Bolton a Weiss move for Vlad

Vladimir Weiss this week became the fourth player to leave the club on a temporary basis this January following Paul Marshall, Adam Clayton and Jo moving to Aberdeen, Carlisle and Galatasaray, respectively. On the fringes of action this season, the midfielder certainly has a huge future in the game, and in my opinion the move makes sense all round.

I think that time spent away on loan getting games somewhere will do him the world of good. He's going to be a tremendous player, but occasional sub appearances aren't best for his development, and with Bellamy, Wright-Phillips, Petrov around, and even Tevez considering we often line-up in a 4-3-3, he'd have a difficult job on his hands getting himself a start.

In my opinion it had to be a Premier League side, and given Owen Coyle's recent move to the Trotters i think Vlad will be playing under a manager capable of both motivating his troops and instructing them to play in the correct way. A month or two back i wouldn't have considered Bolton a suitable destination, though with the likes of Taylor, Cohen and Mark Davies in their side this season they're not as direct as some would have you believe.

I was impressed with them during the first of their recent double-header with Arsenal. It was the Gunners who took their chances that day, but i spotted very early signs of Coyle's methods at play, and on another day they could have got at least a point. I've every faith that Vlad's talent will be harnessed in the right way, and that he'll return to City in the summer chomping at the bit and ready to really take on his peers.

That said, this weekend would have proven a good chance for him to get another ninety minutes under his belt, and those ahead of him for a starting place all have histories of knocks. Craig Bellamy's carried us for parts of this season, but it's unlikely we'll get through the season without him missing games, as he'd admit himself. Martin Petrov's frequently picking up injuries, and SWP's ankle problems appear ongoing.

Hopefully the loan will prove as successful as Joe Hart's to Birmingham. The academy took its fair share of knocks under the previous manager, in part inevitable with such funds available for signings, but Mancini looks like he'll give people a chance providing they work hard rather than repeatedly adding bodies, as witnessed by places in the squad of late for the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Javan Vidal and Abdi Ibrahim.