The unguarded moment. At Home to Shrewsbury Sat Oct 54th 3'0 clock

[Bertie Wooster]

I'll ask again for about the 3rd time to the Evatt likers / supporters, despite being backed to the hilt by the board - please tell me what he has improved over the past 2 years.

Considering our financial state as a club, I'd say just about everything possible.

Can you please elaborate TD and perhaps list a few ?, as I really don't know what you mean considering our financial state as a club OR are you rolling out the old we should be lucky to still have a club nonsense etc.

[TANGODANCER]

I'll ask again for about the 3rd time to the Evatt likers / supporters, despite being backed to the hilt by the board - please tell me what he has improved over the past 2 years.

Considering our financial state as a club, I'd say just about everything possible.

Can you please elaborate TD and perhaps list a few ?, as I really don't know what you mean considering our financial state as a club OR are you rolling out the old we should be lucky to still have a club nonsense etc.

Perhaps this, from "Bolton Wanderers History" can explain better than I:

!That meant only a second ever season in the bottom division of the league for Wanderers, who made another managerial change with the appointment of Ian Evatt as boss.

The former QPR, Blackpool and Chesterfield defender had led Barrow AFC back into the Football League and he was soon to add another promotion to his CV.

The effect of the pandemic continued to be felt, with football played behind closed doors throughout the season.

With no fans to watch, the Whites endured a testing first half of the season but with Evatt able to put his stamp on the squad come January, his side pieced together a remarkable run of form to clinch third place in League Two and promotion on the final day of the season.

Backed by a Board re-building the club off the pitch, Evatt and his backroom staff continued to evolve the squad and in the first season back in League One secured a ninth-place finish.

With that platform in place, the 2022/23 season brought a promotion challenge and a first piece of knock-out silverware in 34 years.

Evatt guided his team to Wembley for the final of the Papa Johns (EFL) Trophy.

And with 35,000 fans making the trip, Wanderers produced the perfect day with a magnificent 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle repeating the club’s last success in the competition in 1989.

Back in the league, Wanderers – with striker Dion Charles becoming the first player to score 20 goals in a season for 22 years – reached the play-offs after finishing fifth in the table.

However, a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Barnsley dashed hopes of another trip to Wembley as the progressive Whites re-grouped for another crack at promotion in 2023/24.

Quote:




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© 2024 Bolton Wanderers FC

[Prufrock]

We've definitely got better at attacking set pieces tbf.

And there is more depth in the squad (I hear you on Collins and McAttee, but if he dropped Dion and Vic that too would be close to £1m on the bench).

I'm not judging him just on the last two years but other than those two areas it's tough to say where we've improved in the period.

[Spartan2]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, despite all of the financial backing from the board Evatt hasn't improved anything at all in the past 2 years, if anything we have gone backwards as a team.

Has he made us harder to beat - No, has he made us more entertaining - No, are we more robust and physical in big games - No, has he made us defensively better - No, are we now better at set pieces (defending & attacking - No) - he's improved nothing, tactically he does the same things he did last season & the season before - we are stagnant under Evatt, going nowhere.

I'll ask again for about the 3rd time to the Evatt likers / supporters, despite being backed to the hilt by the board - please tell me what he has improved over the past 2 years.

Have to agree, he's not improved us at all, not for a long time. The ~1.5ppg is damning.

There was a time a few seasons ago where the general consensus was we couldn't compete with the likes of Ipswich because they'd spent 1m on a left back and we weren't at that level. We were picking up players who didn't know how to do a throw in and making the best of it. We now have our very own 1M international lwb as well as a host of relatively expensive/coveted players and what's changed, we're struggling against Shrewsbury and middling along at 1.5ppg.

There's literally nothing to suggest he's capable of turning it around particularly because he has no mitigating circumstances he can't say he's not been backed or blame an injury crisis or say he needs more time, it's just him and his poor managerial ability.

The exact same training ground goal, by the same player against the same team, says everything.