Something to think about.

[TANGODANCER]

D.S.B trots out some Dougie facts for your perusal:

http://www.the-wanderer.co.uk/bolton/fr ... est-fellas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[twilight]

Good reading that....But I might be wrong, was Tim Ream not Owen Coyle's little Godsend?

[Jugs]

He was Coyle's signing but I think he's saying that it was Freedman who got the best out of him.

[twilight]

Aaaah, sorry!! Carry on

[Baconsalat]

Good reading, thumps up!

[TonyDomingos]

Yes, I enjoyed that. How come we're not top of the league?
DSB, don't suppose you have Doug's results stats to hand too?

[EverSoYouri]

D.S.B trots out some Dougie facts for your perusal:

http://www.the-wanderer.co.uk/bolton/fr ... est-fellas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Haven't read the whole thing yet but the 'only a loanee' quip has already made it worth the trip.

[EverSoYouri]

More on Ream.

I have argued since he arrived that his best position is in front of the back four - breaking up play and distributing the ball. In short a (very) poor man's Campo. Freedman's shortcomings as a manager are summed up for me in the fact that he played Ream here once (against Doncaster) in a game we utterly controlled (and Ream was a success). To the best of my knowledge, he hasn't occupied that role since.

In a nutshell, it's one thing to be searching for the right formation, the best positions for your players, but not to be able to recognise when you happen to get it right, and so continue your tinkering ad infinitum...fatal.

[William the White]

D.S.B trots out some Dougie facts for your perusal:

http://www.the-wanderer.co.uk/bolton/fr ... est-fellas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good stuff, DSB...

But, IMHO... Spearing is better than Medo in the holding position... tho, for sure, there's no point having BOTH!

I'm with Youri that I'd like to see Ream in that position (and suspect full back injuries or inadequacies were the only thing preventing it, rather than DF illogicalities. In this, i admit, i may be entirely wrong).

[EverSoYouri]

One other thing, looking at DSB's list.

There's not much said in DF's defence these days (and understandably so), but it's worth pondering how different our league position (and our view of him) might be now, IF Eddie Davies (or those members of the board who seem just to turn up to take a fee from the club, rather than chip in) had bank-rolled him for Dawson, Jutkiewicz and Mason.

Isn't it just possible that, with those three on the books, our main worry would be that Mike Ashley (or equivalent) was aiming to tap up our 'talented young manager'?

As my little bro says, in football management, it may well be better to be lucky than to be good.

[Hoboh]

Nice write up with one problem, not one of them w*nkers is would last 2 mins at the top of the championship never mind the Prem.

If these guys were any good

1. Why are they farmed out and not breaking records at the parent club?

2. Why are most of them like LL, all ex buddies, do they kiss the gaffers ass?

3 Freedman could be in charge at Barca and still play like an old fashioned Italian team filled with one legged ex sailors.

[Beefheart]

Only a loanee ("Dum-dum-dum dummy-doo-wah" – Roy Orbison's backing singers)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Tony - according to Wiki (I know) Freedman has just clocked up 100 games: W34 D33 L33. His win percentage is therefore 34%, fractionally lower than his 34.78% at Palace.

Will - Medo vs Spearing will continue to rumble but Medo was definitely a Freedman signing. I bent the rules a bit with Ream to prove a point that Freedman is capable of making players better - even if it's a player he would at one point have happily have driven to a new club to get his wages off the bill.

Youri - Ream has indeed filled in varying roles with varying success, but he's played in front of the back four more than once. There was a time near the beginning of last season when he would start there, then drop into the back four when DF brought a striker on for a centre-back after we went a goal behind - and that happened a lot. He started there against QPR at home (0-1, 24 Aug 13), Leeds at home (0-1, 14 Sep 2013) , Derby at home (2-2, 17 Sep 13) and Brighton away (1-3, 21 Sep 13) after which the experiment seems to have ended. When we played Doncaster at home later that season there were only three other defenders in our line-up (http://uk.women.soccerway.com/matches/2 ... c/1484254/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

For the record I think Ream can do a job in front of the back four but not, I suspect, against better teams or in a game where we're under the cosh, as those results seem to bear witness.

But I will agree with Youri that finance has certainly spannered his (and our) hopes. I thought that the other day, watching Dawson mark Jutkiewicz in the Premier League. I know there are those who argue, with some merit, that Freedman has wasted some/much of the money he had, but it does feel awfully like he wasn't aware of the depth of our trouble. I don't think we were, either - I was one of many asking why we didn't just stump up the £1.5m for Spearing, and that may be the last significant outgoing for a while.

One other thing. I didn't intend to write this as a Freedman apologist; I'll say again, he's done lots wrong. In fact, I intended to also write a Freedman's Duffers piece, for which the options are legion: I'll leave that to someone else.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Nice write up with one problem, not one of them w*nkers is would last 2 mins at the top of the championship never mind the Prem.

Two of them played each other in the Prem this weekend.

[EverSoYouri]

Youri - Ream has indeed filled in varying roles with varying success, but he's played in front of the back four more than once. There was a time near the beginning of last season when he would start there, then drop into the back four when DF brought a striker on for a centre-back after we went a goal behind - and that happened a lot. He started there against QPR at home (0-1, 24 Aug 13), Leeds at home (0-1, 14 Sep 2013) , Derby at home (2-2, 17 Sep 13) and Brighton away (1-3, 21 Sep 13) after which the experiment seems to have ended. When we played Doncaster at home later that season there were only three other defenders in our line-up (http://uk.women.soccerway.com/matches/2 ... c/1484254/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

For the record I think Ream can do a job in front of the back four but not, I suspect, against better teams or in a game where we're under the cosh, as those results seem to bear witness.

Hmmm...your memory is obviously better than mine on this Dave, but I was at all of those home games (not Brighton) and don't recall Ream being in the Campo role.

Still, I'm with you on the rest (and much else is forgiven for the 'only a loanee' pun!)

[TANGODANCER]

Only a loanee ("Dum-dum-dum dummy-doo-wah" – Roy Orbison's backing singers)

Just seen that. Deserves a gold star and Brownie points....Cracker...

[Armchair Wanderer]

With a loan or two in January we'll finish mid-table. Debt reduced a little. Release some players in the summer, get some more free transfers in. Onwards and upwards!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Ream has indeed filled in varying roles with varying success, but he's played in front of the back four more than once. There was a time near the beginning of last season when he would start there, then drop into the back four when DF brought a striker on for a centre-back after we went a goal behind - and that happened a lot. He started there against QPR at home (0-1, 24 Aug 13), Leeds at home (0-1, 14 Sep 2013) , Derby at home (2-2, 17 Sep 13) and Brighton away (1-3, 21 Sep 13) after which the experiment seems to have ended. When we played Doncaster at home later that season there were only three other defenders in our line-up (http://uk.women.soccerway.com/matches/2 ... c/1484254/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Hmmm...your memory is obviously better than mine on this Dave, but I was at all of those home games (not Brighton) and don't recall Ream being in the Campo role. [/quote]I may be wrong - it has been known - but perusing the line-ups, in which there are four other defenders, suggests he was (or at least started) in front of the back four. I can't recall other defenders being played further forward, or us playing five at the back, from the start of any games under Freedman.

http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd ... bs=results" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - go to 2013/14 and then click the 'i' button for cast-list...

[EverSoYouri]

Ream has indeed filled in varying roles with varying success, but he's played in front of the back four more than once. There was a time near the beginning of last season when he would start there, then drop into the back four when DF brought a striker on for a centre-back after we went a goal behind - and that happened a lot. He started there against QPR at home (0-1, 24 Aug 13), Leeds at home (0-1, 14 Sep 2013) , Derby at home (2-2, 17 Sep 13) and Brighton away (1-3, 21 Sep 13) after which the experiment seems to have ended. When we played Doncaster at home later that season there were only three other defenders in our line-up (http://uk.women.soccerway.com/matches/2 ... c/1484254/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Hmmm...your memory is obviously better than mine on this Dave, but I was at all of those home games (not Brighton) and don't recall Ream being in the Campo role.

I may be wrong - it has been known - but perusing the line-ups, in which there are four other defenders, suggests he was (or at least started) in front of the back four. I can't recall other defenders being played further forward, or us playing five at the back, from the start of any games under Freedman.

http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd ... bs=results" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - go to 2013/14 and then click the 'i' button for cast-list...[/quote]

Cheers, will do! Quite possibly, I only "saw" him playing there when he was doing what I wanted (i.e. making a go of it!)