Summer News

Not sure if we've been given a date as yet....but it does seem that Ryan Lowe is showing interest in Hardie, Cooper and Bakinson and has been talking to their clubs so we're being told.

 

Rumour has it that Nicky Maynard is leaving Mansfield. He scored 12 goals in 25 appearances for a bottom third team in 2019/20.

 

Yes I've already mentioned that a few posts earlier.....but no clue if he's got a club lined up.....he can probably find a club nearer home unfortunately.

 

West Bromwich Albion have signed Alex Palmer up with a three year contact....and seem to be open for him going out on loan.

WBA are second in the Championship at the moment.....so if they get promoted and Palmer is still third choice keeper he could be lent to a Championship club.

But if they fail to get promoted they might be reluctant to loan him out to a team in the same league.... and maybe playing again with Argyle in Div 1 could be an alternative.

 

I'd be surprised if WBA aren't promoted. I think it is just false hope to think he could be back.

 

Does it necessarily work like that? If WBA are promoted, they may bring in an experienced goalkeeper they feel can step right in at top flight level if needed. Palmer on the other hand doesn't immediately become Championship ready just because WBA have gone up.

I guess we'll have to wait and see....

 

Understandable yes......so they bring in an experienced Premier League keeper.....that could well push Palmer further down the pecking order....on the other hand if they didn't get promoted.....he could be lent out to another Championship club with a proviso that he cannot play against his mother club. Difficult to see how such a quality keeper would end up playing in Div 1 for any club...let alone Argyle again.

 

Talk is that Tyreeq Bakinson is possibly on the way back to Argyle.....loan deal nearly finalized.

There is a bit of confusion at the moment whether Jarvis Cleal has yet signed his contract.

 

Ryan Lowe has confirmed that discussions are taking place with Blackpool regarding Ryan Hardie. Fingers crossed.

 

And he is also still interested in George Cooper as well.

 

To quote "as long as we don't have to pay silly money".

 

Announced today that Jarvis Cleal has signed a new contract......that just leaves McFadzean outstanding.

 

It's a bit weird- we can sign 'unemployed' players now i.e. those who contracts expired on 30/06/20, but we cant sign those still under contract at other clubs. FIFA are currently still insisting that the transfer window is a maximum of 12 weeks so it probably wont open until this season finishes. More discussions planned.

 

I suppose it would be unfair to clubs who are still playing 19/20 if their players were unsettled by transfer talks. No that the rules stop agents talking though I bet....

 

There are rumours that Wigan are the victim of a betting fraud in the Far East, with parties close to its owners (or previous owners) having bet heavily on Wigan being relegated.

Is that just fans finding fantastical excuses for what's happened? If true it's horrific.

 

Bristol City have sacked their manager Lee Johnson.....that will possibly put our interest in Tyreeq Bakinson on hold for awhile.

 

I would think that McFadzean's agent is touting him around northern clubs looking for a deal.....that can be the only reason that he hasn't signed his new contract.

If he comes back after such a delay...the question surely would be that he hasn't found an acceptable deal....and then you wonder if he's the right player for Argyle for next season....because his heart surely isn't a 100% behind the club ....and we need every player fully committed so we can establish ourselves in Div 1 next season.

 

Further to the above......

Wigan Athletic's administration "scandal" is likely to accelerate the English Football League's plans to overhaul the controversial owners' and directors test.

The embattled Championship club's administrators have launched an investigation into claims aired by Rick Parry, the EFL chairman, that their financial crises is linked to a bet on the club being relegated this season.

Lisa Nandy, the Wigan MP, has called for a full inquiry into what she described as a "major global scandal" after Wigan were put into administration and subjected to a 12-point deduction only four weeks after being bought by Next Leader Fund from another Hong Kong-based company, International Entertainment Corporation.

The dramatic turn of events has again raised serious questions over the effectiveness of the EFL's owners' and directors' test, the vetting procedure for prospective buyers. Until recently, both companies were owned by the same businessman, Dr Stanley Choi, who is also a professional poker player. Au Yeung Wai Kay, a Chinese businessman, has since replaced Choi as majority shareholder of Next Leader Fund and is said to be unwilling to invest any more money into the club, which he is understood to have purchased for £17.5 million last month.

The Sunday Telegraph understands the EFL board are keen to introduce a more robust test owing to misgivings about some of the owners who have been permitted to buy clubs down the years.

Article continues......

Sunday Telegraph Sports....05/07/2020.

My thoughts......The EFL are amateurs regarding the business world and its dealings....English clubs are being used as toys to play with and most not really financially secure beyond the whim of their owners....that's what make me more pleased on how PAFC are advancing with an owner who is a true fan as well.

 

It's not amateurism in the sense of innocents honestly doing their best or even probably rank incompetence. I suspect it's league officials totally in thrall to the big money forces in the upper divisions being too scared to stand up for what's right.

The principal behind this is apparently a Hong Kong professional poker player who brought in "football expertise" in his original purchase of Wigan in the form of a bloke who'd played in amateur Asian leagues and was very briefly the manager of an amateur side out there before being sacked. There are connections to a previous insolvency in Hong Kong which was considered suspicious at the time although investigations had been been closed before the League approved the purchase. Impressive credentials eh?

Subsequent transactions have seen Wigan's ownership passed several times between what look like a nest of related party companies, the ownership of which isn't fully understood. Wigan went into administration only 4 weeks after the final transaction in the chain.

A blind man could see this is wrong on a foggy night with no moon.

 

Alex Palmer one of five keepers in West Broms first team squad.....not on the bench today....Johnstone playing and Bond on the bench.