All the young Dudes.. Home to Aston Villa Under 21's.Tues 8th Oct 17-45.

[officer_dibble]

That’s disgraceful.

It’s not a good look for Mr Evatt. What age group was that we were beaten by then?

[DJBlu]

Game over thank feck.

That my friends is a culmination of poor players with poor attitude.

Well done to Villa. Them lads deserve that. Took advantage of a disgraceful side.

[DJBlu]

That’s disgraceful.

It’s not a good look for Mr Evatt. What age group was that we were beaten by then?

I don't think this side are capable with or without Evatt. Big time Charlie's thinking they've made it.

Absolute shower of shit.

[officer_dibble]

There’s several with poor attitudes tonight. That front two/three seemed more interested in back heels than anything else. Collins stroll for his pen summed him up. Lolos was garbage… let’s hope that’s just lack of match practice. Wing backs were both awful with so many wasted opportunities, and the centre halves and centre mids all half asleep, and the keeper had one thing to do and he showed why he was at Marine!

Plenty of thinking to be done whilst our ‘good’ players are away…

[Worthy4England]

Genuinely don't care about the competition, but that was very poor. Sure, on another day, a few that hit the woodwork go in, but they didn't and our inability to defend counted yet again.

Back to "plan A" in increasing measures. At leadt he gave Brand Evatt a shot v Arsenal and Villa...

Anyone thinks Evatt is taking our team to 2 ppg is sniffing glue. He needs to fcuk off while there's sn internationsl break on.

[TANGODANCER]

Dear oh dear. Blame that on Evatt if you can. Total rubbish. A laughing stock. I wouldn't pay our strikers in coconuts. I can hear the rattle of pitchforks already.

Thanks JdB for the game as ever. . The rest....

[Spartan2]

Officially a worse team than villa u21s now, some of them u18s? according to Derek. Either way another bwfc game another low. But don't worry lads we dominated them so it's all good. I'm sure evatt will be trotting out "just the final third" soon enough. Not like we've spent millions on it, and the entire squad. They're his players all of 'em.

No effort, no aggression typical bwfc performance. Meek, that's what they are.

[officer_dibble]

Well, if you were someone with a financial stake in the club I would say there is nearly a years worth of evidence why the manager won’t be taking us up now. We’re probably on to finish between 12 and 7th as it stands. I’d be seriously concerned about the guy in charge of the recruitment as well - wing backs are absolutely critical in this system and I really think we’ve failed to recruit good ones as it stands.

A lot depends on what the ambition and need to be promoted really is. If we can write this season off maybe Evatt gets till it’s impossible.

[Mar]

Why play the first team if we're going to play with that level of effort. Let people fight to get in contention at least

[BWFC_Insane]

Competition is a joke but losing to an under strength Villa u21 side albeit on penalties feels like plumbing new depths. I know it’s been a grim few years, it’s not a stellar time to be a Bolton fan, but this just underlines it.

A bright spot though is Inwood. Really like the look of him and would far rather he was playing games than some of the supposed ‘first team’ we have to endure week in week out.

[officer_dibble]

With the exception of Kyle Dempsey and probably George Johnston what I do think is worrying is the lack of players we have who are willing to grab the game by the scruff of the neck when the chips are down. Start of the game, we created chances everyone’s happy trying passes and back heels. 1-0 down and nothing going our way and it’s sideways sideways backwards, nobody willing to take the game on. I’ll keep typing it because I really do believe it - we lack leaders. Always shows up in games we are on top but fade away in. Lose belief and go into our shell.

[officer_dibble]

A bright spot though is Inwood. Really like the look of him and would far rather he was playing games than some of the supposed ‘first team’ we have to endure week in week out.

Yeah looked ok - wasn’t convinced he was a wing back, but by that point poor old Randell was making lofty the lion look an option for the position. Looked tall so would have guessed more
Left side centre back? Tell you what I did think - Max Conway wants a shot when we can get him back from Crewe in the new year.

[truewhite15]

That were bloody awful.

Matheson, Lolos, Williams, McAtee and Collins all looking extra shit, set apart from the just regular shit of the rest.

[Harry Genshaw]

"Here's Lee, going past Marsh, and crossing well. Beautiful goal! McGinlay does it again"

There's an oft repeated claim in football that today's players are technically far superior to their counterparts from previous generations. Sat watching that absolute shit show this evening while regretting my life choices, I was thinking about that passage of play ^ and how you don't see goals like that anymore. A 3rd division player, going past his man and crossing well, with his wrong foot too.

31 years later and I'm watching Randell Williams send over 4 'crosses' in 10 minutes against Villa's kids. The first two landed at the opposite corner flag, the next two in row b or c amongst the travelling Villa fans (another group who should seriously consider their life choices).

On the other flank, we had Luke Matheson. A lad who burst onto the scene at Rochdale and tempted Wolves to shell out the thick end of a million quid. In previous appearances in this competition he's looked bright and sparky and keen to impress. On this evenings performance, I can only conclude that Ian Evatt has head butted all the joie de vivre out of him and demanded he stop all his tomfoolery. "We don't do that here son. Backwards or sideways. And slowly"

Time and again, Villas kid's had committed themselves forwards, there were gaps to exploit and we reverted to our worst habit. Amble slowly forwards, go backwards a bit, then sideways, watch them all get behind the ball and then look bemused at what to do next.

Aaron Collins looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there this evening and by the hour all the crowd felt same. Defensively we still looked occasionally suspect, with 3 senior defenders up against mere children.

It's a crap competition, cheapened by PL kids being in it and I'll be glad when we're out of it but tonight was embarrassing and very worrying.

[Prufrock]

The competition is daft, and it would be a mad game to change your mind on

But... I'm a give managers time guy, and if he left tomorrow I still think he'd have done a good job overall. But Huddersfield is where I got off, and nothing has changed my mind since. Saturday and today...I mean it's not happening is it. So you're just wasting time.

[truewhite15]

The competition is daft, and it would be a mad game to change your mind on

But... I'm a give managers time guy, and if he left tomorrow I still think he'd have done a good job overall. But Huddersfield is where I got off, and nothing has changed my mind since. Saturday and today...I mean it's not happening is it. So you're just wasting time.

Slowly turning to this way of thinking myself. It's sad. I mean, the players tonight were awful, and I could hear Evatt at the side barking instructions that just weren't being followed. But that's on him too. The buck stops with him.

He's built a legacy here, and I'd love to see us turn it around this season. I'd love to see Evatt stick two fingers up at the doubters, recover the defensive solidity of two years ago and marry it to last season's free-scoring exploits. But the longer this apathy, this pedestrian and uninspiring approach goes on, the more that legacy gets damaged.

[Mar]

The competition is daft, and it would be a mad game to change your mind on

But... I'm a give managers time guy, and if he left tomorrow I still think he'd have done a good job overall. But Huddersfield is where I got off, and nothing has changed my mind since. Saturday and today...I mean it's not happening is it. So you're just wasting time.

Slowly turning to this way of thinking myself. It's sad. I mean, the players tonight were awful, and I could hear Evatt at the side barking instructions that just weren't being followed. But that's on him too. The buck stops with him.

This is my thinking too. It's all well and good putting 4 past Northampton and 5 past Reading, but when it matters and we need to raise the tempo, we're just falling flat.

A pathetic outing tonight just helps to further the malaise around the club.

We started bright in the first 5 mins, created plenty of chances in the first half but never really looked like we were going for it. It's a training ground routine, culminating in yet another defensive lapse in concentration that costs us a goal.

Credit to their goalkeeper who played well.


The good:
First 5 mins
Kyle Dempsey
Adeboyejo's goal

The bad:
Unable to step up a gear
15 (or more) corners with only one decent delivery (Williams before he was taken off)
Matheson, JDC and Williams



For a side that relies so heavily on wing play, the fact we have three players that are seemingly so frustratingly poor at crossing beggars belief. Matheson looked bereft of confidence in that second half, infuriatingly backwards and sideways. JDC unable to cross the ball without hitting the opposition player, and Williams who seems to be crossing as if the pitch was twice as large as it currently is. I'm sure highlighting the failings won't help with the confidence, nor will it improve the crossing, but maybe it'll be enough to highlight something for them to work on:

Matheson - try and beat your man. The frustration was borne out of the fear and lack of attempts.
JDC - take your time with the cross, try a little jink before crossing, just don't kick it at their player.
Williams - take your time, you've got past the man, just relax on the cross, oh and the miss, s**t happens.

The only time we did get a worthwhile delivery in the second half was when Collins went onto the right side and put it onto Vic's head. It shouldn't take 20 mins in the second half against an U21's side before we end up getting a shot off. Thank fk for Dempsey who injected a bit of freshness into the proceedings with that shot that hit the post.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

[TANGODANCER]

I think it fair to say that if our strikers were shaping (about 30 shots on goal with 1 result) and we couldn't beat a side that had 1 shot saved and a goal in total, then looking for the answer hardly needs Sherlock. Any actual shots we did have were of the schoolboy Saturday morning variety, the only decent attempts coming from Dempsey and Thomason. Sheehan's corners were as threatening as a moth at a light bulb and we can't even take a decent throw in. Penalties shouldn't even be in the equation but were in keeping with the rest of our game, utter cxxp. As for Collins and McAtee, well, words fail. Vic, whatever his skill level, is a trier who gets stuck in. He's a better option than either. Hurry up back Dion

Do we really want to win/prove anything at all or are the team really happy to just keep drawing wages regardless? I'm really beginning to wonder.

[boltonboris]

So are our strikers good, or are they shit? I keep hearing both said about them.

Games in this shower of a tournament are not going to make or break the manager, the team, or the board, but it does reinforce the fact that we are going to struggle to get consistently good performances and results out of this set of players. It's hard to see an outcome where it all falls together and we go on a decent run. I think too many people have lost faith in Evatt and by the sounds of it, the body language from some players might make it seem like some of them have, too.