Match Thread: Pasties and Pies - A Tasty affair! Bolton v Wigan (H) - Saturday 19th Aug / 12.30

[jimbo]

First 25 we were abysmal. Couldn’t pick a pass, no movement, players waving their arms at each other. Then when Wigan got the ball we seemed to melt, and they were clinical.

At 2-0 I thought we actually did ok. Started progressing the ball forwards and had a couple of chances that on another day could have gone differently. Coming up to half time I felt we had a chance. The third goal was comically bad though, and killed it all off.

End of the day the first 25 cost us. Issues similar to those we saw last year where we didn’t have a clue against a decent side who made it hard for us. Not sure how we solve that with just one or two signings.

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt not mincing his words ‘completely unacceptable on every level’. Worryingly he ‘didn’t see it coming’.

I think he needs a real honest appraisal about the players we have their performance today and characters. He says we didn’t get the basics right didn’t fight for second balls as you have to against teams like this. We all know it. But the same players have shown this time and time again.

We can’t keep pretending we’ve solved the weaknesses.

I’d look to do everything we can to bring a few in. That might mean some going out but so be it. Needs must.

[Bertie Wooster]

Evatt not mincing his words ‘completely unacceptable on every level’. Worryingly he ‘didn’t see it coming’.

I think he needs a real honest appraisal about the players we have their performance today and characters. He says we didn’t get the basics right didn’t fight for second balls as you have to against teams like this. We all know it. But the same players have shown this time and time again.

We can’t keep pretending we’ve solved the weaknesses.

I’d look to do everything we can to bring a few in. That might mean some going out but so be it. Needs must.

Never his fault though is it.

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt not mincing his words ‘completely unacceptable on every level’. Worryingly he ‘didn’t see it coming’.

I think he needs a real honest appraisal about the players we have their performance today and characters. He says we didn’t get the basics right didn’t fight for second balls as you have to against teams like this. We all know it. But the same players have shown this time and time again.

We can’t keep pretending we’ve solved the weaknesses.

I’d look to do everything we can to bring a few in. That might mean some going out but so be it. Needs must.

Never his fault though is it.

I wouldn’t blame Evatt but will if he doesn’t fix the glaring problems and he can’t do that by keeping on with the players who as Fred Eyre astutely pointed out will never be what we need them to be in the roles we are asking them to fill against decent sides. Sheehan is never a number 6 in a game like this and Morley never a number 8. If we don’t accept that and recruit the players we need in those roles we will sadly have more frustration. It’s one thing beating teams who sit off but when a team gets in your face then we need different answers and that midfield is too weak and too slow.

[officer_dibble]

Well Evatt wasn’t on the pitch to be fair!

Anyone dressing this up as anything other than a total shambles can fck right off - they were in admin and had half a team until a month ago. Utter disgrace.

The only thing giving me comfort is that it is so bad it has to be a one off - or I’d be fcking the whole squad off on a free transfer. Shit show.

[GhostoftheBok]

Evatt saying he didn't see it coming surprises me.

I said after Fleetwood that if we played like that Wigan would put at least 3 past us. It was blindingly obvious.

We were diabolical today, but it was very similar at the back to the Fleetwood game.

[nicholaldo]

Feel free to write it off as a bad day at the office but I'm with those who think today's performance points to a bigger issue. Yet again, the same old failures rear their head. Outfought and outmuscled. Weak, naive, confused, and second to everything.

I hope we can drop the pretence they aren't a proper rival now, though. The idea it's beneath us just looks silly.

[BWFC_Insane]

Feel free to write it off as a bad day at the office but I'm with those who think today's performance points to a bigger issue. Yet again, the same old failures rear their head. Outfought and outmuscled. Weak, naive, confused, and second to everything.

I hope we can drop the pretence they aren't a proper rival now, though. The idea it's beneath us just looks silly.

Losing to a team has nowt to do with rivalry. If Burton do us next week they aren’t suddenly ‘rivals’ anymore than any other team in the league.

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt saying he didn't see it coming surprises me.

I said after Fleetwood that if we played like that Wigan would put at least 3 past us. It was blindingly obvious.

We were diabolical today, but it was very similar at the back to the Fleetwood game.

At the back but really the whole team. From the front to the back we were outfought.

It’s worrying and again comes back to lacking the right mental and physical traits needed.

Evatt has a couple of weeks to fix it because right now he’s saying ‘we have to make sure this doesn’t define our season’ which is true but what will define it is failing to fix the issues we had last time.

[Worthy4England]

We go missing v decent press in MF. Not a "one off" thing. We did again today. Last week, the defence left holes all over. They weren't exploited. Today they were. How no one was savvy enough to spot Wyke free, is beyond me. Lack of accountability just let him drop off the back.

Second goal, why does no one (Baxter) shout Iredale? Dunno.

Third goal, I think it's Iredale, plays them on by 3 yards. Not even close.

We pretty much lost every important second ball in the first 45 and folks are trying to tell us it was pretty even, I assume on irrelevant possession stats or feeling the wrong bumps in braille. They also closed down our balls in, pretty well. First man closed flanks off 9/10. Sure some will get through, for inconsequential shots.

[nicholaldo]

Feel free to write it off as a bad day at the office but I'm with those who think today's performance points to a bigger issue. Yet again, the same old failures rear their head. Outfought and outmuscled. Weak, naive, confused, and second to everything.

I hope we can drop the pretence they aren't a proper rival now, though. The idea it's beneath us just looks silly.

Losing to a team has nowt to do with rivalry. If Burton do us next week they aren’t suddenly ‘rivals’ anymore than any other team in the league.

Aye, alreet.

[Worthy4England]

Evatt saying he didn't see it coming surprises me.

I said after Fleetwood that if we played like that Wigan would put at least 3 past us. It was blindingly obvious.

We were diabolical today, but it was very similar at the back to the Fleetwood game.

Yup our defensive failings especially in the first 45 v Fleetwood were very obvious.

[Bertie Wooster]

Well Evatt wasn’t on the pitch to be fair!

Anyone dressing this up as anything other than a total shambles can fck right off - they were in admin and had half a team until a month ago. Utter disgrace.

The only thing giving me comfort is that it is so bad it has to be a one off - or I’d be fcking the whole squad off on a free transfer. Shit show.

Come on, in his presser he literally just said that we just turned up expecting to play as we always do - they played & competed like it was a derby but we didn't, for me the manager should be winding the team up telling them that this is a derby and that they need to win the battle first and then play. This is partly Evatt's fault for not getting them fired up and letting them go out onto the pitch thinking that they don't need to compete / battle to then enable them to then play.

He gets away with a lot at times does Evatt, but for me its his job to fire the team up get them battling & fighting. They had two youngsters in midfield who outfought and out tackled our 3 and their 2 up top took the piss out of our soft as shite defenders (one being 6ft 6), who Wyke took this piss out of.

As has been said numerous times (mainly by me) we need a couple of experienced, tough shithouse, proper competitive players to help us - but Evatt never even looks at this & this is his weakness, his obsession with trying to always tippy tappy out possession teams (apparently to tire them), which today showed was & is absolute rubbish and doesn't win you football matches. We need some players who will get stand up & get stuck in when its not going our way and will fight and currently we have none (Dempsey was actually a bit weak today IMO).

[GhostoftheBok]

I wouldn’t blame Evatt

I would, to a degree.

We know that midfield can't handle a full man-to-man press and he sent it out there anyway. Worse, he did so without Charles in attack leading the press.

Some of the new lads should have been out there today. Forrester and Maghoma should have started, for me; but regardless of who it was we needed something different in there.

That wasn't a game we had to lose. The squad we have can beat Wigan, but that 11 was always going to have issues. With less pressing in forward areas the ball was always going to be targeted where Wigan wanted it, which allowed them to pick out Jones. When we had the ball we had to pass out, which is another weakness for him. I think Jones is great in certain games, but today wasn't it. If we had Johnston fit Iredale would also have missed out, but that is what it is.

In the midfield we couldn't break the press by carrying the ball.

There was a delay in the game when their lad went down and Evatt was telling the midfield to carry the ball through the press. Sheehan tried it a bit, but it's simply not their game. He was asking them to do stuff they can't do, with lads sat on the bench who specialise in that.

For me that's a cock-up by the manager.

[BWFC_Insane]

I wouldn’t blame Evatt

I would, to a degree.

We know that midfield can't handle a full man-to-man press and he sent it out there anyway. Worse, he did so without Charles in attack leading the press.

Some of the new lads should have been out there today. Forrester and Maghoma should have started, for me; but regardless of who it was we needed something different in there.

That wasn't a game we had to lose. The squad we have can beat Wigan, but that 11 was always going to have issues. With less pressing in forward areas the ball was always going to be targeted where Wigan wanted it, which allowed them to pick out Jones. When we had the ball we had to pass out, which is another weakness for him. I think Jones is great in certain games, but today wasn't it. If we had Johnston fit Iredale would also have missed out, but that is what it is.

In the midfield we couldn't break the press by carrying the ball.

There was a delay in the game when their lad went down and Evatt was telling the midfield to carry the ball through the press. Sheehan tried it a bit, but it's simply not their game. He was asking them to do stuff they can't do, with lads sat on the bench who specialise in that.

For me that's a cock-up by the manager.

Maybe but fundamentally we need a much stronger midfield option. Someone who revels in a physical battle. I’d sell Sheehan or Morley if necessary as neither can cope with a game like today. Maghoma is nice on the ball but contributed significantly to us looking wide open against Fleetwood at times.

[Worthy4England]

Feel free to write it off as a bad day at the office but I'm with those who think today's performance points to a bigger issue. Yet again, the same old failures rear their head. Outfought and outmuscled. Weak, naive, confused, and second to everything.

I hope we can drop the pretence they aren't a proper rival now, though. The idea it's beneath us just looks silly.

Losing to a team has nowt to do with rivalry. If Burton do us next week they aren’t suddenly ‘rivals’ anymore than any other team in the league.

Aye, alreet.

Stockport did us the same way in the FA Cup. Let's declare a derby.

[GhostoftheBok]

I think what happened today was that Evatt expected Wigan to come out and play "real football", because that's their manager's preference.

Wigan instead played to beat Bolton, by going man-for-man and playing mostly on the transition.

He sent out a team to play against an open, footballing side and got hammered by a pressing machine.

[BWFC_Insane]

I think what happened today was that Evatt expected Wigan to come out and play "real football", because that's their manager's preference.

Wigan instead played to beat Bolton, by going man-for-man and playing mostly on the transition.

He sent out a team to play against an open, footballing side and got hammered by a pressing machine.

The players were cowardly in losing their individual duels too. As Phil brown said it started minute one with santos losing out to wyke and that set the tone. There is more to it than tactics when every player is so dominated. Mentality is a big part too. Lots of work to do in the window.

On the plus side, the only plus side of the game is CMG looked good in that number 10 role. It’s all I can point to.

[Harry Genshaw]

We've all said it several times before and even Iles called it out today. A lack of bravery on the ball. Players too often looking for the easy sideways option. Coupled with our, too frequent, pedestrian counterattacks, meant we threatened nowt and couldn't get behind them.

They came to win a football match. Free kick in the opponents half? They used it as a springboard to launch an attack. Got the ball in midfield? They used a forward ball to put our defence under pressure. In the same circumstances we're too busy about going sideways and keeping possession. Maddening that our bad habits have been so ruthlessly exposed. Thank feck it wasn't to a well run rival side.

[Bertie Wooster]

I'll be honest I'm really angry with Evatt and the players, they really don't get how embarrassing it is to get absolutely shafted in a derby game. As someone else said it happened against Stockport as well as Wigan previously.

I've said it before Evatt isn't as good as he thinks he is - he has qualities and has done ok but he's stubborn & arrogant (thinks he's another Pep) however he has no plan B, C or D. He's got a couple of weeks to bring a couple of characters, players with bottle (and quality), because if we don't go up this year Evatt can seriously do one for me. He talks a good game but he needs to deliver this season.