A controversial guest article from Nicky
Guest article from Nicky Crompton. Thanks, Nicky…
In January 2010, a bright-eyed Texan, Stuart Holden signed for Bolton Wanderers. Three and a half years on, he has only managed 30 league appearances for us. Stuart Holden is seen as one of our best players, however, after spending so long out injured, one has to question whether he really still has it.
Stuart is a holding midfielder (good name for it) who works hard around the pitch. He`s good at getting stuck in, as well as being competent on the ball- occasionally taking free kicks. While many fans are calling for the return of Jay Spearing and a midfield already blessed with Medo Kamara, Darren Pratley, Keith Andrews and Josh Vela, do we really still need Stuart Holden?
Let`s be frank, we don`t have money to throw around at Bolton Wanderers Football Club, especially if Dougie pulls the trigger and makes that speculative offer for Rhodes/Austin. Selling Holden would give us a few million, I believe, plus a good chunk of money off the wage bill. For that same reason, you could ask whether it has been worthwhile having him at Bolton so long in the first place. Yeah, I`m sure he made his bed and was a good guest and everything. But his stay at the Reebok has surpassed three and a half years. Think about how large his yearly salary is. Multiply it by three and a half. You should get a reasonable amount of money, big enough to sign a pretty decent, Championship player.
Without Holden in the team, you could argue we would have staved off relegation the years that he was playing for us. So, if you think about it, he really hasn`t had that big an impact on the club. On another note, Stuart Alistair Holden, has played very well for the club. He has always given 100% and always played well. He has a very large American fan base and sells his share of shirts, too. On that note, you could question whether selling him would really be a good idea.
I`ve tried to write this from a neutral perspective, so you guys can leave your thoughts on whether he should stay or go.