Will Lennon f*** us over?

Being linked with the Hull job when Bruce gets sacked.

Barb Dwyer wrote:Being linked with the Hull job when Bruce gets sacked.

if he goes it will be to an established premier league club not under threat of relegation.  Can't see him going to hull when in a few months time he will be back to where he started and also have a relegation on his CV.  He seems smarter than that to me.  But for him to get a job at an establish premier league team he is going to have to do something great with us like getting us promoted with our limited budget.  And i don't think that is going to come this season.

A lot of good points here and quite a mature response for this forum
Obviously we don't know his intentions - but from a strategic perspective our transfer market activity has the hallmarks of a quick short-term fix rather than the long term building project that Freedman was undertaking, hence the concern. Time will tell I guess.

wanderlust wrote:A lot of good points here and quite a mature response for this forum
Obviously we don't know his intentions - but from a strategic perspective our transfer market activity has the hallmarks of a quick short-term fix rather than the long term building project that Freedman was undertaking, hence the concern. Time will tell I guess.

Good point, Dougie didn't loan anyone for a short term fix, he was all about bringing the youth on and good quality permanent signings. 

Unless you're Chelsea or Barcelona manager every job is a stepping stone.

Lennon has done well so far with a shit squad and no quality. But next season I expect to be in the top 6.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:

wanderlust wrote:A lot of good points here and quite a mature response for this forum
Obviously we don't know his intentions - but from a strategic perspective our transfer market activity has the hallmarks of a quick short-term fix rather than the long term building project that Freedman was undertaking, hence the concern. Time will tell I guess.

Good point, Dougie didn't loan anyone for a short term fix, he was all about bringing the youth on and good quality permanent signings. 

He clearly thought he had years to introduce the youth players and sort it out...

Natasha Whittam wrote:Unless you're Chelsea or Barcelona manager every job is a stepping stone.

Lennon has done well so far with a shit squad and no quality. But next season I expect to be in the top 6.

With so many loanees coming in I don't even know what the team will be next week let alone where we will finish the season.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Unless you're Chelsea or Barcelona manager every job is a stepping stone.

Lennon has done well so far with a shit squad and no quality. But next season I expect to be in the top 6.

Some would say you are in the top six right now... but what about the team?

With 9 first teamers unavailable last night and loanees being thrown in straight away I was worried we'd get tanked by an improving Fulham side. Instead, Janko had a dream debut, Bannan was solid, Eidur scored and Fondue set worked relentlessly - and scored.

Lennon seems to have played a blinder in the transfer window in terms of borrowing some quality to see us to safety and possibly push on from here.
Lennon also clearly has faith in Twardzik and Slavchev so when the injured return, we're going to have some healthy competition for places and enough bodies to safely see us through the rest of the season - barring a disaster.

Short term prospects - greatly improved IMO - but it's still a short term fix (for which I am very grateful) Loving what Lennon is doing in the short term - but it still feels like falling in love with someone who won't fully commit to the relationship and is keeping his options open.

It would be nice to think that some of our loanees could be retained on a permanent basis if they continue to do well but is that realistic?

I'd write off Janko, Rochinha and Slavchev as possible signings given their market value and the fact that their respective clubs seem to rate them highly so apart from Twardzik, will we have to start again from scratch in the summer?

i thought i'd read somewhere that Janko was out of contract in the summer? If he is and we can sign him we would have to pay some kind of fee as he's under 24. Bannen would be a possibility but i'm not sure about his contract with Palace. I would like to see us keep Le Fondre if possible, he lives in stockport so he wants to be in the area to be with his family so it's possible as long as his wages aren't too high.
I would agree that we wouldn't be able to afford Slavchev and Rochinha though.

Norpig wrote:i thought i'd read somewhere that Janko was out of contract in the summer? If he is and we can sign him we would have to pay some kind of fee as he's under 24. Bannen would be a possibility but i'm not sure about his contract with Palace. I would like to see us keep Le Fondre if possible, he lives in stockpoet so he wants to be in the area to be with his family so it's possible as long as his wages aren't too high.
I would agree that we wouldn't be able to afford Slavchev and Rochinha though.

After a debut like that, I reckon Janko's value has gone up but we'll see how he does for the rest of the season. Surprised he's out of contract though. Thought he was loaned to get first team experience so he could contend for a place at Manure.

Maybe the Board will have had enough of austerity by the summer or maybe a new owner will appear but either way I reckon it will cost somewhere approaching ten million just to retain a squad of the quality we have at the moment. That said, our squad appears to be stronger now than at any time before January so maybe such a squad would be good enough to get promotion over a whole season?

Let's hang on - Why Bolton Wanderers fans fear losing Neil Lennon

When Wanderers fans were asked at the weekend what constitutes success for the club between now and the summer, the overwhelming majority considered holding on to Neil Lennon their primary concern.

Given the question was posed in the knee-jerk arena that is Twitter and just hours after a pummelling at Derby County, the unequivocal show of support in the manager was even more impressive.

The fiery Northern Irishman has certainly cast his spell over the Macron Stadium, just as he did at Parkhead, and yet there is still a sense of concern among supporters that we might be living on borrowed time.

The jumpiness might be explained by past experience. Sam Allardyce quit Wanderers with his stock high, and walked into a job at Newcastle within weeks, while those with a longer memory will recall Bruce Rioch – linked strongly with Manchester City before finally accepting an offer from Arsenal and breaking many a young fans’ heart.

It is early days but Lennon is proving just as popular on the terraces.

And that would explain the state of panic on social media which followed the news Nigel Pearson’s position may – or may not, as it turned out – be in jeopardy at his former club Leicester City.

Within the space of a few hours, the news of a potential managerial change at the King Power Stadium had sparked fluster among the Whites faithful, particularly when backed up with a slashing of Lennon’s odds at the bookmakers.

A week earlier the same wave of hysteria accompanied a tabloid story linking Lennon with Hull City, where he was apparently set to replace Steve Bruce.

But why should that be the case? Lennon has set up a home for his family in Bolton and done nothing to court attention from elsewhere, aside from improve results on the pitch.

“You may say Leicester is a club close to my heart, but Bolton is a club close to my heart,” he said on Monday morning, reacting to the Pearson story.

“I have got a big job on here and I just want to concentrate on that. There is very little I can say on speculation and rumour.”

Pearson remains at Leicester and there is no suggestion any contact was made between the two parties last weekend.

As Pearson was left fending awkward questions in the East Midlands, Lennon carried on regardless, rebooting his team on the training ground and earning an impressive victory over Fulham on Tuesday night.

It is just four months since he replaced Dougie Freedman, whose demise was sealed against the same opponents at Craven Cottage, and his restructuring of the squad has barely started.

Much of his work so far has been based around short-term signings, be it veteran pairing Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey or a flurry of loans.

But the fact the manager has already lined-up deals for the summer, including Dutch defender Nick Kuipers, Northern Irish striker Daniel Hughes and Portuguese full-back Paulinho, and is discussing potential budgets with Phil Gartside and Eddie Davies should give even the most nervous fan a reason to calm down.

All signs point to a fresh start for Lennon in the summer and a chance to rebuild on a reasonable financial foundation, with a unity and togetherness which hasn't been felt at the club in some time.

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If Villa, Leicester or any other Prem club come in for Lennon he'll be off quicker than you can say 'lightweight'.

Thanks, Lusty... been researching him as well. Paulo Sérgio Mota of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

The majority of managers are sacked by their clubs.

A small minority of the more successful ones are poached to manage struggling clubs playing at a higher level. Almost the only way to progress their career.

The only other way for them to succeed is to get their current team promoted (about to be impossible with the additional Premier League money that relegated teams will have to spend) and then immediately follow that up by establishing themselves in a comfortable mid-table position from the off. Anything less and you're back in the firing line.

I get that they're fortunate to have careers in football, and that sounds amazing and all… but... I can't see a choice of career where your life expectancy in any role is a couple of years at best is much fun at all.

So, for most of them, it's all about how much money they can accumulate while keeping their heads above water in absolutely farcical circumstances.

Lennon isn't from Bolton, and other than the fact they were good enough to give him a job, has absolutely zero loyalty to them.
So, in my opinion, given the chance, he will be off at the first opportunity of a big salary, big transfer budget, and more TV time.

For now, we take solace knowing that he will need to prove himself and take Bolton in the right direction before he will be given his opportunity to manage a Premier League club, or promote us of course which seems to be a poisoned chalise for managers anyway.

We should just enjoy Lennon while we have him because I sense a man who enjoys the limelight very much.

Quite right Fin but my concern is this:
Coyle left us with a load of highly paid and not very good players who had to be got rid of to free up operating capital.
The danger of Lennon leaving is the opposite i.e. that after the austerity of Freedman and the sale of the rest of the very overpaid ponces (apart from Andrews) there would be nothing left - especially when the loanees go back. No squad and no money to buy one with.

I'm encouraged by the reports that Lennon is having discussions with PG about spending budget and has allegedly done a couple of deals already - and I'm encouraged that he's starting to turn his attention to younger prospects - but if we keep replacing contracted players with loanees we may do better on the pitch but would be very vulnerable if the money to secure players on a more permanent basis isn't there. I may be worrying about nothing.

wanderlust wrote: I may be worrying about nothing.

You stick to worrying about whether Norwich make the play-offs.

He's being lined up by Barnsley apparently.