Official Gary Cahill transfer thread

[thebish]

That said, the badge and club will always override any representative, and we fight on. Let's hope - pray - that Coyle spends the money wisely and we get to see more Premier League-quality defenders in the beloved shirt.

the name's Ream!

[The Pope]

So we should have £4.5m left to spend of the Cahill money if Ream did actually cost £2.5m then. Doesn't really go very far these days I'm afraid...

[boltonboris]

Not sure where this article came from, but somebody just e-mailed me this:

In a season of flux it is good that some things never change: Sir Alex Ferguson moaning about referees; Phil Dowd getting important decisions wrong; and Zat Knight being culpable. At 6ft 6in and with more than 250 games of Premier League experience Knight should be an imposing, commanding defender but, as his performance against Manchester United testified, he tends to be the opposite.

He was lucky to stay on the pitch for the full 90 minutes – he should have been sent off after giving away a penalty for a challenge on Danny Welbeck, who was through on goal – and even though he did stay on, he attempted only two tackles, both of which failed. His partner in the heart of the Bolton defence, David Wheater, made eight and failed with only two.

Bolton have conceded more goals than any team this season and continuing to play Knight, in this form, is not going to solve that problem.

With these problems in mind, why have Bolton agreed to sell their best defender to Chelsea? Even though Gary Cahill is not at his peak this season, he is clearly better than Knight and perhaps could have formed a decent partnership with Wheater, who has been on a winning side in the league more times than Knight this season despite playing only half as many games.

The club would argue that selling Cahill now means they get a transfer fee that would not be available in the summer but surely retaining Cahill would have given Bolton a better chance of avoiding relegation and the financial loss that would entail, which would amount to a lot more than £7m. Cahill was under contract at Bolton and they did not have to let him go. Come May they may pay for their short-termism.

Raises some interesting points, especially the bit in bold

[plymouth wanderer]

yeah we all know he's bollocks

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

We couldn't block the Cahill sale. Not just for the £7m, but Coyle had promised the player the move, and the player had responded with determination. It would be a huge potential blow to squad morale if the manager's sweet-talk came to nothing.

[elfil76]

Weird feeling seeing cahill pic holding chelsea shirt. All the best, we shall remember your services.

[ohjimmyjimmy]

Unavoaidable, and yet i kinda feel all hope of survival is now gone with him.
Cahill & Wheater = Yes
Knight & Wheater = No

Unless of course a good left back swoop is made and Ricketts can go into the middle (after getting his match fitness back).

[BWFC_Insane]

A very good player and we'll miss him.

However, I don't feel sad he's gone.

Selling him was our only chance of survival (we are going down as it stands with half a season of Cahill in the side), its up to Coyle now to use the money well........

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Unless of course a good left back swoop is made and Ricketts can go into the middle

Could be an option when Alonso returns, but that depends on him proving Blackburn was the start of a trend rather than a fluke. Oh and Steinsson not proving just as howling a liability on the other side – OC could then promote Riley, although I'm yet to feel confident the manager will bench Zat Knight. Still, I suppose he's benched the captain...

[thebish]

oh yeah - Alonso!

what was it? two reasonably promising games - then another injury??

here's the current picture according to physioroom...

J Jaaskelainen Hip/Thigh Injury no return date
M Alonso Ankle/Foot Injury 21st Jan 12 very doubtful
R Gardner Hip/Thigh Injury no return date
T Mears Broken Leg 4th Feb 12
C Lee Broken Leg May 12
S Holden Knee Injury Mar 12
S Davis Knee Injury 21st Jan 12 very doubtful (what - AGAIN???)

[Sponge]

Cahill: "My spell with Bolton enabled me to break into the England squad. I would particularly like to thank the fans for their support."

Warms ya cockles, don't it?

[n035209]

Sorry to see him leave, good luck and all.

But we have our replacement, in Ream.

P.s. New Jan Calendar page released

[thebish]

Cahill & Davies on the January page...

KD is a sure thing for a transfer....

[Armchair Wanderer]

Interesting seeing that Lawro/Hanson didn't rate him, but Alan Green seems to. The media seems to be split on this.

I'm not surprised at all by GC talking about our fans. A high-class individual!

[boltonboris]

If he played for Man Utd or Liverpool, they'd say he was World-Class

[thebish]

If he played for Man Utd or Liverpool, they'd say he was World-Class

now he plays for chelsea - we'll see...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

He can still improve. I hope he does.

[Athers]

Yes quite a few pundits doubting him, but the only games I imagine they've watched us this season will be the ones where we got panned off Chelsea and United, and where Yakubu turned him at Ewood.

[boltonboris]

He'll be under much less pressure playing for Chelsea (they attack more than they defend, fancy that??!). Therefore he won't be called into action every 2 minutes. Which means less errors, (many, many less!)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Indeed, Bozzer. And he'll get a lot more kudos when he's tidying up behind John Terry than Zat Knight.