Wigan / Wolves interested in Ben Stevenson (2 Viewers)

fernandopartridge said:

I can think beyond the next 3 months. What happens when Bayliss goes in the summer, Doyle might decide that he doesn't fancy League 1 again and we're down to Kelly?

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By that time if we have had a promotion I am guessing that the next phase of our progress comes into force and we again recruit for life in a higher league, there are plenty of players out there far superior to Stevenson who was part of our abysmal midfield last season. Maybe one day he will turn out to be a good player but they also said that about Conor Thomas look where he is now!!

I say let him go on a free & have a 100% sell on clause.....

The Great Eastern said:

I say let him go on a free & have a 100% sell on clause.....

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Yes that would encourage the next club to make sure they get the biggest fee.

fernandopartridge said:

I can think beyond the next 3 months. What happens when Bayliss goes in the summer, Doyle might decide that he doesn't fancy League 1 again and we're down to Kelly?

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Agreed, Also what happens if bayliss or Doyle get injured? If we sell Stevenson, we have to bring in a replacement otherwise we'd been down to Maycock, although hopefully Kelly will be back soon.

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fernandopartridge said:

I can think beyond the next 3 months. What happens when Bayliss goes in the summer, Doyle might decide that he doesn't fancy League 1 again and we're down to Kelly?

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in the summer we had Stevenson and that was it

Not sure we need to be in a rush to cash in unless a ridiculous offer come through. I think Stevenson will play better in a few years and still learning his trade.

Covstu said:

Not sure we need to be in a rush to cash in unless a ridiculous offer come through. I think Stevenson will play better in a few years and still learning his trade.

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A few years? Great, let’s stick with him then till he decides weather he is good enough or not.

Adge said:

A few years? Great, let’s stick with him then till he decides weather he is good enough or not.

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what amount would you sell him for ?

Adge said:

A few years? Great, let’s stick with him then till he decides weather he is good enough or not.

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Let's get rid after 33 appearances as a young kid in a very poor side. He must have something about him considering the interest is from better sides than us.

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The club will surely cash on him.

Would sell for £900k+. Anything below that isn't really worth it, as he's a good football player and we always need depth.

skyblue93 said:

Would sell for £900k+. Anything below that isn't really worth it, as he's a good football player and we always need depth.

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Which could buy you a Bradley Dack.

The irony of people saying they'd take 500k, when 12 months prior to that, the same people would have been up in arms.

In my view, I wouldn't sell for anything less than 750k-1m. For a few reasons:

- The possibility we could lose Bayliss would mean we'd lose two young assets in centre midfield.
- Stevenson is not merely a League 2 player, Wigan clearly see him as a player who can perform at L1-Championship standard and because they're looking like favourites to win the league, you'd imagine they see him as a Championship player in-waiting. So I say we should keep unless they're willing to pay over the odds.
- Stevenson was one of our best players last season, so we already know he can perform at that level. If we're a club with serious promotion aspirations, why would we sell a player we know can play a level above we're at. Plus, if we get promoted, I imagine Doyle's contract won't be renewed, or if it was, his playing time will be reduced. Brining me on to the next point...
- Doyle is 36, a great leader and has been a v good player for us this season, however, despite looking after himself as well as he has, he's not getting younger and we won't be able to rely on him as much next season, especially if we get promoted. In fact, if were to get promoted, I don't think we'll renew his contract. So we're in a position where we'd be in the market for a centre midfielder anyway, which if you refer to the previous point, is another reason not to sell him.
- Just because he isn't getting much a look in this season, it doesn't necessarily mean MR doesn't rate him, I think we have a clear game plan in this division and maybe he's just not suited to it this season. If we were to get promoted, our style of player is likely to change again, most teams tend to play a bit less direct when they get into L1.
- I don't think he's all of a sudden turned into a bad player and he still has the potential to play at a good level.
- A lot of people using the same hypothetical scenario as they did with Willis, 'if we sell him and get a striker who scores goals, then I'd sell him'... We need to be proactive in this transfer window and if we're pursuing targets that are dependent on us selling a player for a fee, it delays our moves in the window. I think, for example, we have the funds and resources set aside for Craig Davies - so I don't think selling any of our players will be to bring other players in. I really do think the whole club, top to bottom are pushing for promotion hard because despite setbacks, we're still making moves in the transfer market, when we could've probably just settled and pushed again in the summer.

Just my thoughts, I hope I'm right!

Adge said:

A few years? Great, let’s stick with him then till he decides weather he is good enough or not.

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So a likely championship side are looking at him so they can see the potential plus its not about whether he decides its about whether MR decides. We know he has potential and would be a good replacement for Doyle plus he isn't going to be on wages that we could easily replace now is he? A few years time, I bet we could triple the money we would get for him now if given the opportunity to play on a more regular basis. Don't understand the desperation to see him to be honest.

Covstu said:

So a likely championship side are looking at him so they can see the potential plus its not about whether he decides its about whether MR decides. We know he has potential and would be a good replacement for Doyle plus he isn't going to be on wages that we could easily replace now is he? A few years time, I bet we could triple the money we would get for him now if given the opportunity to play on a more regular basis. Don't understand the desperation to see him to be honest.

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Players at 20 years old are rarely anywhere near the finished article. This lot would have offloaded Callum Wilson (after all he only scored a couple of times for Kettering on loan). Ben Turner would have gone. Maddison wasn't that effective as a 16 year old on the pitch. They are the same idiots who were writing George Thomas off after he missed a couple of chances at Swindon. Clueless.

fernandopartridge said:

Players at 20 years old are rarely anywhere near the finished article. This lot would have offloaded Callum Wilson (after all he only scored a couple of times for Kettering on loan). Ben Turner would have gone. Maddison wasn't that effective as a 16 year old on the pitch. They are the same idiots who were writing George Thomas off after he missed a couple of chances at Swindon. Clueless.

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seem to remember Flecky getting stick most of the time also!!

The short term thinking displayed by some in this thread is absolutely astounding, he is a young kid, learning his trade in what I believe to the be the most difficult position on the pitch, what midfiuelder is the finished article at 21 - 22 -23 years of age?

If a Championship side can see great potential in him, then surely we should keep him for the forseeable future and let CCFC benefit from that potential. We are in no position to buy a player for £0.5m+ but we seem to have one already here! If he does prove that potential in maybe 2-3 years then cash in for £3m+.

Nick said:

Let him go.

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After signing Bayliss on a long term deal

The only reason we should be selling anyone is to either balance the books or to get in someone who can assist in getting us up. Surprisingly there appears to be no great pressure on MR to off load anyone simply to balance the books - maybe they are counting on sell on money from Madisson. Promotion this season is vital and if by selling Stevenson, who currently is on the periphery of the side, allows MR to bring in someone who can have a direct impact and ensure promotion then its worth doing. Whether in subsequent years Stevenson blossoms and becomes worth millions can be covered in sell on clauses but what is vital is getting out of this division and if selling him and investing in a player who can get us promoted than its worth doing.

i think we can hold out for another season depending how we do, if we go up league 1 then see if he develops more but def i think see how he does rest season if we can.

Keep him. Hopefully a championship player in 2 years playing for us.

ashbyjan said:

The only reason we should be selling anyone is to either balance the books or to get in someone who can assist in getting us up. Surprisingly there appears to be no great pressure on MR to off load anyone simply to balance the books - maybe they are counting on sell on money from Madisson. Promotion this season is vital and if by selling Stevenson, who currently is on the periphery of the side, allows MR to bring in someone who can have a direct impact and ensure promotion then its worth doing. Whether in subsequent years Stevenson blossoms and becomes worth millions can be covered in sell on clauses but what is vital is getting out of this division and if selling him and investing in a player who can get us promoted than its worth doing.

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It's not all about money. I can't remember a stop gap signing that has ever worked. We need to think beyond 3 months, there are absolutely no guarantees that a player brought in short term would actually help and we'd be back to square one. The biggest issue with this club is lack of continuity, we need to try and keep a core of players instead of selling them and hoping to muddle by on short term options.

fernandopartridge said:

It's not all about money. I can't remember a stop gap signing that has ever worked. We need to think beyond 3 months, there are absolutely no guarantees that a player brought in short term would actually help and we'd be back to square one. The biggest issue with this club is lack of continuity, we need to try and keep a core of players instead of selling them and hoping to muddle by on short term options.

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Ordinarily I would agree with you and say that for too long this club has looked upon everything short term but if, and only if, MR believes that selling Stevenson would allow him to bring in someone who, in his judgement, would make the difference between promotion and another season in Div 4 then he has to do it. There are no guarantees that any signing will work but that is why managers are employed to make such decision and it is by those decisions they rise or fall. Getting out of this division is vital and if in MR's judgement selling Stevenson benefits that aim then so be it. In an ideal world we would have kept Madisson and Wilson etc but this season could be pivotal in the survival of the club and if selling one promising player tips the scales in favour of promotion then it is a sacrifice that has to be made.

Hopefully mogga might make a bid for him get a bit of a bidding war going to bump up the price

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Unless we tie Bayliss down to a long term deal I'd keep him.

fernandopartridge said:

It's not all about money. I can't remember a stop gap signing that has ever worked. We need to think beyond 3 months, there are absolutely no guarantees that a player brought in short term would actually help and we'd be back to square one. The biggest issue with this club is lack of continuity, we need to try and keep a core of players instead of selling them and hoping to muddle by on short term options.

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Dennis Wise?

mark82 said:

Unless we tie Bayliss down to a long term deal I'd keep him.

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I totally agree with you

mark82 said:

Unless we tie Bayliss down to a long term deal I'd keep him.

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Unfortunately long term deals do not tie players down

Captain Dart said:

Dennis Wise?

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12 years is beyond my memory but fair point. He's a rare success story in an ocean of shite

I don’t really buy that a player who isn’t able to make a league 3 team, and when he does, hasn’t played particularly well, could somehow be more suited to a league 1 or Championship side. By the very nature of league football, the higher up you go, the tougher it becomes. I don’t think there is more time the higher you go, there is usually less time. It looks to me that Stevenson suffered more than most from last season’s implosion, he just doesn’t seem to have recovered, and at this moment in time, a move looks to be the only way for him to move forward. I’m just not sure yet that he has the drive and ability to play in a higher league, and a move to a team looking to be in the Championship next season would be a risk for that club, and possibly for the player, if he gets little game time. Perhaps the best way forward would be to loan Ben out, if possible, to a club who would give him game time and experience, and the chance to regain confidence, which could well be in short supply.

We then still have the opportunity to bring him back, and utilise his skills if he manages to regain his form.

Seems pointless arguing about whether he should stay or not. If an offer comes in that SISU are happy with he'll go it's as simple as that. Out of our current squad I think he is the midfielder we can most afford to lose, perhaps that is shortsighted but potless, homeless clubs like ours don't have the luxury of planning more than a few games ahead. If he did go for a fee that might make the difference in being able to sign a half decent striker and not.

Yes it would be short sighted to sell Stevenson but football around the world now is short sighted. It's a results business and any manager is a bad run away from the sack.

The level we are at we don't have the luxury of keeping players like Stevenson warm and snuggled up in the u23's hoping he will grow into L2 football.

MR may receive a offer for Stevenson and evaluate if it's for the benefit of his side to then go and get another player to strengthen the squad.

Quite simply selling Stevenson could boost our chances of securing promotion just as much as it could hinder...

Football is about today and tomorrow now not next year...

Nick said:

Let him go.

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You said the same about Maddison. Basically you have no idea about which players are good and which are rubbish.

Atm Stevenson is about potential for me he is easily out muscled and obviously Robins has a better understanding of his game more than our resident experts on here But unfortunately we need now not future and we are not exactly flushed with money so if an asset can pay some 'shortfalls' on bills etc then thats what has to happens and if that then allows us to trade Stevenson and get an improvement (yes I know thats a big IF/lottery/gamble) and we manage promotion I am 100% behind it.. Remember Maddison was a god by many on here until we heard he had been sold then he was a lot of peoples hate boy, its taken a couple of seasons for Maddison to mature have we got that luxury with the likes of Stevenson et al?