There may be trouble ahead…
And listening to the aftermath of yesterday’s blank transfer deadline day, there aint going to be any moonlight or music or romance. It’s not quite time for anyone to be facing the music just yet mind, after all the bulk of this squad is that which finished last season in 11th place and although the rest of it might look a bit green or rough round the edges, maybe all it needs is a little more time.
Of course, it would be great if a bit more experience could be added, “but the transfer window has closed” I hear you cry. Yes it is, but there’s still the chance to do some real scraping of the Olembe barrel by bringing people in on Bosmans. As the (spit) Daily Mail has pointed out, there’s some experienced heads about, and at least a couple of them might be worth a punt. Here’s why (and why not)
Mark Viduka
Much maligned in some areas, occasionally celebrated, Viduka has been through his fair share of relegation battles. He’s also got a fairly consistent goal every other game(ish) record. I can hear cries of “past it” but is he really any worse than what we currently have as back up?
A lot would depend on the terms he’s after, but I reckon if we can get him reasonably cheap he could offer that bit of experience that Rodallega could do with to bring him on.
Lucas Neill
If we need a whinging, greedy Aussie then he’s ideal. The man who turned down Liverpool to chase the Icelandic dollar is unlikely to even consider signing for a club like ours and Sunderland are welcome to him.
Andy van de Mayde
You want tabloid headlines then Andy’s your man, but on the pitch he showed nothing for Everton to suggest he’s even a footballer. When he bothered to turn up that is.
Michael Ball
Back on track with a lad that was probably at some time in the past dubbed ‘the new Matt Jackson’, Ball could still be at City if they hadn’t come into enough money to pay £200m for a Chelsea reserve. He’s a decent steady player who might not be better than what we’ve got as a left back, but comes with the added benefit of being able to play centre half.
At 29 Ball has been around a bit, taking in time in Scotland and Holland, but with only 200 ish games under his belt will probably have plenty of life in his legs yet.
Mortiz Volz
Has been slipping down the career ladder since joining Arsenal and spent last season on loan in the championship with Ipswich but at 26 still has time to prove his early potential has not been lost. I doubt that he’d jump straight into challenging Melchiot at right-back, but with a Ryan Taylor sized hole to fill in the squad a little dynamo with a good engine and a bit of bite, Volz might just do the trick as back-up.
Dietmar Hamman
If he’s looking for a guaranteed starting place then the German might be better off taking up the offer to join the Notts County revolution. If he’s prepared to join a team that has good young midfielders looking to learn the ropes then he couldn’t come anywhere better.
Hamman is the player who helped Stephen Gerrard blossom and, who knows he maybe able to do similar with the likes of Hendry Thomas and Mohammed Diame. Even if not then I’m sure that Bobby could get as much use out of him as he would have Michael Brown but with a bit more passing ability.
Glauber Berti
No me neither.
A Brazilian by all accounts and a centre half at that. Any one know if he’s any good?
Lauren
No, not that annoying Geordie lass that’s gone from girl band gossip hound to the Culture Show, but the Cameroon right back that went from Arsenal to Pompey. At 32 he could provide experienced cover for Melchiot but maybe that’s not what we need.
Dwight Yorke
Yeah, right, I don’t know why Roy Keane signed him for Sunderland, and I’m fairly sure that he doesn’t any more either. Good for baby Harvey jokes, but nowt else I’ll wager.
(drum roll)
Henri Camara
Imagine you were a side struggling for goals. Imagine you had a striker in your squad that had showed that given a prod in the right direction he could score them. Imagine that he broke into the team and scored a couple. What would you do?
If you answered C) Drop him and make sure his contract isn’t renewed – then I can confirm that you’re either Paul Jewell or Steve Bruce and you’ve probably wasted one of the most able strikers we’re likely to see in the club’s shirt.
I don’t know why things haven’t gone right for Henri at Wigan, but I know I’d give him another chance tomorrow.
That’s it for the (spit) Mail’s list but there’s probably hundreds more scattered around the world that could do a job, one notable is Boudewijn Zenden, at 33 the Dutch Winger might not have the zip of his Chelsea days, but should be more familiar with the Martinez method than say, Jason Koumas.
The conclusion? Well, simply that there are players out there that I think can do a job for Latics and add a bit extra t the squad. You might not agree with me on that, but feel free to let us know by leaving a comment.
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