4 minutes ago, Rizlar said:

Randal could still be with us when the window close !

Won't be at all surprised to see both him and McAtee still here this season, both on £10k.+ Since their promotion pay rises, neither are ever seeing that money again when they leave.

Best we can hope for is someone takes them on loan for a year and covers at best half their wages.

Evatt absolutely shafting us even now.

17 minutes ago, meanderson93 said:

Won't be at all surprised to see both him and McAtee still here this season, both on £10k.+ Since their promotion pay rises, neither are ever seeing that money again when they leave.

Best we can hope for is someone takes them on loan for a year and covers at best half their wages.

Evatt absolutely shafting us even now.

Think you could be right .

THIS is what's depressing.

On 09/08/2026 at 22:19, Alf Hartigan said:

John Thomas was our best striker with two first names

As Byrom is an old english boys name I'm claiming top trumps 😀

John Thomas was a 4 cylinder and John Byrom an 8 cylinder so that's fair enough if you're counting Byrom as a first name 😀

NTT20 podcast has us finishing bottom this season.

9 hours ago, paulhanley said:

They've not got that right. Famewo and Watson came in for fees, I think Iles was saying Watson was £150K.

Famewo and Watson were both free transfers. Famewo is 27 so no development fee but Watson might of had some kind of fee as he's 21.

Surely though nowhere in the master plan was the thought of starting the season with only 1 recognised striker?? The plan must’ve failed miserably so far. World Cup or not, I just can’t believe that.

The squads weaker than last year 😳

34 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Famewo and Watson were both free transfers. Famewo is 27 so no development fee but Watson might of had some kind of fee as he's 21.

Not according to our own website on the day we signed him. It says "undisclosed fee"

Famewo Completes Hat-Trick | Bolton Wanderers FC

1 hour ago, bwfc4ife said:

Surely though nowhere in the master plan was the thought of starting the season with only 1 recognised striker?? The plan must’ve failed miserably so far. World Cup or not, I just can’t believe that.

The squads weaker than last year 😳

It's not the best of looks is it. Should be pretty much all set and ready to put our best foot first from the beginning in this league. Points will be precious this season.

4 minutes ago, deeane Koontz said:

It's not the best of looks is it. Should be pretty much all set and ready to put our best foot first from the beginning in this league. Points will be precious this season.

I hope we're all looking like fools in a couple weeks time with another 4/5 big signings later but sitting on our hands waiting around could be a very dangerous game. I feel for SS

2 minutes ago, deeane Koontz said:

It's not the best of looks is it. Should be pretty much all set and ready to put our best foot first from the beginning in this league. Points will be precious this season.

The issue is we went up at our first attempt of really rinsing the loan market. Whereas the first 4 L1 seasons we had 1 or 2 loans we had 6 loans this last season, all involved in the first team. Great for getting us over the line last year, but a nightmare recruiting good enough quality to fill the squad this year.

Is what it is though. We had to take a punt last year to get up, knowing that this would be the trade off.

2 hours ago, bwfc4ife said:

Surely though nowhere in the master plan was the thought of starting the season with only 1 recognised striker?? The plan must’ve failed miserably so far. World Cup or not, I just can’t believe that.

The squads weaker than last year 😳

The team that started ar Sheff Wed would lose to the team that beat Stockport at Wembley.

Definitely need at least 5 more better quality. But we all know that.

Frightening really, how much weaker as a team we are from last season. Thought we had two plans in place for transfers. One, ifof we got promoted and one if stuck in EFL1. Did the plan not include strikers?

Can't blame everything on the WC, as we are not in that player pool anyway

Edited August 11Aug 11 by noxid

4 hours ago, jayjayoghani said:

NTT20 podcast has us finishing bottom this season.

They also don't rate our defensive signings, with the exception of Stephenson

21 minutes ago, Ratwhite said:

The team that started ar Sheff Wed would lose to the team that beat Stockport at Wembley.

Definitely need at least 5 more better quality. But we all know that.

Edited August 11Aug 11 by bwfc4ife

Not convinced that anyone we have brought in is someone we have identified since the Wembley game.

Dont know if there is anything in these injuries but i am giving SS a free hit until Sep......Sorry but this is on the back room team. If we get one or two in this week it still not be enougth.

Top and bottom of it we are stuck with two Evatt signings that will be costing us 80k a month until next Summer.

If we take the Duberry and Kenny signings assuming they would sign, sure to god its gotta be worth the fee because we'd at least breakeven selling them both in 12 months even if we got relegated?

1 minute ago, bwfc4ife said:

If we take the Duberry and Kenny signings assuming they would sign, sure to god its gotta be worth the fee because we'd at least breakeven selling them both in 12 months even if we got relegated?

I don't think we'll be signing either.

Bright have ACD around the first team squad for now, he may only become available later in the window and we can't wait around.

Similar for Kenny, he wants to stay there whether that's misguided is irrelevant really, we again can't wait for him to realise he's wasting his time.

So yeah I agree with the sentiment that signings of their ilk would make sound business sense, we're at the mercy of them actually being available. This Dean wants to come it seems and may be available for similar money whilst being younger, English so may have higher resale value and looking to have more about him than Kenny did coming here last year.

6 minutes ago, bwfc4ife said:

If we take the Duberry and Kenny signings assuming they would sign, sure to god its gotta be worth the fee because we'd at least breakeven selling them both in 12 months even if we got relegated?

if we had 5 million to buy duberry and another 15/20 a week to pay him, thats all but 6 million quid

however good he, we would not get 6 million quid if relegated

youd have a player who wanted out and a club who would need rid quick sharp

i think we would take a very big hit

only way duberry comes, imo, is a loan

I dont agree i'm afraid, i believe Duberry would do enough in the champ next season to justify at least 6 mill

Nixon reporting Dean in for a medical... take that how you wish.

11 hours ago, meanderson93 said:

Won't be at all surprised to see both him and McAtee still here this season, both on £10k.+ Since their promotion pay rises, neither are ever seeing that money again when they leave.

Best we can hope for is someone takes them on loan for a year and covers at best half their wages.

Evatt absolutely shafting us even now.

Still a head scratcher that McAtee and Randall are mentioned in the same conversations.

McAtee scored more goals away from home (7, all different games) than anyone else in the last 2 seasons, and he hardly started any last year (Dalby the only one to come close on 6).

We'll be weaker when he goes and we'll probably spend more to replace him.

These preview articles / pods by NTT20 and others probably ought to come with a caveat that they'll repeat/revise them first week of September. A lot of clubs might be in different places personnel-wise by then. I sincerely hope we're one such club.

Edited August 11Aug 11 by ianofcleveleys

1 hour ago, bwfc4ife said:

I hope we're all looking like fools in a couple weeks time with another 4/5 big signings later but sitting on our hands waiting around could be a very dangerous game. I feel for SS

That would be great if we sat here with a load of championship standard players in 3 weeks. But the season starts on Saturday and if someone offered us a postponement I'd be tempted! Normally I'd be counting down the hours to KO for the first game of the season in a higher division, buzzing to see the new signings show what they can do.

Could be worse I suppose, a year ago we'd already played 6 league games by the end of August (only won one), at least its only half that this year.