Summer News

Welcome back BC.

 

Conor Grant has signed his new contract.

Elsewhere it seems that Josh Grant could well be signing for Bristol Rovers......disappointing.

.....and possibly Scott Wootton will be doing his signing soon.

But Callum McFadzean could well be going north with his new family....nearer home....now that's a shame.

Wootton & McFadzean are the last two on the contract offered list to have to make a decision.

 

Bolton have made an approach for Barrow's manager Ian Evatt......thank goodness for that.

 

Tanks Plym. it's good to be back.

 

Good to have you around again.....did the bears miss you........

 

Barrow want £250,000 compensation for their manager....oops...weren't we being told Plymouth would want only £200,000 ?

 

We were told by a journo and as far as I know nobody had actually asked Argyle what they would or wouldn't want. Actually if memory serves Hallett did say that Lowe was going nowhere a few days before all this hit pasoti. I never thought it was a remote possibility never mind was going to happen. It made absolutely no sense at all. As for Barrow good on them if they can get it but knowing the way it all works it is unlikely.

 

Great to see you back Bc we were a bit concerned.. Hope your well now and ready for a new season soon...

 

McFadzean will be a loss if he doesn't stay. Those wing back positions are crucial and Cooper has returned to Peterborough from that left hand side.

 

Div 2 Agent fees between....Feb 1st...2019...and...Jan 31st...2020.

1.....Bradford........£114,010.
2.....Salford..........£111,619.
3.....Scunthorpe...£107,345.
4.....Plymouth......£81,537.

Swindon paid only...£28,818.....and......Crewe only...£3,000......haven't come across Exeter's spending.
Bottom was...Macclesfield paid £825 and Crawley paid £1000.

There were 9 teams in Div1 who paid less than Argyle in Agent fees.

Top spenders in Div 1

1.....Sunderland.....£1,346,373.
2.....Coventry............£353,632.
3.....Ipswich..............£325,262.
4.....Portsmouth.......£220,367.

Bolton were the only club in the Premiership and the EFL leagues not to spend anything...Nil.

 

Makes you wonder what value the clubs get for this money, especially ones like PAFC who also pay for the analytics that allow candidate players to be found based an statistical fit to the required tactics.

In business I've always tried to resist paying the other side's costs, although that battle is not always won. As usual though, the football industry embraces things as standard that others consider bad practice.

 

Scott Wootton has agreed a new contract and he will sign it when he comes back to Plymouth.

That just leaves Callum McFadzean the last of the ten players offered a new contract outstanding....Argyle feel confident he will re-sign....although there was talk of him looking nearer home now that he has a new baby in the family....we'll see.

 

I know a few people who think Wootton wasn't one we should keep. I think he is ok although I wouldn't say great. He always has a mistake in him and if anyone at the back is going to make one it is more often him in a game. But, it is seldom numerous mistakes and I thought, along with the rest of the defence, he improved as the season went on, Have to say overall I'm content with that one.

McFadzean is one I'd like to sign although there are others who can do his job. He started the season in a blaze and then his goals sort of dried up at bit. Injury prone a bit but then again so were a few others in the squad. Overall he would be a keep.

 

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, nice to be up to date with the signings etc.

 

Thanks Plym for the info.

 

Right BC it's time to come clean. What happened in the last several months to keep you off the boards? Did you slope off with the nurse, matron or surgeon? If not did they forget to pick you up from the hospital and take you back home? My kids would........ Did the bears interfere with the recuperation because you didn't pay them their prediction money? Come on spill.

 

Ryan Lowe has only McFadzean outstanding on his new contract offered list....so he's beginning to know what he needs regarding strengthening his squad.

We know that he needs to.......

1.....Replace Antoni Sarcevic....midfielder and last seasons top goalscorer...the only player so far to say no to a new contract.

2.....Alex Palmer loan ended....best keeper in Div 2 in 2019/20 season....will Michael Cooper become No1 keeper this coming season ?...whatever happens we will need at least one more keeper... will he be more experienced than Cooper and keep Cooper on the bench still....it will be difficult for us not to be weaker in this position...Palmer was a big plus for us last season.

3.....George Cooper loan ended....Lowe did seem keen to keep him...but Peterborough made it difficult and money will be tight after Covid-19.....George Cooper seems keen to fight for his place at the Posh.

4.....Josh Grant loan ended....he's leaving Chelsea and surprisingly it seems he is on the verge of joining Bristol R....did we not want him back ? or can't we afford him.

5.....Ryan Hardie loan ended....Big success in my eyes...scored important goals to help get us into third spot and of course promoted....I thought all parties were keen to continue and I thought an offer for him was possible....but is it money again holding things up ?

6.....Tyreeq Bakinson loan ended....came reasonably good in the end....but I've heard no talk of us being interested ?

So six ...maybe seven... if we lose McFadzean as well....and because we will be playing at an higher level than last season...they need to be good replacements to keep us competitive in Div 1.

There is a third keeper to consider....you only need one out for awhile... and would we have a young keeper good enough to come onto the subs bench ?....we all know what happened a few years back......SEVEN keepers where used and that cannot help the confidence of the defence in front of a keeper...to continually have an unknown man between the sticks.

Latest rumour is that we might be interested in 23 year old Jordan Rossiter who is leaving Rangers....Ryan Lowe knows him from being on loan during Bury's promotion season...he was there from the end of January 2019 until the end of the season....and spent time after that on loan at Fleetwood last season.

Started his football career at Liverpool from the age of five and was seen as very promising at 15 years of age....there was talk of him being the next Steven Gerrard.....but he picked up a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for awhile...then a calf muscle injury which sidelined him again.....he then moved on to Rangers who spent time sorting him out...and linked his injuries to a possible back problem....so he spent time at Bury and Fleetwood last year and seem to play okay at the lower level.....But Rangers have decided to release him...maybe he's been linked to us because of his time at Bury and with Ryan Lowe... who knows.

 

Gary Sawyer is being encouraged by Ryan Lowe to start considering a career in coaching....although he has just signed a new contract he needs to think about the future and start thinking about qualifying as a coach.....with Schumacher and Nancekivell around to help him he will get good support.

 

I had no desire to see Bakinson return. He's a taller, skinnier version of Yann Songo"o. Does some good things but you find you are constantly holding your breath when he's near the ball waiting for something to go wrong. Also mentally screaming inside your head "DON'T DO WHATEVER YOU LOOK AS IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO".

Josh Grant, although inexperienced, is a much silkier player, you can see the Premier League in him. If we can't get him, que sera, but I'd have him back like a shot.

I have been and still am a fan of Antoni Sarcevic but I think everyone agrees he's done well despite not really fitting Ryan Lowe's model. He's not a possession player like Danny Mayor but more of a hustler and a bustler. Ironically losing a clear Player of the Season may give an opportunity to make the team stronger overall. Who can we get that fits the mould though?

 

Another week goes by and still Callum McFadzean hasn't signed his contract....I feel he wants back oop north now he has a family....I'm prepared to be surprised if he signs.