Loan Deals

Loanees are playing regularly for us now - Butters, Warnock, Spearing, Afobe - and there's talk of Guidetti coming in January. If DF is rebuilding the team I'm not sure that it's a great idea to play loanees at the expense of our own players, at least not so much despite the need to avoid relegation whilst it gets sorted out and our long-term sick notes get back.

So imagine we had no loanees and you wanted to explore the options amongst what's left to build a team that Wheater and Holden could eventually slot into - what would you be experimenting with?

I'd be looking at

Bogdan

Riley Knight Ricketts Mills Alonso (yes - 3 CBs for now)

Lee Mavies Petrov or Wylde

Sordell Ngog or Eaves



Your thoughts?

Interesting view, and one I'm sure DF is thinking about. He's already farming, (or trying to) young players out such as Riley and Eaves. I really don't think we'll see a settled side until next season, with a few cracks filled in this coming January. Until then I think it will be a 'make do and mend' approach.

Understand the need to stay in the division and perhaps push on a bit in the second half but I just don't see anything other than short-term benefit for BWFC in this approach. It runs the risk of failing to develop and possibly losing our own players through lack of games - and the team as a whole won't get the playing time as "our" team. What would you try out with just BWFC players?

Unfortunately the whisper I am hearing are that it is felt Eaves and O'Halloran may not make the grade at our level. Their loans are no more than `The last chance saloon.` Some would suggest the same for Alonso while Riley seems to have a rich future.

Hopefully these views are wide of the mark and will allow time for our successful youth team to develope. Don't forget that most of our U18s are not on professional contracts yet.

Blackpool got promoted virtually on loan players.

It works in the Championship. If you can get a loan player in, who is better than what you have got then it should happen.

It may seem short term but it can be better than having a dud on a long contract who you can't get shut of, not to mention the financial side of it as well.

You're right CD. The Championship team needs to be more flexible and fluid, not having a massive budget to buy the best and retain them. Its something we still have to get used to at Bolton. I think the longer the loan deal, probably the better for us, and lets be honest, it worked for Big Sam, when we first came to the Premier. That was how he built us up , and all he had was Championship experience at managing.