Tony is Keen to Stick the Knife In

Bolton fans, and Gary Megson, breathed a sigh of relief with the recruitment of Ivan Klasnic in the last hours of the transfer window. With the Wanderers seriously light upfront, he will hopefully provide some competition for Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies.

It`s natural to have doubts about a foreign player with the pace and physicality of the English game, but it`s a good idea to see how he adapts before passing judgment. Such caution is beyond Tony Cascarino.

‘I am surprised he`s recruited another player from the French League as he should have learnt that the level in France is very poor compared to England,` he wrote in his blog yesterday, alluding to Johan Elmander`s lack of impact so far.

‘The football in France is far weaker; the better players are picked up by Europe`s big guns very early on in their careers. The days are gone when you could find an Eric Cantona or David Ginola to snap up at a decent price as French football is now on a par with the Belgian and Dutch leagues.`

One wonders what Didier Drogba, Patrice Evra and Michael Essien would make of that. And Bolton fans must be wrong to still regard Bruno N`Gotty, El Hadji Diouf and Abdoulaye Faye with fond memories. All of them arrived from across the channel.

Leaving all that aside, Klasnic has played the majority of his career at Werder Bremen. That`s in Germany, Tony. And Elmander wouldn`t be the first player to have a poor season and come good later. Just ask Thierry Henri.

Writing in the Bolton News this morning, Marc Iles speculates that Cascarno may have ‘risked the wrath of Gary Megson.` It`s more likely that his remarks will be the subject of ridicule