Reconstruction time again: the summer 2018 transfer thread

[BWFC_Insane]

Get Sam involved, he's free.

Tenner on Everton going down next season might be worth a punt now.

He's hardly short of money after another multi million pound pay off. What on earth would he want to come here for and scrape at the bottom end of the championship? He's been there and done that. Personally think he should be retiring now. There is nothing more he can do in the game, and he looks like a man who has lost his drive to me.

[TANGODANCER]

Whatever Sam might want personally as salary, the last time he left was because we weren't ambitious enough in the player market. He wanted money to spend on players and didn't get enough. Can't see his views being any different now, unfortunately.

[BWFC_Insane]

Whatever Sam might want personally as salary, the last time he left was because we weren't ambitious enough in the player market. He wanted money to spend on players and didn't get enough. Can't see his views being any different now, unfortunately.

Even if we had loads to spend he can't do anything here that he hasn't elsewhere. I don't see what his motivation would be. He's at the end of his career. His regret will be never getting a chance at a big club to win stuff. Short of getting a Chelsea/Man Utd/City job, I don't think he has anything left to prove to anyone.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

To the wider public he's got plenty left to prove - that he can manage a top-six club, that he can play good football, that he's not (at best) a grasping grafter or (at worst) bent - but nothing he could or would want to prove here. He's richer than you or I but nowhere near club-owningly rich so the only thing that could happen with him getting involved here, besides standing on the toes of Parky and the Andersons, is tarnishing a wonderful legacy.

[BWFC_Insane]

To the wider public he's got plenty left to prove - that he can manage a top-six club, that he can play good football, that he's not (at best) a grasping grafter or (at worst) bent - but nothing he could or would want to prove here. He's richer than you or I but nowhere near club-owningly rich so the only thing that could happen with him getting involved here, besides standing on the toes of Parky and the Andersons, is tarnishing a wonderful legacy.

That is my point...the things he's got left to prove will never be realised for him.

Certainly not by coming here.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

To the wider public he's got plenty left to prove - that he can manage a top-six club, that he can play good football, that he's not (at best) a grasping grafter or (at worst) bent - but nothing he could or would want to prove here. He's richer than you or I but nowhere near club-owningly rich so the only thing that could happen with him getting involved here, besides standing on the toes of Parky and the Andersons, is tarnishing a wonderful legacy.

That is my point...the things he's got left to prove will never be realised for him.

Certainly not by coming here.

Quite. It's a notion based on romance, like hiring Kevin Davies.

[boltonboris]

He's got it perfectly balanced Allardyce.

Does a good enough job, to get a new club straight after with a decent contract, but pisses just enough people off, to make sure he gets sacked and paid out.

What a guy

[boltonboris]

He'll enjoy the summer. Get a lump of cash from a TV company in The Emirates for covering the World Cup, then come October when some biggish club are struggling near the bottom, he'll ugly them back to survival, but get the fans to dislike him and do it all again

[boltonboris]

He'll enjoy the summer. Get a lump of cash from a TV company in The Emirates for covering the World Cup, then come October when some biggish club are struggling near the bottom, he'll ugly them back to survival, but get the fans to dislike him and do it all again

Although I could see Swansea & Stoke throwing some money at him in a desperate bid for promotion...

[Prufrock]

Wait till Arsenal are 16th in November...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Rotherham win 2-0 and Scunny are out in the play-off semis, again. I wonder if Parky's daydreaming of a reasonable bid for his old player Josh Morris, who's out of contract next summer, who's got the same agent as our similarly-forenamed Vela, who scored on his Bradford debut, who scored 20 last season and 12 this, who might offer the tantalising prospect of helping to spread goals through the team. God knows we need it.

[mullayo]

Sky Sports via LOVS saying Championship Lancashire teams Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan are interested in 2 Blackpool defenders Kelvin Mellor and Clark Robertson.

6ft 3in, 27 year old right back Mellor has been with Blackpool for the past two years, helping them gain promotion to League One last year.He scored his first goal for Blackpool in a 4-2 EFL Cup win against Bolton Wanderers on 9 August 2016. Previously in 2012 Clough at Championship side Derby offered him a 3-year contract but he stayed on at his hometown team Crew Alexandria instead. 14 goals in 228 games.

6ft 2in, 24 year old Scottish centre back Robertson has spent three years with Blackpool, having previously played in Scotland for Aberdeen.Only 2 goals in his 178 game career

Right age but they only have one or two years experience at League One so could be risks at this level...

[palindromeofbolton]

The Summer Transfer Window Is Officially Open!!!

[BWFC_Insane]

Rotherham win 2-0 and Scunny are out in the play-off semis, again. I wonder if Parky's daydreaming of a reasonable bid for his old player Josh Morris, who's out of contract next summer, who's got the same agent as our similarly-forenamed Vela, who scored on his Bradford debut, who scored 20 last season and 12 this, who might offer the tantalising prospect of helping to spread goals through the team. God knows we need it.

If Iles is on the money I suspect Parky is hoping the takeover talks are concluded relatively soon and that he still has a job after them.

Given Jimmy Phillips is looking elsewhere as he fears his contract won't be renewed, I imagine Parky is mainly concerned about his own future right now.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Jimmy and Parky are in the same limbo as 20 players. I feel for them, but I feel for them more if they're simply staring at a wall and doing nowt.

Phillips might be getting sounded out by other academies, although we all know where his heart lies. As for Parky, he's got conversations to have with those 20 players, and if he's not pondering the possibilities of squad strengthening (with obvious but immovable caveats on ownership) then he's a far worse manager than you think.

So, this being a transfer thread, I reckon we continue to post and discuss possible transfer targets (however unlikely). To wit:

Blackburn have released Liam Feeney (32) but are offering contracts to the similarly-aged Danny Graham (32) and winger Craig Conway (33). Feeney was at Cardiff for most of this season. Other Blackburn players released are ex-Cov centre-back Elliott Ward (33), who'd been loaned to MK Dons since January, and young goalkeeper Aaron Dillon (21).

[mullayo]

Jimmy and Parky are in the same limbo as 20 players. I feel for them, but I feel for them more if they're simply staring at a wall and doing nowt.

Phillips might be getting sounded out by other academies, although we all know where his heart lies. As for Parky, he's got conversations to have with those 20 players, and if he's not pondering the possibilities of squad strengthening (with obvious but immovable caveats on ownership) then he's a far worse manager than you think.

So, this being a transfer thread, I reckon we continue to post and discuss possible transfer targets (however unlikely). To wit:

Are you saying we're in hiring/firing limbo embargo? No comings or goings until our ownership is sorted?

Is this thread more redundant than the good old days when we were speculating about world cup players? Is Nothing Going to Happen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DfJc0Une5g

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Jimmy and Parky are in the same limbo as 20 players. I feel for them, but I feel for them more if they're simply staring at a wall and doing nowt.

Are you saying we're in hiring/firing limbo embargo? No comings or goings until our ownership is sorted?

There's obviously a risk that major hiring/firing decisions are at the mercy of the takeover/investment process. (Do the potential investors want their own manager? The absence of reassurance for Parkinson would suggest that at least one of the potential parties isn't sure; might it even be Ken?)

However, as I say, legally we only have until the third Saturday in May – ie two days away - to tell the 20 players running out of contract whether or not we will be offering them new terms. If so, we actually have to proffer a contract, we can't just promise (although we could just offer the same terms they're on in order to start the conversartion). If not, we have to officially announce them as released. Most Football League clubs will be doing that this week, if they haven't already – so as well as looking for our own announcements we can keep an eye on others and, frankly, speculate on who we might like to recruit.

[BWFC_Insane]

Jimmy and Parky are in the same limbo as 20 players. I feel for them, but I feel for them more if they're simply staring at a wall and doing nowt.

Are you saying we're in hiring/firing limbo embargo? No comings or goings until our ownership is sorted?

There's obviously a risk that major hiring/firing decisions are at the mercy of the takeover/investment process. (Do the potential investors want their own manager? The absence of reassurance for Parkinson would suggest that at least one of the potential parties isn't sure; might it even be Ken?)

However, as I say, legally we only have until the third Saturday in May – ie two days away - to tell the 20 players running out of contract whether or not we will be offering them new terms. If so, we actually have to proffer a contract, we can't just promise (although we could just offer the same terms they're on in order to start the conversartion). If not, we have to officially announce them as released. Most Football League clubs will be doing that this week, if they haven't already – so as well as looking for our own announcements we can keep an eye on others and, frankly, speculate on who we might like to recruit.

Iles said yesterday he believes there will be no release retain list this week. Where do you get the deadline of Saturday from?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Iles said yesterday he believes there will be no release retain list this week. Where do you get the deadline of Saturday from?

The EFL rulebook.
https://www.efl.com/-more/governance/ef ... --players/

65.2 Any Club wishing to re-engage a Contract Player whose contract is due to expire on 30th June must, save as mentioned in Regulations 65.2.1 to 65.2.4 below, notify him in writing by the third Saturday in May in the final year of his contract whether or not they offer him terms of re-engagement specifying (where applicable) such terms. Notification of the terms offered may only be deferred:

65.2.1 in the event of a Club not having completed its League programme by the third Saturday in May, and then only if any outstanding fixture or fixtures could have some bearing on the issues described in Regulation 10 or on possible qualification for other competitions; or

65.2.2 in the event of a Club being involved in the end of Season Play-Off competition as described in Regulation 10; or

65.2.3 in the event of a Club still being involved in a Football Association Cup Match on or after the third Saturday in May; or

65.2.4 in the event of a Club still being involved on or after the third Saturday in May in a competition arranged under the auspices of The League.

In these circumstances Players must be notified of the terms offered within four days of the Club's last such match.

I know Ken's found loopholes in the laws before, but he'd be doing well to escape this one.

[bedwetter2]

We shall have to disagree. Your argument is more about hope/faith that clear evidence. Given more money, you believe (or wish to believe) that Parkinson would be a revelation. I don't.

Evidence? We know when Parkinson came here his aim was to take us up, he did it under a transfer embargo. A feat that has rarely occurred in football.

Then his target this season was to finish 4th bottom. Something few, especially those outside of Bolton, believed remotely possible. Yet again he did it.

Since Parkinson has been here we've sold £9M worth of players (12M if you count Holding sold just before Parky arrived) and not spent a single penny on a squad that finished rock bottom of the championship amassing just 30 points.

How by any standards does that evidence point to anything other than a spectacular job having been done?

I'll wager that Ken would have much preferred a much less fraught end to the season than that served up by the 'miracle worker'.
That is why I suspect new investment will lead to a rapid exit of Mr Parkinson.