Shout Out to My Ex: Has Re-Signing Former Loanees Been a Wise Move for Bolton Wanderers?

With the expected signing of Sammy Ameobi on the horizon, I wondered whether there was any mileage in checking out how our former loanees have fared when they were turned into 'proper' Bolton Wanderers.

Let's start back in the glory days when life was simple and Twitter didn't exist:

2002 - Ivan Campo

Arriving from Real Madrid and after a shaky start, Allardyce signed Campo on a permanent deal the following summer. He would stay at the club for a further five seasons endearing himself to all.

Hit or Miss? Incredible hit.

2004 - El Hadji Diouf

Loaned in from Liverpool by Sam Allardyce, he was a revelation and had his loan spell made permanent that summer for a club record £4m. He would go on to make a further 100 appearances during one of the most successful eras in the history of this fair club.

Hit or Miss? Huge hit. Love him to this day.

2009 - Paul Robinson

Signed by Gary Megson to bolster a weak-assed defence, his loan move was made permanent for £2m by Owen Coyle to free up a slot so that we could sign Jack Wilshere. He would hang around until 2012 and was released after our relegation from the Premier League. A committed, if rough-around-the-edges defender.

Hit or Miss? Miss.

2009 - Ivan Klasnic

The Croatian striker joined us on Deadline Day 2009 and was Gary Megson's final signing for Wanderers. He scored eight goals in his first season and would sign permanently that summer, going on to score another 12 times over the next two seasons. A cult hero for sure, despite his presence during our fall from grace.

Hit or Miss? A hit, of sorts.

2012 - Jay Spearing

Arriving from Liverpool, Spearing was superb during his initial loan spell in the Championship, so much so that he was signed the following summer for £1.6m back when we paid actual cash money for footballers. He left the club last week, believing himself worth more than we were prepared to offer.

Hit or Miss? Miss. One good season in five isn't really worth heralding.

2012 - Rob Hall

A really strange player who joined on loan from West Ham, making his debut in the game that started Dougie Freedman's descent in madness against Blackpool, he would join that summer in a convoluted tribunal deal which would have been really expensive given how shit he was for us. Gave one of the most cowardly performances ever seen in a Bolton shirt against Bury in the cup.

Hit or Miss? Appalling miss.

2013 - Neil Danns

The ex-Blackburn Rovers man did the old trick on us. We fell for it too. He was rather good on loan during a really fallow period for the club and of course like the hysterical saps we are, we demanded his signing. We got it and he was dire ever after.

Hit or Miss? Genuine miss. Awful

2013 - Liam Feeney

Arrived on loan from Millwall, the quick right-winger polarised opinion between those who know a bit about football and those who rated him. Possessor of the worst final ball in football history, Feeney was highly meh on loan and was perhaps even less impressive during his next two seasons as a 'proper' Bolton player. Left for Blackburn Rovers where he has done the best part of nowt.

Hit or Miss? Miss. No question.

2015 - Adam Le Fondre

In a move broken by this here very website, ALF became a cult hero to Wanderers fans with his all-action displays and of course his goals. His permanent move didn't come until 2017 as we all know, and so it remains to be seen whether this will be a hit or miss scenario.

Hit or Miss? Ask me in six months.

2015 - Ben Amos

Signing for the club from Manchester United, Amos impressed us all with some fine saves as he deputised for an injured Adam Bogdan. A lucrative and lengthy contract was soon his. Unfortunately his form dipped and so did his reputation amongst Wanderers fans and as we all know, once this happens there's no way back. Except thir might be.

Hit or Miss? A bit of both.

2016 - Andrew Taylor

A proper left-back, Taylor arrived from Wigan Athletic and was our first-choice left-back during last season's promotion campaign. Solid and unspectacular, Taylor joined us under freedom of contract and we have to hope he can reproduce that form again this season.

Hit or Miss? Hit.

2016 - Sammy Ameobi

Hit or Miss? Who the hell knows.

So, a real mixed bag for loanees. Previous temporary success is clearly no guarantee of permanent success and that we have three of the buggers in our squad for the upcoming season of extreme toil might make a fair-weather fan nervous.

Will ALF, Taylor and Sammy thrive? You'd have to think that under the command of Phil Parkinson we would have the best chance to make the best of a bad situation.

There are positives and negatives to each but what choice do we have but to get behind them?

If we are lucky then the upside of each will come to the fore and problems of the past will stay there. Stranger things have happened.