Bolton v Forest thread

[Bruce Rioja]

Aye. Only realised how shite the ball from SKD was when I got home and watched it back. Scored one, should've scored two, could've scored three (tremendous save by Camp).

[SmokinFrazier]

If we do play 4-5-1, I worry about our ability to get goals. I don't think Davies, Sordell or N'Gog can be relied upon to be the focal point of an attack. It's fair enough to say that they'd bring others into the game but with good wide men, you want your lone striker to be a goalscorer. I don't think we have one, with the possible exception of Afobe who is an unknown quantity.

Playing 4-5-1 will protect our defence but can any potential striker be relied upon to get the goals we need? As much as players like Eagles will chip in, 4-5-1 needs a potent striker.

I'd still try it for a few games when we get a defensive midfielder. I just think it's possible that fixing one problem will leave us with another.

[officer_dibble]

Thing is you use it as well as 442. Having another formation in the locker for trickier games, or to start games to keep it tight. keep playing 44fukin2 is just antiquated.

[plymouth wanderer]

If we do play 4-5-1, I worry about our ability to get goals. I don't think Davies, Sordell or N'Gog can be relied upon to be the focal point of an attack. It's fair enough to say that they'd bring others into the game but with good wide men, you want your lone striker to be a goalscorer. I don't think we have one, with the possible exception of Afobe who is an unknown quantity.

Playing 4-5-1 will protect our defence but can any potential striker be relied upon to get the goals we need? As much as players like Eagles will chip in, 4-5-1 needs a potent striker.

I'd still try it for a few games when we get a defensive midfielder. I just think it's possible that fixing one problem will leave us with another.

I thought ngog did Alrite last season when he was up there on his own when all things considered I reckon he'd get few goals in this division

And put eagles in behind the striker

But captain charisma has other ideas

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I think all we need to do is get Coyle to have his ears drained. Garty has stated we need 2 points a game to get automatic promotion. Coyle has quite clearly misheard and thought he said concede 2 goals a game. Obviously he screwed up against Derby

[officer_dibble]

Eaegles will get 20+ goals this season if used correctly.

[Ianmooreslovechild]

If we do play 4-5-1, I worry about our ability to get goals. I don't think Davies, Sordell or N'Gog can be relied upon to be the focal point of an attack. It's fair enough to say that they'd bring others into the game but with good wide men, you want your lone striker to be a goalscorer. I don't think we have one, with the possible exception of Afobe who is an unknown quantity.

Playing 4-5-1 will protect our defence but can any potential striker be relied upon to get the goals we need? As much as players like Eagles will chip in, 4-5-1 needs a potent striker.

I'd still try it for a few games when we get a defensive midfielder. I just think it's possible that fixing one problem will leave us with another.

I thought ngog did Alrite last season when he was up there on his own when all things considered I reckon he'd get few goals in this division

And put eagles in behind the striker

But captain charisma has other ideas

I'd agree, I reckon NGog is better suited to the lone frontman role than playing in a pair.He is good at working hard and holding the ball up and being a poor finisher it kind of takes the pressure off I imagine if he's doing a sacrificial job were he's not expected to score so many.Eagles Andrews CYL Pratley are all capable of getting goals from midfield especially if they are expected to join the striker and have some cover behind.
OCD certainly has an amazing talent for signing players not suited to 442 doesnt he.

[Worthy4England]

If we do play 4-5-1, I worry about our ability to get goals. I don't think Davies, Sordell or N'Gog can be relied upon to be the focal point of an attack. It's fair enough to say that they'd bring others into the game but with good wide men, you want your lone striker to be a goalscorer. I don't think we have one, with the possible exception of Afobe who is an unknown quantity.

Playing 4-5-1 will protect our defence but can any potential striker be relied upon to get the goals we need? As much as players like Eagles will chip in, 4-5-1 needs a potent striker.

I'd still try it for a few games when we get a defensive midfielder. I just think it's possible that fixing one problem will leave us with another.

I thought ngog did Alrite last season when he was up there on his own when all things considered I reckon he'd get few goals in this division

And put eagles in behind the striker

But captain charisma has other ideas

I'd agree, I reckon NGog is better suited to the lone frontman role than playing in a pair.He is good at working hard and holding the ball up and being a poor finisher it kind of takes the pressure off I imagine if he's doing a sacrificial job were he's not expected to score so many.Eagles Andrews CYL Pratley are all capable of getting goals from midfield especially if they are expected to join the striker and have some cover behind.
OCD certainly has an amazing talent for signing players not suited to 442 doesnt he.

He does, but he does hopefully seem to be recognising this by trying to sign Spearing (or someone of a similar ilk). I've no idea whether Spearing is right for us or not, not seen enough of him playing, but at least it's in the right sort of position. Just hope like very other transfer window since Holden got injured, we don't end up with Nixon saying we've got 24 live "irons in the fire", only for none of them to land as we sign some substandard loanee forward on Deadline day...

[boltonboris]

"Feckin' shite" - what does that say for Wanderers? Coyle's comments after the game were a feckin disgrace and where have all your supporters gone? Holiday week maybe? Thought I was at Blackburn ....

Really though, how shite must you be to only manage a draw against Bolton at home?

Not as bad as you! You couldn't even beat Forest at home. Seriously what HAS happened to your support? Or did they all come to watch Man U et al?

Quite possibly.. We're a small club with relatively small support. The reason behind that is because we live in the doorstep and in the shadows of the biggest club in the World, the richest club in the world and the UK's most successful ever football club. The North West has the highest number if teams per Capita than anywhere else in the UK, which means more clubs for less fans.

Now, what's your excuse? considering there isn't a 'big' club withing 70 miles of your City... Including yourselves.

[Ianmooreslovechild]

If we do play 4-5-1, I worry about our ability to get goals. I don't think Davies, Sordell or N'Gog can be relied upon to be the focal point of an attack. It's fair enough to say that they'd bring others into the game but with good wide men, you want your lone striker to be a goalscorer. I don't think we have one, with the possible exception of Afobe who is an unknown quantity.

Playing 4-5-1 will protect our defence but can any potential striker be relied upon to get the goals we need? As much as players like Eagles will chip in, 4-5-1 needs a potent striker.

I'd still try it for a few games when we get a defensive midfielder. I just think it's possible that fixing one problem will leave us with another.

I thought ngog did Alrite last season when he was up there on his own when all things considered I reckon he'd get few goals in this division

And put eagles in behind the striker

But captain charisma has other ideas

I'd agree, I reckon NGog is better suited to the lone frontman role than playing in a pair.He is good at working hard and holding the ball up and being a poor finisher it kind of takes the pressure off I imagine if he's doing a sacrificial job were he's not expected to score so many.Eagles Andrews CYL Pratley are all capable of getting goals from midfield especially if they are expected to join the striker and have some cover behind.
OCD certainly has an amazing talent for signing players not suited to 442 doesnt he.

He does, but he does hopefully seem to be recognising this by trying to sign Spearing (or someone of a similar ilk). I've no idea whether Spearing is right for us or not, not seen enough of him playing, but at least it's in the right sort of position. Just hope like very other transfer window since Holden got injured, we don't end up with Nixon saying we've got 24 live "irons in the fire", only for none of them to land as we sign some substandard loanee forward on Deadline day...

With respect that tradition goes back long before Coyle,remember Martin Ring and the many that followed and Big Sam signed some right bizarre ones.

Anyway I want a left back too but that doesnt seem likely to happen.At least Ricketts looked better last night and Medars apart from his woeful final ball did ok but even with a solid cenral mid pairing I'm not convinced by our current back 4 at all.

[Worthy4England]

Fair points. Sam did sign some bizarre ones, but not usually in a position were we didn't already have a right one.

Left back would be good too, I agree, but when you've shelled out £2.2m on one, who can't get a game, you might have trouble getting another £2.2m for the same position. It would free Ricketts up to play elsewhere though, so might be like two signings.

I don't think Rickett's paucity in the first two games was entirely down to playing out of position, some of it was just very shit, and would have been very shit from his preferred position. He was improved last night generally.

[thebish]

I'm not sure why Alonso is so out of favour... I'd be quite happy to play Alonso on the left and whack Ricketts back in his proper position on the right (or in the middle with Knight). Has Alonso ever been given more than 2 games in a row to establish himself??

[BWFC_Insane]

We could keep 2 up front..
4-1-3-2..
Apparently what Swansea played last season.. but the three are a narrow three with width from the full backs
the 1 sweeps in front or behind the centre backs.. ala Italy vs Spain in the group stages at the euros..
Not sure Petrov would fit in ? but it would stop us being over run in the midfield and keep us the two attacking options..
I've seen nowt to suggest lone striker is anything but SKD at the moment..

This. Let's get a proper DM and then play this!

[Armchair Wanderer]

I'm not sure why Alonso is so out of favour... I'd be quite happy to play Alonso on the left and whack Ricketts back in his proper position on the right (or in the middle with Knight). Has Alonso ever been given more than 2 games in a row to establish himself??

With Alonso there's the courtcase thing and sometimes he's better than at other times. You could say the same about Riley and Petrov.

[Franz Carr]

Hi again,

I didn't get chance to post straight after the game so here goes. I really really enjoyed that game of football.

The way I saw it is Forest carried on where we left off on Tuesday night with 25 mins of really good pass and move football, looked in control and scored a belting goal. Then we seemed to stop, sit back a bit and be lumping the ball too much and generally panicking which allowed Bolton to get a foothold in the game. From the half hour mark Bolton upped the tempo and I could feel a goal coming. Sadly for us this came and another one just after half time as Bolton started to look like the class team we know they can be. You should really have finished the game off at this point but allowed us back in and after that the game could have swung either way. Overall I think a draw was a fair result. Bolton probably had a few more clear cut chances but we had opportunities as well.

A few other points from me regarding the match and regarding Bolton from an outsider:

- I know some of you are a bit down about your chances this season but I genuinely genuinely think you will do well once you find your feet. If you put teams under pressure like you did us for half an hour last night some teams will crumble. The championship is a competitive division but believe me there are some very ordinary teams that won't live with Bolton and I am not only delighted with a point away at the reebok but am also pleased we got you out the way before you fully find your feet and before you have finished your transfer dealings.

- Kevin Davies. I have seen a number of you aren't impressed and I would bow to your knowledge as people who watch him week in week out. However I think he will have a huge impact in this division this season. He is an absolute nightmare for any defence to try and mark and if coyle can find the right partner, service and support he will do well in my opinion.

- Matthew mills. Hopeless defender. Staggering that Leicester paid £5M for him last season. I was impressed by knight and ricketts though. Ricketts was getting forward well especially as he was on the wrong side.

- Refereeing. Get used to brainless officials in this league. You think premier league refs can be poor but they are on another planet in this league. Look out for Darren deadman. He is so baffling with his decisions you do think he is part of a beadles about wind up. Last nights gave far too many fouls for very little and booked far too many when he need not have done. A good ref would have allowed for the weather conditions.

- Owen coyle. Thought he came across as a bit deluded in his post match interview. I always quite liked him but he came across as a bit of an arse. Will give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was stressed. More disturbing is him wearing shorts on the touchline. What is that all about. Owen mate, nobody wants to see your legs anymore. You are nearly 50 now time to grow old gracefully!

- apologies for the other forest fan who has come on here giving it the cringeworthy billy big bollocks. The Internet is a great thing but one of the worst things about it is that people decide they will use things like twitter and football forums to spout stuff they wouldn't dare spout in a room full of people. It is just pathetic. It goes without saying most people, football fans and indeed forest fans are sound. Sadly one or two bozos can leave a bad impression.

Good game though. Next time we meet in feb the picture will be much clearer.

Cheers

Franz

[thebish]

cheers Franz - you are always welcome here... a voice of sanity!!

[Peter Thompson]

One word to sum that up - frustrating.

The majority of the first half, we were even worse than we were first half vs Derby. No cohesion, no confidence. Who was supposed to be closing down McGugan? I suspect the players were all asking themselves that very same question, as it seemed none of them had a fecking clue where they were supposed to be. It looked like we were playing 4-blackhole-4-2. Us scoring was an absolute crime; Forest had us on the ropes and staggering.

We were much better second half. The problem was that nobody had the clinical nature we needed, and far too often the ball would just bounce off us. We should have run out clear winners. We didn't. Coyle has no idea how to influence a game positively with substitutions.

Mears is shocking. Yet again he gave the ball away time and time again. Mills was only marginally better. SKD is proving the doubters wrong, but even he was nullified by a mystifying booking in the first minute. He should have been brought off, not Sordell, if only for us to show a bit more aggression.

Mark Davies was completely anonymous. Andrews wasn't much better. Eagles and Chungy looked decent, and when they're firing on all cylinders, there's very few in this league who'll be able to match them.

What was painfully obvious was the lack of imagination, of ingenuity and invention in our movement and play. If Arsenal pass in triangles, then we pass in annoyingly, frustratingly rigid straight lines. Where is the overlapping? Where are the clever little runs? Where are the players moving to create space, or to find it? If we're going to persist with Coyle, despite his record of conceding, on average, two goals a game, then surely we should be getting right what he professes to be good at? The movement? The incisive play? Because, I've gotta say, if we haven't got that...and we haven't got a defence worth mentioning...then what the feck is he getting paid for?

Very good post - very accurate

[superjohnmcginlay]

Hi again,

I didn't get chance to post straight after the game so here goes. I really really enjoyed that game of football.

The way I saw it is Forest carried on where we left off on Tuesday night with 25 mins of really good pass and move football, looked in control and scored a belting goal. Then we seemed to stop, sit back a bit and be lumping the ball too much and generally panicking which allowed Bolton to get a foothold in the game. From the half hour mark Bolton upped the tempo and I could feel a goal coming. Sadly for us this came and another one just after half time as Bolton started to look like the class team we know they can be. You should really have finished the game off at this point but allowed us back in and after that the game could have swung either way. Overall I think a draw was a fair result. Bolton probably had a few more clear cut chances but we had opportunities as well.

A few other points from me regarding the match and regarding Bolton from an outsider:

- I know some of you are a bit down about your chances this season but I genuinely genuinely think you will do well once you find your feet. If you put teams under pressure like you did us for half an hour last night some teams will crumble. The championship is a competitive division but believe me there are some very ordinary teams that won't live with Bolton and I am not only delighted with a point away at the reebok but am also pleased we got you out the way before you fully find your feet and before you have finished your transfer dealings.

- Kevin Davies. I have seen a number of you aren't impressed and I would bow to your knowledge as people who watch him week in week out. However I think he will have a huge impact in this division this season. He is an absolute nightmare for any defence to try and mark and if coyle can find the right partner, service and support he will do well in my opinion.

- Matthew mills. Hopeless defender. Staggering that Leicester paid £5M for him last season. I was impressed by knight and ricketts though. Ricketts was getting forward well especially as he was on the wrong side.

- Refereeing. Get used to brainless officials in this league. You think premier league refs can be poor but they are on another planet in this league. Look out for Darren deadman. He is so baffling with his decisions you do think he is part of a beadles about wind up. Last nights gave far too many fouls for very little and booked far too many when he need not have done. A good ref would have allowed for the weather conditions.

- Owen coyle. Thought he came across as a bit deluded in his post match interview. I always quite liked him but he came across as a bit of an arse. Will give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was stressed. More disturbing is him wearing shorts on the touchline. What is that all about. Owen mate, nobody wants to see your legs anymore. You are nearly 50 now time to grow old gracefully!

- apologies for the other forest fan who has come on here giving it the cringeworthy billy big bollocks. The Internet is a great thing but one of the worst things about it is that people decide they will use things like twitter and football forums to spout stuff they wouldn't dare spout in a room full of people. It is just pathetic. It goes without saying most people, football fans and indeed forest fans are sound. Sadly one or two bozos can leave a bad impression.

Good game though. Next time we meet in feb the picture will be much clearer.

Cheers

Franz

Ha. Nobody wanted to see 'em when he played.

[Worthy4England]

- Owen coyle. Thought he came across as a bit deluded in his post match interview.

Thanks for your review Franz. Looks a pretty fair assesment.

We'd also noticed this one - which is much of the reason there's been booing at the Reebok, rather than we all think we should be winning 5-0.

[bobo the clown]

Well, I wasn't able to be there last night & kust saw the goals on tv. Forest's first, & I know you can go on about 'closing down' & all that but, was a beaut. You just have to applaud that. The second, centre-halves too far apart &/or slow. Ours, v calm by Eagles. That could easily have been skied. Sordell did v well to make something of KD's cross for the second.

Of course I saw nothing else so not able to comment, but remarks on here suggest we coulda, woulda, shoulda won ... but there were still stages where we were 2nd best.