Snog, Marry, Avoid: Summer 2023 Transfer Window

[BWFC_Insane]

He hasn't said he's not getting the best players possible either. He has pointed out there's a budget and not unreasonably that fitting the team culture is important to him. I'm sure we wouldn't want a great player that takes out of the equation 3 of the starting XI by being a cnut.

We shouldn't be buying Nlundulu for £250k plus add-ons, Worthy.

We should be buying Jonson Clarke-Harris for £250k plus add-ons.

That's how football transfers work.

If you are being careful with money would you sign someone on big wages for £320K the second biggest fee you’ve ever spent who wasn’t good enough last season and at the age of 24 has scored 6 in their career?

You then have people saying ‘well he doesn’t need to be great’.

To me the point is that we didn’t score enough last season. Until we add players who will score more then the problem won’t magically fix itself. We will still be watching them knock it round like a hot potato screaming for someone to create a yard then put their foot through it.

Nlundulu was money spent on a player who was part of the squad that wasn’t good enough. He doesn’t improve it.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I'm astounded at the level of panic fannying going on here. We're a month off the start of the season. I find it highly unlikely that Evatt, Markham and the rest are sat on their thumbs, turning down former Ballon d'Or winners because Evatt's a bottler. We'll be working on new signings, but these things take time.

People have been bitching for three years about Evatt being "too stubborn" to change his approach on set pieces. Now he's bringing in a set piece coach, he's bottling the promotion aim because he's not spunking that money on the first player with dodgy knees through the door? Give your heads a f*cking wobble.

Most sense I've read for a while. Some folk must have massive prams to fit all the toys being thrown out

[Bertie Wooster]

Ghost - thoughts on Regan Poole & Josh Onomah ?

[Prufrock]

Onomah binned off Preston so can't see how he'd be realistic unfortunately. Basically used them to get fit and in the shop window.

[Worthy4England]

Most sense I've read for a while.

Fear not, AT. We'll soon sort that out.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Most sense I've read for a while.

Fear not, AT. We'll soon sort that out.

Without reading further I'm happy to assume it has already been sorted

[GhostoftheBok]

Ghost - thoughts on Regan Poole & Josh Onomah ?

Both good players.

Poole is a really good defender who sits somewhere between Geth and Johnston in style. Proactive and technically solid. As a right back he's more at the traditional end, rather than the sort we seem to want for RWB - but he'd be a good addition to the right of anyone's back three.

Onomah is really talented, but has been held back from the top level by fitness and his lack of pace (he's by no means slow, he's just one-paced). He sees the game really well and is technically solid enough at most aspects to play anywhere from 6 to 10 (obviously can also play down the left, but that's where the pace issue comes in). He's also built like a brick and will put himself about. His talent level is Premier League, without doubt; he's just struggled to get it onto the pitch consistently.

Both players who should be playing regular football at Championship level. If Onomah's knee was up to it he'd probably be back in the Premier League with Fulham.

Are we linked? I've been busy today.

[GhostoftheBok]

Nlundulu was money spent on a player who was part of the squad that wasn’t good enough. He doesn’t improve it.

He started 4 games. At least pretend to be serious.

[BWFC_Insane]

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... king-plan/

Evatt has a clear plan to get us promoted by scoring more goals. Good.

To score more goals according to Evatt we ‘need to take the shackles off and shoot more and cross more and create more chaos in the box’. Agreed.

The thing that sort of makes me wonder is he says this tactical tweak can only be achieved via pre season. I mean surely last season when it was clear we were struggling to score. professional football players could be told to shoot more and cross more? Surely?

[TANGODANCER]

The thing that sort of makes me wonder is he says this tactical tweak can only be achieved via pre season. I mean surely last season when it was clear we were struggling to score. professional football players could be told to shoot more and cross more? Surely?

How do we know they weren't? Being speculatively told something doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. Ian Evatt doesn't produce miracles or can he foretell the future. There'll be many distant drums being beaten and many brave songs sung when the season starts, ours amongst them. Aunt Fanny and Uncle Tommy only appear after a loss or two. Lett's save the judgment till after the crime.

Que Sera.

[BWFC_Insane]

The thing that sort of makes me wonder is he says this tactical tweak can only be achieved via pre season. I mean surely last season when it was clear we were struggling to score. professional football players could be told to shoot more and cross more? Surely?

How do we know they weren't? Being speculatively told something doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. Ian Evatt doesn't produce miracles or can he foretell the future. There'll be many distant drums being beaten and many brave songs sung when the season starts, ours amongst them. Aunt Fanny and Uncle Tommy only appear after a loss or two. Lett's save the judgment till after the crime.

Que Sera.

I think that learning the pressing game effectively or whatever probably is hard mid season if you aren't used to it. I'm not having that you can't adjust so that you put the ball into the box more often or shoot more often during a season. I get that there are tactical tweaks that might be more difficult to implement. But that one, especially in games against the 'low blocks' surely wasn't that hard to make?

Regardless I agree with Evatt in that the only way we'll score more is upping our tempo and intensity in the final third and just getting more action in the box. The thing is that to maximise that we also need better players to deliver the ball. Based on his comments I'm less concerned about our strikers given that I think they need delivery into the box which is simply not how we played last season but with that change I can see them doing ok. The issue then is the quality delivery from out wide and midfield. And we still need those quality additions in those areas to really help achieve that. I'd also say that midfield player who can 'hold' but is really mobile is more critical than ever now because we will need to commit more bodies forward and into the box and having someone who is secure and able to cover ground behind them becomes essential or we are just too weak on the transition.

And that the mooted signings of Wilson and Baccus make absolute sense in the context of Evatt's comments today as Baccus is the exact type needed for that role mentioned above and obviously Wilson is very good on delivery. So we need to find those players that match those sorts of profiles IMHO.

[Worthy4England]

I don't doubt Evatt has a plan. Multiples of them I suspect. I doubt we're suddenly going to see lots of 30 yard punts from big Ric.

[BWFC_Insane]

I don't doubt Evatt has a plan. Multiples of them I suspect. I doubt we're suddenly going to see lots of 30 yard punts from big Ric.

I would hope not. I'd say part of the plan has to be less long cross field passes from the back as frankly that is not a route to success for us.

[brommers95]

This Bristol Post article came up on my Twitter feed this morning - Kane Wilson not involved with Bristol City's pre-season training camp in Austria.

*If* the deal broke down because of a disagreement over the fee, it looks like it could still be resurrected later in the window because Wilson is clearly not in Pearson's plans at all. (I think it was probably a failed medical that scuppered the transfer, but you never know...)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

∆ This stinks of Pearson. Didn't he exile Wilson to the U23s last season?

It's feasible it reopens the possibility of a deal, as you say IF it was financial squabbles rather than medical risk.

[BWFC_Insane]

Another possibility is it could be the player's attitude - maybe why we pulled out and why Pearson won't take him with them?

Injury concerns would be more likely IMHO. But it is a strange one. I think strange in that both he and Baccus are deals we canned after medicals. Is it us, or them or both?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Another possibility is it could be the player's attitude - maybe why we pulled out and why Pearson won't take him with them?

Injury concerns would be more likely IMHO. But it is a strange one. I think strange in that both he and Baccus are deals we canned after medicals. Is it us, or them or both?

Easy (and understandable) to see patterns - it's what humans do - but it's possibly different reasons per player. eg Wilson - medical, Baccus - financial.

[Prufrock]

Also I'm not worried about a player's attitude being wrong if the judge is that berk.

[BWFC_Insane]

Some Birmingham City fansite think they are in for Kane Wilson.

I guess that might explain why it broke down late.....IF and its a big IF that is true.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Some Birmingham City fansite think they are in for Kane Wilson.

I guess that might explain why it broke down late.....IF and its a big IF that is true.

Hometown move, higher division, would make sense

As you say, it's an IF you can see from space 'cos his agent will be whirling into action right about now