Time to Bury one and get us out of this league? Home - Tuesday 18th 8.00pm

[Prufrock]

Don't see how it's less pressured for them at all.

[Worthy4England]

Don't see how it's less pressured for them at all.

That would be because they're one point above the relegation zone, having lost three on the spin. Nothing to play for.

[CrazyHorse]

Yeah. We're going to smash them.

[BWFC_Insane]

Don't see how it's less pressured for them at all.

We are expected to win. And have thrown away a big points lead for second. Any point or points for them will be seen as a bonus.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Don't see how it's less pressured for them at all.

We are expected to win. And have thrown away a big points lead for second. Any point or points for them will be seen as a bonus.

The lead is 3 points less than it was. The lead hasn't been thrown away yet. We've lost a match we would have hoped to have won, but as far as I can tell the sky is still up there. Stop being so bloody miserable.

[BWFC_Insane]

Don't see how it's less pressured for them at all.

We are expected to win. And have thrown away a big points lead for second. Any point or points for them will be seen as a bonus.

The lead is 3 points less than it was. The lead hasn't been thrown away yet. We've lost a match we would have hoped to have won, but as far as I can tell the sky is still up there. Stop being so bloody miserable.

I simply mean we would be just 1 point ahead having been 7 ahead if we were to lose to Bury.

People keep saying these teams are shite and should be beaten but as I've said we've had good runs followed by inexplicably bad ones this season. This has the hallmarks of that. Which is why the Bury game is so critical. If we win I think a lot of pressure releases. If we don't I honestly think 2nd is as good as gone. Squad wouldn't revover mentally.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I simply mean we would be just 1 point ahead having been 7 ahead if we were to lose to Bury.

People keep saying these teams are shite and should be beaten but as I've said we've had good runs followed by inexplicably bad ones this season. This has the hallmarks of that. Which is why the Bury game is so critical. If we win I think a lot of pressure releases. If we don't I honestly think 2nd is as good as gone. Squad wouldn't revover mentally.

I don't disagree that it is an important game and one we're very capable of losing. You well know my thoughts on the fragility (mentally) of the squad. It's improved tremendously from recent seasons, but I still wonder that it's still not a strong as it might. That said, fretting and worrying gets nowhere. Your negativity the last couple weeks has been draining. Acknowledge the challenges, but get that bloody chin up, get some positivity going and stop wallowing in fear man

[BWFC_Insane]

I simply mean we would be just 1 point ahead having been 7 ahead if we were to lose to Bury.

People keep saying these teams are shite and should be beaten but as I've said we've had good runs followed by inexplicably bad ones this season. This has the hallmarks of that. Which is why the Bury game is so critical. If we win I think a lot of pressure releases. If we don't I honestly think 2nd is as good as gone. Squad wouldn't revover mentally.

I don't disagree that it is an important game and one we're very capable of losing. You well know my thoughts on the fragility (mentally) of the squad. It's improved tremendously from recent seasons, but I still wonder that it's still not a strong as it might. That said, fretting and worrying gets nowhere. Your negativity the last couple weeks has been draining. Acknowledge the challenges, but get that bloody chin up, get some positivity going and stop wallowing in fear man

I don't think it makes all that much difference how I feel to be honest. Have no idea what will happen against Bury.

Like you I worry that a few too many in this squad aren't as mentally strong as we might think. We've seen it in the past.

On the positive side, if Taylor is back at least we won't have Moxey in there which will improve the mental strength considerably.

The key thing is score early. Score early and force Bury out. Don't sit back and invite them on, but force them into the game we want. One where they have to break us down and we can pick them off with breaks or set pieces!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I don't think it makes all that much difference how I feel to be honest.

Yeah, but you've sucking the life out of me

On the positive side...

Better

[Norpig]

Madine is out we need to change the way we play to cope with it instead of playing exactly the same then saying we missed Madine? In my opinion Madine is average we should play Long and ALF up front and play the ball on the deck instead of high balls up to a couple of midgets. We have the players to be able to do this and lets face it with 3 poor teams left to play we should walk it. However, being Bolton and having PP in charge we will either end up in the play offs or go up because others failed!

I for one will be just going to the match expecting nothing and getting behind the lads and hope they produce something!! COYWM

[Nicko58]

A 4-5-1/4-3-3 combo with width high up the pitch gets my vote. As does the suggestion that we try and hit them early.

[Nicko58]

I simply mean we would be just 1 point ahead having been 7 ahead if we were to lose to Bury.

Talk about a glass half empty. None of the teams below us have kicked a ball yet but you've already awarded at least one of them all three points.

[TANGODANCER]

There's never been any guarantees of anything in this league (are there in any league apart from the richest men in the world hobby horses clubs?). Nothing new, but anybody is capable of beating anybody else on one offs. Wheels can come off high-flyer waggons (Scunthorpe) and the mighty can trip over a divot just as much as the hopefuls. What we had Saturday, an apparent ploughed turnip patch of a pitch, a side determined to keep us out, referees of Moss Bank standard and a moment of madness that cost us the points after battering their goalposts without luck. Unless we're playing that old "Divine right" anthem, we're just where we should be and fighting to be there. Anybody who can predict we'll win tomorrow with certainty should be down at the bank taking out a third/fourth mortgage before a visit to the bookies. Nobody will be doing that because they just don't know, so all else is just hope and speculation. If we play well and tha chasers lose and we get back to seven points clear everybody will praise us because the chances of anybody overhauling that are pretty slim and we have a chance yet to increase it. A win, any which way you like, and the sun will shine on everybody's back doors again. Vaughan seems to have been really on form for the shakers so he'll need watching, but Alf is due to show why we got him, so evens for me. Best bet is a COME ON YOU WHITES and let's get there...

[BWFC_Insane]

Madine is out we need to change the way we play to cope with it instead of playing exactly the same then saying we missed Madine? In my opinion Madine is average we should play Long and ALF up front and play the ball on the deck instead of high balls up to a couple of midgets. We have the players to be able to do this and lets face it with 3 poor teams left to play we should walk it. However, being Bolton and having PP in charge we will either end up in the play offs or go up because others failed!

I for one will be just going to the match expecting nothing and getting behind the lads and hope they produce something!! COYWM

It isn't football manager. You don't press a button and switch from long ball to 'short passing'. We got the ball into feet plenty on Saturday. But nothing happened from it.

When Beevers or Wheater have it under pressure at the back they aren't going to play a neat one two.

We don't have a creative spark to break a team down in that way. People keep saying we have the players to, when it is blatantly clear we do not. We are very good at a high tempo pressing game. That relies on someone making the ball stick up front.

[BWFC_Insane]

I simply mean we would be just 1 point ahead having been 7 ahead if we were to lose to Bury.

Talk about a glass half empty. None of the teams below us have kicked a ball yet but you've already awarded at least one of them all three points.

I think both might win. No way in my view that both don't. It just has that feel to it. Ultimately I think 85 points is the target. Had we won at Oldham then you might argue both Bradford and Fleetwood might be happy with a single point today - thinking that 2nd was more or less gone. As it stands both will fancy second now.

[Aanvalluh]

One thing it isn't is a "Cup Final" as both teams get another go, and another go after that if I've done my sums right. Q - is the game likely to be sold out or will tickets be available up to KO tomorrow?

[Nicko58]

The blades are two up

[DJBlu]

One thing it isn't is a "Cup Final" as both teams get another go, and another go after that if I've done my sums right. Q - is the game likely to be sold out or will tickets be available up to KO tomorrow?

Dependent on results

If Bradford, Scunthorpe and Fleetwood all lose today then I imagine it will be a cup final atmosphere.

Win and we go up.

All reliant on other results though.

Bradford currently 2 down to Sheffield United.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Bradford three down.

Team news per BN:

"Parkinson confirmed striker Gary Madine was “unlikely” to face the Shakers tomorrow but that he could welcome back defender Andy Taylor after a calf injury."

Parky defends his selection at Oldham, perhaps hints at using it again (per BN):

I felt that Josh playing in that role [advanced with ALF] is so dangerous and I thought he was excellent. You have to remember he’s our top scorer. It was about getting him into an attacking position.

I think it worked well in terms of the creativity in the team and using Josh’s energy to run down the sides. Him and Filipe Morais got in some great positions down the right.

We changed it round, we felt we had to do something a little bit different. Has it worked? No, because we haven’t won.

But we played well enough in the first half to suggest we shouldn’t be shy of doing it again because it’s getting our two players with the best goal ratios as close to the penalty box as possible in Vela and Le Fondre.

There were some good performances but we know football is about those moments the ball comes into the box and we show more calmness and it ends up in the back of the net.

We had a run recently where we were scoring goals galore. That isn’t happening at the moment, so we need to look for reasons.

We need to stay calm too. That’s important.

The lads are down, they had a fantastic opportunity, but it is what it is. We are in second place and need to capitalise on our game Tuesday night.

[Worthy4England]

Madine is out we need to change the way we play to cope with it instead of playing exactly the same then saying we missed Madine? In my opinion Madine is average we should play Long and ALF up front and play the ball on the deck instead of high balls up to a couple of midgets. We have the players to be able to do this and lets face it with 3 poor teams left to play we should walk it. However, being Bolton and having PP in charge we will either end up in the play offs or go up because others failed!

I for one will be just going to the match expecting nothing and getting behind the lads and hope they produce something!! COYWM

Agree with the first bit, but if we go up, it'll be because we've won more matches than the chasing pack, not because they won fewer.

Sheffield United have had a much more settled team - 11 players over 30 League appearances, 6 over 40.
Fleetwood 9 over 30 and 4 over 40
Bradford 10 over 30 and 4 over 40
Scunthorpe 10 over 30 and 4 over 40

We've had 6 over 30 and 3 over 40.

As recently relegated team, we should have a little better squad, but actually a lot of that "change" has been forced through injuries and loanees coming and going. In light of that, I think Parkinson has coped pretty well. For me, his job this season was "get us up" not "play like Barca".