January 2023 Transfer Window

[Worthy4England]

Worthy, I am reading too much into this, but if it were United, City, Liverpool or Everton then it would be a bit weird/lazy if we weren’t meeting in-person.

I guess it's what you're used to, I find it weird t'other way around... I wouldn't dream of driving to any of the above, unless there was a specific reason I had to be there in person. Obvs, I might choose to, if I felt being in the room was going to make some sort of difference...

[GhostoftheBok]

Sorry mate you've lost me. Are we saying because zoom is being used, it's indicative of which Club(s) we're talking to, in terms of proximity to Bolton? I find that just very strange - then again my job's nowt to do with football...

What I'm saying is I'd expect basically any talks today to be done via Zoom, because the day before a match is too disrupted by travel for meetings.

I was already wondering whether we might not be waiting for a foreign club to get back into the office as one of the possible reasons for delay. More likely there's a chain issue, like a club needing to find a replacement (including for a loan cancellation) etc.

[BWFC_Insane]

For the record I would not be excited if the "exciting player" was a loanee. So someone can tell Evatt, please.

We're not getting top 2, so the best they could do is likely keep us where we are before a play off shoot out, and the more exciting they are the less chance they stay next year.

I'd be much more excited if we splashed a little cash on a permanent.

This is where I'm the polar opposite. We have a chance to get promotion. How we do it doesn't matter much. Ideally obviously it would be a team full of 22 year olds we own who are all getting better and ready to step up. But that doesn't happen very often.

This idea that we are growing and next season we need a squad in place to grow further and better to stay down and grow stronger with permanent players - is for me a complete myth.

It just doesn't exist or happen in football. We built a squad in January last year that were top 2 form. Then this season they aren't. Are we going backwards? Probably not. But football is about individual seasons and things change rapidly. You can't be sitting there signing a permanent player who you hope will be good enough for the championship eventually over a loan signing who can fire you up now.

Don't get me wrong. If you can sign the best player possible permanently then that's better than a loan. But if you can't a loan is better than a worse player or less developed option on a permanent deal. Because football is about now. Not next year. You can spend all the time in the world dreaming about next year but managers need to achieve the results in the here and now.

We're 5th in the league and in a semi final. Go back a decade and there wouldn't be a single utterance about 'worrying about next season' it would purely be about what happens this season. Given what we know happens next season that 3 teams with money, better players and greater resources come down and at least one of those will likely be near the top and at least one or two better resourced clubs will still stay down here....it ends up being a constant 'we're building wait till next year' thing.

In league one in football you can't build long term. It isn't possible. You assemble the best squad you can each season and hope its enough. But the idea that we should be signing players permanently because they'll allow us to be better next season is for the birds. We did that last January. And yes we're better than the start of last season but not as good as the team that finished last season. Why? Stuff happens. Stuff you can't predict.

I want planning and forward planning. Don't get me wrong. I want the club to be secure and for Markham to be planning windows ahead. I just don't buy into the idea that the future is more important than the now. The future is dictated by what we do now far more than it will be any forward planning. Get into the championship, get the money then try and build a squad. If we don't the chances are that the players we do have or sign that are good enough to play at a higher level will go before we get there.

[Worthy4England]

Sorry mate you've lost me. Are we saying because zoom is being used, it's indicative of which Club(s) we're talking to, in terms of proximity to Bolton? I find that just very strange - then again my job's nowt to do with football...

What I'm saying is I'd expect basically any talks today to be done via Zoom, because the day before a match is too disrupted by travel for meetings.

I was already wondering whether we might not be waiting for a foreign club to get back into the office as one of the possible reasons for delay. More likely there's a chain issue, like a club needing to find a replacement (including for a loan cancellation) etc.

Gotcha, thanks. Sounds reasonable. Foreign clubs - they're always exciting - I mean who could ever forget Salva Ballesta and us being the only Club he played for and didn't score!

[GhostoftheBok]

Gotcha, thanks. Sounds reasonable. Foreign clubs - they're always exciting - I mean who could ever forget Salva Ballesta and us being the only Club he played for and didn't score!

Yeah, but for every flop there's a Gerald Cid to balance it out.

[Worthy4England]

Gotcha, thanks. Sounds reasonable. Foreign clubs - they're always exciting - I mean who could ever forget Salva Ballesta and us being the only Club he played for and didn't score!

Yeah, but for every flop there's a Gerald Cid to balance it out.

[Prufrock]

I'm not saying the club shouldn't sign anyone on loan! If the right player is there, go for it. I'm just (semi flippantly) saying it wouldn't get me "excited" as it's unlikely to get us up this year (but if they're there, sure go ahead and try).

I'd be much more excited to get someone good and permanent we can grow into a long term fixture. That's a different q to what is the best thing for the club in the here and now (which depends quite significantly on who those players are, which we don't know!)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Maybe if I could be arsed looking up the stats our "goal involvements from bench" stuff would be better than it *feels* like it is, but we look light in that area.

I can't tell you that, but I can reveal that only three L1 teams have made more subs than our 104 this season: Plymouth (106), Charlton (109) and Ipswich (111).

Plymouth's Ryan Hardie has the most goals off the bench (5).

Only Wycombe (13 minutes) average shorter subs' time-on-pitch (ie have later switches) than us (18 minutes).

Only Tyler Goodhram of Oxford (18) has made more sub appearances than Sadlier's 17. Baka is joint-7th on 15.

On a slightly different note, I can also reveal we're 16th in the league for chance conversion - ie shots per goal. We're on 8.6% conversion. Top team, oddly, is Bristol Rovers on 12.2% but Ipswich and Plymouth are tucked in the top four.

[Worthy4England]

I'm not saying the club shouldn't sign anyone on loan! If the right player is there, go for it. I'm just (semi flippantly) saying it wouldn't get me "excited" as it's unlikely to get us up this year (but if they're there, sure go ahead and try).

I'd be much more excited to get someone good and permanent we can grow into a long term fixture. That's a different q to what is the best thing for the club in the here and now (which depends quite significantly on who those players are, which we don't know!)

Do you have no shame? (That's the way I read what you posted! ) -

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm not saying the club shouldn't sign anyone on loan! If the right player is there, go for it. I'm just (semi flippantly) saying it wouldn't get me "excited" as it's unlikely to get us up this year (but if they're there, sure go ahead and try).

I'd be much more excited to get someone good and permanent we can grow into a long term fixture. That's a different q to what is the best thing for the club in the here and now (which depends quite significantly on who those players are, which we don't know!)

I’d be most excited for any players who can improve us and make us better. Whether loan or permanent. I think January is a window to look at the next few months. Players who make an impact now. We can worry about the summer when it comes around. I also think the signings we make now are pretty critical in determining our chances of promotion. Get it right and we have a real chance.

[Prufrock]

You can't make me excited against my will !

I'd put our chances of going to this year at no more than 25%. I'm not sure I buy that there is some distinction between the here and now and long term and that anything falls neatly into one (and only one) or the other (beyond an obvious short term loan with no prospect of a permanent).

A surge to promotion and a cup win would of course be great, but we're never going to know that when we sign them. I want to dream long term, goddamit.

[Worthy4England]

^^ Can't you just fake it? Pretend it's all happening now, and secretly sort yourself out later?

[Prufrock]

I need to feel a connection, Worthy!

[GhostoftheBok]

We're one of a number of clubs credited with interest in Sean Moore at Cliftonville - but probably not in this window.

[The_Gun]

We're one of a number of clubs credited with interest in Sean Moore at Cliftonville - but probably not in this window.

One to get Pru’s pulse racing, that.

[GhostoftheBok]

One to get Pru’s pulse racing, that.

Someone should check on him. Make sure he's not feinted.

[BWFC_Insane]

You can't make me excited against my will !

I'd put our chances of going to this year at no more than 25%. I'm not sure I buy that there is some distinction between the here and now and long term and that anything falls neatly into one (and only one) or the other (beyond an obvious short term loan with no prospect of a permanent).

A surge to promotion and a cup win would of course be great, but we're never going to know that when we sign them. I want to dream long term, goddamit.

We're never going to know anything.

But January signings for me must be....

Match ready
Good enough to improve the side now (not 'projects')
Better than the players we are letting go

I think if we are signing players not in that category in January (outside of B team youngsters with potential) then for me we've gone wrong.

I don't think Januuary is necessarily the time to do permies. They may be some like Williams but its more the time for fixes till the end of the season. Unless you're rolling in dosh.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Carlos Borges (Man City) being linked by a Portuguese journalist

[Prufrock]

You can't make me excited against my will !

I'd put our chances of going to this year at no more than 25%. I'm not sure I buy that there is some distinction between the here and now and long term and that anything falls neatly into one (and only one) or the other (beyond an obvious short term loan with no prospect of a permanent).

A surge to promotion and a cup win would of course be great, but we're never going to know that when we sign them. I want to dream long term, goddamit.

We're never going to know anything.

But January signings for me must be....

Match ready
Good enough to improve the side now (not 'projects')
Better than the players we are letting go

I think if we are signing players not in that category in January (outside of B team youngsters with potential) then for me we've gone wrong.

I don't think Januuary is necessarily the time to do permies. They may be some like Williams but its more the time for fixes till the end of the season. Unless you're rolling in dosh.

Depends doesn't it! I don't at all mind the "this mon is out of contract at the end of the year and we can spend a small fee now rather than swimming with all the fish next summer. A Charles/Dempsey signing. You certainly wouldn't say either has torn up trees (yet) but I'd be much more excited about that sort that loanee I've never heard of.

And you can't stop me!

(I've been on the smelling salts)

[Prufrock]

Carlos Borges (Man City) being linked by a Portuguese journalist

Someone has changed his Wikipedia page and everything. Though it also reckons he's a winger so...