“I have considered this decision long and hard, and I believe that it is now the right time to give younger Finnish goalkeepers the chance to play on the international stage.”

I fear his club retirement can’t be far off. The testimonial match seemed a bit like a death warrant to me, after all you don’t do a testimonial match for someone who will be with you for years to come. To all Fins: I’m sorry for your loss. Jussi is a great keeper and a total legend.

Moving right along (sorry if I got a bit emotional there), Camel Meriem will not be joining the Wanderers. It seems as though he will be going on trial with Blackburn, though he is currently nursing an injury in France. Best of luck to Meriem, hopefully he will find the oasis of a football club soon (I couldn’t resist).

And lastly Joey O’Brien has signed and extension of his contract. He is now bound to the Reebok until 2011. O’Brien came up through our very own youth system, so I very much would like him to succeed. Unfortunately he’s been plagued with injuries and is currently recovering from a bad knee injury.

That’s all for general news, but keep an eye out for my posts about Chelsea coming up!

Saturday sees the fifth placed Wanderers take on a tip-top Manchester United side at Old Trafford. Bolton face an uphill battle, but it would be a little less steep with the help of Davies upfront. Unfortunately according to Big Sam, it’s probably a bit too soon to see Davies back in the line up as he “hasn’t been able to kick a ball” in the time that he’s been injured. Undoubtedly it would be too soon to see Davies back in. No need to jeopardize another injury facing an already tough match.

Although difficult, the Wanderers will look to put two recent defeats to Spurs and Blackburn behind them and do their best to collect at least a point from Man U. As much as I’d love to see the Whites take some points from the league leaders, and keep some distance between them and sixth place, I’m afraid it won’t happen. Three – one to Manchester United. Hope I’m wrong.