Ian Evatt

[blue future]

On the off chance that Evatt goes have we started Looking and talking To people that may fancy his job?
The board are very shrewd and I hope that they are

Wouldn't surprise me if they've had applicants already.

I would of thought that myself or at least some enquires

[blumooncrab]

Surely he would either be worth less - due to having less time to run on his contract, or would be worth the same - if the buy out clause relates to how much it'll cost to get him out early and isn't related to time.

If Bolton can pay the full fee, then as good as he is I wouldn't be devastated to see him go. I wanted him to stay and give it at least 1 season in the league, but I'm not sure keeping him under these circumstances would be all that positive now. If Bolton cant pay the full fee though then he stays, and I hope the club don't give an inch on that.

The whole thing leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Obviously he wants to go to Bolton, they think we will just roll over because they have a big stadium. He would be mad to join that circus but I don't think he will still be here by the start of the next season

Sorry I disagree. It's not obvious at all - I think he has Barrow's interests at heart- but football is a mercenary game, and if Bolton come up with the £250k , I think he will go if he thinks it's a good position and will be an enhancement for him with good prospects. The agent is doing his job by responding to enquiries and presenting IE with options but IE makes the final decisions.

Presently the indications are that they will not find the money and it (Bolton) is not necessarily be a good prospect- after all, if their high rolling owners can't or won't stump up £250k , and given the current problems that they have, it is possibly a bad prospect in many ways compared to his current position. .

[Bingo]

If he doesn't want to why not just say I've no interest in joining Bolton, you say if they pay the money he will go, if that's the case strange actions for someone who doesn't want to go. We obviously don't want him to go

[Matty]

Makes you wonder where his mindset will be if Bolton don't stump up the cash but he's certain that the Bolton job is the step in his career. Like someone else said, we will end up with this circus every time a job becomes available, and it would probably do more harm than good if we are a quarter of the way through the season.

It's the utmost importance though that the board get what they think he's worth, at the end of the day, managers will forever come and go, and nothing can be greater than the club itself.

[Suffolk Blue]

Bolton thinking they can bully us into this.

Well done the board give no ground.

Disappointed in Evatts agent as well if Evatt stays we'll have this non stop everytime a manager gets sacked elsewhere as Evatts agent is determined to move him.

I'm also worried about how many of our current squad are signed upto him.

Will be interesting to see if Evatt will put a request to leave in.

Our players are under contract and I'm sure Paul Hornby would want fees for any of them. Bolton are not allowed to pay a fee for any player until summer 2021!

Couple of things here.

Firstly not only are Bolton not allowed to pay transfer fees until 2021 but they cannot pay loan fees either as this is seen to be a means of getting around the embargo. They can take a loan player without fees and just pay wages (up to a maximum permitted amount) and they can sign players on a free transfer (subject to limits on squad size). The maximum loan period allowable is 6 months. So the embargo process has both a constraining effect on both quality and value for money. It makes things more expensive.

Secondly the reason why IE might not put a request in to leave, might be that it would be immediately refused meaning technically that would be the end of the matter. It makes his legal position very weak if he were to leave subsequently of his own volition. I'm not his legal representative but that's something I wouldn't be recommending him to do.

Unless there are other clubs out there that would be prepared to meet the compensation terms of course, which as time goes by might become a little more likely. In the absence of that happening though IE will have to conclude that at this moment it is Bolton or Barrow. Personally I think his mind is in in Bolton but there will be a tipping point both for him and Wanderers if this situation carries on.

[Stephen Leonard]

There is some very naive and ill thought out comments on here who obviously have no idea how football works.

Whether we are in the same league or not (or even if they were a league below us) Bolton will always be seen by 99.9% of people as a bigger club than Barrow and more importantly one which has far greater 'potential' to be higher and more successful in the future (it doesn't mean it will happen but it means it is more likely) - Ian Evatt (like most people who have had a career in professional sport and moved into coaching) is very ambitious and confident in his abilities (with good reason so far) and therefore will want to achieve more in football than Barrow can ultimately offer him in the long term - Bolton is a club with a great history who have fallen far in a short period of time - the challenge of turning round a club like that must be a massive lure for someone like Evatt and woudl be seen as a far bigger achievement in the long term than getting Barrow promoted.

For those who say that the pressure from Fans and owners at Bolton is far greater and the expectations mean he has to achieve instantly other wise he might be sacked, I would say that this is actually a reason for Evatt to want to go -staying with Barrow is safe for him as this season he would probably not have any pressure from anyone - except himself! But he doesn't strike me as someone who wants to play safe.

Others have said a season with Barrow will help him develop as a football league manager and that is true in some senses but in others it is irrelevant as he is knows how to manage and coach and develop a squad/team (as he has proved here). Also being 'safe' at Barrow for a season wont help him develop

Of course he could stay at Barrow and manage to overachieve again and get us in the play offs of even promoted - but if you are looking at the odds of whether Bolton or Barrow would be challenging then anyone except the most optimistic Barrow fan would have to concede that Bolton (if run properly - which is key) would have more chance than us.

The truth is that it is almost certain (and seemingly accepted by most Barrow fans) than Evatt wouldn't be here for the 21/22 season (as people are saying one more season with us would help him) - and that would certainly help Barrow compete/survive in L2 for the coming season. But from Evatts point of view what does it achieve? At the moment he is the the 'star' name at this level of new young managers - he has achieved something amazing with a club that has struggled and most would never have thought would get back in the league. I don't think his reputation would ever be improved at Barrow unless he got us promoted to L1. Imagine he stays and Barrow finish a respectable 10th-13th in L2 (which i think we would all consider a good season) - suddenly he isn't the 'star' name anymore - he hasn't just achieved the impossible anymore, he has just 'done well'. Therefore his value to others may have fallen and he might not be the man people are looking for to push forward. Therefore the time for Evatt to move for his own sake is now (sadly for Barrow)

I note that people have mentioned Vic Halom as a warning sign that moving on after a good season with Barrow can be a massive failure and there is of course that risk - but I would counter by saying that Dave Bayliss and Darren Sheridan stayed after the Trophy win in 2010 when they had chances to go higher - and look what happened to them both at Barrow and in their future managerial careers! If they had gone into a higher league at that point who knows where they would be now (and that's the beauty of hindsight - you can pick you examples to suit your agenda)

Personally I think Evatt probably needs to go sooner rather than later - not because I don't think he is the best manager for Barrow at the moment (because I believe he is) - but because he will be going and I would say it is better to go now before we start building for L2 - and let someone else come in and build the squad their way. For Evatt the timing now is better as his reputation is high. Overall a quicker exit means the uncertainty ends.

Also as well as Evatts reputation being high at the moment, so is Barrows! The way we have conducted ourselves on and off the pitch over the last few months has won the club many friends and good recognition. Therefore the list of people wanting to manage us may well be of a higher caliber now than it would be in a years time after a season in L2. There are other good managers out there who would see taking on Barrow back in the EFL after 48 years as a big challenge . I also think the way they are handling this issue publicly is very good as they are sticking to their guns and not getting involved in public arguments - just stating the facts, behind the scenes I am sure a lot more is happening but that's the nature of football.

I don't blame Evatt for wanting to better his career - and I don't see that making the move now will be any more risky than doing it in a years time. Whether Bolton are the right club will depend on what they say to him about their plans and structure but if he believes that the new owners do want to make the club rise again then it must be a massive lure for him. If he goes there or anywhere else I think most Barrow fans will (after the initial disappointment) understand his reasons and thank him for what he helped the club achieve.

[Bingo]

If he doesn't want to why not just say I've no interest in joining Bolton, you say if they pay the money he will go, if that's the case strange actions for someone who doesn't want to go. We obviously don't want him to go

[Bombadel]

https://twitter.com/sportfurness/status ... 73185?s=21

[Stephen Leonard]

If he doesn't want to why not just say I've no interest in joining Bolton, you say if they pay the money he will go, if that's the case strange actions for someone who doesn't want to go. We obviously don't want him to go

Because he obviously would like to talk to them to see what is being offered if he were to go.

Its like any other person who has a job and is headhunted or has the opportunity for a different job - they want to find out what it is before saying no. As I said in my other post I think it is naive of people to think he wouldn't be interested or want to find out. I think there will have been many many people interviewed for jobs who then decided to stay where they are for whatever reason.

Barrow are asking for the money to be paid up front to allow him to speak to Bolton with the proviso that if he doesn't move then it would be returned to Bolton. This seems a sensible compromise as it means if either Bolton, or Evatt didn't want to pursue it then nothing is lost but if they did then there is no haggling later about compensation.

Think about this dispassionately and not as a Barrow fan - if this was you in your line of work being approached by a bigger employer with the potential of acheiving more than you could with your current employer would you not want the chance to talk to them if allowed?

[DaveP]

That's the key word "potential"
But do Bolton really have it? It seems notwithstanding their big stadium they have loads of financial problems and a players embargo.

Other teams who I think have graced at least the Championship also had potential when they slipped down the pyramid but where are they now eg Notts county; Chestefield; York City; Wrexham; Stockport.

Its likely Bolton will implode this season and go the way of Bury. Just my opinion

[Zuluwarrior]

There is a £250,000 clause in his contract if Bolton are serious then pay up if you don’t question is are you really serious or even CAN YOU RAISE IT...

[walney rock]

It's pretty simple really if Bolton want evo then they pay up! If they don't want too pay the money asked for/can't pay it they are more than welcome to f**k off & look elsewhere

[Stephen Leonard]

That's the key word "potential"
But do Bolton really have it? It seems notwithstanding their big stadium they have loads of financial problems and a players embargo.

Other teams who I think have graced at least the Championship also had potential when they slipped down the pyramid but where are they now eg Notts county; Chestefield; York City; Wrexham; Stockport.

Its likely Bolton will implode this season and go the way of Bury. Just my opinion

Of course they have potential - its a question of whether the current owners can capitalise on that.

In the same way for years Barrow have been seen to have had 'potential' because of our ability to get decent crowds when successful and the fact we have a history of being a league club (albeit it a long time ago). If you had compared us with many other clubs in NL over the last 30 years who were successful in spells then we would have been the 'Bolton' in those comparisons - but we never fulfilled the potential until this season.

I agree that those you listed had potential and didn't fulfill it - however at the point they were in L2 they were still seen as clubs with potential and I am sure many players, managers and owner thought the same and were lured to those clubs because of it - just because potential isn't realised doesn't mean it doesn't exist - hindsight is great and only that will tell us whose opinion is correct. Also you could mention that Luton, Oxford Utd, Doncaster, Blackpool all had similar problems and managed to eventually turn themselves round and have now been in L1 or Championship - as I said hindsight allows you to pick your examples to suit your agenda

As for the player embargo and financial issues - yes thats a possible stumbling block to realising the potential but if any manager is convinced that those issues will be resolved over the next 12 months and that a 3/4 year contract is dangled then it might be tempting enough to go for it. Also it means that the repuatation of a manager is protected slightly from failing as they can turn round and say 'well i tried as hard as I could but the limitations meant I couldn't build the squad I wanted to and I was given false promises'

[Moribund]

Bit worrying for Evatt if his potential new club can't even afford to buy him...

There is a very small chance that the clubs are doing this by the book, and Evatt hasn't even had any contact with the Bolton directors yet to find out what's on the table. By the rules, Bolton need to stump up the cash to start talking to him. If Evatt was to say "I want to move to Bolton" now, it's an admission that he's been talking to them without permission.

[Bingo]

Whilst wanting the compo before and discussion, I'm sure discussions will have taken place in the background if he didn't fancy it we would have known by now