Bolton vs Chelsea

[William the White]

Why not just put Gardner at left back and be done with it?

He's not a midfield player anymore for me, especially in games we need to win. Yes we need to be more solid, but we also need to score and win!

Because robinson with gardner in front is more solid than gardner with petrov in front.

And because my priority is to get that defensive solidity that is vital if our current frailties are to be dealt with. First, and most important, we have to stop shipping goals. Get some confidence back. Then build on it.

[plymouth wanderer]

so important it needed to be said twice

[Harry Genshaw]

Aye. If we're playing 4-5-1 that becomes 4-3-3 then lets do it like BSA did it, with no wingers and a tighter midfield 5. Whilst we are leaking goals, Petrov needs to be kept well away from the starting XI

[MorphOS2.6]

Petrov is the only fecker getting forward though
and he wasnt too clever on the right in the second half

I prefer the tricky at lb and petrov in front of him

[thebish]

petrov is a luxury player to be brought on only when we are three up....

[BWFC_Insane]

Anyways, first call on radio Manchester from a bloke who left after half an hour and went for an Italian meal instead (can anyone really blame him?).

"I'm not going back till Coyle is gone"

Made me laugh, then despair!

[thebish]

Anyways, first call on radio Manchester from a bloke who left after half an hour and went for an Italian meal instead (can anyone really blame him?).

"I'm not going back till Coyle is gone"

Made me laugh, then despair!

was it CAPS? he left early....

[CAPSLOCK]

Nay, lad

I'll be there at Wigan

[William the White]

Anyways, first call on radio Manchester from a bloke who left after half an hour and went for an Italian meal instead (can anyone really blame him?).

"I'm not going back till Coyle is gone"

Made me laugh, then despair!

20 minutes in and the two blokes in front of me left, waving v-signs etc... didn't make me despair... made me contemptuous...

[thebish]

Anyways, first call on radio Manchester from a bloke who left after half an hour and went for an Italian meal instead (can anyone really blame him?).

"I'm not going back till Coyle is gone"

Made me laugh, then despair!

20 minutes in and the two blokes in front of me left, waving v-signs etc... didn't make me despair... made me contemptuous...

was it LL?

[wanderers_on_tour]

Who was that number 12 who came on at half time? He looked class, should start against Wigan.

Also i'd give Bogdan another 2 games to prove his salt, looked more a confidence issue than a lack of talent. Perhaps bring Jussi back for Stoke home.

[Harry Genshaw]

Fair play to Sturridge as well for his non reaction to the 2 (very easy) goals we gave him.

[BWFC_Insane]

Since the semi final, we've played 13 league games. 6 last season 7 this.

We've won 2 and lost 11.

We've scored 15 and conceded 34!

The rot most definitely set in last season and continued!

[Gary the Enfield]

Fortunately I was spared most of this game, but the season starts in two weeks. Hope our internationals come back firing.

[Raven]

Signs of a striker-lover. He wants to start singling out Petrov for strolling around the pitch like a prima donna

Does he get up to strolling speed? Useless plank

Said after Wembley farce would not pay to watch the team if that tosser played and sticking by it,

Too pee'd off to say much more, weekend went from bad to worse.

[seanworth]

Well the game is over, and the horrific run of fixtures are over. Now it's time for Coyle to get busy and sort out this defense. He needs to make tough decisions as we have to turn this mess around quickly. Robinson or Gardner. Decide what to do with Steinsson. Finally do a bit of work (o.k. a lot) with the defense on some basic defending. We seem to constantly get caught on not just on fast breaks, but also set pieces and crosses into the box. The defense is a wreck right now and needs to get sorted quickly. As much as we harp and bitch about certain individuals, there is no way that their poor performances can offer our opposition such easy clear cut chances on such a regular basis. We are making our opposition look like offensive geniuses. Even a defender running around blind will periodically be in the right position. Right now our defenders never seem to be in the right position. If we can sort out our defenders I think a lot of our problems will be sorted over the next month or so. Ngog played a good game today and shows potential. K Davies unfortunately needs a bit of time on the bench. Right now though most of our problems seem to stem from the confusion amongst the back four.

[hisroyalgingerness]

Which could or could not be related to the confusion from the midfield four which means they're overrun. Just a thought.

[Sponge]

Watching Luiz REPEATEDLY run 60 yards up to the edge of our box with nobody so much as attempting a challenge is what made me freak out. Absolute fecking shambles out there. No clue. Diabolical.

And tomorrow they'll be off paint-balling.

[Tombwfc]

At least with Megson, Big Sam when it was going wrong and even Sammy Lee, you could always see what they were trying to do. It might have been negative, it might have been completely naive, it might've just been to piss everybody off, but there was a rough idea of what they were going for.

With Owen at the minute, there's none of that. How can the side who started the game against Arsenal last week (albeit Wheater is suspended and Jussi injured) be the right XI then, but not today? Why are some players dropped at random (Mavies and Muamba in particular) while others contribute little every week and stay in the side?

That's not even starting on the complete lack of organisation, both defensively and even going forward. For all his faults, we're completely reliant on Petrov putting crosses in. There is nothing else.

It just smacks of complete desperation, and no doubt there will be another random rotation for the Wigan game. Cahill and Jussi will start, but who knows about the other 9, or what formation we'll try.

[Gail Platz]

Watching Luiz REPEATEDLY run 60 yards up to the edge of our box with nobody so much as attempting a challenge is what made me freak out. Absolute fecking shambles out there. No clue. Diabolical.

It was that pass he played through to Sturridge in the 2nd minute that amazed me. A 50 yard pass along the floor should not be able to split open a Premier League defence, regardless of whether it was Paul Robinson or not! It was so easy for them, I bet the Chelsea players were pissing themselves at full time.