Transfer rumours !

As Evatt insists on playing out from the back I reckon he's looking for someone with decent distribution - which is what has let Dixon down recently.
Seems like a knee jerk reaction to me - but the kid from Manure used to be a midfielder.

I have to say that I always prefer an experienced keeper if possible.  Surely there are plenty in the lower leagues, if not a very good backup from the prem or champs.
The problem is that if we spend time developing an excellent keeper of our own then we will then go ahead and have him snatched away by another club. In our case for no profit - based on our track record.
I'm 50/50 as to if we need to spend time looking for keepers at this point - let's get some quality into the other 10.

Once again it seems to me that Evatt looks to bring a youth in instead of an experienced keeper who might have his own views on how to play. The whole team lacks experience, lacks a battling attitude and lacks physicality and I believe that’s purely down to Evatt’s own insecurity. He proved with Sarce and Doyle that he doesn’t like players with opinions and that’s why we are such a pushover on the pitch. I’m afraid if he’s going to continue down this path we’re never going to succeed and frankly I’m quickly losing faith in him. I’ve backed him all the way so far but I’m now beginning to see traits that I don’t like. Both Evatt and his coaching team seem unable to put right the obvious wrongs the team continues to show and you have to wonder if even the players are behind them. Surely our players are better than they’re showing at the moment but unless something changes I really can see us going down.

Whitesince63 wrote:Once again it seems to me that Evatt looks to bring a youth in instead of an experienced keeper who might have his own views on how to play. The whole team lacks experience, lacks a battling attitude and lacks physicality and I believe that’s purely down to Evatt’s own insecurity. He proved with Sarce and Doyle that he doesn’t like players with opinions and that’s why we are such a pushover on the pitch. I’m afraid if he’s going to continue down this path we’re never going to succeed and frankly I’m quickly losing faith in him. I’ve backed him all the way so far but I’m now beginning to see traits that I don’t like. Both Evatt and his coaching team seem unable to put right the obvious wrongs the team continues to show and you have to wonder if even the players are behind them. Surely our players are better than they’re showing at the moment but unless something changes I really can see us going down.

At last, someone has jumped into the 'Evans must go' camp. Welcome WS63, an 'Evans Out' t-shirt is on its way to you.

I can't see any positive in changing managers, we have tried the old fossil many times and it didn't work, we have invested in a young manager if we bin him who would be a better fit?

 This discussion had it panned out last year we would have ditched Evatt a man who from an impossible position gained promotion. He is in his third season of management with two promotions to his name.
The very least he deserves is to recruit this january and judge him in May.

However my problem with him concerns two things, he seems to have a mental block on the importance of an experienced goalkeeper.

The Crellin situation last year was farcical and it cost us the championship, he was lucky that Gilkes someone way past his best managed to hold the fort just.
Dixon was an easy choice bringing in someone he trusted but played mainly in the conference and league two. It is bloody obvious what is needed yet again he turns to a kid on loan with no ecxperience it will again end in tears. He needs telling by his coaching staff Gilkes in particular what is required.
Secondly and we are now half way through a second season and we have no threat at all from any set piece. We get a corner or free kick and you know we will waste it Why is this not addressed.

wessy wrote:I can't see any positive in changing managers, we have tried the old fossil many times and it didn't work, we have invested in a young manager if we bin him who would be a better fit?

Sorry wessy but that's nonsense. You don't keep a manager just because the previous ones have been rubbish.

We've invested in a young manager who has overseen some of the worst results in our history. Our history! Knocked out of the FA Cup for the first time by a non-league side. Knocked out of the Papa Cup by a League 2 reserve side. 7 away games without scoring.

Add to that the ridiculous "sales" of Sarc & Doyle for nothing, two of our most senior players, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Get rid now and give the new manager time to keep us up.

Evans in! Can't understand people wanting him out. We won't get promotion this year but I reckon we will next season. I like the look of the signings he's made so far and by next season we should have a clean bill of heath as regards injuries.
Doyle was too slow and way out of his depth in League 1 at his age. Irish football is about his level now. We obviously don't know the ins and outs of Evans's dispute with Sarcevic but he's no great loss. He was regularly overweight and unfit. Many games just passed him by. Right time to get rid IMO. In a row between him and Evans there's only one winner.

Evans in!!!!

Natasha out!

Evatt is one brainwave away from having a decent young team and he's earned the right to have one season at trying to keep us in the division he got us promoted to - whilst planning for the longer term.

We need to stabilise as a club and even though he's brought a load of kids on board I'm confident he'll achieve this season's objective which is to stay up.
January is tough apart from Shrewsbury, but there are a lot of winnable fixtures in February so we'll know if we've made progress by March.

I bet you were calling for Evatts head this time last year weren’t you, Nat?

The manager isn’t the problem, the fact that we have pennies to spend is. The jump from league two to league one is bigger than you’d think. We need a lot more quality to compete

We've been linked with another midfielder - Jordan Shipley from Coventry.

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Boggersbelief wrote:I bet you were calling for Evatts head this time last year weren’t you, Nat?

The manager isn’t the problem, the fact that we have pennies to spend is. The jump from league two to league one is bigger than you’d think. We need a lot more quality to compete

...and ideally someone with a track record of scoring goals. Kieran Sadlier for example?

Boggersbelief wrote:I bet you were calling for Evatts head this time last year weren’t you, Nat?

The manager isn’t the problem, the fact that we have pennies to spend is. The jump from league two to league one is bigger than you’d think. We need a lot more quality to compete

You idiot Boggers. Few clubs outside the top two divisions have any money, in fact I read that only 4 clubs in our division have paid a fee for a player since June 2020. Therefore, are you telling me Accrington, Fleetwood & Crewe are outspending us on wages?

You bellend. Take another 18 months off and think about what you've said.

Hip Priest wrote:We won't get promotion this year but I reckon we will next season.

What are you basing this on? Our amazing firepower? Our rock-solid defence? Our run of great results? It's just wishful thinking HP, a bit like when you're relaxing of an evening listening to your Dire Straits LPs, thinking they're the best band in the world.

Hip Priest wrote:Doyle was too slow and way out of his depth in League 1 at his age. Irish football is about his level now. We obviously don't know the ins and outs of Evans's dispute with Sarcevic but he's no great loss. He was regularly overweight and unfit. Many games just passed him by.  

I agree with you, but are you telling me a League 2 club wouldn't have paid a small fee had we put him on the transfer list? He's out of his depth at this level but at League 2 he has a decent record. Same for Sarcevic, he's played two seasons in League 2 and won promotion both times. People would have paid money for him, but we let him go for nothing.

Have we won a game since Sarc left? Have we even scored a goal?

wessy wrote:I can't see any positive in changing managers, we have tried the old fossil many times and it didn't work, we have invested in a young manager if we bin him who would be a better fit?

 This discussion had it panned out last year we would have ditched Evatt a man who from an impossible position gained promotion. He is in his third season of management with two promotions to his name.
The very least he deserves is to recruit this january and judge him in May.

However my problem with him concerns two things, he seems to have a mental block on the importance of an experienced goalkeeper.

The Crellin situation last year was farcical and it cost us the championship, he was lucky that Gilkes someone way past his best managed to hold the fort just.
Dixon was an easy choice bringing in someone he trusted but played mainly in the conference and league two. It is bloody obvious what is needed yet again he turns to a kid on loan with no ecxperience it will again end in tears. He needs telling by his coaching staff Gilkes in particular what is required.
Secondly and we are now half way through a second season and we have no threat at all from any set piece. We get a corner or free kick and you know we will waste it Why is this not addressed.

I share your two concerns.

Our goalkeeper situation is a bigger problem  now than last season, as we don't have an experienced pro to bring in for the rest of the year.  Evatt insists on faffing about with kids instead of signing a safe proven pair of hands.  It's no wonder the defence have lost the plot this season  having no confidence with the keeper, plus Santos has been  poor.

As we all know , a corner or a free kick should be an opportunity for a team who struggles to score from open play to actually get the ball in the net.  I'm sure most managers spend hours and hours practicing  set piece situations.   Evatt has still not grasped the fact that to win a game of football you need to score goals.  You don't get points for having 60% possession. 
 
Is he just fcuking thick!!!

Cajunboy wrote:
I share your two concerns.

Our goalkeeper situation is a bigger problem  now than last season, as we don't have an experienced pro to bring in for the rest of the year.  Evatt insists on faffing about with kids instead of signing a safe proven pair of hands.  It's no wonder the defence have lost the plot this season  having no confidence with the keeper, plus Santos has been  poor.

As we all know , a corner or a free kick should be an opportunity for a team who struggles to score from open play to actually get the ball in the net.  I'm sure most managers spend hours and hours practicing  set piece situations.   Evatt has still not grasped the fact that to win a game of football you need to score goals.  You don't get points for having 60% possession. 
 
Is he just fcuking thick!!!

Yep. and stubborn, just not grasped this manager lark, he is a legend in his own mind, he'll tell you that.

Just needs to keep his big gob shut, and get on with the job, wasn't long back he said his achilles heel was set pieces and that he doesn't work on them, that would explain why no fooker can beat the first man on corners.

He talks the talk, just can't walk the walk.

Wanderers make offer for Icelandic international striker

As reported by The Bolton News, Bolton Wanderers have made a bid to sign Millwall and Iceland striker, Jón Dadi Bödvarsson.

Bödvarsson, 29, is out of contract at the end of the season & Wanderers have made contact with Millwall in hopes of signing the forward on loan.

Bödvarsson has just eighteen minutes of club football to his name so far this season, coming on as a second half substitute during Millwall’s 3-1 EFL Cup win against Cambridge United back in August.

He scored his first goal for over a year in Iceland’s 1-1 draw against Uganda on Wednesday,

The forward has been in England since 2016, when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from German side Kaiserslautern.

He moved a year later to Reading, where he spent two years before moving on to join Millwall in 2019.

In the Championship, he has scored 21 goals in 164 games. Internationally, he has four goals in sixty-one games & has represented his country at the 2016 Euros and the 2018 World Cup.

Predominantly a striker, Bödvarsson is also capable of playing out wide if needed.

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Does this mean Evatt is now looking to play two up top or is this yet another bit player who he’ll stick out wide like he’s done with Baka? He obviously has no consistent scoring record, much like Baka and Kacha and if he plays him in the same place out of position what’s the point? I don’t want to keep being negative but Evatt seems to be making the same mistakes as other managers we’ve had in filling the team with several mediocre players who contribute little, instead of one or two true quality players who could produce results.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

What are you basing this on? Our amazing firepower? Our rock-solid defence? Our run of great results? It's just wishful thinking HP, a bit like when you're relaxing of an evening listening to your Dire Straits LPs, thinking they're the best band in the world.



I agree with you, but are you telling me a League 2 club wouldn't have paid a small fee had we put him on the transfer list? He's out of his depth at this level but at League 2 he has a decent record. Same for Sarcevic, he's played two seasons in League 2 and won promotion both times. People would have paid money for him, but we let him go for nothing.

Have we won a game since Sarc left? Have we even scored a goal?

First of all I wouldn't be caught dead with a Dire Straits album let alone think they're the best band in the world.

I will tell you why I think we will go up next year.

1) I like and trust Evatt. I think he knows what he is doing. We were in league 2 with no money to spend and basically just looking to survive  with a team put together from loans and other peoples cast offs. We got promoted. 

2) I think we have been badly affected by injuries this year. It seems embarrassing now that he said we were the best team in the division earlier this season but I could see why he said it at the time.

3) I also like the look of the type of player he is bringing in. 

So come April 23 when we are celebrating our return to the Championship you can crack open a bottle Prosecco while you groove along to your Boney M album collection.

I agree Evans in for me too.  I wouldn’t put Doyle going entirely down to him, it does feel like a bigger plan to me - and at least we seem to have one for once. 

I think we gambled at the start of the season on whether most of the team were league one quality but it’s backfired. Overall the club’s transfer record over the last 12 months has been very good, so they deserve the benefit of the doubt in this window.

EXCLUSIVE: Dennis Politic will leave England to sign for Serie B club Cremonese in Italy. Medical tomorrow. He's been with Bolton since 2015 and spent this season on loan at Port Vale. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

— Emanuel Roşu (@Emishor) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Fee of £50,000 apparently