I fear a low post count this summer, while we are sat in limbo. The Ben has nothing to offer. There's not a sniff of transfer gossip.
One wonders how long the radio silence will last.

Which Napoleon sang - They are Coming to Take me Away. and why am I singing it

The 8th annual summer thread. Was hoping this would be a summer looking forward to a season in the championship, unfortunately it's a 4th season in league one. Going into February with 4 new signings Bolton were in a great position. In 2nd place and with games in hand on all teams around them blew a great chance to go up automatically. Just 30 points from the last 19 games meant Bolton finished 3rd with 87 points and 5 behind derby who were promoted in 2nd. Even then Bolton had it in their own hands with 4 to go. 3 draws and 1 win in those 4 consigned Bolton to the play offs. A 5-4 aggregate win over Barnsley had Bolton going to Wembley for the 2nd season on the trot and supporters dreaming of promotion. A new song Baxter at the back, Aaron Collins in attack, we got Paris, Sheehan and Tomo, on the bench we got Cameron Jerome.. The feel good factor was back. Bolton didn't turn up on the day and Oxford won 2-0 in a defeat just as devastating as Tranmere in 1991 and Watford in 1999. That's all history let's look forward now.

The top page is work in progress. I will update it as soon as I can and anything happens.

Could be quiet for a while. With a first team squad of 21 albeit with carty and Mendes Gomes out until 2025 I can't see that much coming in soon. Another midfielder is essential to replace paris, plenty of depth at the back, 2 keepers and 4 strikers. Getting Phil Neal final season vibes already. History shows we didn't do bounce back the season after a play off defeat at wembley.

Thanks Benny
Don't forget folks, we are allowed to have some fun during the summer on here and at the seaside.

If you have any hair up top. I hope still you have it all when next season starts. You might not notice it going during next season.

Illes continues to fill the BN post with dross, it isn't all his fault as he doesn't seem to have much to work with. I wrote earlier that the board needs to get its act together and start releasing some information that the fans can appreciate if not get excited about. There needs to be something coming from the top to explain what happens next.

Will the board be backing Evatt as they have done in the past or will it be a small change in personel? Will Evatt change the set up of the team? After watching Oxford play their three play-off games, I think the way they set up agains both Peterborough and ourselves was very effective. Their 4-2-4 set up worked well against both of their oposition. Four at the back along with the two in the middle, made it difficult for us to find a way through.

I wouldn't mind seeing that system employed by Evatt, They stop you playing whilst attacking on the break with quick balls to the wings or through the middle to strikers with pace to beat defenders. It worked well for them.

If Evatt only wanted to play that systwm as a plan B, it would be better than just launching long balls up the pitch to no one.

As we could do with more posts, send your thoughts on whether you agree, or if you have other ideas. It will keep the part 8 thread going until the board decide that they will put out some news.

It looks like IE is stoppin*

* Subject to change and T&C's
I could write for the Ben me !!

I've got, end of season boredom. You don't get that after promotion do you. The price of failure is hard to take in more ways than one.
Maybe we'll find out, where we are going maybe we won't whatever IE decides.

Right I'm really really bored

Fair warning
I'm off, to think of some to say. I'll need a nap after the thinking.

Back later

There's no news because, a) the transfer window is not open and b) contracts don't expire yet and also c) there is no use spilling all our transfer news now when there's time to be gazumped by other sides.

Keep the power dry and so long as we're in decent order by mod pre season I'll be fine with it.

There's a European Championship to be looking forward to before anything else.

It's summer we should be having some fun.

If you could you release the Ben this summer, would you?
If got me thinking, many years ago I used to get the chip shop paper version and read it.
Times have move on, the Ben's old and past it now, its legs have gone, I can't find a place for it, from the front to back. Its tactics have changed, no skill, no brains.
I don't see the point in keeping it on. Time to get shut.

What would you fill its place with if anything? At first, I thought books but now I don't get the chip shop version. Only spending a few seconds to see if a back page headline tempts me. I can't say how often I look at the front page or read anything else in detail that often.

I'll stick to a very quick glance of the UK's front pages for UK news. That leaves the Wanderers until Neil launches the daily show. The MEN have bits n bobs of Wanderers and some Bolton news. The other Newsquest jobs are all as bad as the Ben.

I conclude we'll eventually be left with the club for most of our Wanderers news.
As for other news you'll be left to find it for yourself. The net, the pub if you can find one, the golf club etc

Right
Who's going to do the where are you going if anywhere for your holidays.


all tippos and speeling errors are protected by my copyright

I'm off to the villa in June and get back 10th of September. While we are there, we will fly down to Seville for a few days. Flights and Hotel are already booked. As always, we have family coming to stay with a couple of girlfriends of the two eldest grandsons coming as well. That should be interesting, I hope they get on with each other.

Just the same as every year, but always enjoyable.

Nothing to say about football, Yes, Pasty, it's boring.

Back work and no time off in June. Spent up with a stayover at wembley and weekend in Milan.

No rest and recovery for toal, Charles, Sheehan and Jones.

Rotherham have signed 5 or 6 including Clark Harris who would have been a decent replacement for Jerome. Not sure Dan and Vic are really good enough and I can see Charles being sold this summer. A lot might happen once the season starts and we know things happen on the last day of the transfer window.

I'd be happy to sell Dion and Rico. The more money in the pot the better. Is Chris Markham up to the job? We've not been trading the right way so far.
I see Toal, Forrester, Collins and Baxter as the keys to our future success.
If IE is a Leopard that doesn't change its spots, we be calling Houston about a problem.

Ogbeta signs for Plymouth. I doubt Bolton were in for him.

Benny
Any chance you can add the dates for the opening and closing of the summer transfer window at the top. Pretty please
My little grey cells need some help.

Thanks Benny.
Feet up for a couple of weeks it is.

Crazy these windows, you think you are sorted in the summer. Before it gets to November, there's talk about the January sales shopping.

Isn't it about time we had one set period for player transfers and sacking managers?

Browsing last summers thread. Very quiet until mid June when the rumours started, couple turned to be true and our first signing on 19th June. No googling. Who was our first, first team signing last summer?

Would it be where I'm off on a Jolly next month? They have a bigger one than Blackpool.

Spent up on trips. Annoying to think staying over for Stevenage and for Wembley. Maybe see if I can do anything when im off work in July for a week. June as many shifts, call outs, overtime I can muster.

Have I been diddled?
I saw somebody had posted and expected to hear I had won a prize for guessing the 1st signing of last summer.
There's only Paris got a bigger one than Blackpool. Towers that is!!

comment by Ye Olde Pasty (U2191)
posted 2 days, 21 hours ago
I'd be happy to sell Dion and Rico. The more money in the pot the better. Is Chris Markham up to the job? We've not been trading the right way so far.
I see Toal, Forrester, Collins and Baxter as the keys to our future success.
If IE is a Leopard that doesn't change its spots, we be calling Houston about a problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
How about Dacres-Cogley, and Dempsey? I rate Cogley and for me he has done enough to prove that can make the grade. He didn't do enough against Oxford, but neither did any other player. Dempsey has been playing off the bench with a fractured back. I recon that he would have started more games had he been fit. He was the only one trying to make an impact when he came on against Oxford.

I know that we wasted three weeks waiting and then playing in the play-offs but like December's transfer window, we seem to be lagging behind other clubs signing free agents.

That won't be such a problem if we have a decent transfer kitty, but we won't know that until the window opens and then closes again.Only then will we be able make an assecssment of the players that have been signed. As for ogbeta, Iwouldn't have signed him, I didn't think that he was good enough.

However, there is still a big question mark over Evatt, he really needs to find a plan B that will work for us, and to do that, he will need some different players who will get stuck in and play the dirty game when neccessary. At the moment I'm not very enthusiastic regarding our outcome for next season. I see Evaytt as a one trip pony who is set in his belief that he can win through with his style of playing. Maybe he could if we had enough money to buy the best players, but we havn't and can't.

comment by Bennythedip - Living The Dream (U9359)
posted 23 hours, 43 minutes ago
Browsing last summers thread. Very quiet until mid June when the rumours started, couple turned to be true and our first signing on 19th June. No googling. Who was our first, first team signing last summer?
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Could it have been nathan Baxter?