Our first signing is going to be Andy Lonergan - MARK ILES

Bolton are plotting a move for Leeds United keeper Andy Lonergan.

Owen Coyle wants experienced competition for Adam Bogdan next season and has drawn up a shortlist of half a dozen possible candidates, headed by the 28-year-old former Preston North End stopper.

Lonergan was first choice at Elland Road and also captained the side for a spell last season, but with Neil Warnock looking to bring in his trusted former charge Paddy Kenny from QPR, he could be made available.

Rangers are delaying the move until they have signed a replacement and have been heavily linked with Birmingham's £5million-rated Ben Foster.

Provided those two deals are sorted quickly, Coyle will start talking with Leeds over a player he has rated since his time in the Championship with Burnley.

Lonergan, who boasts four England Under-21 caps, signed for Leeds last summer after 11 years with his home-town club Preston. He made 38 appearances in league and cup last season as the Yorkshire side just missed out on the play-offs.

Jussi Jaaskelainen is closing in on a move to West Ham, and it is understood he will sign a one-year deal next week, subject to a medical.

The Big Finn quit the Reebok after 15 years to search for regular first-team football and could go straight in as Hammers number one, after chairman David Gold revealed that Robert Green has now left the club.

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I have some great stories involving Andy Lonergan. But I promised Hipster no more stories.

Tell the rest of us.

A Catholic priest, a Lawyer and Andy Lonergan walked into a bar...

Go on, you know you want to!

A reserve goalie, necessary i suppose.... assuming our reserve keepers are not up to the task.

I suppose we do need a replacement goalie...

However, Il be pretty pissed off with coyle if he simply drops bogdan for this guy.
Bogdan, now Jussi has left has earnt the right to be our number one keeper - if this guy is coming to earn his right to start matches, then that's fine with me...

but he has to understand that bogdan is the number one...

So who do you think should be first choice out of the two, Rebel?

largehat wrote:So who do you think should be first choice out of the two, Rebel?

bogdan...obviously.

Reebok_Rebel wrote:

largehat wrote:So who do you think should be first choice out of the two, Rebel?

bogdan...obviously.

OK, wasn't sure from your last message.

I would expect Bogdan to start the season with the goalkeeper's jersey but I'd rather we had a guy behind him ready to steal it in the case of loss of form, injury or suspension. If you're someone like Lonegran you aren't of an age where you're happy to be an understudy.

We must assume that Bogdan finished the season strong because of the quality competition behind him.

Coyle needs to keep that competition by bringing another keeper who WILL challenge for the shirt & not simply be young with potential..

As LH says, start with Bogdan, use the backup in the cups & access where we are with it..

Bogdan fought for the shirt, he must have the pressure to fight and keep it..

I agree that Bogdan deserves to start next season, and he def needs competition (as do all keepers). Not sure Lonergan is that keeper though. Firstly, as pointed out above, he will want 1st-team footy.

Secondly - why would he leave Leeds, where he is number 1, captain on occasions and at a club that might actually go up next season.

That's a good point CEF which is why I didn't name him when I said we need someone. The trick is finding the right player for that.. At 28 you'd want to be signing for a club as first choice.. The only thing Coyle could say is something like "You've got half the games each in preseason. Best one starts" - Put the pressure back on them..

After the habsi fiasco i dont trust coyle with keepers.

Where's the fiasco? our second choice keeper wanted to leave, wanted first team football and to reputedly quadruple his wages.

We had no money to spend and they offered a decent price. He was nearly 30 and had made 10 first time appearances in four years.

I don't think anyone anticipated Jussi losing form so badly, and I think Bogdan is every bit as good as Al-Habsi and will get better.

Personally I think people need to get over Al-Habsi leaving, he's not been at our club for two whole years now.

After the habsi fiasco i dont trust coyle with keepers.

Had Al-Habsi not been sold to one of the other relegation candidates and been our number one keeper from the start of last season, Wigan would have gone down and we would have stayed up.

Wrong call (gamble) by Gartside.

chipbutty wrote:Had Al-Habsi not been sold to one of the other relegation candidates and been our number one keeper from the start of last season, Wigan would have gone down and we would have stayed up.

Wrong call (gamble) by Gartside.

Thats the way i see it only an imbecile would do what coyle did,now he,s looking for another keeper what a plank.

I can see why people say that with the beneit of hindsight, definitely. I don't think Al Habsi kept Wigan up, personally, and as I say I think it was fair to consider that we had goalkeeping resources without him and needed the cash. What cost us a lot more than Al Habsi going was that cash being spent on a striker who scored 3 goals all season.

largehat wrote:I can see why people say that with the beneit of hindsight, definitely. I don't think Al Habsi kept Wigan up, personally, and as I say I think it was fair to consider that we had goalkeeping resources without him and needed the cash. What cost us a lot more than Al Habsi going was that cash being spent on a striker who scored 3 goals all season.

You dont need hindsight to know that selling your best keeper to one of your main relegation rivals is bloody stupid LH.Habsi is a better keeper than bogdan anyway. Buying a dud like ngog is nowhere near as bad as the habsi sale to wigan. No way i,d let coyle forget that piece of madness.

A good goalie, as A-H undoubtable is, does far more than stop the ball going in the net, he and the senior CB organize the defence and gives a solid confident feel (or should do) to the whole of the team.

Looking back, to the first half of the season especially, with JJ in goal not coming for crosses, getting beaten at his near post etc - Robinson at left back, the worst in the Prem (possibly in the championship too) Knight playing, Coyle not being able to see what was staring him in the face, it's no wonder we had that horrendous run of games.

Had Gartside and Coyle decided to keep A-H and brought in a decent leftback, we would not have gone down. They gambled on getting by with what we had and got it wrong.

Pointing out, what in my opinion was obvious, is not being negative but being realistic. Of course we are all experts with hindsight but it was pretty obvious to everyone what the problem was.

With Gartside and Coyle making the decisions again next season, I cannot see things changing to much. Make do with what we have and hope for a couple of good loans. Again, I'm not being negative, just realistic.

largehat wrote:I can see why people say that with the beneit of hindsight, definitely. I don't think Al Habsi kept Wigan up, personally, and as I say I think it was fair to consider that we had goalkeeping resources without him and needed the cash. What cost us a lot more than Al Habsi going was that cash being spent on a striker who scored 3 goals all season.

what sent us down was not a goalkeeper...

it was Wigan having the fight and bottle to say 'fuck you' to all the 'big' clubs, have a jolly good go and beat them...

something we couldn't do im afraid, with coyle...these games were already lost before a ball was kicked.

If he would have put the players under pressure and convinced them they would have got a result... we may have stayed up...