paulhanley

The fact that this question is a bit of a head-scratcher tells you exactly why SS wants to sign a couple of characters/leaders.

You do not skimp in central defence. It never ends well. Richard Taylor seems to be being counted in as a left back. If Forrester leaves that leaves us with Johnston, Toal (not a great fitness record), Forino (even less of a fitness record), Inwood (promising but two games in to his professional career). That is flimsy.

Hitchin Town are my second team because that's where I lived when I first moved to the south. They are a comfortably bigger club that Atherton Colls. They got relegated to a league that is below their level at the end of last season. Average gates are 500-700. A few seasons ago they were within an ace of making it to National League South in the play offs.

Well we would need direct replacements for the pair of them but I appreciate what you mean.

We can only read between the lines but the impression is that the lad needs an agent who does not want to be the centre of attention.

Has there been anything new on Jesper Ceesay? I certainly have certainly not seen any updates for more than a week now. Maybe that one is off the radar now!

Curious that SS said Inwood was "One of four centre backs we have available". We've got Johnston, Taylor, Toal, Forino and Inwood (Forrester injured). I wonder which one of the five he is not counting as a centre back?

Absolutely sick and tired of it. Two hamstring injuries and not a ball kicked in earnest. If it is going to be like this again all season we massively have our work cut out. Avoiding injuries counts for a lot and for whatever reason we just do not seem able to have any kind of run of luck with them.

Bit of a poor show today. Nobody signed, nobody sold. Come on Schumacher and Harkin. Get it sorted. 🙂

Iles talking up a LB, forward and replacement keeper as the next incoming deals. Maybe that means Ceesay is no longer a priority.

There is no doubt he is a good un. His fitness record would be of concern to any prospective buyer.

Having brought in Simons, if Ceesay is also to sign, I would imagine one of the current midfield cohort will be shipped out.

Our central defenders are Forrester, Taylor, Forino, Johnston, Inwood, Toal. I would say that is about the right number of we intend a back three. To be honest even if we play 442 I would be loathe to lose any of them as a number can also play in other decisions. We could perhaps loan Inwood out. Central defence is the last place to cut corners. I have seen us do it before and other than the time Simon Charlton had to be converted to centre half, it never ends well.

RIP to the two lads and condolences to their families. It was a double take moment when reading the news. Understandable that the fans of the club are rallying around. However I can also see the point some are making about the mawkish nature of some of the reaction. It becomes another form of virtue signalling ego-tripping and there is too much of it in the modern world.

Interesting summer so far. First five signings down very traditional routes and until the Ceesay links emerged a week ago there was little hint of us casting our net in to European markets. Then we first make a signing from Rapid Vienna and one pending from Norrkoping. Gale is the first signing of diminutive stature this summer but the point with him is he adds the pace and acceleration that we have lacked as much as the physique. Schon and Tutu were signed from abroad last summer with mixed results. Gale has an injury record like Tutu had/has. It is a signing over which there will naturally be one or two reservations. We obviously hope they prove groundless. Almost as much interest over this next month as to who we sell as to who we bring in. One thing for sure - if we dont quite know what to expect once that trip to Edgeley Park comes around then Stockport sure as hell wont either. We wanted a shake-up and we are getting one.

Interesting activity in and out of Edgeley Park today. Olaofe out to Charlton and Mothersille from Peterbrough signed as his replacement. Last year's results against them were hard to take. Not sure just how much relevance they'll have come that first weekend of the season given both clubs are shaping up to have very different playing staff.

Interesting to contrast our transfer strategy with our three nearest and dearest neighbours. We are out there clearly trying to sign players whose age is such that their value has a chance of rising in coming years. The closest to us just now seems to be Stockport. However they have only made two such signings and lost quite a few of their main squad from last season. So they are wheeling and dealing like us with some action undoubtedly still to come Blackpool meanwhile are right in at the experienced end of the market signing five players in their later 20s/early 30s, all bar one of whom have been on free transfers. They may well prove solid stuff for next season including a centre half from Stockport as per above. Meanwhile the pie pests have signed three strikers who do not have any record of goalscoring at League 1 level - not even Mullin who they have on loan. In terms of immediate impact/solidity for next year you might be happiest so far if you're Blackpool. But signing a bunch of experienced free transfers (Ennis excepted, he cost a fee) is something that rarely works out how you think it will.

The original source. https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/5EayXz/avslojar-bolton-rycker-i-ifk-norrkopings-jesper-ceesay

I'm dubious about the Celtic link. We may well have had a look at this lad and possibly even made a bid. However when a prospective selling club seems to be bandying about the fee they want then it's time to cool off a bit. Being used to try to create an auction is not where we need to be spending our energies and I am sure SS and Fergal will think the same. We seem to have suffered the same fate with N'mai from Salford. I liked the Simons signing because there was very little pre-amble in the media and the Richard Taylor signing had absolutely none. The former came with a fee too. I hope we can do our business that way without being used and manipulated.

If we'd been in for Ennis I am guessing he'd have come here. It's been very quiet on that front for weeks from a BWFC perspective. All suggests to me we've had one or two others in mind all along. At 5ft 10 he's hardly the all out target man type to provide direct competition for Dalby.

Oldham will bring a good few for this - and they'll be hoping for entertainment off the field as well as on it.

Yes that's a fair parallel. Let's hope there's some Walker/McGinlay type replacements to follow !

We had all those April and May conversations about SS and co not having much leeway for change due to so few being out of contract. They are trying to cut through all that by wheeling and dealing. As I've said before, this is revolution not evolution. We had all become tired of the lack of backbone, physique and power in our squad. It's being tackled. Expect a few others to be moved on as well. Buckle up for a busy few weeks folks.

Probably been posted before but here goes: 1979/80 and a relegation doomed Bolton give high flying Ipswich led by Bobby Robson a real game but lose 1-0.

Collins is a good footballer but if we are to address the well known balance issue in our squad then its not just a case of getting more physique, pace and strength in. Its also a case of reducing the numbers of diminutive, skillful, mercurial types. If MK have offered top dollar and our intention is to use that cash to buy in another one or two to aid that rebalancing, so be it. Tough thing to do as a football fan but its best to avoid the temptation to assess things signing by signing and sale by sale. The full picture is some way from emerging and its clearly going to be a dynamic summer with a lot of wheeling and dealing. If there's a genuine concern it is that such is likely to be the turnover that it'll be a good few months before the squad gels. But we can't have it all ways.