Simon Walton

[Ollessendro]

Has anyone actually confirmed this yet????

yeah, it's on the OS.

I know what you're saying but the problem is that we are a big club in CCC terms with a great support and a great stadium. We pay big bucks to watch the club and we are presented with seriously damaged goods like Walton managed by, for me, pound for pound the worst manager in the section by a long, long way.

All this in spite of pretty sound assurances from the top brass that we would not be using the loan market to fill the squad in the way we did last season. There are plenty of players out there, Blackwell hasn't got the ability to coach and improve players he doesn't know or who are anything but 'solid, experienced pros' (code for poor footballers) like Ertl who will kick a few attackers, and launch the ball aimlessly forward.

Ah Mic, I've been busy the last few weeks and have been quiet on the forum and I've missed your posts. Pound for opound worst manager .... I like it.

I don't want to come over all len, or tread on his toes, but the lad's 23, he's played 88 league games and we'd be his 10th club, that suggests something's not quite right with him.

Ah e'll be reit. He ant got any talent, but he likes a good scrap and he can kick the ball fookin high and far. Top lad.

 

[gavtheblade]

I think weve got to give anyone a chance at that age,instead of bringing dead wood back like kozzy,christ.

 

[2ndtenorblade]

I think weve got to give anyone a chance at that age,instead of bringing dead wood back like kozzy,christ.

I fancy Christ might do a good job.

 

[Grecian2000]

A squad player who may turn out to be better than that but no real problem if he is just that, a squad player who can fill in and 'do a job'.

I have no opinion of the bloke as he hasn't ever been someone I've noticed BUT how many signings can we make that are "good back ups" before we have filled the squad with such like?

Reading the Kozzy thread last week it was "Ok as a back up", we know Ryan France is no better than such, this looks very much like it could be another.
The problem with such players is, if you end up with more than a couple of first teamers injured or suspended, you are quickly "into the tail".

 

[TonyAgana]

The problem with such players is, if you end up with more than a couple of first teamers injured or suspended, you are quickly "into the tail".

The problem with back up players is that you sometimes have to play them as back up?

 

[norfolkblade]

It's on a loan, so if he's no good he can go in January without costing us owt, I have never seen the guy so I can't pass any judgement on him, but let's just wait and see before we dig our heels in shall we?

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I have no opinion of the bloke as he hasn't ever been someone I've noticed BUT how many signings can we make that are "good back ups" before we have filled the squad with such like?

Reading the Kozzy thread last week it was "Ok as a back up", we know Ryan France is no better than such, this looks very much like it could be another.
The problem with such players is, if you end up with more than a couple of first teamers injured or suspended, you are quickly "into the tail".

In the absence of having 2 decent players for every position you tend to end up with 4 or 5 in the squad who can 'do a job' in a few different positions. To me, Ertl and now Walton come into that catagory and I don't expect either to be pushing for a 1st team place and maybe not even the bench if we bring a few defenders in. That's not to say they don't have their place in the squad or could fill in for a run of games.

Squad size and quality was more than emphasized last season but last season wasn't the norm and given a bit of luck, we could easily go through a season using only 20 players. As we've said elsewhere, if we bring in 2 or 3 decent defenders, the squad will look a whole lot better than maybe it does know and all of a sudden, those that you might think are pushing for a start know, suddenly become backup.

 

[sheffielder]

Know what you're saying Trig and he's obviously had plenty of problems since Blackwell gave him his debut but it's not as if he's come out and said 'I'm going to build my team around this lad'.

Re your first comment, he is a young(ish), hungry player with something to prove

Are we talking about Ryan France here?

 

[raul]

...and the academy players move another rank down the pecking order. As a club, can we afford a) A good quality first team b) 6 or 7 journeymen as back up and c) Senior (18+) Academy players? And if we can't, souldn't it be the middle band we squeeze first?

 

[sheffielder]

my thoughts.

This is Walton's last chance. I wish he was having it under Warnock and not Blackwell. Blackwell will give up with him and ditch him as soon as he has a bad game. We signed Ryan France who couldn't see a game even with all the loan signings we brought in.
Walton was the next big thing for Leeds a few years ago. Unfortunately he spends too much time in clubs and on celebrity dine with me to concentrate on his football.

He has the talent so there is a chance it will work out. Room him with Morgan

 

[Robbie]

Look at Greg Halford when he came here, a lot of people thought he would be trouble with all the stuff that had happened off the pitch. But he turned into one of our best players that season.

Halford was always a good player though, with a bad reputation......

 

[lenners]

...and the academy players move another rank down the pecking order. As a club, can we afford a) A good quality first team b) 6 or 7 journeymen as back up and c) Senior (18+) Academy players? And if we can't, souldn't it be the middle band we squeeze first?

Unfortunately, wasn't the academy absolutely shite last season?
We're left with acquiring a bunch of nobodies to make up the numbers.

 

[Bristol Blade]

This guy could easily turn out to be another Matthew Spring, but just as easily he could be another Greg Halford.
I know he's another loan but I guess the idea is that if he turns out to be rubbish, we get rid without having wasted too much money; if he's any good, we sign him on the cheap in January.
He's not the most inspiring signing in the world but it could've been worse.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Unfortunately, wasn't the academy absolutely shite last season?
We're left with acquiring a bunch of nobodies to make up the numbers.

Unfortunately, you can't make academy graduates better than they actually are, if they aren't good enough, they aren't good enough.

Lowton might be another one, hopefully he'll make the squad on a regular basis but apart from him, those 'in the know' aren't shouting too many names out at the moment.

 

[JohnDenver]

those 'in the know' aren't shouting too many names out at the moment.

I never heard a peep about Naughton or Walker before they emerged. Did you?

 

[Robbie]

I never heard a peep about Naughton or Walker before they emerged. Did you?

Naughton and Walker were talked about for a long time for me.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I never heard a peep about Naughton or Walker before they emerged. Did you?

Naughton was getting decent reviews but only because he was out on loan, not necessarily from within the club before that although you can understand why they don't want to build 16/17 year olds up.

There's one or two posters who have the inside track and I remember someone saying that Connor Brown was looking better than both Kyles around 18 months ago and they quite rate Nat Foster, time will tell.

 

[Micalijo]

This guy could easily turn out to be another Matthew Spring, but just as easily he could be another Greg Halford.
I know he's another loan but I guess the idea is that if he turns out to be rubbish, we get rid without having wasted too much money; if he's any good, we sign him on the cheap in January.
He's not the most inspiring signing in the world but it could've been worse.

Nice comedy interlude there Bristol. Good stuff. Spring's performance against Reading is something I always turn to if I need a good laugh.

I fail to see how a supposedly serious, ambitious, big club in CCC can make much of a worse signing - whether it be on loan or whatever it is.

 

[lenners]

Naughton was getting decent reviews but only because he was out on loan, not necessarily from within the club before that although you can understand why they don't want to build 16/17 year olds up.

There's one or two posters who have the inside track and I remember someone saying that Connor Brown was looking better than both Kyles around 18 months ago and they quite rate Nat Foster, time will tell.

Aye, Connor Brown was apparently rated the best of the lot though I seem to remember that being said about the youngest Quinn brother a few years back.
Walker's potential was also well known.
Is Foster another right back? Surely we're due another one.

 

[JohnDenver]

Naughton and Walker were talked about for a long time for me.

Naughton was getting decent reviews but only because he was out on loan, not necessarily from within the club before that although you can understand why they don't want to build 16/17 year olds up.

Hmmm... I clearly need to foster some more sources.

 

[Bristol Blade]

Nice comedy interlude there Bristol. Good stuff. Spring's performance against Reading is something I always turn to if I need a good laugh.

I fail to see how a supposedly serious, ambitious, big club in CCC can make much of a worse signing - whether it be on loan or whatever it is.

It depends on whether he's been signed as a squad player or as a first-team regular. If Blackwell is planning on starting him every game then I'd be as disappointed as you; however, the fact that he's signed a 22 year-old with some possible potential to most likely be used as a squad player isn't much to get upset about.
He won't be on massive wages and any loan fee would be so small as to mean it won't have any effect on future signings.

 

[Micalijo]

Aye, Connor Brown was apparently rated the best of the lot though I seem to remember that being said about the youngest Quinn brother a few years back.
Walker's potential was also well known.
Is Foster another right back? Surely we're due another one.

I assume you are discussing this (potential in Academy players) with a view to the impact on cash flow and balance sheets rather than a hopefully postive effect on the first team?

 

[davidpinder]

My Favourite quote has to be on the sky sports website from Blackie. Priceless

"He and Aaron Lennon were going to be the next big thing in English football and I've brought him here to try to help him catch up a bit.

 

[Micalijo]

My Favourite quote has to be on the sky sports website from Blackie. Priceless

"He and Aaron Lennon were going to be the next big thing in English football and I've brought him here to try to help him catch up a bit.

Aye, quality stuff! Brilliant.

 

[sheffielder]

Aye, Connor Brown was apparently rated the best of the lot though I seem to remember that being said about the youngest Quinn brother a few years back.
Walker's potential was also well known.
Is Foster another right back? Surely we're due another one.

Foster is a striker isn't he.
Roe was a left back who I thought was highly rated?

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Aye, Connor Brown was apparently rated the best of the lot though I seem to remember that being said about the youngest Quinn brother a few years back.
Walker's potential was also well known.
Is Foster another right back? Surely we're due another one.

Unless we are talking about another Foster, Nathan is a forward.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Lowton
Foster
Brown
Roe
Maguire

Lads from the academy thought to be decent and worth persisting with.

 

[lenners]

My Favourite quote has to be on the sky sports website from Blackie. Priceless

"He and Aaron Lennon were going to be the next big thing in English football and I've brought him here to try to help him catch up a bit.

Blackie's going to succeed where the previous nine clubs couldn't.
Crewe are going to be gutted.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

The worrying thing from the current manager's point of view is that he said he was 'forced' to put Lowton in the squad last season to use his words. He doesn't strike me as a manager who would give the lads a chance ahead of someone like, for example, Ryan France. Let's face it, Naughton was 3rd or 4th choice at the start of 08/09 let alone Walker.

It's a thin line, do you risk the kids or go with tried and trusted 'safer' options but as we found with Kyle I and II, it does work sometimes. Hopefully, the likes of Brown, Foster et al can get a few months out on loan as it certainly helped the Kyles.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

My Favourite quote has to be on the sky sports website from Blackie. Priceless

"He and Aaron Lennon were going to be the next big thing in English football and I've brought him here to try to help him catch up a bit.

Aye, quality stuff! Brilliant.

Blackie's going to succeed where the previous nine clubs couldn't.
Crewe are going to be gutted.

If Ian Holloway had said that you'd all be saying what a 'right laugh' he was