect us to get us a £5m player.
You yourself have said this ....
posted on 21/1/12
The problem is though, I love a good moan . You do make good points though so we'll have to wait and see. Can't help but feel a little nervous though with only 10 days left.
posted on 21/1/12
I know it's frustrating, being in dire relegation struggle, having obvious weaknesses in the squad, and having signed no one, with our best defender having left, and we are fighting for scraps.
I just see this as a symptom of the 'big picture' situation at the club, rather than the disease.
posted on 21/1/12
You can't tell me Jack Wilshere didn't come straight in and have a big impact, and he was younger and less experienced than Alaba.
****
He did hit the ground running, LH ...but then again, he was tried and tested in English football before he came to Bolton. We gave him (much) more of the same ..but that's different to taking on a player from abroad - much more of a gamble.
I'm not saying we shouldn't get the lad over, just that players with experience of the English game, at a very high level, would be more of a priority IMHO. It's a big step up to the top division in World football from a league that's probably the fourth best ... Can be done, but might take time to adjust ..and time's of the essence right now ...
posted on 21/1/12
When you say experience what do you mean?
Heskey? Andy Johnson? David Weir?
There are plenty of players with premier league experience. But I'd rather have an unknown good player, than a well known experienced one if he wouldn't have an impact.
The only experienced pl players who we can sign will still be in 1st teams and therefore unavailable to sign anyway.
posted on 21/1/12
Firstof, I'm only relying on memory but as far as I am aware, when we signed Wilshere he had about 10 first team appearances for Arsenal and about the same for England under-21s. Alaba has 15 full international caps and about 70 Bundesliga appearances, according to Wikipedia. He went out on loan last season to Hoffenheim. So you're right to say the Bundesliga isn't as strong as the PL, but I would suggest that his time in the development system of the powerhouse of German football, alongside far more first team experience, more than balances out the fact that Wilshere was a product of a PL club. But it's all hypothetical. Lets see if he signs, and if so, if he's any good, before bemoaning the lad.
posted on 21/1/12
We're unlikely to be able to sign PL players ' on the up ' (Hoilett is a wasted time n' energy example of this) but surely there must be players with Prem experience out there, who would improve our squad and make an impact, that we could look at loaning for the rest of the season? I'm sure we'd all take up the offer of another Wilshere or Sturridge for a few months, though I accept that our current predictament means we're far less of an attractive proposition than when we got those lads in.
To be perfectly honest, I'd settle for 2-3 new players coming in, whoever they are ...but I want them now, not a couple of hours before the window closes.
posted on 21/1/12
I understand your argument LH, and yes, if he comes, we'll judge him once he's had a few games. I'm just wary that it's a big gamble at a time when we cannot afford to get it wrong - different story if we were in last season's position. More more (and no less) an equivalent gamble on a Championship experienced player IMO. same kind of step up for the lad ...but, we'll see ....if he comes.