Re: Twixt Cups and Lips. Home to Shrewbury Town, Tuesday Apr 16th 7-45.

[DJBlu]

Anyone else watching feel like the League Two Bolton waiting for Dapo to do something?

[officer_dibble]

It was basically give it to Maghoma and hope. Dempsey perked up on 60 mins. But not enough. I just don’t get why he left three centre halves on - one of which being forester who played like he had left his contact lenses out, and in slippers. It was crying out for Williams at half time, 433, give them something different to think about. He’s so tactically stubborn it drives me insane.

[officer_dibble]

Was there at a weird angle to it, but that Ogbeta chance… Was it as clear-cut as it appeared to me? Looked like 1. It should’ve been headed and 2. He should’ve followed the header with his full body weight to take anyone on the line with him.

Looked like he should have buried it to me. And Iredale should have done better as well. Twa t it along the ground, deflection would have gone in.

[DJBlu]

Was there at a weird angle to it, but that Ogbeta chance… Was it as clear-cut as it appeared to me? Looked like 1. It should’ve been headed and 2. He should’ve followed the header with his full body weight to take anyone on the line with him.

Don't watch the replay. It's as bad as you think. If he heads it then it's probably a goal. He is scared of getting hurt, most of them are. Last crunching, go feck yourself tackle from one of ours?

Can't remember.

[TANGODANCER]

What position did Evatt play tonight? Did he make bad passes, failed to score obvious chances or give the ball away? Managers often cop the flack for the workers faults. Not pitch-fork and bedsheet time just yet. Keep the Faith.

[Jeux sans frontiéres]

I understand the frustrations with tactical inflexibility. Ultimately, we've been done by an under-strength strike force. We've celebrated one of our strikers getting their first league goal of the campaign literally two games before the end of the season.

Assuming we were meant to have Dion and Adeboyejo as our main strikers. Our back-ups have scored 18 goals between them in all games. Having missed a big part of the campaign, Dion is still top scorer by some margin. SO yes it's a blow to lose him, but if you're going to 'trust the process' and keep playing the same tactics, you've got to have the players who can do it - and clearly at the sharp end of things, they can't.

[DJBlu]

What position did Evatt play tonight? Did he make bad passes, failed to score obvious chances or give the ball away? Managers often cop the flack for the workers faults. Not pitch-fork and bedsheet time just yet. Keep the Faith.

He kept our only other decent playmaker on the bench for 95 minutes.

[irie Cee Bee]

We seemed too anxious, looking quickly to shoot at every opportunity without patience and played Shrews game, especially in the first half. Defensively, without our captain we looked very vulnerable. A good side would have cut this defense open today. Looked better in the second half with Maghoma the only player who seemed capable of unlocking the door.

Now that the Auto's dream is over, take the time to reset, relax, get players fit, and take care of business in the playoffs.

[DJBlu]

Was there at a weird angle to it, but that Ogbeta chance… Was it as clear-cut as it appeared to me? Looked like 1. It should’ve been headed and 2. He should’ve followed the header with his full body weight to take anyone on the line with him.

Looked like he should have buried it to me. And Iredale should have done better as well. Twa t it along the ground, deflection would have gone in.

If you have the stomach for it. Takes some doing to not trust your head or your feet. Fair play to the defender, we'd be over the moon if we'd made that block.

[officer_dibble]

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... rers-draw/

There you go - do the same thing others have done cos our manager refuses to change it.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

What position did Evatt play tonight? Did he make bad passes, failed to score obvious chances or give the ball away? Managers often cop the flack for the workers faults. Not pitch-fork and bedsheet time just yet. Keep the Faith.

He kept our only other decent playmaker on the bench for 95 minutes.

Said after the game he had to trust the medical advice on Santos, Jones and Sheehan. Remember Sheehan was a doubt for Pompey. Slightly strange he was on the bench, but maybe as a last resort.

I dunno. Most worrying thing is Paul Hurst publishing his gameplan and noting that we have often struggled against a back three. I wouldn’t have changed to 4-3-3 last night but mainly because we haven’t played it for what, two years? That Evatt hasn’t taken the opportunity to introduce formational flexibility has saddened me - I hope it doesn’t threaten his future.

[officer_dibble]

I always go back to what Ghost said. ‘If Plan A isn’t working, Plan B is to do Plan A better’ or similar… if Ghost had come out as Ian Evatt at that point I would not have been surprised!

[Worthy4England]

I always go back to what Ghost said. ‘If Plan A isn’t working, Plan B is to do Plan A better’ or similar… if Ghost had come out as Ian Evatt at that point I would not have been surprised!

Sorta doesn't matter and we get too hooked up on it, I think, at times. A working plan A is decent, maybe not my cup of tea stylistically, but I'm reasonably happy with "win" most of the convo isn't about a long term change, it's about a short term (I think we can safely say 20 minutes) impact on a game.

So to plan B, which you're using coz plan A is clearly not working. Outside of a bit of chatter on forums, all most people want is a noticeable shift towards us in the game dynamics. I doubt most care much whether that's "better plan A" or something else. I mean presumably you start the game with your best XI for Plan A, so any subs aren't likely to be a "better plan A."

Said most of the season, it isn't putting 7 past Exeter that will determine the outcome of the season, it's the imperfect performances.

He can still get us up this year (theoretically in normal time), but as it stands, can he get the mindset right for three consecutive top of the table performances? I hope so, but I have plenty of doubts. There can't be many more chances for him after what was viewed to be maybe one of the less fraught L1 campaigns. Next year we'll add old favourites Rotherham back, a "derby" v Stockport (we're great at them), wild card Wrexham and maybe Sheff Weds, plus two others which could theoretically include Blackburn or Plymouth (although not very likely)

It might be nearing time gentlemen please (for me) but I don't think FV play that way.

[The_Gun]

When the final whistle was blown last night I told myself I wouldn't think about Bolton Wanderers for a few days, but of course I haven't been successful.

In the immediate aftermath of a disappointing result it is easy to let emotion get the better of you, and typically I find that in the cold light of day I am more circumspect, and with the adrenaline out of my system I have renewed optimism. However, there have been so many disappointing results since the turn of the year, I find that this morning I have very much the same thoughts as I did last night.

I think that if we don't go up via the playoffs this season then we should look for a new manager in the summer. I don't want to say that Evatt has taken us as far as he can, because clearly I have no way of knowing that, but what I do believe is that he's never going to be an elite manager, and there is a discrepancy between his perception of his own ability and his actual ability.

I know in football, more than virtually any other sport, variance or 'luck' plays a huge role, and injuries, poor refereeing, out-performance by opponents etc can be the difference between success or failure at the end of the season. But again, this year there have been too many matches where we've thrown points away for me to conclude anything other than the manager has significant tactical deficiencies.

I sincerely hope that we do win the playoffs, and I'll be at Wembley if we make it that far, but if not then I think it's time for a change.

[Prufrock]

Gah, the season in microcosm.

I'm pretty confident they won't sack him, and I don't think they should. We've made progress again, though not as much as we'd have liked. I still make us favs for the play offs (though still maybe only 40-50% chance). We're now guaranteed a top 4 finish and home second leg.

I hope he has a rethink in the summer though. Bod OOC and the signing of Collins makes a 433 easier to get to and as I keep banging on about I think would suit what we trying to do more, be less reliant on being able to sign top class wing backs, and give us more room to change things in game. The issue with 352 is you don't need any wingers so don't sign any, and so beyond tweaks to the middle 3 and a few other tactical bits and bobs, you don't really have anywhere to go. When we're on it we're great, when we're not, we're...not.

You'd have a starting squad for next year of

------------------BAX
---------------Coleman

JDC---- SANTOS ----TOAL-----; (LB)
Geth-- Forrester-- Johnston--- Iredale

---(CM)------ SHEEHAN-------THOMO
----Dempsey---Morley--------(cm)

RANDY---------DION----------COLLINS
---cmg-----------Vic/Dan------------(winger)

4 signings away from a well balanced squad. Maybe 5 depending on CMG's injury.

In Ogbeta or Ashworth and Maghoma, there might already be two of those signings in the building and up to speed.

[Worthy4England]

I doubt they'll sack him either, and to be fair, he's still got chances to take us up a division, this season - there's no particular reason we couldn't win the play-offs at our best - but that's down to IE getting the team right and in the right frame of mind etc. as well as the team then delivering.

On the well balanced squad thing - I doubt there are many Clubs in L1 can say they have everything they need - we might have a long wait for "perfect team" + "decent league"...

[BWFC_Insane]

Since January we’ve won something like 9 in 22. Currently we are on 2 wins out of the last 6.

This is a long old spell. It’s not like a bad run you can brush away. It’s not getting any better either. And the warning signs were there long long before this run too. We all looked at the fixture list and knew it was tough in the run in. But way way before that we buckled too often under the slightest of examinations.

The problem is not ability. For me we’ve got the best squad of players in this division. We’ve spent a lot of money and been leapfrogged by two teams we finished above last season one of whom is under a transfer embargo.

I don’t think we’ve improved relative to last season as I think this league is considerably worse than last seasons and next season the league will almost certainly be far stronger.

There isn’t any reason Portsmouth and Derby are above us beyond a simple fact they have better managers who understand what is needed to get out of league one. The whole culture Evatt has built and it extends to some of our fans is obsessed with stuff about ‘how well we played’. How well we played is irrelevant if results are consistently not as required. It’s also not an easy measure to define. Did we play well against Portsmouth? Can you really ever have played well if you concede a goal through your own sloppiness and lack of determination? Maybe after but even then I thought we played ok without ever really looking like winning the game. Another big game we simply couldn’t win. Add to a long huge list of chances we’ve blown to go up this season. And now there is only one left.

And that’s the story of us. xG and possession kings at the expense of actually winning games of football. And that translates into a team not prepared to run through walls and do the hard yards week in week out when the going is really tough. Sunny day in August with no pressure and a team against us who leave a bit of space…we will look premiership. Back end of the season with a few knocks and niggles and a team scrapping for their lives who make it tough….we wilt. It’s a lack of spirit, lack of determination and a lack of being prepared to do what’s necessary. And it’s on Evatt. He can talk all he likes about ‘they want it’ I don’t doubt that but he’s not instilled the understanding in them of what translating that want into on the pitch wins needs.

Watch Portsmouth, they can play, they can bombard the box, they can sit in and defend for 80 minutes with bodies on the line, they can win a counter punch transitional game. We can play. If the opposition let us and the conditions are fair. We can do that better than anyone. Anyone in this league. But we can’t do any of the other stuff. Full commitment players knowing what it takes- we’d have won the last two games.

It’s down to Evatt. It’s the culture he’s built. The mentalities he’s brought in.

I would and I promise this is the truth, absolutely love them to prove me wrong and win the play offs. Love it. Would be the best wrong I’ve been. But I just can’t escape the feeling this side, like a post Viera Wenger Arsenal side simply doesn’t have the right stuff instilled into them to do so.

[The_Gun]

Yaaaaaay!

[Worthy4England]

Welcome back mate - missed the banter, even if you have gone a bit "all Kevin Keegan" in the last para!

As I was having a post match contemplate last night, I was trying really hard to recall the 15 goals in 2 games v Man Utd kids and Exeter, and thinking - it's not really about them, I'd have remembered the two against Derby away, the second v Pompey on Saturday, the third vs Shrewsbury last night wayyyyyyy better than the 15 vs MUU21 and Exeter. As DSB said has some significant signs of "flat track bully" about it.

And yeah - whilst we can point to improvement, I doubt anyone would disagree that this league, this year, is probably easier than the previous 2 years...

[DJBlu]

Yaaaaaay!

I noticed the lurking yesterday. Actually pleased to read that post.

Almost like the missing peice is back.

COYWM!!!