Mark Davies gets to grips with his defensive duties.

The last game, a home draw against fellow strugglers Wolves has aroused much anger, but there were signs of things on which to build. Owen Coyle’s side moved the ball around well at times and in recent outings Mark Davies has at last started to fulfil his potential as a creative midfielder, as well as improving his tracking back and tackling.

But the same defensive frailties remain and there is a lack of fire power up front, to which David N’Gog isn’t the answer, despite his other qualities. Even if the Wanderers put a consistent run of results together, there may simply be too much to do.

Off the field, things have been at least as bad. Burnden Leisure PLC, the parent company of Bolton Wanderers announced losses of £26 million bringing the total debt to £110 million. Some parties did well out of it. Moonshift Investments, a company controlled by club owner Eddie Davies which provides loan facilities, took £5 million in interest payments and is owed a £2.8 million ‘player success fee’.

The wage bill rose to nearly £56 million, a figure almost £10 million higher than represented in the previous accounts, and despite a catastrophic financial performance, chairman Phil Gartside trousered a bonus of £164,000 in addition to a salary of £330,000 and a £50,000 contribution to his pension pot.

Goodbye to a Hero

So long Nat.

Nat Lofthouse played with honour for both Bolton and England. The great man passed away on 15th January 2011. Nat considered himself to be a local lad who’d just got lucky, and that modesty endeared him to football fans as much as his ability on the pitch. Tributes poured in from around the World and he was given a fitting and dignified send off. An announcement regarding a permanent memorial to Bolton’s favourite son is expected soon.

The Bright Spot

Although it ended in embarrassment, a cup run worthy of the name was still a pleasure to behold, especially as it involved beating three Premier League teams away from home. Mike Harding once remarked that ropes and red lamps should be placed around Birmingham and a sign erected saying ‘Danger – Hole in the World.’ He was right, but that didn’t stop 4,000 Whites fans making the journey down the M6 for the FA Cup quarter final – one of the best away days in years.

With normal time almost up and the scores at 2-2, the travelling throng would have settled for a replay. Lee Chung-Yong had other ideas, heading home from inside the penalty area in the final minute. Bolton were on their way to Wembley.

The Disaster

A week later the problems started, with Stuart Holden sidelined by a reckless challenge from Jonny Evans at Old Trafford. The American has yet to recover. His absence highlighted the lack of cohesion in Bolton’s midfield. That and a catalogue of defensive errors were cruelly punished by Stoke City in the Wembley semi-final as they cruised to an easy win.

The Potters deserved their victory, but it was hard not to conclude that Coyle’s men had shot themselves in the foot. And the knee. And the…well you get the picture.

This supporter travelled to London on coach 99, driven by the only person in the World who didn’t know that the M1 was closed. An unwanted and bad tempered tour through the London suburbs resulted, culminating in a wrong turn when in sight of the stadium, that took the early vintage vehicle down a side street containing a few thousand opposition fans.

One enterprising girlie took her top off as a distraction. This gave the baying Neanderthals a rare glimpse of female flesh and enabled them to count to two for the first time in their lives. Arrival time: 3.35pm. A pity it wasn’t a couple of hours later.

The rest of the season fizzled out with one win and then five consecutive defeats. A final day slide in the table from 9th to 14th cost the Whites £3 million in place bonuses, or three quarters of an Ali Al-Habsi. There was worse, much worse to come.

Coming up in part two:  Transfer dealings, false dawns and a very jittery chairman.

- Richard McCormick

TweetFollow @RMc2407

Would you buy a second hand car off these boys?

Aspirations have changed at Bolton since the dark days of Gary Megson. The arrival of Owen Coyle followed by our impressive start to the season had the more optimistic of us counting air miles and dusting off our Bulgarian phrase-books. Even when European qualification had passed us by – embarrassingly so in the cup – a top half finish was still on the cards right up to the end of the season.

Never mind. Coyle’s inherited Megson’s bunch of cloggers. Once he’s had the summer to make serious changes, we’ll be back to chasing Europe again. Surely relegation battles are a thing of the past? Aren’t they?

Maybe not. Our form after Christmas was relegation-standard, and the end of the season – five defeats on the bounce – was abysmal. It wouldn’t be the first time poor form at the end of one season has carried over to the next. Add to that our tough start to the season and it wouldn’t be a great surprise to see us rock-bottom after the first seven games. We’ll have easier runs to follow, but everything looks that bit tougher if you’re sat at the bottom and confidence may have taken a bit of a battering.

So how relevant is end-of-season form to performance in next campaign? Let’s hope the answer is ‘not very’. Only two previous premier league teams have ever lost their last five matches: Sunderland in 2003 and Derby in 2008. Both teams finished bottom and were relegated. Sunderland set a record low points tally of nineteen. Derby set a new one with eleven. We are therefore proud holders of another record – the only premier league side to have lost their last five games without being relegated.

So are we realistic relegation candidates, and if so who else is? Maybe recent history can give us some pointers.

Teams relegated from the premier league over the last ten years generally fit into one or more of the following categories:

1. Newly promoted

The omens aren't good, Neil

The most obvious category. Thirteen of the last thirty relegated sides were newly promoted, and not since the class of 2001 – Bolton, Blackburn, and Fulham, who are all still there – have all three promoted sides stayed up. Looking on the bright side, it’s 1998 since all three promoted teams were relegated (Bolton, Barnsley, and Crystal Palace), so maybe at least one will survive?

Candidates: QPR, Norwich, Swansea

2. Narrowly avoided relegation
Five of the last ten years’ relegated sides – including each of the last two years – finished in 17th place the previous year, so history suggests there’s a 50:50 chance Wolves will be in the mix next season.
For the record those relegated sides were Derby, Sunderland, West Brom, Hull and West Ham, and those that have survived were Fulham, Wigan, Portsmouth, Everton, and Bolton.

Although no team finishing 16th has been relegated the next year, the closeness of this year’s relegation scrap suggests that the other last day survivors, Wigan and Blackburn, could also be in the mix.
Candidates: Wolves.
Possible: Wigan, Blackburn

3. Second season
Five of the 30 slots have gone to teams ‘enjoying’ their second season in the top flight. In the case of West Brom and Hull, they had also narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, but the other three – Ipswich, Reading, and Birmingham – had finished in the top half.

Newcastle and West Brom are the two clubs facing their second season. West Brom have steadied the ship under Roy Hodgson and will be targeting mid-table at least. Of the two, Newcastle would be the more likely candidates for me, but only because of indications of internal problems and my belief that Pardew is a poor manager, although they should have the finances to build a decent side after the sale of Andy Carroll.

Candidates: Newcastle and West Brom.

4. Finished the previous season badly
Accounts for six of the thirty relegation slots in the last ten years. Two of these were teams that had also narrowly avoided relegation, but the other four all finished comfortably mid-table, albeit in poor form, reminiscent of this year’s Bolton.

Leicester finished the 2000/01 season with nine defeats in their last ten and dropping from 4th to 13th in the process. They carried this form into the new season, getting thumped by newly promoted Bolton in their first game of the new campaign, losing seven of their first ten games, and being rooted to the foot of the table for most of the season.

Southampton finished 12th in 2004 but with only two points from their last five games. Again, this carried over to the new campaign, with them winning only one of their first twelve and ultimately finishing bottom.

Charlton finished the 2005/06 season in 12th place despite four defeats in their last five then started the next season with seven defeats and only one win in their first ten games, ultimately finishing 19th.

Birmingham’s impressive 2009/10 season saw them defy expectations and claim a top ten place, but also saw them win only one of their last ten games. Whilst the following year started with a four-game unbeaten run, they only managed one win in the first eight, and ultimately a poor end to a topsy-turvy season saw them relegated on the last day.

In four of the last ten seasons, one of the relegated teams have had the worst form of any surviving team in the last five games of the previous campaign. Obviously this also means that the other six teams that finished bottom of the form guide survived, including Everton in 2004 and Man City in 2007 who went on to enjoy top half finishes the following year.

Remember, though, that losing your last five games is unprecedented for any surviving club, so Bolton are in uncharted territory. We managed less than a point a game since Christmas (only Blackpool and West Ham had worse records) and with our diabolical away record, a tricky start at newly promoted QPR (reminiscent of Leicester in 2002) closely followed by games against five of last season’s top six and things could look bleak by mid-October.

Last season’s only other premier league ‘survivor’ with less than a point per game in their last five was Arsenal, who are clearly in no danger of relegation.

Candidates: Bolton

5. Other factors
This category covers other potential ‘warning signs’: financial troubles, loss of a long-term manager, change of ownership, daft managerial sackings and disastrous appointments.

Many of the teams already mentioned also fit into this category. Leicester had recently lost Martin O’Neill. Charlton had lost Curbishley and followed up with three managers the following year. Southampton lost Strachan and appointed Sturrock (briefly) then Wigley (laughably), and so on.

Only six of our thirty relegated teams do not fit into at least one of the categories above. Two of these – Leeds in 2004 and Portsmouth in 2010 – were victims of financial meltdown, as the consequences of overspending took them from European qualification to relegation in short time.

Another – Newcastle – had recently changed ownership, and were going through their Laurel and Hardy phase as new owner Mike Ashley was demonstrating why he should never have been allowed anywhere near a professional football club. There were already murmurings of discontent before Keegan walked out at the start of their relegation season.

Barring sudden loss of interest from the Arabs / Russians / Americans, there are a couple of potential candidates from this category.

Blackburn’s recent change of ownership coupled with the appointment of an inexperienced manager probably put them at the top of the list.

Bet you daren't appoint ... him!

Mike Ashley still should be allowed nowhere near a football club, and Newcastle’s sacking of Hughton and appointment of Pardew seems a bit of an odd one. Again there are murmurings from within the club, and the sale of your captain and main goal threat to a championship club doesn’t bode well, so let’s add them too.

Aston Villa’s appointment of McLeish is the most head-scratchingly daft for a while, but they have too much money and (currently) too good a squad to be genuine candidates.

Candidates: Blackburn, Newcastle.

That leaves only three clubs out of the last thirty relegated that were relegated without any of the ‘warning signs’ listed above, which suggests that if you’re an established premier league club not mentioned thus far, you’re probably safe..

Summary: put your money on …
It’s difficult to look beyond the three promoted sides, and likely that at least a couple will be in the mix. Other prime candidates for me would be; Blackburn due to their potential for off-field turmoil with the new owners and because they narrowly avoided relegation this year, Newcastle due to Mike Ashley, Alan Pardew, and second season syndrome, Wolves simply because the worst placed survivor tends to have an even chance of going down, and finally Bolton due to our poor form at the end of last season and our difficult schedule at the start of this one, but mainly so I don’t jinx us by saying we’ll be safe.

To narrow it down further, I’d expect Wolves to build on their survival in the last two seasons and Bolton to have too much pedigree, too solid a set-up and too good a manager to be in the mix after Christmas.

So perm any three from Norwich, QPR, Swansea, Newcastle, and Blackburn.

There you go – the three relegated teams will definitely come out of that bunch. Probably.

- Wakey

The campaign has ended with a small black cloud hanging over the Reebok and a genuine fear amongst fans of what might happen next time around, after five defeats on the bounce and a disastrous last day that saw the club drop five places in the Premiership and lose over £4 million in bonuses.

Martin Petrov finishes off Spurs, eight seconds after the ball had been on the edge of Bolton's penalty area.

It seems a long time ago that the Whites were sweeping aside Spurs, Wolves and Newcastle in quick succession with the sort of pass and move football that supporters had been longing to see. The roar of anticipation as the side broke from defence hadn’t been heard since the promotion season of 1997.

There were special goals too, the result of both individual and collective brilliance. Johan Elmander’s triple turn on a sixpence at Wolves that left four defenders needing to have their internal organs unplaited;  Stuart Holden finishing off a move involving twelve passes in the same game; Mark Davies starting and finishing a move that saw a late equaliser against Blackpool;  Elmander skipping around Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul to complete a passing sequence that started on the half-way line;  Holden’s half volley at home to Blackburn that put a stop to Sam Allardyce’s victory jig on the touchline, and his managerial tenure at that club.

Lee heads the winner at Birmingham. It was going to be our year.

The FA Cup run was long overdue and much appreciated, even if it did end in disaster.  Beating three Premier League teams away from the Reebok is no mean feat, and victory at Birmingham City was the best away day Wanderers fans had had in years.

After beating Newcastle, there was a slump in form and another, more significant one, in the final games.  In both cases, Stuart Holden’s absence was the key factor.  The American’s astute reading of the game and his ability in recovering possession after his colleagues had lost it, covered up a major problem with Bolton’s midfield organisation.   There wasn’t any.

Failing to deprive the opposition of space in that vital area isn’t a luxury that any top flight side can afford, yet Owen Coyle didn’t come anywhere near to remedying the problem.  Coyle has a different idea of how football should be played than Sam Allardyce, but he could learn a thing or two in that respect, from the man who used to occupy his chair.

The manager’s persistence with Zat Knight at the expense of David Wheater was also a puzzle, as the new signing seemed to gel better with the rest of the defence.  One wondered if Knight had footage of the supposedly tee-total Scot doing unnatural things with the club mascot, whilst swigging from a bottle of Buckfast.

Oh no it wasn't.

After events of the last couple of months, the Bolton boss doesn’t quite have the God-like status he enjoyed before, with some wondering if he is too inflexible to be a truly great manager.  Time will tell no doubt, especially if he is afforded the funds to make the squad truly his own over the summer months.

The habit of gifting points to teams in desperate need of them was seriously irritating, the worst instance being the visit of Sunderland.  The Wearsiders hadn’t scored away from home since January when they arrived at the Reebok in May, and had no recognised strikers available.  So there was a grim inevitability about their 2-1 win, with Bolo Zenden running the show after stopping off for his pension on the way to the game.

Liverpool under Roy Hodgson were the worst they’d been for decades, yet secured two wins.  Chelsea were in dismal form on meeting the Whites but managed the same.  Relegation threatened Blackburn were grateful for the easy three points at Ewood Park after not winning for months, as were Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, although it wasn’t enough to save them.

Has there been progress overall?  It can be argued either way.  More points have been gained than last term, with fewer goals conceded and the highest number scored since Bolton returned to the Premier League in 2001.  Yet the finishing position is exactly the same as last year and one place lower than Gary Megson managed in his one full season.

There has been a glimpse of what Bolton Wanderers could be, tempered by harsh reality that comes from a squad lacking in depth.  The season may be over, but the next mission, one that involves building a side to compete at the top level for an eleventh straight year is already underway.

- Richard McCormick

Is this your bin bag? If so, it's not too late to claim it.

Jaaskelainen isn’t accustomed to advancing off his goal line, so it took a measure of bravery to deal with the situation.  The former Finland international approached carefully – today’s bin bags move much more in the air than their counterparts from years gone by, and the evening was windy.  Then in a rare moment of stillness he made a clean take, bundling the bag into a small, manageable ball.

From here, the Whites stopper had one more thing to do.  Disposing of the bag himself, might have left him open to a charge of time wasting, so he wisely handed it to match referee Peter Walton.

Northampton based Walton, an experienced operator, now had his own decision to make.  Did he put the bag in his pocket, alongside the signed photograph of Sir Alex Ferguson that all Premier League referees are obliged to carry, or would it be better to get rid of it altogether?  After considering the options he chose the latter and jogged to the touchline, handing the offending article to a fat bloke off Bolton’s coaching staff.  The home fans breathed a sigh of relief.

What happens now is still to be determined.  Initially the plan was to put the bag in a bin, with the rest of the rubbish, where it would have probably ended up as land-fill.  However, this was without the intervention of Phil Gartside.  In his spare time the Bolton Chairman is a keen eco warrior and can often be seen swinging through the trees or digging tunnels at sites of great natural beauty that are under threat.

The bag will now be tested for biodegradability, and if it meets the required standard will be buried in a special area at the Reebok, reserved for such items – The Johan Elmander Memorial Garden for Ineffective Flapping Objects.

On other, lesser, web sites you would have read about a dreary, error prone encounter between two teams, one witless, the other thuggish, but on Manny Road, we feel an obligation to draw attention to rare moments of competence.

Footnote:  Bolton won 1-0 as debutante Daniel Sturridge stabbed the ball home in the final minute of added time, after receiving of the best pass of the night.  That he was played in by a member of the opposition said it all.

- Richard McCormick

John 'Popular in Wolverhampton' McGinlay

No one realistically expected Owen Coyle’s men to maintain the heights reached in November, but the difference in the level of performance is striking.  The team has been toothless up front, disorganised in midfield and shambolic at the back.  Most worrying is the complete evaporation of confidence, given that the man in charge is famed for his powers of motivation. There’s even been a new word coined to describe the situation.  It’s ‘Megsonesque’, appearing in a dictionary near you soon.

Coyle has the chance to freshen things up after acquiring two new players in the transfer window.  Both Gary Cahill and Zat Knight have their qualities, but as a unit they don’t work, so the arrival of David Wheater is welcome.

Up front, Kevin Davies looks old and Johan Elmander is still in a sulk that started when his contract negotiations broke down.  It hasn’t occurred to the Swede that he’s still being rewarded handsomely for his lack of effort.  Given that, Daniel Sturridge, on loan from Chelsea ought to start.

Johan 'I Can't be Arsed Anymore' Elmander

But it’s in midfield where the main problems lie.  Matt Taylor doesn’t work on the right, Martin Petrov doesn’t work at all, Stuart Holden has suffered injuries and Fabrice Muamba relapsed to his gormless worst.  The only player to emerge from that area with credit of late is Mark Davies.

Wolves are on odd side, inconsistent and physical to the point of being psychotic.  But there’s a better reason to dislike them:  They’re Wolves.

There’s never been much love lost between supporters of the two clubs, but things intensified in the 1990s, as Bolton won promotion to the Premier League at the expense of the Dingles, as they’re known to fans of near neighbours West Brom.  Hopefully John McGinlay will be wheeled out at some point in tonight’s proceedings and club mascot Lofty the Lion will have a target pinned to his chest so that the visiting scrubbers can throw pies at him again.  Ain’t nostalgia great?

The Wanderers (the real ones) have slipped into the bottom half of the table and need three points from this game.  An early goal will help as will forward play that involves more than sending the ball down the channels and then hoofing it into the penalty area to no one in particular.

Bolton aren’t as good as they appeared to be late last year, but they aren’t as bad as they seem now.  They should certainly have enough to see off Mick McCarthy’s side.  With difficult games to come, a failure to do that could have heavy consequences.  It’s time for Owen Coyle to earn his money.

- Richard McCormick

That tribute to a flowing move was well deserved.  Holden dispatched Lee Chung-Yong’s finely-angled cut-back with aplomb, the Korean having received the ball from the sweetest of threaded passes by Kevin Davies. (The bit in bold is for the benefit of Fabio Capello, if he can tear himself away from the Daily Mail.)

But then the words ‘Stuart’, ‘Holden’ and ‘fantastic’ are easy companions in the same sentence.  If there’s been a better midfield performer in the Premier League this season, it isn’t obvious who.

The former Houston Dynamo player joined Bolton in January of this year and although his season was cut short by the psychopathic Nigel De Jong whilst on international duty, he secured a three-year contract a few months later. To date, it’s Owen Coyle’s best piece of business.

Some doubted the American at first – including this writer.  He seemed lightweight, easily bundled off the ball and prone to running into blind alleys.  But the way he has adapted to a faster, more physical game than he was used to is impressive.  ‘There’s only one Stuart Holden’ may be a convenient chant, but it could be wrong.  You wonder sometimes, if the American has managed to clone himself, such is his ability to appear as if in more than one place at the same time.

The stats back up that impression.  No Premier League player has made more tackles this season, and for someone so much involved, he commits few fouls.

'Nice turn Elmo, but my goal had more passes'

Having wrapped up the defensive side of things, Holden has been getting forward more of late, and if his contribution at Molineux is anything to go by, there are juicy times ahead.  Johan Elmander has been rightly lauded for his exquisite finish for the second goal, but it was Holden’s late, driving run into the penalty area that produced the opportunity.  Much merriment was had when Richard Stearman headed past his own goalkeeper after less than a minute, but who gave Lee-Chung Yong the ball to cross? Yup.

Wanderers fans are a little conflicted at present.  The points and the league position are most welcome, and the manner in which they’ve been achieved has even the most die-hard anti-Bolton hacks rewriting their copy.  But there’s the prospect of a team that’s starting to gel being dismantled as the club hierarchy seek to find a way of reducing that whopping £93 million debt.

The prime candidates for departure are Elmander and Gary Cahill, but it may be someone else who is first to leave.  If Stuart Holden’s time at the Reebok proves to be as short as it’s been sparkling, no one who has seen him play will be the least bit surprised.

- Richard McCormick

a)    Always injured
b)    Crap

Yes, Chris Kirkland, that’s you we’re talking about.

However, there have been a couple of snags.  After being roundly thrashed by Blackpool and Chelsea, Roberto Martinez’s side were expected to go the same way at Spurs.  Instead they scored an unlikely victory and the big Omani stopper performed heroically to keep a clean sheet for the second time in five days.

Wigan.  Clean sheet.  Same paragraph.  Doesn’t compute does it?

Agent Al-Habsi appears to have misunderstood his instructions.  He was supposed to keep the result respectable, not stop the other lot scoring altogether.

Secondly, events at the Reebok on Sunday, have got some fans in a panic, frantically calling for Bolton’s reserve ‘keeper to be recalled.  Jussi Jaaskelainen will receive a three match ban for violent conduct after giving Roger Johnson what John McGinlay might have described as a ‘wee push’, albeit in a somewhat girly fashion.

Owen Coyle doesn’t agree and has already pledged his faith in Adam Bogdan.

‘I have belief in the lad, that is why we were able to let Ali Al-Habsi out on loan because I knew Adam was competent and ready to go in goal and he showed his qualities in this match,’  he said after Bogdan’s debut at Southampton.  It’s a view that was re-iterated in his Birmingham post-match interview.

Bogdan faces a tough time.  His first league start will be at Arsenal, followed by a visit to Aston Villa, where Bolton have conceded thirteen times in three matches.  Then there’s  a trip to Burnley, which may well be a feisty affair, with the town still mired in bitterness after Owen Coyle’s perceived treachery.  The young Hungarian has the ability to cope, provided nerves don’t kick in.

This is how to slap someone around on a football field

The problem will arise if something happens to Bogdan.  His understudy for those three games will be Rob Lainton, who is well regarded amongst the backroom staff, but completely untested at first team level.

In that eventuality the only option will be to recall Al-Habsi, which can’t happen if his move becomes permanent.  Jaaskelainen’s reaction on Sunday was viewed as a rush of blood to the gloves, but it may well have cost Bolton a sum in the region of £3 million.

So is this.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvubZ9xGUxw[/youtube]

• Johan Elmander plays for Sweden (Good to see he’s been playing for someone)
• Football Focus Interview – Kevin Davies (Why can’t Gary Megson be this diplomatic?)
• Youngsters coming through at Bolton
• Calling For Consistency (I love phrases like “Samuel is targeting six points from the next two games”… well I’d be worried if he wasn’t)
• Fanzone Returns For West Ham Clash!
• Lancashire rivals monitor Egyptian
• Deadly Davies targets top-10 spot
• Al Habsi happy with role (what, on the bench?)
• One-club wonders:  Sportsmail’s guide to the top 15 players who only ever kissed a single badge (featuring Nat Lofthouse)
• Matt Taylor Sure That Bolton Wanderers Will Improve
• Fojut Heads Home (Another one bites the dust. I just hope Megson has enough players to fill the bench for the rest of the season)
• MOXEY DEVASTATED BY DAVIES DEPARTURE (that’s Jez Moxey, the Wolves chairman)
• Shittu going nowhere (as much as I think he’s a Championship defender, with Fojut going, wouldn’t Shittu leaving leave us a little short at the back?)
• Kevin Davies retains England hopes
• Safe as houses, on the brink or a goner? Sportsmail predicts the future for the remaining 18 Premier League managers (Not looking good for Megson, according to this)

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• Why are Bolton fans so negative to Gary Megson?
• Taylor backs under-fire boss
• Protests before the Spurs game
• I’m going to throw my season ticket on the pitch if we lose today
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The ins, the outs and the shaking it all abouts at Bolton Wanderers this January transfer window

Ins
The Guardian estimates that we have £5 million to spend, which is why Joey Barton (thank God), Jimmy Bullard (another person who thinks Phil Brown is a better bet than Gary Megson) and several others (see shaking it all abouts below) will not be donning the white shirt any time soon.

Instead, Megson will be searching the bargain basement bucket for the remainder of this season’s January transfer window, for example…

Swindon Town striker Ian Cox is wanted by Bolton and, er Barnsley and Huddersfield (to be fair Spurs and Fulham are also being linked). Other cheap options could be Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland), Szabolcs Huszt (Hannover) and Mark Davies (Wolves).

A more exciting option might be Sebastien Puygrenier’s Zenit St Petersburg team-mate Pavel Pogrebnyak, who is a striker. Surely he’d be a better option than Darius Vassell, Kevin Doyle or Marlon Harewood, anyway. Or would he?

Outs
Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia has decided he doesn’t want Danny Shittu (must have got round to watching that tape of him playing), but will Sam Allardyce come to the rescue of the increasingly unsettled Shittu?

Other players who might need to leave to make way for others are Ricardo Vaz Te (surely the injury means he’ll be around until the summer), Tamir Cohen (no great loss) and Jlloyd Samuel (a more surprising rumour).

Liberian youngster David Gbemie has been shipped out to the mighty Burscough FC on loan, which I’m guessing means he won’t be making the move to the first time, like, ever. Similarly, Michael Burns has left for Carlisle to team up with a host of other former Wanderers.

Shaking it all abouts
Bolton have apparently sent ‘a delegation’ to Portugal to sign Sporting Lisbon striker midfielder Miguel Veloso for a club record £12 million. Would we have taken on Ariza Makukula’s wages if we were about to break the bank for another striker? I doubt it. Besides, Veloso didn’t seem too convinced by the delegation according to this.

Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards – once a rumoured target for Chelsea – doesn’t seem too happy by a prospective move to the Reebok either.

Another defender who has been linked with Bolton but is now likely to go elsewhere is Hearts’ Christophe Berra, who seems Sunderland bound.

Perhaps Turkish centre-half Gokhan Zan is more likely? But with five centre-halves already on the books – and a move for West Ham’s Calum Davenport already abandoned – surely Megson’s priorities will lie elsewhere, unless he can offload the Shittu. Ditto for Rangers’ Madjid Bougherra.

A midfielder would now seem to be the main priority, but talk of Wolves’ Michael Kightly has gone quiet, Axel Witsel of Standard Liege is surely too expensive at £8 million, it’s game over in the race for Bullard and Olivier Dacourt would rather play in the Italian second division with Parma, it would seem.

What do you think? Have your say below…