loan ace Neil Danns delighted to be reunited with Dougie Freedman

WANDERERS loan man Neil Danns believes the reunion with Dougie Freedman can revitalise his career and fire the Whites up the Championship table at the same time.


Danns rates Freedman highly having worked under and played alongside the Scot at Crystal Palace before he moved to Leicester City in 2011.

And when the chance arose to team up with him again at the Reebok last month, the Liverpudlian said the decision to seal a loan switch was a no-brainer.

The early signs are that Danns’ assessment is correct. Like his fellow newcomers Liam Feeney and Kevin McNaughton, he has helped breathe new life into Wanderers’ displays and netted what turned out to be the winner last time out at Birmingham.


And he believes things can only get better in the remainder of his three months under a manager he rates highly.

Danns said: “I made no secret when I did end up leaving Palace that I had so much respect for the gaffer.

“I always said he’d go on to bigger and better things and I still firmly believe that.


“When I was offered the chance to work with him again I jumped at it.

“He knows my game and I think he can bring out the best in me again.

“It’s probably early days at the minute. Everyone might hate me by this time next week.

“All I can promise is that while I am at Bolton I will be giving my all.

“I’ll be putting everything on the line all the time. For me, that’s the most important thing.

“I’m at Bolton and want to do the best for myself and hopefully that helps the club at the same time.”

Danns has been something of a loan ranger since leaving Palace two years ago with his time at Leicester punctured by spells at Bristol City and Huddersfield before this latest move away from the King Power Stadium.

He insists it is all about playing regular football and adding to more than 300 career appearances.

And for a player who came through the FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall, that is the main aim as he approaches his 31st birthday next month.

Danns added: “I have never doubted my ability. When it came down to leaving Leicester it was nothing about ability because at the time I was captain for the last couple of games that I did start.

“I went to Bristol City and then Huddersfield and enjoyed my time there.

“I think I played my part in getting a few good results.

“That’s now my aim here at Bolton and we will see what the future holds after that.”

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I hope he's right and I also hope that if he comes good he stays with us on a permanent deal. We need players who are hungry and keen to play for the gaffer and the shirt and Danns has looked pretty good from what I've seen of him so far at least. If he keeps it going then I for one would be very interested in getting his moniker on a permanent contract.

I thought Danns was anonymous at Birmingham until he scored.

Natasha Whittam wrote:I thought Danns was anonymous at Birmingham until he scored.

Me too. Glad he was in the right place at the right time though.

He wasn't anonymous, i thought he spoiled some good chances to get forward with some poor passes and hesitation. 

looked rusty to me, but to be expected i guess.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:
looked rusty to me, but to be expected i guess.

Laughable. A player forgets how to pass because he doesn't play in a competitive match for a few weeks?

Stop bumming these ponces.

Yes because "rusty" and "forgetting" are the same thing.

TIT.

So passing becomes rusty if you don't do it in a competitive match even though he'll be doing it all week in training?

Stop bumming these ponces.

Yes training is exactly the same environment as a match. 

You're right.

Ha ha, it is! A pass to a player on the same team is exactly the same whether you're playing on the park in the fading light or at Wembley in front of 80,000 people.

I don't get rusty using Word or Excel if I don't use them at work for a few weeks because I use them at home inbetween.

If you think training and a competitive match is exactly the same, no offence, but you're a moron.

I'm with Natasha on this one. There really shouldn't be much difference in terms of passing between practice and a game - or at least I hope there shouldn't be as players get picked on the basis of their training matches sometimes. They should be playing for their place at all times.
Perhaps the only difference may be that they are closed down quicker in competitive matches which can cause players to rush their passes - but if their markers in practice games are serious about getting into the team there should be no difference.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:If you think training and a competitive match is exactly the same, no offence, but you're a moron.

Offence taken.

You're making yourself look stupid again. We're talking about basic passing here, surely you can either pass or you can't?

Please explain to me why a 5 yard pass in a 5-a-side game at Euxton is easier than a 5 yard pass at The Reebok.

Where did the conversation turn into simple 5 yard passes. 

(though we've seen plenty of our players struggle with those over the years, and too this day) 

I'm talking about him playing the wrong the pass, overhitting things, holding onto the ball for too long.

classic signs a player is not seeing the pitch well. I would call it rust personally. You simply cannot replicate whats going to happen in a future competitive match in training sadly.