Football’s on the way back…

Monday, 04/07/2011

by Emma Norris, Shoot's Bolton blogger

With players returning to their respective clubs today for pre-season training, every single football fan across the country is undoubtedly breathing a huge sigh of relief – myself included.

Without the distraction of an international tournament throughout the past month, many supporters have been left clueless as to how to spend their weekends. God forbid, some men may have been forced to accompany their other halves on the weekly shop.

The start of pre-season however often brings a wave of encouragement to the hearts of fans everywhere – the beautiful game is definitely back in business. Transfers are creeping in, the rumour mill is in full swing and new faces are popping up left, right and centre.

Parity has been restored. Sky Sports News finally has something to talk about rather than David Haye’s broken toe, or the fact that Andy Murray blew it - again.

At the Reebok though, there hasn’t been much change as of yet. With the squad heading off to American for a pre-season tour next week, there has only been one new addition in the form of Darren Pratley to what is already a depleted looking squad.

The news that Bolton have accepted a £4m bid from rivals Wigan Athletic for Ali Al-Habsi is something which hasn’t exactly been met with resounding agreement.

Many fans have admitted that in recent months Jussi Jaaskelainen has been far from his best, with his age being brought up on more than one occasion. Following Al-Habsi’s award-winning spell at the DW Stadium last season, it seemed only a matter of time before the Omani international made a permanent move elsewhere.

Having had a taste of first-team football, nobody will begrudge him moving on – after all, who would want to go back to sitting on the bench after comfortably holding the number one spot all season for the Latics?

I’m sure most Bolton fans would have preferred him to have gone to another club – with all due respect to Wigan, they are a relegation-threatened team more or less every year and Al-Habsi is an exceptionally talented keeper.

The move appears to be imminent though, and I’m certain every Bolton fan will thank him for his time here and the memories he has left us with.

As for the upcoming season, it still seems unclear what it holds. Coyle appears to be quietly going about his business, or apparent lack of it at the moment – but then again, they say you should always watch the quiet ones...

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