OFFICIAL - Arsenal sign Rob Holding

I think that the important thing here is that we have a Chairman who is apparently sticking to his guns re sale price which means we will hopefully start getting what our players are worth for the first time in years. 
If he can also buy well we may turn the corner financially.
I mean good luck to Rob and all, but this move is all about what it does for BWFC.

wanderlust wrote:I think that the important thing here is that we have a Chairman who is apparently sticking to his guns re sale price which means we will hopefully start getting what our players are worth for the first time in years. 
If he can also buy well we may turn the corner financially.
I mean good luck to Rob and all, but this move is all about what it does for BWFC.

We have always been fleeced by agents in the past hopefully having one as chairman will make the hard nosed nature of agents work in our favour for once

Other clubs may have expressed an interest but that's not the same as saying they put money on the table wgo. While I do take your point about Arsenal being more likely to loan him out in the short term at least I think Holding would be crazy not to take the money they're likely to offer him or the opportunity it might represent for his long term career. Personally I would have preferred to keep him but that was a non-starter if we're realistic. One possible benefit is that if Arsenal do decide to loan him out he could well wind up here next season anyway. It's certainly worth hoping for.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:Other clubs may have expressed an interest but that's not the same as saying they put money on the table wgo. 

No I get that, allegedly one other club not Arsenal and not Bournemouth did put an offer in but it's all speculation.
From our point of view an Everton or Southampton would be better too because bonuses are generally based on appearances and sell on and we would have more chance of racking up the bonus payments away from Arsenal.
Digressing slightly but Barnsley could be set to receive £7.5m from the sale of John Stones to City.

whatsgoingon wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:Hm not from what I've read but maybe your sources are closer to the mark. Even so, the amount of young players who go and don't make it at Everton and Spurs is comparable to Arsenal so your point doesn't make much sense I'm afraid.

It does when you look back over all the examples, maybe it doesn't make sense to you but that isn't important to me.
As I said time will tell whether it's a good move or a bad move.
It also isn't just Arsenal this applies to City and Chelsea are equally guilty of buying for the sake of buying hoping that one or two make it.

You haven't looked back over all of the examples though have you? 

Everton and Tottenham do the exact same thing, take a punt on lower league players for cheap and see how they develop. If they don't they invariably get flogged on. 

Ever heard of John Bostock?

It's about how good a player individually is, and fair play to Holding for backing himself to become one of the best.

wanderlust wrote:I think that the important thing here is that we have a Chairman who is apparently sticking to his guns re sale price which means we will hopefully start getting what our players are worth for the first time in years. 
If he can also buy well we may turn the corner financially.
I mean good luck to Rob and all, but this move is all about what it does for BWFC.

If Holding is the best thing since sliced bread then isn't he worth a lot more than 2 mill ?

Good luck to him naturally. Who wouldn't want to sign for Arsenal. He will be loaned out in mid-season..probably not to us though.

bwfc1874 wrote:

whatsgoingon wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:Hm not from what I've read but maybe your sources are closer to the mark. Even so, the amount of young players who go and don't make it at Everton and Spurs is comparable to Arsenal so your point doesn't make much sense I'm afraid.

It does when you look back over all the examples, maybe it doesn't make sense to you but that isn't important to me.
As I said time will tell whether it's a good move or a bad move.
It also isn't just Arsenal this applies to City and Chelsea are equally guilty of buying for the sake of buying hoping that one or two make it.

You haven't looked back over all of the examples though have you? 

Everton and Tottenham do the exact same thing, take a punt on lower league players for cheap and see how they develop. If they don't they invariably get flogged on. 

Ever heard of John Bostock?

It's about how good a player individually is, and fair play to Holding for backing himself to become one of the best.

I genuinely hope it works out for him, only time will tell

bwfc1874 wrote:Guess Nat was right on this one.

I know a lightweight ponce when I see one.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:Guess Nat was right on this one.

I know a lightweight ponce when I see one.

If you call every player a lightweight ponce sooner or later you're going to get one right.
Even a stopped clock's right twice a day

Personally I think the deal is (on the surface at least) a good one all round. Arsenal get a young promising English defender for a small initial fee (in their terms) and we get a fair bit more on top if he works out plus (according to SSN) a sell on clause. Holding gets a crack at the big time, maybe even a real shot at international football and a much bigger wage than we could offer. Whether or not everyone really will win in the end will be down to him and whether or not he makes it. Good luck to the lad, I hope for his sake and ours that he does very well.

whatsgoingon wrote:
If you call every player a lightweight ponce sooner or later you're going to get one right.
Even a stopped clock's right twice a day

Just accept that I am great at spotting ponces.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

whatsgoingon wrote:
If you call every player a lightweight ponce sooner or later you're going to get one right.
Even a stopped clock's right twice a day

Just accept that I am great at spotting ponces.

Could it be that's because you spend so much time in front of the mirror?

England Under-21s international leaves Wanderers after breakthrough season at Macron Stadium
Rob Holding has joined Premier League side Arsenal for an undisclosed fee.

The England Under-21s international departs Macron Stadium having broken into the Whites’ first team last season after progressing through the ranks of the club’s youth academy.

Joining the club at the age of eight, the versatile defender was handed his Bolton debut against Burton Albion in August 2015 before establishing himself as a virtual ever-present for the Trotters during the second half of the campaign.

Finishing the year with 30 appearances to his name, scoring one goal in Wanderers’ victory against MK Dons in January 2016, the 20-year-old’s performances saw him win the Whites’ Player of the Year award.

Also catching the eye of England Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate in the process, Holding was handed his maiden young Lions call-up for the Toulon Tournament earlier this summer and made two appearances as England went on to win the competition.

Everyone at Bolton Wanderers would like to thank Rob for his efforts during his time with the club, and wish him well in his future career.


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He won't be missed. Will forever be remembered for that "tackle" that cost us the game against Reading.

Natasha Whittam wrote:He won't be missed. Will forever be remembered for that "tackle" that cost us the game against Reading.

Shut up

When I think back to the optimism about "rebuilding our team with youth" that was knocking about until everyone realised we are stuck with the has-beens, it saddens me, especially to see the clubs' Player of the Year being sold after spending the majority of his life in our youth system.

Parky's looking at a bunch of 30+ aged triallists and somehow I can't help thinking that at least one of the kids we've released would be the one who makes it worthwhile investing in so many for so long - and that we won't reap the reward for our persistence and investment as per usual.

wanderlust wrote:When I think back to the optimism about "rebuilding our team with youth" that was knocking about until everyone realised we are stuck with the has-beens, it saddens me, especially to see the clubs' Player of the Year being sold after spending the majority of his life in our youth system.

Parky's looking at a bunch of 30+ aged triallists and somehow I can't help thinking that at least one of the kids we've released would be the one who makes it worthwhile investing in so many for so long - and that we won't reap the reward for our persistence and investment as per usual.

You're like LPPs little boy...

Holding was always going to leave once a club like Arsenal showed interest, surprised it took so long, at least the new owners got a decent few upfront with hefty add on and sell on fees included. 

We're league one pal, get used to seeing the best players leave. We'd have struggled to keep Holding even if we were a prem side..

We still have Clough, who I doubt the owners will let go unless a huge fee comes in. Hopefully the holding money will be reinvested but I think Beevers will be a competent replacement

wanderlust wrote:When I think back to the optimism about "rebuilding our team with youth" that was knocking about until everyone realised we are stuck with the has-beens, it saddens me, especially to see the clubs' Player of the Year being sold after spending the majority of his life in our youth system.

Parky's looking at a bunch of 30+ aged triallists and somehow I can't help thinking that at least one of the kids we've released would be the one who makes it worthwhile investing in so many for so long - and that we won't reap the reward for our persistence and investment as per usual.

I understand your feelings but the fact is he had a year to go on his contract so we were over a barrel. You can't deny him wanting to better himself although the wisdom of him doing that at Arsenal is debatable IMO.
It would have been a gamble for us not to sell because if he doesn't make real progress this season we could have been left with a tribunal ruling worth very little now and in the future.
I also believe him going to Arsenal could work against us significantly as bonuses will be based on appearances and sell on, so if he goes onto the Arsenal loan wagon and then slides out of the club later our bonuses could be negligible.

Boggersbelief wrote:

wanderlust wrote:When I think back to the optimism about "rebuilding our team with youth" that was knocking about until everyone realised we are stuck with the has-beens, it saddens me, especially to see the clubs' Player of the Year being sold after spending the majority of his life in our youth system.

Parky's looking at a bunch of 30+ aged triallists and somehow I can't help thinking that at least one of the kids we've released would be the one who makes it worthwhile investing in so many for so long - and that we won't reap the reward for our persistence and investment as per usual.

You're like LPPs little boy...

Holding was always going to leave once a club like Arsenal showed interest, surprised it took so long, at least the new owners got a decent few upfront with hefty add on and sell on fees included. 

We're league one pal, get used to seeing the best players leave. We'd have struggled to keep Holding even if we were a prem side..

We still have Clough, who I doubt the owners will let go unless a huge fee comes in. Hopefully the holding money will be reinvested but I think Beevers will be a competent replacement

I'm not questioning the economics of it, or our current position. Just saying it's a shame we have to lose prospects like Holding when we are forced to keep lesser players on massive wages.

Boggersbelief wrote:

Shut up

It's true though, the only time I remember talking about Holding was when he got sent off for that "tackle".