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Bolton Wanderers: Lend Me A Tenor

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The first loan deal of the loan window may be blowing up the M6. But will it be enough?

Stone me. You say something about not having a whiff of a loan deal one day, and the next there is a whiff of a loan deal. A nice whiff, like green grass or the smell of lambs gambolling in the field and not a pungent whiff, like you get off the top of the Barton Bridge, near the Trafford Centre. (Seriously, how do the Salford RL and Sale RU fans put up with the stench that comes off one of Europe’s largest sewerage farms?)

If there is one thing we can all agree on, even if we disagree on whether or not Zat Knight is having a good season, it is that the defence needs a kicking. Too many mistakes by too many players in the back four have resulted in the goals that we have conceded. The manager has decided to make a scapegoats of Sam Ricketts and Tim Ream and it still hasn’t stopped the goals leaking in.

Now, this reader would suggest moving Ricketts to his natural position on the right, but I’m not a football manager, so what do I know. What we do with the left, where Marcos Alonso has, in fits and starts, shown us a player who can be equally great and abysmal, is an issue that needs to be addressed. So, God bless the vision of whoever has decided to look at Stephen Warnock.

By all accounts, Warnock, who hasn’t played for Aston Villa this season and doesn’t even train with the first team, wants to move back to the north west and a loan deal would be good business for a club with a lack of finances. It would appear obvious the Paul Lambert doesn’t want him and with few other possible suitors in this neck of the woods (maybe the Dingles, possibly the, err, Dingles), and with a need to shore up the defence with someone who may actually have an idea of what they are doing, Warnock may just be our man.

Naturally, there are reports that he is wanted for the midfield, a position in which he has been played sparingly. Probably because he can’t play there. But the midfield isn’t the greatest concern for the club right now. Playing an experienced and left footed player at left back would allow the manager to give Martin Petrov some freedom in front of him. As long as he apologises for whatever it is that he’s done.

Chris Eagles, speaking for everybody, has said that all the players are right behind the manager and to give it time. I think we covered the time thing yesterday, and the Mail are giving it two games, but at least the club have managed to get the one player that no one can have a go at speaking. It’s probably a one off mind.

Both OC and Eagles have used the possible scenario of winning two or three on the bounce and getting into the top three. But this doesn’t look like happening at the moment. People can complain about refereeing decisions, but I tend to find that bad refereeing happens to both teams and it is always the losing team that complains about it. I can’t confirm whether Birmingham had bad decisions against them on Tuesday. But I can bet that for all the supposed bad decisions that have happened to us at Burnley, Hull and Birmingham, if we had won, those teams would have been giving the same excuse.

And I do wish that people would give the ‘look at Reading last season’ line a rest. What Reading did was special, but hardly ever happens. In a sense it’s like looking at the big bang and thinking that you can recreate that firework display with a couple of bangers and a Catherine Wheel bought from Imran’s on the Breightmet road. It hardly ever happens and the motley crew that we have on board the good ship Coyle aren’t looking like they they are going to replicate the football equivalent of the mystery of life anytime soon.

Still. I could be wrong. If we can get players in from the loan market, and Warnock would be an ideal start, then there is every possibility that we can climb the table. Just don’t wait until Christmas.

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