Bolton Wanderers » Transfers

Verdict on Meriem

Matilda — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:59:30 +0000

Megson should be making a decision on the wonderfully named Camel Meriem soon. Meriem (or should I call him Camel?) arrived earlier this week (apparently in a “neat and tidy” condition) and the Ginger One said that he would decide near the end of the week what to do. Although I haven’t been able to do much research on Meriem I do know he’s 29, a Frenchman, and his first name’s is Camel. I will look around more later. He’s an attacking midfielder, and Megson is after him to replace Sean Davis, who unfortunately just underwent knee surgery. Quite honestly I hope we take him on, if only because I’m sure he will spark a bounty of amazing songs. I will write a little update post when Megson announces his decision, and I’ll try and find a few highlights videos if possible.

Bolton Signed a Striker! Finally

Matilda — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:40:56 +0000

Unfortunately due to imaging rights I can not post a picture of our new signing Ivan Klasnić. A brief biography for those who don’t know: Klasnić gained fame at FC Pauli in his hometown of Hamburg. In 2001 he transferred to Werder Bremen, gaining quite a fan following and the nickname the Killer (which can’t be a bad thing). In early 2007 he suffered from kidney failure (I haven’t been able to find the cause, have any of you lot?), which was further complicated by the fact that his body rejected the kidney his mother donated. In March 2007 he underwent another surgery, this time with a kidney from his father and it took. He came back to football seven months later. He then transferred to Nantes in the summer of 2008. Nantes are now in the French Ligue 2. The 29 year old is now on a season long loan in Bolton.

Klasnić’s record recently is less than impressive (10 goals in 33 appearances for Nantes), he will definitely be a valuable addition to the squad (especially since Elmander has only scored 5 goals in 33 appearances for Bolton). As I said in my Season Forecast, we desperately needed another striker and here is what we have. A cliche I have to use all too often concerning Bolton applies here: beggars can’t be choosers. Klasnić will be donning the number 25 shirt for the Wanderers, and I wish him the best of luck!

Here is a highlight video (all of it pre-Nantes) I found. You might want to mute the sound though, the background music is god awful.

So Long, Farewell

BC — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:12:01 +0000

During the January transfer window there was speculation of Chelski looking to purchase Israeli stand-out Tal Ben Haim for a mere three million pounds or so. As it was, the Whites had little depth in the back and really couldn’t afford to essentially give away an all star for crumbs. Now, instead of giving away an all star for crumbs, we’re giving him away, period. Gone. For free. No more Tal Ben Haim. It has been understood for some time that Ben Haim wanted out. It came down to a matter of a paycheck, and as Big Sam said “We can’t afford Tal anymore.” I guess you can’t blame him, but it’s still frustrating to see a top class defender like Ben Haim walk away because our chairman won’t throw down some more cash. But we can still be bitter about his money grubbing desire.

It is assumed that Ben Haim will be picked up by one of the Big Four as he has the quality to play for them, and they have the funds to pay for him. I could see him moving to the Pool, or Chelski. Personally, I don’t see ManUre or the Arse in need of him, although I’m sure Ben Haim would be content to sit on the bench and roll in the dough. If he wasn’t, he’d end up staying with the Whites, not making as much, but getting all the playing time he wants.

Tal Ben Haim will almost certainly be starting in the back for Israel when they take on England in Israel in a Euro 2008 qualification map. As Ben Haim sees it the loser of this match will fail to qualify, and although England is the favorite to win, he feels like giving them a run at it.