Hover through the fog and filthy air: Boro (A) 15.8.15

[Riviman]

We go visiting and Clough does well but no support for Heskey. Now Vela, Danns....and a throw us. Here they come again and....should have walked it in....apparently and then Friend gets the offfside flag. Quarter hour left and four to score....well, maybe only three for a point?
Commentators rambling about anything but the game before......wait for it...Wison replaces Holden. Now stand by.....

Is this Rob Holding or has Stewie returned?

Yeah, one is but human and can err occasionally.

To err is human to forgive devine..

[TANGODANCER]

We go visiting and Clough does well but no support for Heskey. Now Vela, Danns....and a throw us. Here they come again and....should have walked it in....apparently and then Friend gets the offfside flag. Quarter hour left and four to score....well, maybe only three for a point?
Commentators rambling about anything but the game before......wait for it...Wison replaces Holden. Now stand by.....

Is this Rob Holding or has Stewie returned?

Yeah, one is but human and can err occasionally.

To err is human to forgive devine..

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

"Bolton didn't have one shot on goal in the entire 90 minutes" - 5 Live reporter

[Prufrock]

Well that's one way to fix the problem of not taking your chances.

[Worthy4England]

Should get more time on C5 tonight. Probably trying to find our shot on goal.

We can play whatever formation works, but has to be driven by personnel. I suspect none of us would have started 3 at the back away to Boro. Not sure why we'd go with Heskey up top on his own either...No attacking threat at one end and not enough defenders at the other.

Not sure what that formation with the personnel, is trying to achieve, ever.

[BWFC_Insane]

Should get more time on C5 tonight. Probably trying to find our shot on goal.

We can play whatever formation works, but has to be driven by personnel. I suspect none of us would have started 3 at the back away to Boro. Not sure why we'd go with Heskey up top on his own either...No attacking threat at one end and not enough defenders at the other.

Not sure what that formation with the personnel, is trying to achieve, ever.

Mind boggling how we setup. Heskey is surely a 20 minutes at the end rather than at the sharp end away at Boro from the start.

[officer_dibble]

270 minutes without a goal.

[Bijou Bob]

Lennon admitting he got the formation and tactics wrong according to Marc Iles in Twitter, commenting "It won't happen again". End of 3 at the back then.

[thebish]

Lennon admitting he got the formation and tactics wrong according to Marc Iles in Twitter, commenting "It won't happen again". End of 3 at the back then.

that's a big promise! he won't get the formation and tactics wrong again!! yay!

[plymouth wanderer]

Lennon admitting he got the formation and tactics wrong according to Marc Iles in Twitter, commenting "It won't happen again". End of 3 at the back then.

if true. you got to hand it to him! not many managers admit when there wrong! he's clawed back a little likeness

We've played two of the best teams this division has got to offer. they've spent what we use to spend in the prem!

it'll be reet

[Dr Hotdog]

Not sure the "It won't happen again" applies to him using the 3-5-2 formation, it probably applies more to him getting it wrong. IE: he'll use it against different opposition, and it'll be effective, meaning he didn't "get the tactics and formation wrong."

Sounds like a shower. Pity the folks who made the trip.

[enrdentw]

Well, just in the car heading home. Left after 87minutes. I was excited for the game having missed Derby at home and reading the plaudits of our new look Wanderers from last Saturday I was quietly optimistic of coming back to Bolton with a cheeky point. Especially after seeing an uninspiring Boro against Preston on Sky on Sunday. Famous last thoughts...

The first 5 minutes of the game was absolutely atrocious and extremely disappointed in Lennon selecting 3-5-2. Moxey and Rob Holding on the left with Vela and Prince on the right. Dervite in the centre of the 5. It genuinely looked as if they had never played together before. Complete naivety by Lennon playing a complete pick n' mix back 5,". Couple this with countless individual errors and an attacking four of Fabrini, Kike, Downing and Adomah to defend against it was blatantly obvious that we would be in trouble from the off.

We could have been 3 down after 5 minutes only for a good save from Amos and a Boro strike sneaking past the post from a cut inside on the left from Downing. The inevitable goal came, an unstoppable 30yard strike from the on loan Fabrini.

Prince's first 10 minutes are up there with the laughable Cid and Moxey performances of the past. Poor clearance from a cross which looked like something you would see on a Sunday morning park pitch which Boro nearly capitalised on, a pass back to Amos which went straight out for a corner from only 10 yards away and caught of position a number of times. Vela was constantly marshalling him into position whilst he looked on like a rabbit in the headlights. It was after 5minutes when I turned to my brother and said "this could be 5 or 6, he can't carry on with 3-5-2".

A through ball in the space behind for Kike to slide past Amos made it 2-0. Prince chasing and the wrong side of his man before the ball was played. It took a third goal for Lennon to make the change (I think) that everyone of the 23,000 in the Riverside knew needed to take place. I pointed towards Downing as he stood vacant in a 10 yard space between 4 Bolton defenders 20 yards out on the right side of our 18 yard box. In came the inevitable simple ball to Downing, layoff to Fabrini, deflected, Amos did his best but Kike was there to tap in whilst Moxey jogged back towards the goal.

4-4-2 didn't fair much better with silly individual errors from almost every player in white constantly putting us under more pressure. Boro certainly did their homework. Exploiting us down the wings at every opportunity pushing up their full backs whilst Leadbitter and Clayton provided the security and presence in the middle of the park that Bolton so clearly lacked. Adomah at one point ran down the wing with one boot on and a delivered a better cross than any Bolton player did all afternoon with his boot-less right foot which Dervite attempted to clear in similar Sunday league style as Prince earlier in the half. The game stopped for an injury, the players went to fuel up near the touch line. Karanka up with his players, Lennon sat motionless. Everyone apart from Amos, Feeney and Heskey could have gone down the tunnel at halftime and expected not to come out for the second half.

Spearing the man not to return for the second half replaced by Clough. I think Karanka told his team to sit back, save their legs for the midweek game and pick us apart when they wanted. The back four looked vulnerable and nobody looked comfortable on the ball. Holding isn't ready and I'll be surprised if we see him play again in the near future. He was moved to right back and Prince was pushed into the middle.

With Boro not trying we tried to open them up but they looked solid and relaxed. Clough ran into a brick wall a number of times but was an attacking outlet we needed to take the pressure off the confidence sapped back four. There were however moments of magic from Clough, beating his man in what seemed an impossible position for his strike to hit the hit keeper and be cleared by Boro. Mark Davies did his best to grab the already dead game by the scruff of the neck and drive us forward but we were tame. A good Moxey cross struck a free Heskey shin 10 yards out to go well past the post - Boltons best chance of the game.

The majority of the second half was played in Boro's half. A number of dangerous counter attacks by Boro but they couldn't find the target. It really felt as if Boro were thinking "if we really wanted to, we could score". Thankfully the score stayed at 3.

Lennon had to take a large portion of the blame for setting us up the way he did but the players need to take a good look at themselves too. So many individual errors and every time Boro beat us in the 50/50 challenges.

It was bad, really bad.

[enrdentw]

A note on Downing - he was outstanding, best player on the pitch by a mile. His movement was a joy to watch, he didn't lose the ball all game. Really surprised WHU let him go. I won't see many better individual performances this season in the championship. He might not necessarily get star man in the papers tomorrow but he certainly impressed me.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Lennon's press conference, via Twitter (https://twitter.com/OfficialBWFC/status ... 8602908672" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; et passim):

I take full responsibility for the first half performance. I set the team out and selected the formation and it didn't work.
We lost Gary Madine this morning, who wasn't quite right after a fitness test. Zach Clough had a bit of hip strain yesterday.
I've been encouraged by the start we've made, aside from one half of football this afternoon.

[Worthy4England]

Thanks for a good write-up. Much appreciated.

[thebish]

ahhh - Madine and clough were both injured...

[officer_dibble]

Both injured and on the bench - I'm calling bullshit on that one Lenny. Takes a big man to admit he's wrong but its a nothing gesture if he keeps picking the wrong side. All down to you this one Neil.

[TANGODANCER]

Good stuff enrdentw, thanks.

[Jugs]

Both injured and on the bench - I'm calling bullshit on that one Lenny. Takes a big man to admit he's wrong but its a nothing gesture if he keeps picking the wrong side. All down to you this one Neil.

Aye, and Clough came on at half-time and sounded lively.

I remember the Riverside was never a good place for us back in Allardyce's days (weren't we also 3-0 down after 20 minutes there in 2007?) and today was like going back in time. Outplayed, with never a glimmer of hope.

I'm going to take Lennon at his word and hope he has learned from this, but it was insanity to even consider and execute such a Frankenstein-like game plan in the first place.

[thebish]

Both injured and on the bench - I'm calling bullshit on that one Lenny. Takes a big man to admit he's wrong but its a nothing gesture if he keeps picking the wrong side. All down to you this one Neil.

Aye, and Clough came on at half-time and sounded lively.

I remember the Riverside was never a good place for us back in Allardyce's days (weren't we also 3-0 down after 20 minutes there in 2007?) and today was like going back in time. Outplayed, with never a glimmer of hope.

I'm going to take Lennon at his word and hope he has learned from this, but it was insanity to even consider and execute such a Frankenstein-like game plan in the first place.

I saw us knock 4 past them in BigSam's day - at the riverside! we've had our moments!