Top loan target Joe Mason is drifting off Bolton Wanderers' radar

Wanderers may be ready to call time on their pursuit of Cardiff City striker Joe Mason.

Dougie Freedman wanted the 22-year-old in place by the start of the season but has been forced to wait as he discusses a new contract with the Bluebirds.

Now, with three attacking slots still to be filled in the squad, the Whites boss has hinted that he could concentrate his efforts elsewhere.

“At the moment, Cardiff are saying Joe Mason is their player and so there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it,” he said.

“He came here and did fantastically well but realistically I’m now looking at the situation and thinking ‘which targets can we really get?’ “Being realistic, and at this late stage in the transfer window, I can see Joe being needed at Cardiff and not being surplus to requirements.

“So I have got to put more energy into getting players who are still available and at the right price.”

Freedman’s search for attacking reinforcements has stretched on all summer, and the Whites boss admits it is a gamble going into the new season with just Jermaine Beckford and Craig Davies as senior strikers on his books.

Beckford is likely to be named as the sole striker at Watford tomorrow with Davies and young Conor Wilkinson on the bench.

And the Wanderers boss concedes that the situation is unlikely to change any time soon.

“Players I want are not available right now because clubs are waiting on players to come in, or Premiership managers are still deciding on whether to let them out,” he said.

“Of course there have been players in the last few weeks, in our price bracket, who have become available. But they are not ones that I feel are going to further what we want to do at this football club.

“I will take a calculated risk and go a little short for the first three or four games up front, giving myself a bit of space money-wise to get the right players in.”

Source

Mason only played well alongside Juke - in his first spell on loan he played on his own upfront and was bobbins.

I'm glad Mason isn't signing, we need a different sort of striker for Dougie's negative shite.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Mason only played well alongside Juke - in his first spell on loan he played on his own upfront and was bobbins.

I'm glad Mason isn't signing, we need a different sort of striker for Dougie's negative shite.

That may be jumping the gun. OGS has been playing Dougie for a while about this to lever more out of the deal - seems to think he has Dougie over a barrel - so maybe Dougie is feigning disinterest i.e. calling his bluff to hurry things along. Either that or sending a message to Ollie along the lines of shit or get off the pan.

And I think Mason could play well alongside Wood if we get him.

wanderlust wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Mason only played well alongside Juke - in his first spell on loan he played on his own upfront and was bobbins.

I'm glad Mason isn't signing, we need a different sort of striker for Dougie's negative shite.

That may be jumping the gun. OGS has been playing Dougie for a while about this to lever more out of the deal - seems to think he has Dougie over a barrel - so maybe Dougie is feigning disinterest i.e. calling his bluff to hurry things along. Either that or sending a message to Ollie along the lines of shit or get off the pan.

And I think Mason could play well alongside Wood if we get him.

lusty come on man; I know you like to try and see the positives but this is getting positively myopic never mind rose tinted my friend. We don't HAVE any money and we have a useless manager, inept chairman and zero spirit around the team. I know it's only the first week of the season but it's been obvious all summer and through pre-season that we're deep in the doo doo and we're sinking ever faster.

I hate to say this but for the first time in thirty six years of being a Bolton Wanderers Season Ticket Holder (with my dad from nine to eighteen then got my own) I am CERTAIN that we WILL be relegated next May. Freedman will NOT be fired because his contract runs out then and there will be NO new signings to get us out of it at the last gasp again. He's lucked out that way twice already and I am SURE this season his luck will run out as every club out there now knows we can ONLY afford loans or free transfers and every PLAYER worth anything won't want to be part of this mess.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

wanderlust wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Mason only played well alongside Juke - in his first spell on loan he played on his own upfront and was bobbins.

I'm glad Mason isn't signing, we need a different sort of striker for Dougie's negative shite.

That may be jumping the gun. OGS has been playing Dougie for a while about this to lever more out of the deal - seems to think he has Dougie over a barrel - so maybe Dougie is feigning disinterest i.e. calling his bluff to hurry things along. Either that or sending a message to Ollie along the lines of shit or get off the pan.

And I think Mason could play well alongside Wood if we get him.

lusty come on man; I know you like to try and see the positives but this is getting positively myopic never mind rose tinted my friend. We don't HAVE any money and we have a useless manager, inept chairman and zero spirit around the team. I know it's only the first week of the season but it's been obvious all summer and through pre-season that we're deep in the doo doo and we're sinking ever faster.

I hate to say this but for the first time in thirty six years of being a Bolton Wanderers Season Ticket Holder (with my dad from nine to eighteen then got my own) I am CERTAIN that we WILL be relegated next May. Freedman will NOT be fired because his contract runs out then and there will be NO new signings to get us out of it at the last gasp again. He's lucked out that way twice already and I am SURE this season his luck will run out as every club out there now knows we can ONLY afford loans or free transfers and every PLAYER worth anything won't want to be part of this mess.

Seeing as it looks as if I was 100% right about the build up to the Mason signing and the logic behind feigning disinterest,  I'm struggling to see what you're on about as regards the "rose-tinted" bit. I remain a realist so just because I try to bring some balance to the "who is the most disgusted/upset/pissed off" contest by trying to stick to the facts and laughing at the ridiculous speculation it doesn't give me a "rose-tinted" perspective at all.

Are you saying that any player who is affordable wouldn't want to come to BWFC and that we won't get any further improvements to the squad and therefore will get relegated?
I agree it's possible Dougie won't get his targets but at worst he will either get at least one alternative loanee striker in, or if that proves impossible, will just about have enough in the current squad to avoid relegation. And from what I can tell from the investment strategy that would appear to be the target for this season.

We'll see how the season pans out but your post just comes across as being hysterical at the moment.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:I hate to say this but for the first time in thirty six years of being a Bolton Wanderers Season Ticket Holder (with my dad from nine to eighteen then got my own) I am CERTAIN that we WILL be relegated next May. Freedman will NOT be fired because his contract runs out then and there will be NO new signings to get us out of it at the last gasp again. He's lucked out that way twice already and I am SURE this season his luck will run out as every club out there now knows we can ONLY afford loans or free transfers and every PLAYER worth anything won't want to be part of this mess.

Sorry but this is BRILLIANT, so over the top it's great!

wanderlust wrote:

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

wanderlust wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Mason only played well alongside Juke - in his first spell on loan he played on his own upfront and was bobbins.

I'm glad Mason isn't signing, we need a different sort of striker for Dougie's negative shite.

That may be jumping the gun. OGS has been playing Dougie for a while about this to lever more out of the deal - seems to think he has Dougie over a barrel - so maybe Dougie is feigning disinterest i.e. calling his bluff to hurry things along. Either that or sending a message to Ollie along the lines of shit or get off the pan.

And I think Mason could play well alongside Wood if we get him.

lusty come on man; I know you like to try and see the positives but this is getting positively myopic never mind rose tinted my friend. We don't HAVE any money and we have a useless manager, inept chairman and zero spirit around the team. I know it's only the first week of the season but it's been obvious all summer and through pre-season that we're deep in the doo doo and we're sinking ever faster.

I hate to say this but for the first time in thirty six years of being a Bolton Wanderers Season Ticket Holder (with my dad from nine to eighteen then got my own) I am CERTAIN that we WILL be relegated next May. Freedman will NOT be fired because his contract runs out then and there will be NO new signings to get us out of it at the last gasp again. He's lucked out that way twice already and I am SURE this season his luck will run out as every club out there now knows we can ONLY afford loans or free transfers and every PLAYER worth anything won't want to be part of this mess.

Seeing as it looks as if I was 100% right about the build up to the Mason signing and the logic behind feigning disinterest,  I'm struggling to see what you're on about as regards the "rose-tinted" bit. I remain a realist so just because I try to bring some balance to the "who is the most disgusted/upset/pissed off" contest by trying to stick to the facts and laughing at the ridiculous speculation it doesn't give me a "rose-tinted" perspective at all.

Are you saying that any player who is affordable wouldn't want to come to BWFC and that we won't get any further improvements to the squad and therefore will get relegated?
I agree it's possible Dougie won't get his targets but at worst he will either get at least one alternative loanee striker in, or if that proves impossible, will just about have enough in the current squad to avoid relegation. And from what I can tell from the investment strategy that would appear to be the target for this season.

We'll see how the season pans out but your post just comes across as being hysterical at the moment.

Lusty, please wake up mate. I really want to be wrong and see us do well this season because I love the club but the display against Watford added to the pre-season tells me nothing has changed except for the worse. 

As to Dougie not getting his targets, well, frankly he's had all summer to get in a striker at least and yet the only bodies he actually signed are players who were already here on loan and now FREE because their parent clubs didn't WANT them anymore. He sent Cravies to League One last season in order to bring in Juke (I thought that was a massively bad decision at the time and am perfectly happy to admit I was wrong) but now Juke's gone to Burnley and suddenly in Dougie-land Cravies is the answer to all our problems. The man clearly has no idea what he is doing. I'm sorry lusty; I tried, really tried to find some reason to be more patient but look at what's actually happening and it's obvious where we're going if the current "management" stay in place. 

Gartside and Freedman have to go. Or we ARE going down. Over the top or not that's my honest opinion based on the facts as they stand. I'd like to be wrong of course but I really don't think I am. Mason's not good enough unless he has a really good striker in front of him and right now we don't have one at all. Even if we did the manifest problems everywhere else on the pitch are even worse now than they were twelve months ago and suggesting things are going better sounds like fiddling in Rome. Sorry but that's how I truly see it.

Sorry Pete, but to say we are definitely going down after one game is beyond ridiculous. How can anybody make a prediction with such certainty after one game, it's a nonsense. I know you're a pessimist when it comes to BWFC, but you must see how unreasonable that is.

bwfc1874 wrote:Sorry Pete, but to say we are definitely going down after one game is beyond ridiculous. How can anybody make a prediction with such certainty after one game, it's a nonsense. I know you're a pessimist when it comes to BWFC, but you must see how unreasonable that is.

If Freedman remains in charge I stand by that statement. I'd love to be wrong but I don't see it. As to being a constant pessimist I take issue with that because for a very long time I stuck by many managers and this club no matter how low they and it sank. I was there in Division 4 and know how bad it can get as do you. I am a pessimist under the current circumstances because they warrant it. I refuse to pretend I believe that without major changes at the top things will get anything but worse. 

I want to see some reason for hope; I desperately want to be proven wrong in saying I don't feel any now. But as things currently stand and given what I can see on the field and off we ARE going down this time. If that's unreasonable in your opinion so be it. I love this club as do you but clearly we see very different things when we look at it today.

All I think is that's it's unreasonable to say we're DEFINITELY getting relegated this season as it stands. Off the back of one game.

bwfc1874 wrote:All I think is that's it's unreasonable to say we're DEFINITELY getting relegated this season as it stands. Off the back of one game.

Alright my friend I can accept that point of view but let me ask a question. Assume Dougie and his people are still here next May. Now tell me where you believe we'll finish.

Mid-table, as I've already said. One game isn't going to change that.

Had we won against Watford I wouldn't fancy us for promotion all of a sudden, so why would i think relegation because we lost?

bwfc1874 wrote:Mid-table, as I've already said. One game isn't going to change that.

Had we won against Watford I wouldn't fancy us for promotion all of a sudden, so why would i think relegation because we lost?

Fair enough; I think you're wrong but who knows? Maybe we both are. Maybe Dougie will eat some magic beans and suddenly become Brian Clough reincarnated and turn our players into World beating superstars who win the league by thirty points.

Alright that's obviously a bit sarcastic of me but I think you're dangerously complacent about things. We scraped mid table last season thanks to some luck in the loan market. Such luck runs out in the end and I honestly believe we're not going to be able to rely on it this season but given our lack of movement on signing anyone who wasn't already here and our failure to bring in a proper striker once we'd lost out on Juke is going to cost us in a big way. I don't blame DF alone as you already know but I think staying with him and as we are is simply begging for trouble. It's not based on one game mate; it's based on the clearly visible trend of the last two seasons.