Mark Davies

[boltonboris]

He'd played his role just right against Wolves, unfortunately, Steinsson didn't.

It was pretty clear to see that our game plan was to expose their left back. Mark Davies moves inside, takes a wide player with him and frees up some space for Steinsson to go at Elokobi. Steinsson either bottled it, or wasn't fit enough to get up and down the flank.

Shame really, it's a good tactic if you have the personnel

[Tombwfc]

£4mil is a fair price for his ability, but I don't think it'd make much sense to sell him.

Even if we're completely fecked financially (and I don't believe we are, not a firesale extent anyway) we're going to have to field somebody next season. Davies is young, under a long-term contract on presumably reasonable wages and I'm sure would do very well in the Championship.

As for how good he is, I think he's done ok this season, and gets a lot of undeserved stick for his lack of end product (his isn't great, but neither is that of any of the other midfielders at the club, including Holden). Being a creative player in our team is a near impossible job.

[boltonboris]

You only be creative if the stumps in front of you don't just stand there watching you.

[BWFC_Insane]

He'd played his role just right against Wolves, unfortunately, Steinsson didn't.

It was pretty clear to see that our game plan was to expose their left back. Mark Davies moves inside, takes a wide player with him and frees up some space for Steinsson to go at Elokobi. Steinsson either bottled it, or wasn't fit enough to get up and down the flank.

Shame really, it's a good tactic if you have the personnel

I'm not having it that the best way to expose a full back is to have your "wide right player" never actually up against the full back and always coming inside....

If you have Cafu at right back, maybe, otherwise no......

[boltonboris]

It's easier to get through 1 v 1, than 2 v 2

[TANGODANCER]

What's the mind boggling at? He has great feet, can dribble with the ball, and can pass - I think we're all agreed on that. Problem comes with him playing the game of football, which I'm still not convinced he's very good at. He can't play in any position in the 4-4-2 that we're so rigidly sticking to. There's plenty of other players who've had the same problems in the past and struggled to fulfill their promise and potential.

The mind's boggling Jimbo at the fact that with half a season gone we're already down and losing the Sky money, according to some. As a Whites fan I'm not blind to the fact we're struggling, but fxcking hell, we'll do a lot better if we part with the likes of MD now and just accept we're going down? Yeah, right.

[officer_dibble]

id keep him for next season in the championship, hopefully a manager not stuck to 442 will use him correctly. Might be his level, might be what he needs to kick on a level.

[malcd1]

MD is definitely in OC's first XI at the moment, or has been recently. He's not out of contract in the summer and you'd think he'd be one for the future.

According to Wiki he signed a 4 and a half year deal in January 2009 which was extended by a further year in February 2011. I can't see Owen wanting to get rid of him and think this is just paper talk.

[jimbo]

What's the mind boggling at? He has great feet, can dribble with the ball, and can pass - I think we're all agreed on that. Problem comes with him playing the game of football, which I'm still not convinced he's very good at. He can't play in any position in the 4-4-2 that we're so rigidly sticking to. There's plenty of other players who've had the same problems in the past and struggled to fulfill their promise and potential.

The mind's boggling Jimbo at the fact that with half a season gone we're already down and losing the Sky money, according to some. As a Whites fan I'm not blind to the fact we're struggling, but fxcking hell, we'll do a lot better if we part with the likes of MD now and just accept we're going down? Yeah, right.

Problem is the current bunch haven't shown anything at all in the first half of the season to suggest that it will turn around quickly. We can't blame fixtures any more, and it's pointless blaming injuries because by the time the 2 most significant ones are back the season will be as good as over. That is why me and others think the situation is pretty irretrievable now. The team seem incapable of stringing any kind of run together, while others are beginning to pull away. I desperately hope I'm wrong, but highly doubt it. And I agree with not selling Mark Davies, only my reason for doing so couldn't be further apart from yours haha

[TANGODANCER]

Well then, I hope the players have a bitmore conviction. For now I'll settle for .... COME ON YOU WHITES.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'm sure we'd all sell him for £50m, so it's just haggling. Tango, you've said yourself many times that we're not the richest club in the world. Every player has his price - ask Cristiano Ronaldo, Fergie and David Gill. If true, West Brom bidding £4m would be neither insultingly low nor arm-rippingly high.

[newcarsmell]

One of the senior management told me ( and others ) personally that Mark Davies would be unlikely to feature in Boltons' starting eleven because the computer program they use to pick the team says he's considerably more effective coming on as sub for the last 20 minutes.

Bizarrely, he's been in the starting eleven almost every game since...

My point is though, I got the impression they didn't rate him too highly.

[truewhite15]

They use a computer program to pick the team? Suddenly an awful lot makes sense...

Mark Davies would be in every single starting 11 I picked, providing he was fit. But then, I'd be playing a 4-5-1...

[boltonboris]

I imagine (unless he's taking the piss) that it's somethinjg more like a prozone programme, which updates the stats like dribbles made / completed / pass percentage / ground covered / tackles won / chances created etc.

And they use that to determine their 'best' team.

[Il Pirate]

I'm with the ballroom boy on this one. A man showing some sense in what's becoming an asylum for the hysterical.

[Armchair Wanderer]

On the commentary on Citeh/Liverpool last night on radio5 Lawro was saying that he rarely asked Dalgleish about Liverpool these days after he started making up stories, and presumably laughing when Lawro repeated them on TV/radio.

You're a player/manager/CEO/director of a club are you really going to just spill the beans to average joe? I hope not, unless it's me, I'm discreet

EDIT: however it's entirely possible that Lawro made that story up so as not to keep getting asked about Dalgleish.

[Athers]

Davies if born Spanish would be playing central midfield in a 4-3-3 for someone over there, but I fear because he's playing here and scrapping in the bottom half, he'll always be shoved out wide in a 4-4-2...

Also I'm sure I saw on WhoScored.com that he has our best passing % and if we didn't have him I suspect we'd see even less of the ball [anywhere than at the back four's feet] than we seem to now.

[irie Cee Bee]

Not interested West brom..we absolutely need him at this moment. Check back in the summer if we are relegated.. 6 million would do it.

[Hoboh]

One of the senior management told me ( and others ) personally that Mark Davies would be unlikely to feature in Boltons' starting eleven because the computer program they use to pick the team says he's considerably more effective coming on as sub for the last 20 minutes.

Bizarrely, he's been in the starting eleven almost every game since...

My point is though, I got the impression they didn't rate him too highly.

Soooo we are still running windows 95 then?

[Gail Platz]

There's some good points both in favour of, and against Mark Davies. I'm a fan of his, I think he's a good player but as a couple of people have pointed out he doesn't really fit into a 4-4-2.

In my opinion his best position is the centre midfield attacker in a 5-man midfield, he's brilliant at running into the box with the ball and out of all of our fit players at the moment, he's the only one that knows how to take a first touch without the ball drifting about 10 yards away from his feet.

£4m would be a good piece of business if Holden was fit but at the moment I don't think we're in a position to be selling players like him.