(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

2 minutes ago, waffer cup 07 said:

So Hutchinson signs a two year deal to be No3.

Unless he had offers from elsewhere. Why not ? If Southwood goes we need 3 keepers in squad. They do not take up squad places do they ? 

58 minutes ago, waffer cup 07 said:

So Hutchinson signs a two year deal to be No3.

Seen that, surprised me.

 I thought he would be let go. Saw him a couple of times and thought he was a good shot stopper but didn’t seem big enough to dominate in the air.

Maybe Colls fans are the best judges in this case.

9 minutes ago, Steejay said:

Seen that, surprised me.

 I thought he would be let go. Saw him a couple of times and thought he was a good shot stopper but didn’t seem big enough to dominate in the air.

Maybe Colls fans are the best judges in this case.

Well if he moves permanently it means we get a fee and since he’s been here so long we deserve one. I think he’ll be loaned out to get him in the shop window unless Southwood decides to go which I still think is very likely.

3 hours ago, Ani said:

On his day he was miles ahead, his potential is based on those days. His lack of consistency means he has never achieved his potential.

You said yourself pre Oxford you thought he could step up. So clearly thought he had the potential. 

I thought he might have been capable yes, but I've changed my mind.  Its like the jury might be out on say Sheehan, Morley, Tomo or Santos on whether they could make a go of it in the championship - lots of different views of them on here and changing of minds the more evidence there is. 

Its not because Collins has missed a few chances (as well as scoring and creating some good goals of course), but because he's so weak when trying to gain or keep possession.  We'd presumably see less of the ball in the championship, there would be times he wouldn't get a kick (same could said of Charles).

7 hours ago, gonzo said:

There's not a chance MK are making moves to sign Collins without being tipped the wink by his agent.

Hence other clubs were sniffing too.

He's just won player of the season and is our top scorer. Clubs wouldn't make a move unless they were told too.

Not like he's on peanuts with us either.

Quite possibly. 

BN article does explain though that their manager has coveted him previously. 

It is possible too, that if they have sufficient cash, then they can make these surprise bids- just like Wrexham and Brum have done.

At the same time, if the feelers have been put out so to speak, then the agent would only be doing his job in trying to get something sorted.

Who is Hutchinson? Is he related to Hutch

7 hours ago, gonzo said:

There's not a chance MK are making moves to sign Collins without being tipped the wink by his agent.

Hence other clubs were sniffing too.

He's just won player of the season and is our top scorer. Clubs wouldn't make a move unless they were told too.

Not like he's on peanuts with us either.

No one thinks he’s moving because he wanted to go to MK surely. Club have 100% lined this up.

14 minutes ago, tomski said:

No one thinks he’s moving because he wanted to go to MK surely. Club have 100% lined this up.

Maybe he was told to find a new club and this is what his agent found for him 

Anyway 

Collins plus mendez Laing plus lad at Crawley plus Paul Warne equals 

 

4 minutes ago, Zico said:

Maybe he was told to find a new club and this is what his agent found for him 

Anyway 

Collins plus mendez Laing plus lad at Crawley plus Paul Warne equals 

 

Double it up with back to back promotions there only spending big next season as well .
That would mean 3 billionaire owners in league 1 next season if Wycombe don’t go up shows dynamics in football are changing tranmere in league 2 with a big take over on the cards 

Edited June 17, 2025Jun 17 by Farnywhite

34 minutes ago, tomski said:

No one thinks he’s moving because he wanted to go to MK surely. Club have 100% lined this up.

A fair few on Twitter are suggesting so

Wow we may as well call it a day if that happened. I’m calling bollocks. 

29 minutes ago, Zico said:

Maybe he was told to find a new club and this is what his agent found for him 

Anyway 

Collins plus mendez Laing plus lad at Crawley plus Paul Warne equals 

 

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. He was told he’s offski

Bolton Wanderers boss Steven Schumacher gives an update on their summer recruitment.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ljtsjt

12 minutes ago, tomski said:

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. He was told he’s offski

Or he’s offered more money. Short window to earn money. He ain’t wway elite earning coin until late 60’s or early 90’s in @athywhite1958 case 

Just now, Big E said:

Or he’s offered more money. Short window to earn money. He ain’t wway elite earning coin until late 60’s or early 90’s in @athywhite1958 case 

No. Poor people don’t tick like that.

1 hour ago, burnden said:

Bolton Wanderers boss Steven Schumacher gives an update on their summer recruitment.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ljtsjt

Sounds like he has a clear idea of what he wants and that’s a good thing. Also sounds like that Santos and Baxter were rated as I rated them, but if they don’t fit, they don’t fit - or were paid too much. Both seem to have accepted a payday on the bench.

Clearly there’s more shuffling to be done, but it will be Schueys team and with a bit of luck folk on here will finally stop blaming Evatt for everything - including the player’s attitude and performance even though that continued under Schuey.

We’ll see how it pans out but as per usual, I’m stupidly optimistic.

2 hours ago, tomski said:

Who is Hutchinson? Is he related to Hutch

I think he's Hutch's son

49 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Sounds like he has a clear idea of what he wants and that’s a good thing. Also sounds like that Santos and Baxter were rated as I rated them, but if they don’t fit, they don’t fit - or were paid too much. Both seem to have accepted a payday on the bench.

Clearly there’s more shuffling to be done, but it will be Schueys team and with a bit of luck folk on here will finally stop blaming Evatt for everything - including the player’s attitude and performance even though that continued under Schuey.

We’ll see how it pans out but as per usual, I’m stupidly optimistic.

But it is Evatt who assembled a squad of cunts. I long for the day people accept he was the problem. Post Oxford he set us back. 

1 hour ago, Big E said:

But it is Evatt who assembled a squad of cunts. I long for the day people accept he was the problem. Post Oxford he set us back. 

Evatt was sold moneyball purchases on Markham’s department’s recommendation and if you look at the stats of the players that were brought in to do a specific job they were ok considering the budget. 

But there are no viable stats for character and personality.

We bought players who were ok “on paper” - and Evatt was quick to realise the error - he’d assumed they all would have the never-say-die attitude that he had himself as a player. That’s his mistake.

As fans, we’d like to think all players would bust a bollock to win by any means, but it just ain’t so and we ended up with too many who believed their own hype.

When Evatt walked, he finally dropped the PR approach of bigging the players up in the hope of giving them self belief and called out the prima donnas.

And he was right as Schueys tenure to date has proved.

Dress it up as you like, but no BWFC manager since the 1880s has a higher win rate than Evatt - better than Todd, Rioch and Allardyce.

Edited June 17, 2025Jun 17 by Wanderlust

40 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Dress it up as you like, but no BWFC manager since the 1880s has a higher win rate than Evatt

Only one other BWFC manager since the 1880s - Phil Neal - has spent two seasons or more as our manager in the third tier, and failed to deliver promotion to the second tier.

Phil Neal managed the club through years when finances were dire - we had to build a supermarket over more than a third of Burnden’s capacity to avoid going under. In contrast, recent finances were robust enough to allow significant spending by Evatt; with no better return. Neal also a delivered an EFL Trophy win - by a bigger margin - and a play off final defeat - which at least went to extra time, and Comstive missing a sitter just before 90 minutes to win it really wasn’t Neal’s fault!

Think what you like of Evatt but, for me, he’s the one of the worst managers I’ve seen at Bolton in over 50 years of watching the Wanderers. 

According to the BEN, Dan can leave, I'll be surprised if we get any cash for him tbh.

Edited June 18, 2025Jun 18 by Blondi

5 hours ago, Wanderlust said:

Evatt was sold moneyball purchases on Markham’s department’s recommendation and if you look at the stats of the players that were brought in to do a specific job they were ok considering the budget. 

But there are no viable stats for character and personality.

We bought players who were ok “on paper” - and Evatt was quick to realise the error - he’d assumed they all would have the never-say-die attitude that he had himself as a player. That’s his mistake.

As fans, we’d like to think all players would bust a bollock to win by any means, but it just ain’t so and we ended up with too many who believed their own hype.

When Evatt walked, he finally dropped the PR approach of bigging the players up in the hope of giving them self belief and called out the prima donnas.

And he was right as Schueys tenure to date has proved.

Dress it up as you like, but no BWFC manager since the 1880s has a higher win rate than Evatt - better than Todd, Rioch and Allardyce.

Win percentages in lge one and two should never ever be compared with win percentages in the Premiership

Spin it all you like Evatt was a one trick manager who could not change a game mid-match and got found out.

His substitutions on the hour mark very predictable week in week out........Think you are fishing saying he was a better manager than those three.

And as saying he was right all along because Schumacher could not get a tune out of those players it was because the team Schumacher inherited was so lobsided that he could not change the system.

Evatt squad was slow and small....He liked to think that he was the second coming and trying to re-invent the game in his final season.

The slow build up play between  the keeper, Santos, Cogley/Jones into Sheehan continued when we had only one two in midfield and cost goals most weeks. Inverted  full backs,forwards that cannot head the ball or hold it up

Wingbacks that could not beat a man or cross the ball unless they got to the byeline and then instructed to cross it hard and low.

Nothing wrong with players mentality just a excuse wheeled out by rank bad management.

 

11 hours ago, tomski said:

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. He was told he’s offski

It's still his decision whether to go there, or anywhere else for that matter.

Wouldn't surprise me if he has been told he can leave given SS' statements, but I suppose Collins has the cards by dint of his contract.

6 hours ago, Rival Son said:

 

Think what you like of Evatt but, for me, he’s the one of the worst managers I’ve seen at Bolton in over 50 years of watching the Wanderers. 

Where as @masi 51& @Wanderlusthad every reasoned posts on both sides of the fence this is just ridiculous. 

The answer is always somewhere in the middle. 

 

1 hour ago, gonzo said:

Where as @masi 51& @Wanderlusthad every reasoned posts on both sides of the fence this is just ridiculous. 

The answer is always somewhere in the middle. 

 

He gave us some great moments and built a really good team, peaking at the pizza final or arguably around the Sunderland massacre.

However, his ego took over and he became a busted flush.

He refused to accept that he could possibly get things wrong and this lack of flexibility was his downfall.

Mental to say that he was one of the worst ever managers, though.