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Phil Parkinson has had to plan for all eventualities as he compiles a shopping list for this summer but whether or not he has cash to spend, fans should not necessarily expect household names.
For the first two weeks since his arrival from Bradford City the new Wanderers boss has set about networking with players who suit every conceivable level of a budget which has not proven easy to forecast.
For starters the transfer embargo remains in place, for how long, no-one is really able to say.
Ken Anderson’s rescheduled meeting with the Football League may only be a bump in the road in getting the embargo lifted, and it may not cost the manager or the club any significant time in the transfer window.
But there are some who believe the process of appeasing the authorities will not be as easy as it is being made out. If so, it could become more difficult for Parkinson to secure some of his more sought-after targets.
Mark Beevers falls into that category. The big defender has just completed an impressive season at Millwall but is keen to head back north. Sources say his hometown club Barnsley, fresh from play-off victory over the Lions, are in a good position to offer him the deal he wants.
Wanderers’ co-owners maintain they can handle the wage structure they take into next season but have stopped short of saying they will increase it.
For Parkinson to improve his lot he may be relying on the sale of Rob Holding to Arsenal, for example, or on one of the high-end earners being sold before the close of the window.
Should a Mark Davies, Ben Amos or Darren Pratley be moved on permanently it could open up a whole new arena for the manager, including the prospect of paying transfer or tribunal fees.
Some of the players apparently being investigated by Parkinson are at the top end of that budget, just in case.
The Whites will be playing in the third tier for the first time in more than two decades and are coming off the back of one of the worst seasons in the club’s history.
Parkinson not only needs players who know this level of football but also those who come in untarnished from what has gone before. He needs some foot-soldiers, those who would run through the proverbial brick wall for a chance to play at Wanderers.
Two of his other prospective signings whose names have been linked with the Whites, Jamie Proctor and Matt Gilks, could fall into that category.
Gilks – who has featured just twice for Burnley since moving across Lancashire from Blackpool two years ago – is keen to find first-team football.
The Scotland international has been linked with a string of clubs north of the border but wants to remain close to his Rochdale roots.
Proctor, well known to Parkinson, is a good age at 24 and came good for his former boss in the second half of last season at Valley Parade and finished up with 10 goals.
A target man type, he could provide an alternative to Gary Madine, the only other Wanderers striker who could fall into the same category.
People who watched him at Bradford last season say he is an honest and hard-working striker – and well worth a punt if it does not involve a transfer fee.
Parkinson fashioned a side over the last five years at Bradford who were more than the sum of their parts, relying heavily on the organisation and defensive resilience drilled into them. At times, including the play-off semi-final, they lacked the touch of quality needed to win the big games.
In his new challenge at Wanderers Parkinson may have the match-winners – Zach Clough, Max Clayton, Kaiyne Woolery, Mark Davies – but many question whether his squad has the guts needed to grind out a whole League One campaign.
How much of a hangover players will carry through from last season’s failure will also be a big factor. In hindsight, Wanderers did not make enough changes to the squad which dropped out of the Premier League, and that was at a time when cash was freely available.
Source
For the first two weeks since his arrival from Bradford City the new Wanderers boss has set about networking with players who suit every conceivable level of a budget which has not proven easy to forecast.
For starters the transfer embargo remains in place, for how long, no-one is really able to say.
Ken Anderson’s rescheduled meeting with the Football League may only be a bump in the road in getting the embargo lifted, and it may not cost the manager or the club any significant time in the transfer window.
But there are some who believe the process of appeasing the authorities will not be as easy as it is being made out. If so, it could become more difficult for Parkinson to secure some of his more sought-after targets.
Mark Beevers falls into that category. The big defender has just completed an impressive season at Millwall but is keen to head back north. Sources say his hometown club Barnsley, fresh from play-off victory over the Lions, are in a good position to offer him the deal he wants.
Wanderers’ co-owners maintain they can handle the wage structure they take into next season but have stopped short of saying they will increase it.
For Parkinson to improve his lot he may be relying on the sale of Rob Holding to Arsenal, for example, or on one of the high-end earners being sold before the close of the window.
Should a Mark Davies, Ben Amos or Darren Pratley be moved on permanently it could open up a whole new arena for the manager, including the prospect of paying transfer or tribunal fees.
Some of the players apparently being investigated by Parkinson are at the top end of that budget, just in case.
The Whites will be playing in the third tier for the first time in more than two decades and are coming off the back of one of the worst seasons in the club’s history.
Parkinson not only needs players who know this level of football but also those who come in untarnished from what has gone before. He needs some foot-soldiers, those who would run through the proverbial brick wall for a chance to play at Wanderers.
Two of his other prospective signings whose names have been linked with the Whites, Jamie Proctor and Matt Gilks, could fall into that category.
Gilks – who has featured just twice for Burnley since moving across Lancashire from Blackpool two years ago – is keen to find first-team football.
The Scotland international has been linked with a string of clubs north of the border but wants to remain close to his Rochdale roots.
Proctor, well known to Parkinson, is a good age at 24 and came good for his former boss in the second half of last season at Valley Parade and finished up with 10 goals.
A target man type, he could provide an alternative to Gary Madine, the only other Wanderers striker who could fall into the same category.
People who watched him at Bradford last season say he is an honest and hard-working striker – and well worth a punt if it does not involve a transfer fee.
Parkinson fashioned a side over the last five years at Bradford who were more than the sum of their parts, relying heavily on the organisation and defensive resilience drilled into them. At times, including the play-off semi-final, they lacked the touch of quality needed to win the big games.
In his new challenge at Wanderers Parkinson may have the match-winners – Zach Clough, Max Clayton, Kaiyne Woolery, Mark Davies – but many question whether his squad has the guts needed to grind out a whole League One campaign.
How much of a hangover players will carry through from last season’s failure will also be a big factor. In hindsight, Wanderers did not make enough changes to the squad which dropped out of the Premier League, and that was at a time when cash was freely available.
Source