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Hailed as a “blue chip” signing by Dougie Freedman on his arrival but now left in limbo and heading for League One, where exactly did it all go wrong for Jay Spearing?
When Wanderers invested a hefty £1.5million to make the combative midfielder’s move from Liverpool a permanent one in August 2013, they considered it a statement of intent for where the club wanted to be.
Spearing had turned down Blackburn Rovers – for whom he would later play on loan – which was a fact that former chairman Phil Gartside was only too happy to share.
Fans had demanded the club invest, chanting “we want Jay Spearing back” in a 1-1 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor. And a week later they had their wish.
The midfielder had been quite brilliant on loan the previous season and barring an unfortunate toe injury in the final weeks, may have driven the Whites that extra inch over the line to seal a play-off spot.
But the following season things just didn’t click for Freedman and his methodical brand of football started to grate with those same fans.
Spearing and Medo Kamara were the defensive midfielders on which the late-season dash for the top six had been built the previous year but by the time the club had embarked upon their worst start for more than a century, they were being labelled as the root of the problem.
Soon after Neil Lennon came in vowing to play a more energetic and passionate style, the Liverpudlian ball-winner was quickly and unceremoniously cast aside, even though he was wearing the captain’s armband.
Lennon’s issue with Spearing in his favoured four-man midfield was that he did not have the work-rate of a Darren Pratley or Liam Feeney and so could not get box to box as much as he wanted.
Whether the same contractual clause which has frozen his Wanderers career also worked against him last season is unclear. But when he was loaned out to Blackburn with 21 league games on the clock, it is difficult to imagine otherwise.
The Whites sat back and waited for bids for Spearing over the summer but none were forthcoming. His wage – reportedly £17,000 a week – was the going rate for a player with proven Premier League pedigree. Yet as Wanderers started another rebuilding period under a new manager, now down to their final parachute payment, the concern about keeping players of his ilk was becoming more apparent.
Spearing is by no means alone in earning top dollar. Wanderers forked out for a number of extravagant contracts after dropping out of the Premier League and are now living to regret it.
They also extended deals for players like Mark Davies and David Wheater instead of scaling down.
Whites fans will know that things came to a head this season but not before Spearing had worked his way back into Lennon’s good books.
Such was his form a few months ago that the manager switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation to ensure he could operate in front of the back four.
All that ground to a halt in the days leading up to the Preston home game when a contractual clause that demanded another £100,000 would be paid to Liverpool on the occasion of his 23rd league appearance of the season.
New owners, who had not been informed of the clause, rushed to ask Liverpool to defer. Accounts vary as to whether or not the Reds agreed but the end result was Spearing being plucked from the matchday squad to his annoyance and told he would not be playing again this season.
Reports Spearing is due a substantial payment at the end of his Wanderers contract, which has 12 months left to run, have been strongly denied by sources close to the player.
As the loan window passed by yesterday he remained Bolton property and will spend the remainder of this season looking on from the sidelines.
While the midfielder has not come close to substantiating Freedman’s glowing praise, it would be sad to think this is how his Wanderers career could come to an end.
Like half a dozen other first teamers, his salary looks impossible to manage in League One but to find another club willing to take on that financial responsibility has been harder than even Dean Holdsworth might have imagined.
As it stands, Spearing is one of a long list of signings intended to help Wanderers get back into the big time who are currently having the opposite effect.
Source
When Wanderers invested a hefty £1.5million to make the combative midfielder’s move from Liverpool a permanent one in August 2013, they considered it a statement of intent for where the club wanted to be.
Spearing had turned down Blackburn Rovers – for whom he would later play on loan – which was a fact that former chairman Phil Gartside was only too happy to share.
Fans had demanded the club invest, chanting “we want Jay Spearing back” in a 1-1 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor. And a week later they had their wish.
The midfielder had been quite brilliant on loan the previous season and barring an unfortunate toe injury in the final weeks, may have driven the Whites that extra inch over the line to seal a play-off spot.
But the following season things just didn’t click for Freedman and his methodical brand of football started to grate with those same fans.
Spearing and Medo Kamara were the defensive midfielders on which the late-season dash for the top six had been built the previous year but by the time the club had embarked upon their worst start for more than a century, they were being labelled as the root of the problem.
Soon after Neil Lennon came in vowing to play a more energetic and passionate style, the Liverpudlian ball-winner was quickly and unceremoniously cast aside, even though he was wearing the captain’s armband.
Lennon’s issue with Spearing in his favoured four-man midfield was that he did not have the work-rate of a Darren Pratley or Liam Feeney and so could not get box to box as much as he wanted.
Whether the same contractual clause which has frozen his Wanderers career also worked against him last season is unclear. But when he was loaned out to Blackburn with 21 league games on the clock, it is difficult to imagine otherwise.
The Whites sat back and waited for bids for Spearing over the summer but none were forthcoming. His wage – reportedly £17,000 a week – was the going rate for a player with proven Premier League pedigree. Yet as Wanderers started another rebuilding period under a new manager, now down to their final parachute payment, the concern about keeping players of his ilk was becoming more apparent.
Spearing is by no means alone in earning top dollar. Wanderers forked out for a number of extravagant contracts after dropping out of the Premier League and are now living to regret it.
They also extended deals for players like Mark Davies and David Wheater instead of scaling down.
Whites fans will know that things came to a head this season but not before Spearing had worked his way back into Lennon’s good books.
Such was his form a few months ago that the manager switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation to ensure he could operate in front of the back four.
All that ground to a halt in the days leading up to the Preston home game when a contractual clause that demanded another £100,000 would be paid to Liverpool on the occasion of his 23rd league appearance of the season.
New owners, who had not been informed of the clause, rushed to ask Liverpool to defer. Accounts vary as to whether or not the Reds agreed but the end result was Spearing being plucked from the matchday squad to his annoyance and told he would not be playing again this season.
Reports Spearing is due a substantial payment at the end of his Wanderers contract, which has 12 months left to run, have been strongly denied by sources close to the player.
As the loan window passed by yesterday he remained Bolton property and will spend the remainder of this season looking on from the sidelines.
While the midfielder has not come close to substantiating Freedman’s glowing praise, it would be sad to think this is how his Wanderers career could come to an end.
Like half a dozen other first teamers, his salary looks impossible to manage in League One but to find another club willing to take on that financial responsibility has been harder than even Dean Holdsworth might have imagined.
As it stands, Spearing is one of a long list of signings intended to help Wanderers get back into the big time who are currently having the opposite effect.
Source