(That long since we've had any, couldn't find the thread)

Alan Nixon: "Top Liverpool starlet Cameron Branagan will Ben allowed out on loan in Jan.

Bolton lead the race for the 20 year old midfielder"

Edited December 11, 20169 yr by Ratwhite

7 hours ago, masi 51 said:

Peter O"Rourke saying Liverpool have accepted a bid for Luca Stephenson from Bolton......That was at 2-20 this afternoon

Thought Mark lles said there was nothing in it??

19 minutes ago, Blondi said:

Thought Mark lles said there was nothing in it??

Still saying the same, although hedging his bets a bit.

Keeping club info close to his chest maybe?

Loose lips and all that..

Pete O'Rourke on X: "Understand Liverpool have accepted an offer from Bolton for Luca Stephenson. Stephenson, who can in midfield or defence, has spent the last two seasons in the Scottish Premiership on loan at Dundee United. #LFC #BWFC #DUFC https://t.co/VbsToWbs5B" / X

Luca Stephenson - Dundee Loan

Luca Stephenson vs Preston North End - YouTube

Not sure why the tweet and two YouTube video's are not displaying above?

Something to do with the upgrade perhaps?

To be honest I can't work out from these video's where Stephenson plays?

In his Liverpool game against Preston he seemed to me to be playing as a centre back, or perhaps the right side of a back three. The game was a pre-season friendly last year before he joined Dundee on a season's loan where he seemed to play both on the right side AND the left side in attack AND defence?

I suspect from all that, that he might be here as a wing back (and as Liverpool played him on the 'right' side of defence), maybe he's pencilled in as Tutu's replacement?

First impression is that he's not shy of sticking his foot in and using his head.

Seems to have very quick reactions.

Hard to say how fast he is from the video's but he does seem the first to react to things, so probably quick to get away from players in the first few steps anyway.

I would imagine he's good at pressing and closing down the ball and based solely on the clips above, he seems to have a good engine getting up and down the pitch all day, probably quick to make the spare man in counter attacks.

Luckily he doesn't seem to have the touch of a rapist (whatever that meant) nor does the ball bounce off him (not that I've seen anyway!

Time will tell how right or wrong I am but he looks quite useful to me.

Fingers crossed everything works out!

10 hours ago, Whitesince63 said:

Good player, good age and scores goals, exactly the type we need to be looking at.

Get both. They could car share.

9 hours ago, bwfc4ife said:

I'd be tempted to put a cheeky bid in for Tolaj @ plymouth. Think he was almost 1 in 2 last season.

17 in 29 league games

I believe Plymouth paid over a mil for him last summer, would take 3 or 4 times that to get him in now.

Think I said at the time we should have been all over that deal.

6 hours ago, meanderson93 said:

I believe Plymouth paid over a mil for him last summer, would take 3 or 4 times that to get him in now.

Think I said at the time we should have been all over that deal.

We're in the champ now baby, not many bargains about

22 hours ago, barrycowdrill said:

Hmmm not sure on this one… scored a decent amount of goals last season but went very much under the radar.. 

He'd be a good signing. Completely different kind of player to Dalby. He scored a hatful last season in a poor team and they weren't all tap ins.

I commented after his hat trick in Jan/Feb(?) time that the goals he scored were excellent, he made something out of nothing chances.

He should be relatively cheap so get him in and still have budget for another striker.

I know Sluffy posted above, but was just seeing if YouTube video embedded.. looks like it has.

I think he’s Tutu’s replacement. First impressions (very unqualified from two videos) are that he looks defensively sound and can put a foot in. Primary position for us RB/RWB, but does seem versatile too.

This is exciting. Players signed this window will have to be very, very carefully selected and ideally good for the longer term. With increased revenue in the Championship and amortisation of transfer fees over contract length we could end up with a team good enough to survive despite Squad Cost Rules and the fact that existing Championship clubs have already have the squad advantage they gained under the old system. Very high risk handing out longer contracts, but I suspect we may go down that road with a few younger prospects. The owners could balance the books by selling off assets like land for development or the hotel, but under SCR that income couldn’t be used for buying players or staff wages so we need to buy very, very well and could do with some of our youngsters coming through.

Amortisation is a financial term with two primary meanings: spreading the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life (in accounting), or gradually paying down a loan in regular installments (in debt repayment)

Does anybody have any thoughts of what formation SS may go with next season ? Will he continue with wingers or change to a more solid system?

14 minutes ago, Rizlar said:

Does anybody have any thoughts of what formation SS may go with next season ? Will he continue with wingers or change to a more solid system?

It’s a good debate.

I’m not sure.

Personally I like the wingers. It’s been so exciting and refreshing. A big part of our success this year.

But next year is a completely different challenge and I see the line of thought that going away to West Ham and Burnley without a more solid approach would be risky - we’d need wingers who track back.

So with only Gale left currently (mad to think we’ve lost 4 of them!) I could see why we might favour a different approach.

Interesting few months ahead on the recruitment front.

50 minutes ago, desperado said:

I know Sluffy posted above, but was just seeing if YouTube video embedded.. looks like it has.

I think he’s Tutu’s replacement. First impressions (very unqualified from two videos) are that he looks defensively sound and can put a foot in. Primary position for us RB/RWB, but does seem versatile too.

He gives a lot of throw-ins away.

Just trying out the add photo feature in the app.

It seems the scousers aren't happy with this possible 'giveaway'

Edited June 4Jun 4 by Burndens Bogs

19 minutes ago, desperado said:

It’s a good debate.

I’m not sure.

Personally I like the wingers. It’s been so exciting and refreshing. A big part of our success this year.

But next year is a completely different challenge and I see the line of thought that going away to West Ham and Burnley without a more solid approach would be risky - we’d need wingers who track back.

So with only Gale left currently (mad to think we’ve lost 4 of them!) I could see why we might favour a different approach.

Interesting few months ahead on the recruitment front.

My thoughts as well , see who they bring in may give us a clue to the thinking of SS and Fergal .

Exciting times ahead !

52 minutes ago, Rizlar said:

Does anybody have any thoughts of what formation SS may go with next season ? Will he continue with wingers or change to a more solid system?

Everything rightly in my opinion to a more solid system. SS will have one remit this coming season that is to finish 4th bottom or better.

Horses for courses what worked in lge1 wont work in the championship.

49 minutes ago, desperado said:

It’s a good debate.

I’m not sure.

Personally I like the wingers. It’s been so exciting and refreshing. A big part of our success this year.

But next year is a completely different challenge and I see the line of thought that going away to West Ham and Burnley without a more solid approach would be risky - we’d need wingers who track back.

So with only Gale left currently (mad to think we’ve lost 4 of them!) I could see why we might favour a different approach.

Interesting few months ahead on the recruitment front.

Maybe SS is planning a look at Warren as one of them.

1 hour ago, fishbulb said:

Amortisation is a financial term with two primary meanings: spreading the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life (in accounting), or gradually paying down a loan in regular installments (in debt repayment)

Yup and for further clarification in this case, the rules say we can only spend so much compared to our football income so in crude terms if we sign a player for 4 million and give him a contract for 4 years it can be accounted as a million each year.

33 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Yup and for further clarification in this case, the rules say we can only spend so much compared to our football income so in crude terms if we sign a player for 4 million and give him a contract for 4 years it can be accounted as a million each year.

You still have to have the money to actually make those payments though 😄

20 hours ago, bwfc4ife said:

I'd be tempted to put a cheeky bid in for Tolaj @ plymouth. Think he was almost 1 in 2 last season.

Good shout but I think he has higher aspirations. Whether he gets them of course?

1 hour ago, fishbulb said:

Amortisation is a financial term with two primary meanings: spreading the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life (in accounting), or gradually paying down a loan in regular installments (in debt repayment)

My mate Wanderlust likes to talk the talk but unfortunately he doesn't understand much of what he says, for instance we certainly won't be selling off the hotel anytime soon, certainly not whilst PBP holds a charge over the asset. It's a bit like someone buying say a car on Hire Purchase (do people still do that?) anyway you don't OWN the car until the last payment is made - you can't sell it before then because you don't own the title to it. Meaning FV would have to first pay off the loan secured against the hotel by PBP if they ever wanted to sell the hotel (not to mention how difficult they would make life difficult for themselves in the future not owning the whole of the stadium if they ever wanted to sell the club).

Similar Amortisation is simply a booking keeping accounting requirement than any reality to a football club,

Amortisation in simple words is the depreciation of an asset over the period of its life for example say we bought a player for £12m on a 3 year contract his value as an asset to the club would be written down by £4m each year and thus he would be an asset of zero worth as his contract ends,. If we bought the same player for the same money on a 4 year contract his value as an asset would be written down by £3m each year instead - same player but in bookkeeping terms valued at different amounts simply depending on the length of his contract (Chelsea deliberately amortises the players it buys on silly year contract lengths simply to help avoid PL rules on the limit of debt owners can put into the club).

The real worth of any player is what someone else will pay to own his contract, I doubt very much that we will be handing out any contracts over 4 years in length to any player, anytime soon.