Tooling up: The summer 2024 transfer thread

[Worthy4England]

He's had enough chances at this point.

I think this is where you and I differ.

Evatt's really had one chance - this one he's on now. He failed to go up last season, which is the only time he's underperformed in a season and it was marginal.

If we go up this season I won't think, "About bloody time."

We're into season 4 in L1, but we're allowed to differ.

[Prufrock]

Unless your budget absolutely dwarfs other teams, getting promoted and then finishing 9th, 5th, 3rd isn't easy to criticise.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Agree. And Evatt keeps picking systems that have significant failure points that aren’t extensively played at this level. Henrik Pedersen played successfully as a left back in a back four at premiership level due to injuries.

At least lay off Evatt for sins uncommitted till we see his progress. Being of the dictum that managers don't play on the field, let mistakes happen before we decry them.

One of the (few?) things the Insane one and I agree on is that we seem to convolute things unnecessarily. Bit like cars, the benefits of the new fangled don't always make up for the time and expense it spends in the garage.

[irie Cee Bee]

Not sure why we are on Evatts case. I was disappointed last season and voted him to go, but this season has just started. Give the man a break. He is trying a different system and has better players. We will win some and lose some. Judge him after October.

[Worthy4England]

Unless your budget absolutely dwarfs other teams, getting promoted and then finishing 9th, 5th, 3rd isn't easy to criticise.

Are we just expecting average performance against budget? I though Evatt and this wonderfully complex system were clear differentiators? Or are we now skirting round those proclamations and suggesting they're just average? What about Evatt's two year proclamation now being in year 4?

[GhostoftheBok]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

[BWFC_Insane]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

I suspect that’s debatable. But like it or not if you are Bolton wanderers manager you have to get the club out of league one in less than 4 seasons. I simply do not care about the rest. If you don’t it’s a failure unless there are extreme mitigating circumstances - like having to work under an embargo and Anderson. Beyond that - it’s not good enough imho and I know many share that view.

[Worthy4England]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

What's your evidence for this statement? And how are we accounting (small a) for relegation budgets with stranded overpaid assets?

[BWFC_Insane]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

What's your evidence for this statement? And how are we accounting (small a) for relegation budgets with stranded overpaid assets?

Put Evatt in as manager after relegation from the championship and under embargo with that squad and I think we’d have been closer to the bottom three than the top 6. Thats the gap between a genuinely good manager at this level in Parky and Evatt and I mean that in all seriousness.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Put Evatt in as manager after relegation from the championship and under embargo with that squad and I think we’d have been closer to the bottom three than the top 6. Thats the gap between a genuinely good manager at this level in Parky and Evatt and I mean that in all seriousness.

Mate, I love you and all that, but there's an unavoidably huge factual hole in this argument. Namely that Evatt *was* put in charge of a relegated side under embargo - we remained under embargo until July 2021 - and, er, got us promoted.

Yeah, sure, you specify 'relegation from the championship', but there were plenty of players in that first-year Parky squad who were, let's say, on a decent wedge and had spent significant chunks of their career above the third tier. Spearing, Wheater, Beevers, Vela, Taylor (A not C!), James Henry, Madine, Liam Trotter, Sammy Ameobi, even Dean bloody Moxey - all these were players who had spent the majority of the preceding few seasons playing Champo or in some cases Premier football. So the idea this was some sort of scratch side is frankly nonsensical.

I completely fully agree with you that Parky managed them well, that he's a resource-maximiser, that Evatt is frankly floundering in that regard. What I can't accept without directly challenging is this incorrect history where Evatt had it easy (he didn't) and Parky built up a squad from nothing (he didn't). Reality's far more nuanced than that, and to insist otherwise damages how seriously I can take your other arguments.

We were lucky to have Parky that first season. We have at times benefitted from having Evatt. Maybe that era's over - feels like it - but it ain't all back and white.

[BWFC_Insane]

Put Evatt in as manager after relegation from the championship and under embargo with that squad and I think we’d have been closer to the bottom three than the top 6. Thats the gap between a genuinely good manager at this level in Parky and Evatt and I mean that in all seriousness.

Mate, I love you and all that, but there's an unavoidably huge factual hole in this argument. Namely that Evatt *was* put in charge of a relegated side under embargo - we remained under embargo until July 2021 - and, er, got us promoted.

Yeah, sure, you specify 'relegation from the championship', but there were plenty of players in that first-year Parky squad who were, let's say, on a decent wedge and had spent significant chunks of their career above the third tier. Spearing, Wheater, Beevers, Vela, Taylor (A not C!), James Henry, Madine, Liam Trotter, Sammy Ameobi, even Dean bloody Moxey - all these were players who had spent the majority of the preceding few seasons playing Champo or in some cases Premier football. So the idea this was some sort of scratch side is frankly nonsensical.

I completely fully agree with you that Parky managed them well, that he's a resource-maximiser, that Evatt is frankly floundering in that regard. What I can't accept without directly challenging is this incorrect history where Evatt had it easy (he didn't) and Parky built up a squad from nothing (he didn't). Reality's far more nuanced than that, and to insist otherwise damages how seriously I can take your other arguments.

We were lucky to have Parky that first season. We have at times benefitted from having Evatt. Maybe that era's over - feels like it - but it ain't all back and white.

In league two and he botched it and was lucky to have the resources to sign a whole new team in January. Parky lost his best two players in January and had very little scope to sign players.

I think league two with the ability to bring players we had is a bit different to league one with Ken and Lee Anderson.

Evatt did a good job to get us out of league two. I think then his first season in league one was good generally but some of the cracks did start to become apparent. But I think that’s where it ends for me.

[GhostoftheBok]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

What's your evidence for this statement? And how are we accounting (small a) for relegation budgets with stranded overpaid assets?

Another day, Worthy. I'm too annoyed today to do general BWFC stuff. Very much "on one" after that.

[nicholaldo]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

What's your evidence for this statement? And how are we accounting (small a) for relegation budgets with stranded overpaid assets?

Yeah, from memory I think we've roughly finished around where our wage budget suggests we should, according to published accounts.

(I'm unsure about last season)

[nicholaldo]

Put Evatt in as manager after relegation from the championship and under embargo with that squad and I think we’d have been closer to the bottom three than the top 6. Thats the gap between a genuinely good manager at this level in Parky and Evatt and I mean that in all seriousness.

Mate, I love you and all that, but there's an unavoidably huge factual hole in this argument. Namely that Evatt *was* put in charge of a relegated side under embargo - we remained under embargo until July 2021 - and, er, got us promoted.

Yeah, sure, you specify 'relegation from the championship', but there were plenty of players in that first-year Parky squad who were, let's say, on a decent wedge and had spent significant chunks of their career above the third tier. Spearing, Wheater, Beevers, Vela, Taylor (A not C!), James Henry, Madine, Liam Trotter, Sammy Ameobi, even Dean bloody Moxey - all these were players who had spent the majority of the preceding few seasons playing Champo or in some cases Premier football. So the idea this was some sort of scratch side is frankly nonsensical.

I completely fully agree with you that Parky managed them well, that he's a resource-maximiser, that Evatt is frankly floundering in that regard. What I can't accept without directly challenging is this incorrect history where Evatt had it easy (he didn't) and Parky built up a squad from nothing (he didn't). Reality's far more nuanced than that, and to insist otherwise damages how seriously I can take your other arguments.

We were lucky to have Parky that first season. We have at times benefitted from having Evatt. Maybe that era's over - feels like it - but it ain't all back and white.

In league two and he botched it and was lucky to have the resources to sign a whole new team in January. Parky lost his best two players in January and had very little scope to sign players.

I think league two with the ability to bring players we had is a bit different to league one with Ken and Lee Anderson.

Evatt did a good job to get us out of league two. I think then his first season in league one was good generally but some of the cracks did start to become apparent. But I think that’s where it ends for me.

To be fair, he had Tobias Phoenix disrupting things during his first transfer window.

[GhostoftheBok]

Evatt said after the game that players have been "made available", which is a bit stronger than the previous "some might want game-time elsewhere."

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Evatt said after the game that players have been "made available", which is a bit stronger than the previous "some might want game-time elsewhere."

...while at the same time being keen to point out Morley could be back in January.

Aaron has only started one league game in a long time so it is important he finds himself again, I think he has lost his way a little bit. We know he is a brilliant player and we know what he can do, we just need him to gain some rhythm and confidence again. It is not the exit door, it is not ‘Goodbye Aaron Morley’. It is go and get some games, find yourself again and we can re-evaluate it in January.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ombe-loan/

[GhostoftheBok]

Morley apparently played very well off the bench yesterday.

We know he can play. His range of passing is superb, but if he's been going through the motions recently (as often happens to new dads) then a change of scene might kick him up the backside.

We have a week to finalise this squad.

I imagine we will have a rethink with a few in January as contracts run down and people want football.

[Worthy4England]

Are we just expecting average performance against budget?

We've consistently overperformed our budget under Evatt.

What's your evidence for this statement? And how are we accounting (small a) for relegation budgets with stranded overpaid assets?

Yeah, from memory I think we've roughly finished around where our wage budget suggests we should, according to published accounts.

(I'm unsure about last season)

Yeah and that I'd be ok with (we've performed broadly in line with budget). But this "project" we're doing was supposed to be a big differentiator vs other cluelessly run clubs with stupidly spent budgets yet clubs with larger budgets just fall into the "well you can't expect..." bucket...Did Plymouth have a larger budget than Ipswich the year they went up? Did Oxford massively outspend us last year?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

This be the fella we were linked with and Evatt admitted we "admire".
.

[GhostoftheBok]

This be the fella we were linked with and Evatt admitted we "admire".

That's him.

Very difficult for a League One club to compete if Hibs, Hearts and Celtic are interested. Impossible if it's Celtic, you'd say.

He's a player. There are a few about. We've clearly missed a number already.

He can turn quickly and make things happen. That's what's needed. Quick feet and quick brain.