Lion tamers or clowns? Bolton v Millwall Tuesday Apr 10th 8 pm. .

[TANGODANCER]

Really no laughs left now; no excuses, no explanations and nothing but 90 minutes of effort and a win will do. Millwall have the form, pushing for the play-offs and look a bookie's banker bet. We, meanwhile....have slipped down the snakes and not a ladder in sight. For what it's worth, Keith Stroud is the ref tomorrow; don't know if that's good or bad but he has a bit of a controversial history with some iffy decisions. Seems to like yellow cards if stats are anything to go by?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Bad news: "Wanderers will have to face Millwall without skipper Darren Pratley, who is struggling with a shin injury despite having two painkilling injections into the site."

Also bad news that this is bad news, but y'know.

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wa ... val_fight/

I feel we have got the players to get ourselves out of the situation but I feel we have got to rediscover some belief. After the Villa game people were starting to look towards the summer holidays, thinking it was job done. In my mind I knew there was work to do, and that teams around us would pick up points, which they have done.

We were beaten [at Derby] because we gave two soft goals to a very good team. Millwall is a huge game now. Whatever system we play, whatever way we play – long ball, short ball, whatever, I am not bothered. I just want to see more resilience.

[Do the players believe?] You’ll have to ask them. Of course I believe we can stay up. We have had some good victories against better teams in the league, certainly at home, but we have to get our heads together and make sure everyone understands what is required. We need more belief. We have been in some tricky situations in my two years at the club, this is another one, but we will dig ourselves out of trouble.

Oh but hang on, BREAKING NEWS OFF THE TWITTERS from Iles: "Wanderers team news: Both Pratley and Morais showing progress after injury. Neither now ruled out for Millwall. Obasi groin injury means he won't be involved."

[TANGODANCER]

Is this Obasi fella going to figure at all, or are we just collecting names?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Is this Obasi fella going to figure at all, or are we just collecting names?

Right from the off it seemed a curious one. Parky was incredibly cautious - didn't he say something like "Don't expect him in the first team any time soon"? – and that led to the predictable but understandable claims that Ken had signed him without Parky's consent, the manager's not in control of signings, etc etc.

It's the type of signing that only very irregularly "works", but when it does it's worth the misses. Sam regularly took a chance on who's-he signings, and he had far more Pierre-Yves Andrés than Florent Lavilles. And that's when we had (some) money to spend. We're proper Poundland, us.

[BWFC_Insane]

They've got to lose sometime...unbeaten in the league this calendar year.

1-0 to the Whites.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

They've got to lose sometime...unbeaten in the league this calendar year.

1-0 to the Whites.

OH YOU'RE SUCH A PREDICTABLE DOOM-MONGeh?!

They seem to be made of strong stuff, and titfers off to them for how well they've done. But they've built their success on long-ball football and frankly I fancy our chances more against that than those clever bastards who "pass" and "move" around us.

Ugly home goal off someone's dick in the 15th minute, 80 minutes of panic thereafter, Millwall goal disallowed, hold on, Wheavers clean sheet, Sweet Caroline, level on points with Reading (who lose at Fulham) and four clear of Barnsley (who scab a draw at Ipswich), hope.

[BWFC_Insane]

They've got to lose sometime...unbeaten in the league this calendar year.

1-0 to the Whites.

OH YOU'RE SUCH A PREDICTABLE DOOM-MONGeh?!

They seem to be made of strong stuff, and titfers off to them for how well they've done. But they've built their success on long-ball football and frankly I fancy our chances more against that than those clever bastards who "pass" and "move" around us.

Ugly home goal off someone's dick in the 15th minute, 80 minutes of panic thereafter, Millwall goal disallowed, hold on, Wheavers clean sheet, Sweet Caroline, level on points with Reading (who lose at Fulham) and four clear of Barnsley (who scab a draw at Ipswich), hope.

Ha. Well I think I'm more worried about Saturday than tomorrow. Obviously on form, paper, logically all those things Millwall should absolutely batter us tomorrow. But that might take the pressure off. Who knows?

What I do know is that as bad and worried as we may feel now, win tomorrow and Saturday and we're probably a point or two from relaxing.

However, lose both and we can probably dust off the maps to Southend and Bradford.....

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

However, lose both and we can probably dust off the maps to Southend and Bradford.....

Those maps aren't dusty – we went there last season, you big silly.

If you want dusty maps: the three teams in Division Four's auto-promotion slots are Accrington, where we haven't played since 1926; Luton, where we haven't played since 1997; and Wycombe, where (unless I'm mistaken) we've never played. The play-off positions are currently held by Exeter (1992), Notts County (1995), Lincoln (1993) and Coventry (last January), with Mansfield (1993), Swindon (2016), Carlisle (1988) and Colchester (1987) hoping to join in.

[palindromeofbolton]

Is this Obasi fella going to figure at all, or are we just collecting names?

After Derby, I was getting round to thinking... would it not be worth a punt to at least have him on the bench, in the interests of having *something* new/different up front to make the opposition take a second glance?

But as Iles via DSB states, it won't be happening... against Millwall, at any rate. He wasn't on the team sheet for the U23's draw last Thursday, so presuming he was injured before that one? Meaning he wasn't an option for Derby (that's *if* PP had been contemplating naming him in the 18).

Whatever happens over the next four games, I envisage a 3-3-4 being rolled out against Forest, with Obasi, Alf and Zach scoring a brace apiece in a 9-1* win, while Wilbrahimovic wraps up his hat trick in the 93rd minute, breaking down in tears as he questions whether it was the right decision to sign a pre-contract agreement with PSG after all.

*Beevers fluffs a simple clearance in the 3rd minute to let them in. I am a realist, after all.

[Bijou Bob]

Tomorrow will be a big ask, but i'm predicting a nil nil boreathon whih will do little to ease the nerves. This is going down to the last day, having to beat Forest or do better than Barnsley/Burton/Brum.

I asked Marc Iles about Obasi yesterday. Groin strain apparently.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Whatever happens over the next four games, I envisage a 3-3-4 being rolled out against Forest, with Obasi, Alf and Zach scoring a brace apiece in a 9-1* win, while Wilbrahimovic wraps up his hat trick in the 93rd minute, breaking down in tears as he questions whether it was the right decision to sign a pre-contract agreement with PSG after all.

*Beevers fluffs a simple clearance in the 3rd minute to let them in. I am a realist, after all.

Frankly my dear that's ludicrously unrealistic. Zach (and Tyler) will be "cup-tied".

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Mmmmm, I wonder if Clough will be on the bench again? Maybe, maybe not. But if he is I'd like to put a tenner on (with appropriate odds of say, evens) that he gets less than ten minutes on the pitch.
Ladbrokes have refused the bet though.

[DJBlu]

All good things must come to an end, like Millwall's unbeaten run. 1-0 Bolton

[GhostoftheBok]

We have a history of ending people's winless runs, not their winning runs. Saying that, I'm going to miss this game and we apparently play better when I'm not there - thus I'll go 2-1 win. Hope, rather than conviction.

[Bruce Rioja]

The thuggish, violent, loutish c*nts are on a right old roll. They'll come here and take the game to us - we'll be powerless to withstand for long. 3-0 to them, I think. I hate these horrible c*nts with a passion that knows no bounds.

PS, With the exception of Danny Baker. He's my favourite broadcaster

[Harry Genshaw]

Never let it be said Bruce holds a grudge!

1-0 win tomorrow. Alf converts the only chance we create. Another nervous 96 minutes ensues

[Spartan2]

Can't see us winning a single game now, just more long balls to ALF. If Obasi is injured can't we try wheater up front, he's obviously not a natural forward but he'll win more headers than he loses, and that might be enough to create some chances.

[GhostoftheBok]

Sticking Wheater up front would be admitting defeat. I like Wheats, he's a good lad, but I can't imagine much worse than having him trundling about aimlessly in the final third for 90 minutes. I'd rather they took one of the lads from the reserves than stuck him up top.

One of the reasons we go long is that the midfield are bottling it. The lads at the back get the ball and our midfielders go and stand behind an opposition player to make sure nobody passes to them. They don't want the ball. For all his faults, the only mid I see demanding the ball is Derik. If some of the lads in the middle of the park stood up and asked for it to feet, showed themselves as options, we might see less of the front to back stuff. We're a team with no belief in our ability to play with the ball. One reason to play Clough is that he will always ask for the ball and try to play. Whether you rate him or not, he's not shy of getting on the ball and trying to make things happen.

[palindromeofbolton]

Whatever happens over the next four games, I envisage a 3-3-4 being rolled out against Forest, with Obasi, Alf and Zach scoring a brace apiece in a 9-1* win, while Wilbrahimovic wraps up his hat trick in the 93rd minute, breaking down in tears as he questions whether it was the right decision to sign a pre-contract agreement with PSG after all.

*Beevers fluffs a simple clearance in the 3rd minute to let them in. I am a realist, after all.

Frankly my dear that's ludicrously unrealistic. Zach (and Tyler) will be "cup-tied".

Oh Gawd, that's right. In that case, Howard replaces a concussed Alnwick midway through the second half but, having taken Kenny's motivational missives about playing for a new contract to heart, insists on playing in a CF role in order to realise the 3-3-4 PP had been dreaming of all season. He goes on to score in the 71st and 88th, while also setting up Obassi who lands one of his with a full volley from the centre circle five minutes from time.

Is my premonition watertight now?

[Bijou Bob]

The thuggish, violent, loutish c*nts are on a right old roll. They'll come here and take the game to us - we'll be powerless to withstand for long. 3-0 to them, I think. I hate these horrible c*nts with a passion that knows no bounds.

PS, With the exception of Danny Baker. He's my favourite broadcaster

Is there a story here?? There must be a story........