Jaffka's gossip thread on the ins and outs at the 'Bok

[SmokinFrazier]

When is Holden set to be back?

[Relentless09]

Turn Mark Davies into a winger . . . . .

[TKIZ!]

When is Holden set to be back?

When pre-season starts like the rest of the squad

[TKIZ!]

I know we've been linked with Andy Lonergan but I noticed that Alex Manninger is a free agent. Worth a punt as the experienced keeper?

[Beefheart]

He doesn't look like ever being someone who could get 15 goals a season from midfield which really is what you need from your attacking midfield player in that sort of system.

Calm down. How many midfielders get that? Not nearly as many as successful teams play 4-2-3-1.

Davies is a good player, potentially much better, with age on his side and a long contract on ours. I'd rather not sell him but I would if we were offered £60m so as ever it's just haggling. I'd be very tempted to test the resolve of Liverpool (operating as they are without much of a upper management structure) and their shiny new manager. £8m sounds about right to me.

Yeah, I'm not sure that 15 goals thing from an attacking midfielder is necessarily true. David Silva for example has never really got near to that. I did think that while he was at Swansea that Mark Davies would be the kind of player to suit a Brendan Rodgers team though. I think he had the highest pass completion % of any player in our team last season?

I'd like to keep him, but as we all know he's only really effective in a 5-man midfield. I guess if the offers good enough and Coyle decides on a 4-4-2 then it might be worth selling him.

[Relentless09]

At championship level Mark Davies may make a better attempt at playing in a 442

[SmokinFrazier]

When is Holden set to be back?

When pre-season starts like the rest of the squad

For some reason, I was thinking he'd be out for a few more months yet. That's great though.

[BWFC_Insane]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1. Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

[TANGODANCER]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1. Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Does it matter where the goals come from? Cahill scored, Wheater scored, Steinsson has scored, Davis, Pratley, Holden and Chungy have all scored in addition to Eagles, Klasnic, N'gog and KD. Of more importance surely is a team game and we'll be expecting Sordell and N'gog to add some impetus up front. We're in a lower league and Mark Davis may well get opportunities he never did in the Premiership.

[Bruce Rioja]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

But you don't consider your target of 15 goals from a midfielder to be redhooclioss though?

[Lord Kangana]

The goals aren't coming from any other source in any great numbers though Tango, so reshuffling your pack just to include him seems a bit silly.

[Beefheart]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1. Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Well, you said an attacking midfielder needs to get 15 goals. David Silva is a very good attacking midfielder. He hasn't ever scored 15 goals in a season. So, is it not therefore unrealistic to require that of an admittedly lesser attacking mid such as Mark Davies? S'all I'm saying!

[Wandering Willy]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1.Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Nolan scored an average 4 league goals a season with Bolton - not all Premier League.

[SmokinFrazier]

Goals aren't the only thing a player should be judged on. Assists are equally as important but even then, just being a threat and having the ability to take it round a defender or two, or play a good pass inside the box is vitally important. Those abilities aren't quantifiable with statistics but they are very important. It's not just about goals and assists.

[Lord Kangana]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1.Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Nolan scored an average 4 league goals a season with Bolton - not all Premier League.

Does that include the last couple of seasons where he stopped scoring and proved he had nowt else to his game.

[Wandering Willy]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1.Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Nolan scored an average 4 league goals a season with Bolton - not all Premier League.

Does that include the last couple of seasons where he stopped scoring and proved he had nowt else to his game.

You needed him to stop scoring the odd titty-lining goal before you realised that?

[Bruce Rioja]

Comparing David Silva and Mark Davies is redonculous!

Ok he's never looked like scoring goals in the volume Nolan did. Which IMO is what an attacking midfield player needs to do at a club like ours in a 4-5-1.Unless we have a fantastic striker 4 goals a season from your most attack minded midfield player won't cut it!

Nolan scored an average 4 league goals a season with Bolton - not all Premier League.

Does that include the last couple of seasons where he stopped scoring and proved he had nowt else to his game.

Redoocleous. How soon people forget his all-important huffing, blowing and swearing at the ref?

[Lord Kangana]

Ahah. See. There you are.

[TANGODANCER]

The goals aren't coming from any other source in any great numbers though Tango, so reshuffling your pack just to include him seems a bit silly.

Which I'm not doing LK. In my view he'll be picked according to how he plays, just like the rest. The goals may come a little easier in the Championship and nobody knows how it'll go yet. Midfield's hardly been our strong point lately with Chungy and Holden out of it. With Reo Coker gone, those two back and new untried lads as yet, it's all up in the air right now. I'd still keep him as part with him though. ( Not to re-start the "we're a selling club" thing though)

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

Mark Davies didn't step up when we needed him to last season.
Sell.Sell. Sell.