I haven´t got anything against Arouna Kone, Antolin Alcaraz and the dozen or so other Wigan players we´re linked with; however, the fact we´re continually linked with Championship players is a bit disconcerting.
Yes, I know it´s not exactly Gary Caldwell, which would have me reaching for the bleach and chugging in gallons, but the one unfortunate side effect of Roberto Martinez becoming our new manager is the utter turd we´re continually linked with.
Aiden McGeady, Nathan Dyer… You´d swear we´d just survived in the Premier League by the skin of our teeth and we´re scraping around the barrel to find someone with a modicum of ability to save our arse next year.
Sadly, it seems a bit of that is true – we´re probably scraping around the barrel, thanks to Kenwright et al.
When Martinez arrived, I must admit that the one saving grace was that James McCarthy may follow. He´s a top young player, very able, giving us depth in central midfield in case of the disastrous scenario where Marouane Fellaini leaves for shores anew.
However, that hasn´t seemingly came to fruition. Instead, we´re linked heavily with Paraguay centre-half Alcaraz and journeyman striker Arouna Kone.
That said, it ain´t a bad thing. In fact, rather than blatant nepotism from Martinez – taking his Wigan mates along with him – it indicates that he´s sorting the chaff from the wheat. Alcaraz is very highly rated by those who have watched him in depth, whilst Kone – not the most glamorous of strikers – is experienced and has seen it all at the top level of the game and once commanded a near £10m fee from Sevilla.
So, whilst unimaginative, at least the ex-Wigan manager seems to be thinking with his head rather than his heart. Raiding Wigan isn´t necessarily an automatically awful thing; it just needs to be smart.
Yet new acquisitions are actually less important than the incomings and outgoings of the existing first team squad. The primary focus of Mr. Martinez has to be on keeping the core of the very talented squad he inherited intact, and getting rid of the excess… *cough* Heitinga *cough*.
There´s a degree of panic and uneasiness about our new era under Martinez, which is understandable given the decade of being under a David Moyes security blanket. However, let´s use our ol´ noggins here – we´re not going to sign Titus Bramble-esque footballers folks. Martinez has a brain, he knows the talent he has at his disposal; he´ll spend to improve the squad.
“In Moyes We Trust” became a disingenuous mantra; “In Martinez We Trust” should become a similar one. Let´s trust him to bring in more wheat, and get rid of more chaff. “Benefit of the doubt” as it were.
Well, for this transfer window at least. Rest easy Blues.