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From the Terraces
Is Muamba the type of signing that will stave Bolton from the threat of relegation?
Posted by: Rob Facey, Tue 17th Jun 2008
Tagged:
Premiership, Bolton Wanderers
Football FanCast columnist Rob Facey looks
at Bolton's new signing, Fabrice Muamba, and wonders if this is the man to save
Gary Megson from another season of staving off relegation.
Bolton
have signed England Under-21 international Fabrice Muamba from Birmingham for
£5m in an attempt to add some steel to the midfield at the Reebok, but will
this be enough? The ex-Arsenal and Birmingham player will no doubt an addition
to Gary Megson's men but you can't help but feel they need to buy a lot more
and set their heights a lot higher if they want a carefree season of mid table
mediocrity.
"Fabrice is a tough-tackling central
midfielder who has a good grounding with the Arsenal youth setup," Megson said, as
reported by Sky Sports.
"He's played in the Premier League with Birmingham City and he'll be a tremendous asset to Bolton Wanderers over the coming years."
This signing should be seen as a decent start as the Trotters look to build after the exit of Ivan Campo and Stelios among others, but the club will need to think long and hard about where else they need to improve. After Bolton's disastrous season last year, Gary Megson knows that his signings this summer will with be key to the future of the club. How important a signing is Muamba?
After the lofty heights reached under the guidance of Big Sam, the club soon started sliding down the league last season. Megson sacrificed the clubs UEFA Cup campaign to stay in the league, but even this almost backfired. So what was wrong last season and was it merely a hangover, as the club acclimatised to life without Allardyce?
What are fans hoping for next season - do they need to spend big this summer? Will Bolton be safe under Gary Megson or is another relegation battle expected?
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We need a big lump of
We need a big lump of investment this summer. I dont rate Muamba myself but if he does a job then he will be welcomed.
A ridiculous signing, our
A ridiculous signing, our main priority this summer should be a decent centre forward.
He is average at best and we
He is average at best and we need a better quality of player alongside Nolan.
Muamba is a decent player
Muamba is a decent player whereas nolan is a fat lazy get who needs to put more effort in matches
Muamba is a complete gorm.
Muamba is a complete gorm. Why have Bolton signed him as a squad player perhaps? I don't know but he can't pass to a team mate correctly or shoot. Megson is a fool for giving £5 million away for this player. That money could be better spent on trying to persuade Elmander to join Bolton. Maybe Megson wants to rubber mark his mark into the Bolton squad? But in that case selling then buying would have been a better option. Nobody wants to see their team make an unambitious signing and think that they'll be trying to avoid relegation for the fifth year running but that's the way it looks for Bolton. A lucky escape last year and three years before that again a lucky escape. Is it time Bolton bit and got relegated is that what this signing shows?
Henrik have you been
Henrik have you been watching the Euros? What has Elmander done to make us want to spend 8 million on him?
Hes been rubbish, if hes the man to score 15 + goals aseason then god help us!
Personally I thought Gary
Personally I thought Gary Cahill was well over priced at the £5m mark but after watching him at the Reebok he's been well worth it. Stiensson is class and Matt Taylor started to come good toward the end...
I'm gonna reserve coment on Muamba till I see him play, but going off Megsons signings so far he should be a good!!
Are we going to struggle like last season, I don't think so. Remember when Megson took over we were below Derby with only 7 points!!
Let's let the lad show us
Let's let the lad show us what he has got. He is definitely far from the finished article but I think he is a good signing and a clear indication from Megson what kind of team he plans to put together. Good start as far as I'm concerned - if we can splash $5m on this position I'm pretty hopeful that we have much more money to strengthen other desperately lacking positions. Striker x 2, creative midfielder and another center back next up please!
'trying avoid relegation for
'trying avoid relegation for the fifth year running'
You quite clearly don't know what you're talking about. Brush up on your recent Bolton Wanderers history before spewing such misinformed comments.
I think Muamba will be
I think Muamba will be another steady signing. I saw him occasionally during the past year and although he didn't do anything to stir my groin, he didn't do anything stupid either. He appeared solid and I hope he has a little more pace than I remember as that was surely what we lacked in mid-field.
We also must find a top class front man (scorer). Davis is brilliant at tracking back, working hard, holding the ball and supply but he does lack that one, all-important feature.
So far as Elmander is concerned, I have not yet been impressed with his showing at Euro 2008 so far has seemed slow and left a lot to be desired in the ball control arena. But who knows . . . maybe he's better than that.
