alot of positives today....!

Elmander had his best game in a bolton shirt today....! after having a go at Basham earlier this week.... I thought he too played really well....! infact up until the sending off... I thought we were brilliant....!
after that it really was damage limitation....!

We did pretty well with 11 men on the field I don't think one can really draw many conclusions other than that they certainly tried. I thought Anelka was a gent, did people see the way he went straight off at the end and did not go to celebrate with the Chelsea players at the away end.
Officials were a joke. Linesman had no idea fourth goal was clearly offside and there were many others. As with Liverpool it appears it is fine for top teams to kick the ball away, both Deco and Lampard did it blatantly. KD got nothing. Elmander was better, but he still does not look like he will score many and he has no pace at all. Better but not good enough, sickening to see him on the same field as the man he replaced, he is not fit to lace Anelka's boots. We got stung as usual on that transfer saga, only got £15m for Anelka and paid between £8 and £11m for Elmander, Gartside should be sacked for those deals.

Tim, why the negative comments about Elmander ? Totally disagree with your diatribe there. It's not Elmanders fault we let Anelka go for the price we did, nor is it his fault we paid whatever we paid to secure his services. You need to move on.

If you read it, what is say is really against Gartside and his appalling lack of commercial acumen. Elmander was better, but we are starting from a very low base. He clearly lacks pace. Does it not say everything that he has been a Bolton player for over a year and in his best game yet, as you put it, he did not score a single goal.

Commercial acumen? What, by telling his manager who to sign? That never gets anyone anywhere. What if he had told Megson not to spend £5m on a reserve centre back from Aston Villa or an untried Korean lad.

What if he had told Megson not to spend £4.5m on a centre back who doesn't appear to be any better than what we had? Hang on, what was my point again?

Oh yes, Elmander. I thought he played well today. He never asked Bolton to pay £8m for him and, like Pete said, comparing him to Anelka is a touch unfair. Anelka is a far superior player but, if we are comparing the striker bought after he left, they are on a hiding to nothing as Bolton were never have a player of his quality again. Anelka was going to leave so, if you're going to compare Elmander with a player, it should be one who was available last summer and at a simillar price, not to mention who would actually come to Bolton. hardly a huge list and I doubt you'd find a player of Anelka's quality on it!

Technically though, as a final point, Anelka's replacement was Rasiak and Rasiak's replacement was Elmander so.........

So Elmander has done no more for bolton than Rasiak and the latter was free, albeit on loan. Elmander cost at least £8m and can only be judged as an £8m striker. The fact is Gartside sanctioned the purchase and is responsible for it. You bring up Lee and Cahill and I am the first to accept they were excellent purchases, but what about Knight at £4.5m, Robinson we have agreed to pay £1.5m for, Ricketts £2m, Steinssen we paid £4m and after one season Megson seems to think that was a waste of money that he spent. Fact is between them Gartisde and Megson spent at least £8m on Elmander who was effectively Anelka's replacement and he is not up to it. In what you describe as his best game in over a year of playing for us he did not even score, if that is his best it is pathetic. At £8m he should have scored lots of goals, there should have been games he dominated and yet his best game he does not score and we lose 4-0, what a signing. The sooner we get rid of him the better.
Oh and by the way I agree that Eddie Davies is robbing the club blind and thus took from Bolton the difference between Anelka's sale price and Elmanders cost. Megson says he has massively cut the wage bill and yet we have no more money to spend, where is it going, a bank account in Monaco perhaps?

How do you "rob (the clube) blind" that which you own?

That's like me putting money in my savings account and then deciding to spend some of it on something; or, having a garage sale to sell some of my stuff and then pocketing the money myself.

Depends on your tax situation.

Are we talking about the same Phil Gartside, the same multi-millionaire Phil Gartside who made his money from commercial investments...so he no longer has any commercial acument? I hope the companies he owns a stake in doesn't find out...maybe you can replace him Tim, assuming your boss allows you the time off. How many weeks leave do you have left this year?

Again Tim, why is it Gartside's fault. What do you expect him to do to demonstrate good commercial acumen?

Tell Megson, here is £8m, go and sign a striker from this prearranged list. Actually Phil, I'd quite like Elmander. Sorry Gary but, through the beenefit of Tim's hindsight, I know that he'll struggle in the English leagues and, ability wise, he's not as good as Anelka.

Tim: name me one striker who is as good as Anelka and who will come to Bolton?

Not only does Tim have excellent commercial acumen due to his years of working 'in business', he was also a practising Barrister and would put concealed confidentialliy clauses in all of Bolton's contracts. He'd be an excellent choice. Far better than Gartside. I suggest we put it to Eddie Davies and the board at once.

Reality is as I said between Megson and Gartside they spent at least £8m on a total donkey, does not matter how you cut the blame is lies between them.
Does anyone seriously think he is good enough. Second the amount of money we got for Anelka is directly Gartside's responsibility, £15m was a joke. I think it is important to note that whilst Gartside perhaps does not choose the player he is in charge of negotiating the fee, he and Megson got ripped off the man from Toulouse must have wet himself he was laughing so hard when he got that sort of money for Elmander.

I can't think of a single club in the top flight that hasn't spent a decent sum of money on a total donkey.

In fact Tim, how many clubs can you name who have been in the PL in the last ten years that HAVE NOT bought a player who has flopped?

What is the difference between a total donkey and an ordinary donkey?

Perhaps a Total donkey is French and needs more expensive fuel to perform.

BUNBURY wrote:What is the difference between a total donkey and an ordinary donkey?

Perhaps a Total donkey is French and needs more expensive fuel to perform.

Correct Bun. And an ordinary donkey works on the sands at Blackpool.