New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

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New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by TANGODANCER » Thu Feb 17, 2022 1:06 pm

Sure to be a racket at the Unibol when The Wombles arrive Saturday but tennis it won't be. A real definer to decide if we can shake off Tuesday's malaise and get back on track...indeed, we must. Wimbledon won't be serving any double faults and the only nets we wan't to see are the opposition ones. Sure to be a ding-dong do, so..COME ON YOU WHITES ...HAVE AT IT.. :oyea:
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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by Dave Sutton's barnet » Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:24 pm

Stats time...

Only two teams (Donny and Gillingham) have scored fewer in open play than Dons’ 18. (Nobody has scored more than our 41). But only two teams (Rotherham and Fleetwood) have scored more from set-pieces than Dons’ 14. (Nobody has scored fewer than our 3.)

Conceding: both we and they have conceded 31 from open play. We’ve conceded 11 from set pieces, they’ve conceded 9.

For team sequences (ie passing moves) – they’re lower midtable for average sequence time and passes per sequence. Certainly not the longest of ballers, way less than say Wycombe, Burton and Gillingham. Their direct speed - literally how fast their moves progress upfield in metres per second - is barely faster than ours over the season (indeed, we might be faster than them these days).

We’ve put together more than twice as many moves of 10+ passes (6.9 per game vs 2.8). Moves of 10+ passes ending in a shot or at least a touch in the oppo’s box - we’re 1.4 per game, they’re 0.38. But equally, they’re very far from the most (successful) direct team: they’ve had 39 “direct attacks” - defined as “open play sequences that start inside the team’s own half and has at least 50% of movement towards the opposition’s goal and ends in a shot or a touch in the opposition box” – and we’ve had 43.

They’re the division’s sixth-quickest pressers outside their own defensive third, so it may be a game for the quick feet of people like Morley. And they’re busy rather than effective - while they try to tackle/intercept etc, they only have the ninth-lowest number of turnovers, and they’ve only scored 1 from them all season (we’re top of that table with 5).

The overall picture is of a team that is neither long/direct nor short/intricate. In truth it’s also one of a team that can’t do either particularly well - their 37-goal total is the division’s sixth-worst, which almost perfectly matches their league position (fifth-bottom).

Furthermore, they’re on a slump, with the second-worst form over the last 6 and 8 games and the worst over the last 10 and 12. It feels like a very long time since their injury-time winner at Morecambe on September 11th pushed them up to fourth; and the 24 games since they’ve won 3, drawn 10 and lost 11. They haven’t won at all since Dec 7th, but despite starting the year with a humiliating FA Cup loss to Boreham Wood, they’ve not been hammered - among the four losses (and six draws) only Ipswich have beaten them by two clear goals, and their second was an 86th-minute breakaway. In that run they’ve lost 1-0 to McDons and Rotherham, and held Sunderland 1-1, so they’re not rolling over.

So. Watch those set-pieces (eek) and we should be alright. I like the Dons and respect them and hope they stay up - especially as they seem to be in a bunfight with Morecambe and Fleetwood, and possibly Shrewsbury, to avoid the fourth drop spot - but I hope they're blunt on Saturday.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by TANGODANCER » Thu Feb 17, 2022 4:25 pm

I think one lesson we've surely learned (and not just from Tuesday) is that scoring first isn't a crime. The sheer unbelievable fact of the Mighty Whites being three goals down after only eighteen minutes has to have changed our manager's mindset somewhat. Fortress Unibol seemed like a joke from Hagar the Orrible, and despite our superior second half football display, counted for nothing at all when the final whistle went.

How about we do a bit of the bullying for a change, because this isn't the Bundesliga, La Ligua or the Premieship. No, not even the Championship, but hard-nosed "can't get the ball, get the man" world where friendly refs are rarer than blancmange lump-hammers. It's also critical we get back on track and not let this blip de-rail our charge. Come On.. :oyea:
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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by Dave Sutton's barnet » Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:52 pm

Evatt press conference quotes, per official Twitter.
I’d say things are going more than reasonably well at the moment. We’ve got to park Tuesday – everything that could go wrong went wrong in one day. Six minutes of madness cost us the game and things didn’t go well for us at Burton.

Burton is behind us now. We’re going to pick a team that we think can cause Wimbledon some problems and we’ll be looking to do that and get back to winning ways on Saturday.

We’ve spoken to the players and we’ve set ourselves a target of where we want to be at the end of the season. The target is still the same but we know it will be very difficult – we’ve got a small margin for error.

A month ago the play-offs didn’t look at all possible. It will be really difficult because there are some good teams in the mix. For me, I’m happy that we’re building a platform for the future to give ourselves the best chance of promotion.

I know there’s loads more to come. We’ve got results recently but we’ve dropped points to the two lesser teams in that run - with all due respect, we should be dominating possession more. But we’ve not had much tactical time on the grass this month.

{AFCW] They’ve got some talented young players. It was an excellent game down there earlier in the season and one we should’ve won but a good advert at this level. Every Saturday poses a different challenge but it’s one that’s going to be difficult for us.

Kieran Lee has had a scan that has revealed no further damage. He’s seeing a specialist today to see if he can make it to the summer. Kacha and Izzy are back on the grass. The lads went into a cryo-chamber today – something to help with recovery.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by officer_dibble » Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:54 pm

I think we’ll get a reaction from Tuesday. At home, on a pitch that actually has some grass on it, we should have enough to beat this lot. Hopefully a proper beating as well, no hanging on!

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by KeyserSoze » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:08 pm

officer_dibble wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:54 pm
I think we’ll get a reaction from Tuesday. At home, on a pitch that actually has some grass on it, we should have enough to beat this lot. Hopefully a proper beating as well, no hanging on!
Aye. Feeling a 4-0.
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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by Worthy4England » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:18 pm

Having carefully weighed all the evidence, taken a few "man on the Street" soundings and read the tea leaves.

We'll shit 'em. 2-0

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by KeyserSoze » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:35 pm

Worthy4England wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:18 pm
Having carefully weighed all the evidence, taken a few "man on the Street" soundings and read the tea leaves.

We'll shit 'em. 2-0
Coward.
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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by Worthy4England » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:37 pm

KeyserSoze wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:35 pm
Worthy4England wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:18 pm
Having carefully weighed all the evidence, taken a few "man on the Street" soundings and read the tea leaves.

We'll shit 'em. 2-0
Coward.
Well just look what happened last time you went 4-0....you were way off! :D

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by GhostoftheBok » Thu Feb 17, 2022 9:13 pm

If we want to go up the next two, realistically, are "must win" games.

As Evatt said in what DSB quoted, "building for promotion" next term is more likely than going up this time, but whilst it's there we have to go hell for leather at it.

I'm not making a prediction, but we need to have in our heads the idea that we can put at least 3 past Wimbledon on our own turf. Even if we were to have another of our funny turns and concede a couple, we should still believe we can win.

Saying that, I also want to see us back to having that anger and aggression we showed about not conceding a few games back.

Any win is a good win, but the aim should be 2-0 or 3-0 in this one and if we do concede I want to see them livid again, not moaning and looking embarrassed.

The play-offs this season depend on us going to MK Dons next Saturday off the back of two good home results and full of confidence.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by Gooner Girl » Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:40 pm

Finally taking in a home game, trains and storm Eunice allowing. Inflicting it on the kids too so hoping for a win!

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by The_Gun » Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:46 pm

Strongest team out, please.

Trafford

Jones Santos Johnston

MJ Morley

Fossey John

Dempsey/Sadlier

Dapo Charles

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by TANGODANCER » Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:58 pm

The_Gun wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:46 pm
Strongest team out, please.

Trafford

Jones Santos Johnston

MJ Morley

Fossey John

Dempsey/Sadlier

Dapo Charles
Apropos of not much, but C.S Forrester's book "The Gun" later became a film entitled "The Pride and the Passion". No, it wasn't about Bolton Wanderers, but it seemed appropriate to mention it...maybe ? :D .. :oyea:
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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by brommers95 » Fri Feb 18, 2022 7:06 am

The_Gun wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:46 pm
Strongest team out, please.

Trafford

Jones Santos Johnston

MJ Morley

Fossey John

Dempsey/Sadlier

Dapo Charles
Assuming Kieran Lee is out (but he could still play) I think Evatt might actually go with Dapo at 10 and Bodvarsson partnering Charles up top.

Bod was probably man of the match on Tuesday and would look even better with the runs of Charles and Dapo around him to lay the ball off to.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by officer_dibble » Fri Feb 18, 2022 8:43 am

I’d actually keep Sadlier in there, play Bod and Charles and get Dapo on after an hour.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by GhostoftheBok » Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:30 am

You'd assume Dapo and Charles are starting. The third is the point of negotiation.

Then there's Dempsey. If we were ever going to give Williams a break, this'd be the game to do it. He was limping badly at the end the last match and he's run himself into the ground recently.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by GhostoftheBok » Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:37 am

That possession play that people said wasn't something we'd look to work on is, erm, something we're going to look to work on.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/1 ... off-chase/

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by The_Gun » Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:38 am

I wouldn’t be against a Dempsey-Morley axis.

Tuesday maybe wasn’t the game for him, but I think we looked a lot worse without young Morley in the side. His set piece delivery is also streets ahead of John’s.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by GhostoftheBok » Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:42 am

The_Gun wrote:
Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:38 am
I wouldn’t be against a Dempsey-Morley axis.
If Williams needs a game off then that's the call to make. If not, I assume Morley will just slot back in.

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Re: New Balls please, but not fifteen Love. V Wimbledon Home,19th Feb.2022 1500 hrs.

Post by The_Gun » Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:53 am

Looks like there is snow forecast tomorrow in Bolton? Hopefully conditions don't get too bad, because, you know, we're a fair weather bunch.

Looks like Wimbledon are going to play with a make-shift midfield, as their key men Ayoub Assal and Luke McCormick are suspended, and there's a rumour floating round that former Bolton target Anthony Hartigan has dislocated his shoulder in training and will also miss out.

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