The football season is nearly here. But can it not come soon enough, or has it crept up on us?
I can tell you’re getting excited for the new season, so I’ve written another post to post… You deserve it.
What a summer we`ve had. The sun has been rocking its rays for weeks, Andy Murray asked the country was it worth the wait and the benefit-sucking Germans, residing at Buck` Palace, bored us to death with their bouncing new future king? I had £5 on the name Keanu.
Meaningless to the rest of the country, us Wanderers supporters had eyes and minds on only one thing. Dougie`s summer recruiting began with the ferocity of a half-starved Velociraptor. Marc Tierney, Alex Baptiste, Rob Hall and Jermaine Beckford were conscripted for the first team and Hayden White, Conor Wilkinson and Gary Fraser were drafted for the development squad.
Until very recently, Bolton`s outgoing soldiers were either expected or unsurprising. Kevin Davies was handed a picture of a spitfire and waved-off to Preston, Marcos Alonso travelled to Florence for the culture and Sam Ricketts travelled to Wolverhampton for? Erm? Football, of course, he went to Wolves to play football.
The twilight hours of July broke a double transfer story. Andre Moritz alleviated Dougie`s ‘No. 10` itch and Marvin Sordell pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the flow with a move on loan to Charlton.
The Sordell departure may seem baffling, but the more deliberated about, the more sense it makes. He`s going to play regularly and, no doubt, he`s going to score his share. His value, experience, confidence and age will all increase and hopefully he will return to his parent club without the homesick monkey on his back. If not, then let`s hope his value doubles at the Valley. I’m sure that’s the plan, anyway…
Barring a footballing miracle before Saturday noon, we now have our team. I`m sure Dougie hasn`t finished just yet in the transfer window. His frustration at the football calendar means his Premiership recruitment aspirations are hampered by price and availability. But as soon as the big boys kick-off their season, let`s hope our manager has his eye on one or both of Craig Dawson and Jay Spearing. Whether deals can be, struck, however, is a totally different matter.
So, what do you think? Are we stronger than last year and your excitement is justified? Or is the unthinkable unprintable?
I’ll be back tomorrow with a match report… Eeeeeeee!