In, Out, Shake It All About: January 2025 Transfer Window

[KeyserSoze]

Sharon has quite close links to Mark Noble who is currently SD at West Ham and a club legend. I’d love to see us appoint someone with contacts in the modern game at that sort of level. Over the past few seasons, our competitors, most notably that lot down the A58, have consistently unearthed quality signings where we could be said to have struggled somewhat.

We were said to be looking more towards the European market and Schön has presumably been a product of that, which begs the question, “Why has he been the only one”? Portugal, Scandinavia and Ireland are all turning out decent, technically gifted players these days whilst having leagues which pay far below what players can expect in the UK. Someone with contacts in the game at a decent level might just be able to push our recruitment to the point where we need it to be. Survival in the Championship should we ever get promoted, is incredibly difficult, as Derby, Argyle and Pompey are finding out. Our recruitment needs to be forward thinking so we can compete and survive there.

The change to visa rules a couple of years ago makes international recruitment much more difficult I believe, especially in lower leagues...think I remember it being talked about when Schon was signing.

Taking a look at the rules we only are allowed a max of two players under the Elite Significant Contribution guidelines...though that's through just a quick Google and no extensive research.

[KeyserSoze]

https://www.walkermorris.co.uk/newslett ... ot-easier/

[Worthy4England]

Haven't got the time to go into it now but David Squires' "hive brain" cartoons in the Guardian sum it up - everyone has authority, nobody has responsibility.

And that last part is where I have the real issue! We had people pointing at Evatt - quite rightly so. But I'm not at all sure about how much was driven by the Director of Football or whatever badge they wear....

Absolutely - lines of responsibility have to be clear. But even if they are, it's not easy.

For instance, at Stoke, where Walters was appointed DoF above Schumacher after Schuey was already there... so who gets the hook when they have a few average games? History shows it's Schumacher, but then Walters' immediate 'leftfield foreign coach' replacement Pelach was a disaster. So does that mean if his next pick - the very different Mark Robins (who said continuity was important?) - is also poor, Walters is also at risk? I guess so.

Ultimately, what happens on the pitch is up to the manager (or head coach) making the right decisions. The more say he has on transfers, the less he can hide behind that particular excuse. Similarly, if a DoF (or similar) says "this is the right guy for me" then it's got to wound his reputation if the guy sucks ass.

All correct mate, when I last heard Evatt talk about how transfers happened, he listed Chris and the recruitment department, Ludanautics, Sharon, the Board and himself as the "joint decision makers." Whilst that's ok when all the stars align, it feels a bit like a designed by committee if they don't. It sort of felt like an "it's not just me here" from Ian....

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

All correct mate, when I last heard Evatt talk about how transfers happened, he listed Chris and the recruitment department, Ludanautics, Sharon, the Board and himself as the "joint decision makers." Whilst that's ok when all the stars align, it feels a bit like a designed by committee if they don't. It sort of felt like an "it's not just me here" from Ian....

...because it was. Probably didn't help his cause to start trying to deflect the flung dung.

[malcd1]

Not the January transfer window but we have given a trial to 20 year old Charlie Warren a prolific goal scorer from Felixstowe & Walton. He was the trialist who scored the winner against Blackburn this week.

Charlie has scored 27 goals in the Isthmian League Division One North league.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ers-trial/

[Bertie Wooster]

Not the January transfer window but we have given a trial to 20 year old Charlie Warren a prolific goal scorer from Felixstowe & Walton. He was the trialist who scored the winner against Blackburn this week.

Charlie has scored 27 goals in the Isthmian League Division One North league.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ers-trial/

If there is interest from the club, surely he couldn't play for us this season ?, he would have to wait for next season or are there different rules in regards to out of window non league signings ?.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Not the January transfer window but we have given a trial to 20 year old Charlie Warren a prolific goal scorer from Felixstowe & Walton. He was the trialist who scored the winner against Blackburn this week.

Charlie has scored 27 goals in the Isthmian League Division One North league.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ers-trial/

If there is interest from the club, surely he couldn't play for us this season ?, he would have to wait for next season or are there different rules in regards to out of window non league signings ?.

We couldn't register him for the league, AFAIK. But we could sign him, have him train with us (whichever sqaud suits him and us) and play for the Bs.

Depending on when the loan deadlines are for non-league divisions, we could also consider lending him out locally round here. He's currently top of Division 8 (Regional) so there's headroom to fast-track him into a higher division if we see fit.

[Bertie Wooster]

Not the January transfer window but we have given a trial to 20 year old Charlie Warren a prolific goal scorer from Felixstowe & Walton. He was the trialist who scored the winner against Blackburn this week.

Charlie has scored 27 goals in the Isthmian League Division One North league.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ers-trial/

If there is interest from the club, surely he couldn't play for us this season ?, he would have to wait for next season or are there different rules in regards to out of window non league signings ?.

We couldn't register him for the league, AFAIK. But we could sign him, have him train with us (whichever sqaud suits him and us) and play for the Bs.

Apparently (if you believe the internet) there is interest in him from other league 1 clubs and even Coventry !

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Apparently (if you believe the internet) there is interest in him from other league 1 clubs and even Coventry !

It's not just Agent McGonads, his current manager has told the local press "Charlie's had a lot of interest from various EFL clubs. He's under contract with us, but we won't stand in the way of him fulfilling his potential."

Joe Taylor is a comparable story - released by Norwich as a kid, went non-league in East Anglia, picked up by Posh just before his 21st birthday. Sometimes, academies get it wrong, or players who didn't look up to it suddenly flower at a lower level.

[BWFC_Insane]

Feels to me like these are the sort of signings we need to make more of. Yes I’m not convinced you can live entirely off these as Peterborough show it can make for some uneven seasons but mixing some experience on frees one or two 22-24 year olds for money and non league 18-21 year olds with promise to me feels like the right balance.

[Worthy4England]

Not the new Drogba, the new Vardy! Woo hoo!

[TonyDomingos]

Joe Taylor is a comparable story

I'm not sure Taylor's story is comparable at the moment. He's currently playing in the 3rd tier whereas this lad is still in the 8th.

It's exceptionally rare for a player from that low a level to make it in L1 (or above).

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Joe Taylor is a comparable story

I'm not sure Taylor's story is comparable at the moment. He's currently playing in the 3rd tier whereas this lad is still in the 8th.

It's exceptionally rare for a player from that low a level to make it in L1 (or above).

Alright, “could be comparable”

[TonyDomingos]

Joe Taylor is a comparable story

I'm not sure Taylor's story is comparable at the moment. He's currently playing in the 3rd tier whereas this lad is still in the 8th.

It's exceptionally rare for a player from that low a level to make it in L1 (or above).

Alright, “could be comparable”

Sorry! Didn't mean to nitpick.

My point is - and I made it earlier in this thread (re some lad we/Derby/Barcelona were allegedly interested in) - players well down the tiers just don't make it at a higher level.

People seem to lump non-league players together, but the reality is very different. It's one thing being in, say, City's youth team, being let go and ending up in a National League side (almost all full-time pros) before a move to L1 versus playing Sunday league and then scoring a few goals in tier 8. The latter is never making a career in the EFL.

(I say this having watched 300+ games in tiers 4-8 over the last 20 years.)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah, fair enough, all that. I doubt anybody on here’s watched as much non-league as you.

Where the comparisons are (so far) is that Taylor was in Norwich’s academy, this lad in Ipswich’s; when released in their mid-teens, each dropped down to an East Anglian team in tier 8 or so (in Taylor’s case it was a tier-9 loan that caught the headlines); scored plenty and attracted third-tier interest. What happens next, nobody knows - that’s the unscripted drama of the sport we love. But as you say, the odds are low (still plenty teams willing to gamble a small amount though).

[TonyDomingos]

Yeah, fair enough, all that. I doubt anybody on here’s watched as much non-league as you.

Where the comparisons are (so far) is that Taylor was in Norwich’s academy, this lad in Ipswich’s; when released in their mid-teens, each dropped down to an East Anglian team in tier 8 or so (in Taylor’s case it was a tier-9 loan that caught the headlines); scored plenty and attracted third-tier interest. What happens next, nobody knows - that’s the unscripted drama of the sport we love. But as you say, the odds are low (still plenty teams willing to gamble a small amount though).

#thumbsup

[Tails07]

Matheson joins tier 6, Alfreton Town on loan to the end of the season. Well below his level I feel, clearly weren't any league 2 or national league clubs willing to take him on.

[Mar]

Matheson joins tier 6, Alfreton Town on loan to the end of the season. Well below his level I feel, clearly weren't any league 2 or national league clubs willing to take him on.

Was a fan of the lad's work rate and effort levels, at least until he played against Villa U21's where he looked shit scared to put a foot wrong or try anything useful. I'm not blaming Matheson for that, surely after being out in the cold for so long he's probably been informed that was his last chance saloon and that he didn't want any mistakes being made, not exactly a confidence builder.

Shame though, as he really did seem to be a product of his own physique. There's clear advantages over the height that the likes of Alex Murphy offers and unless you're a standout (Xherdan Shaqiri) then you'll likely struggle to find an abundance of takers.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Young striker Ben Andreucci loaned to tier-6 Darlington FC (although sadly it's not the biggest story of their day).

Ben, who has another underage season after this one, was previously on loan at Buxton, also tier-6. Same division to whose clubs we've currently loaned Luke Matheson, Dubem Eze and Trevon Bryan. Only Max Conway is loaned to a club above that level (well, and Dan Nlundulu I suppose).

[The_Gun]

I saw a tweet from Nixon this morning saying ‘Bolton star wanted by Orient’. Obviously I have no intention of paying for his patreon to read the full article, but I’m guessing that’s likely Rico?