Tykes on bikes. V Barnsley at home. Sat 5th Nov.22 . 2 0'clock.

[officer_dibble]

£75 for a commemorative shirt for a competition we’ve been knocked out in the first round the last 4 seasons? Anyone whose bought that shirt wants refunding, simple as.

[DJBlu]

Doubt Ian Evatt will be bothered about going out the cup as he admitted as both a manager and player he's never been on a run.

At least we're becoming predictable and consistent. Unfortunately we're terrible.

[officer_dibble]

This is definitely the bit of the season where I think Evatt is fecking clueless, and he’s turned it around each time. However the last two years the squad/injuries have been mitigating. This time round the difference is I’m convinced there are plenty out there who could pick a team (and keep the same team) to get some results.

[BWFC_Insane]

We played a back three second half. It looked mildly better than the first half. But that’s not saying much. We need a few home truths about the squad….coming later.

[Worthy4England]

We played a back three second half. It looked mildly better than the first half. But that’s not saying much. We need a few home truths about the squad….coming later.

Ohh can you do it as episodes, with a cliffhanger at the end of each one?

[BWFC_Insane]

The last twenty minutes today we had two big lads up top and played with some intensity and tempo. Was it good? Not really. But at least we looked like doing something. The rest of the game we were Owen Coyle’s naivety combined with Megson/Freedman style negativity. Nobody in the box. No realistic way of scoring or creating anything. Slow passive football. Absolutely naff all up front. Charles needs to play with space in behind and the early ball. Without that he’s utter rubbish. He cannot play in the team as it’s currently trying to play.

Dapo offered nothing in his natural left sided role first half. He hasn’t if we are honest done anything since last October of last year. A year of nothingness.

The defence was a chaotic mess. The midfield failed to control the game and off the ball we look very very shaky. MJ is needed. But we lack the right balance in midfield. Morley is good on the ball poor off it. MJ the reverse. Lee is struggling.

We start games very very poorly. Too slow. Sloppy. Lack of intensity. Much of this comes from the centre backs and midfield. Lack of urgency, centre halves too slow to build and then santos lumps it 60 yards cross field. Rinse and repeat.

Barnsley showed you don’t need loads of possession if you can cross the ball. We don’t have a single player who can deliver a cross bar maybe Sadlier. The rest are shocking at even the basic deliveries let alone anything more. It’s the biggest problem we have. Bradley is a defensive player who works hard going forwards but he has no quality. None at all. Iredale looks tired out.

We have a good squad of players but they aren’t capable of playing through teams so we need to do some things to play a more basic game that gets us up the pitch faster and then find some way to add quality.

It’s mental that we aren’t starting Bod. He’s the only one the ball sticks to. And we are playing a lot more long ball and Charles might as well be picked out of the crowd as back to goal I’ve seen grannies offer more.

We need to go back to the drawing board. I’d not let Evatt sign anyone in January till he shows he has any clue what he’s doing.

[officer_dibble]

He can’t sign anyone in January. Squads full. He’ll have to trade.

[officer_dibble]

The fear with a back four was the Centre halves need a three. Santos and Jones were the two I was most worried about! Arguably Johnston is a better bet, maybe with (injured) Aimson…but that’s captain and vice captain dropped. There’s another headache.

[BWFC_Insane]

He can’t sign anyone in January. Squads full. He’ll have to trade.

I don’t think it is but regardless he has the tools at his disposal yet doesn’t seem to know how to get the most out of them. The pattern of last season is repeating itself. Falling out with players after a good start no doubt he will soon be talking about needing the January window. Rinse and repeat. I’d be delighted if we finished 6th but hand on heart does anyone think we’ve shown that sort of persona fe since September?

[BWFC_Insane]

As a final though…we lack real pace in the side. We are too one dimensional especially in midfield and out wide without some pace extra energy too. It’s flat. Our midfield again lacks that all round player who is busy and can score goals, pass it, get in the box.

[LeverEnd]

He can’t sign anyone in January. Squads full. He’ll have to trade.

I don’t think it is but regardless he has the tools at his disposal yet doesn’t seem to know how to get the most out of them. The pattern of last season is repeating itself. Falling out with players after a good start no doubt he will soon be talking about needing the January window. Rinse and repeat. I’d be delighted if we finished 6th but hand on heart does anyone think we’ve shown that sort of persona fe since September?

There's no way we're finishing top 6. We're still in the frame, astonishingly, but I don't think we have the manager or the players. I think we'll stagnate around mid table until he leaves for one reason or another.
Someone posted they wouldn't push for him out but wouldn't mind if he left. I've been there the whole time. I just can't stand him, win or lose. Been a few times this season and very happy I ditched the season ticket. It's project/brand style pretentious bollocks and the lovely football thing is a myth. It's happened very occasionally when shit teams allowed it to. Totally lost interest now.

[BWFC_Insane]

He can’t sign anyone in January. Squads full. He’ll have to trade.

I don’t think it is but regardless he has the tools at his disposal yet doesn’t seem to know how to get the most out of them. The pattern of last season is repeating itself. Falling out with players after a good start no doubt he will soon be talking about needing the January window. Rinse and repeat. I’d be delighted if we finished 6th but hand on heart does anyone think we’ve shown that sort of persona fe since September?

There's no way we're finishing top 6. We're still in the frame, astonishingly, but I don't think we have the manager or the players. I think we'll stagnate around mid table until he leaves for one reason or another.
Someone posted they wouldn't push for him out but wouldn't mind if he left. I've been there the whole time. I just can't stand him, win or lose. Been a few times this season and very happy I ditched the season ticket. It's project/brand style pretentious bollocks and the lovely football thing is a myth. It's happened very occasionally when shit teams allowed it to. Totally lost interest now.

It’s a fair point. We aren’t a good watch. As a couple of regulars commented today it’s a hard slog watching us this season. Very little football to get you off your seat. And the style is sleep inducing.

[Mar]

Reading that we had naff all up top in the pre 80 min mark. We scored two disallowed goals. I get not being effective but getting two disallowed doesn't strike me as having no threat whatsoever.

As for the lovely football, its good when it works. Its not working at the moment and didn't work when Evatt first arrived. He's a streaky manager and this is a bad streak. I've got confidence he can turn it around and other managers would be a bigger gamble.

Sad thing is we're seeing repeated patterns play out and not looking like correcting them.

It does seem like a tempo thing. I'd say the impression of lack of pace is more a lack of tempo, we should be getting the ball forward quicker and being more clinical but we're not. I suspect its players trying to play it safe rather than risk a progressive forward pass.

Maybe the solution is to give them time off for a win just for the extra incentive and mix up the day to day. I'm sure there's some mental issues that could be alleviated around the team at the minute, whether it's stress or frustration who knows. But getting them to relax and enjoy might help considerably

[TANGODANCER]

Maybe the solution is to give them time off for a win just for the extra incentive and mix up the day to day. I'm sure there's some mental issues that could be alleviated around the team at the minute, whether it's stress or frustration who knows. But getting them to relax and enjoy might help considerably

A sensible view Mar and (in my opinion) a correct one. Your point about the disallowed goals in a good one and but for the daftest of soft goals we could have had at very least a draw. Time to take a deep breath and go back to the drawing board. We do pretty sketches, have the colours but don't paint the finished picture. We need to get back to winning ways, get the fans back on board and start again.

[BWFC_Insane]

Reading that we had naff all up top in the pre 80 min mark. We scored two disallowed goals. I get not being effective but getting two disallowed doesn't strike me as having no threat whatsoever.

As for the lovely football, its good when it works. Its not working at the moment and didn't work when Evatt first arrived. He's a streaky manager and this is a bad streak. I've got confidence he can turn it around and other managers would be a bigger gamble.

Sad thing is we're seeing repeated patterns play out and not looking like correcting them.

It does seem like a tempo thing. I'd say the impression of lack of pace is more a lack of tempo, we should be getting the ball forward quicker and being more clinical but we're not. I suspect its players trying to play it safe rather than risk a progressive forward pass.

Maybe the solution is to give them time off for a win just for the extra incentive and mix up the day to day. I'm sure there's some mental issues that could be alleviated around the team at the minute, whether it's stress or frustration who knows. But getting them to relax and enjoy might help considerably

So you haven’t watched the game but concluded we did in fact have a presence up front? We didn’t. Charles offers absolutely nothing to build off. The ball doesn’t stick. He doesn’t win anything. We might as well have not played a striker up there. Two offside goals doesn’t change that.

Charles is poor. We need to accept that. He has one thing he’s good at. And as a team most of our games don’t allow him to actually do that. If some big wallopers who think they will stroll past us like Sunderland last year come and play a high line then Charles is a good pick. But beyond that he has nothing to his game that helps us against sides who sit back and wait to pick us off. Outside the box and with his back to goal he’s absolutely rubbish.

The difference Bod and Baka made coming on was obvious. And they didn’t exactly play well they just were able to make the ball stick. Which allowed us to up the tempo. You can’t up the tempo with nothing up front.

[BWFC_Insane]

Oh and Marc Iles was at the game and has these scores. Given I was there too I’d say I agree with every single score here and the comments he’s added too. Spot on.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... -barnsley/

[Worthy4England]

I think it would be quite difficult to argue against the fact that the last few games, we've looked much better when the cavalry has arrived, so it's hardly like a whodunit. What they're bringing from 60-70 minutes, that's what we need from minute 1.

[BWFC_Insane]

I think it would be quite difficult to argue against the fact that the last few games, we've looked much better when the cavalry has arrived, so it's hardly like a whodunit. What they're bringing from 60-70 minutes, that's what we need from minute 1.

Yep and I think it’s fair that it’s sometimes easier coming on with limited time left and making an improvement than it is to start and get the tempo right.

There are some fundamentals about how we set up and how teams play us that are baked in now. The formula to beat us is well established. And continuing to ignore that isn’t helping.

But we can’t keep ignoring Charles not being very good beyond one distinct type of play we don’t ever actually play. Dapo hadn’t done anything for a long long time. And in his supposed best position yesterday was poor again.

Sadlier on the right had a decent first half I thought and showed us a front three wide performance. But as Iles observed the system left too much space behind him and Dapo for Barnsley to exploit and highlighted the weaknesses in Iredale and Bradley.

I’m coming to the idea that we have recruited too many players for too many different systems. Santos and Jones looked absolutely useless as a back two. Both were all over the show. Neither full back looked great but neither are wing backs. Sadlier fits a front three perfectly. But Charles is never a lone striker in that system. Without the three at the back the midfield missed MJ’s protection even though Morley on the ball looks good there, but isn’t busy enough to fit into the number 8 positions we need him too. Dempsey is a number 8 but we are trying to use him as a Lee alternative. Lee works with a back three as the midfield press but can’t play a number 8 in a 433.

All over the place it’s hard to pick a system and players to fit. We have a 352 with no wing backs. Or a 433 without a suitable back four.

[TANGODANCER]

But we can’t keep ignoring Charles not being very good beyond one distinct type of play we don’t ever actually play. Dapo hadn’t done anything for a long long time. And in his supposed best position yesterday was poor again.

Funny, he can knock a couple of offside goals in and most folk seem to think he's worth his spot. You not liking him doesn't mean he's no good. Stick with him and Bod up front. They're strikers, and it's goals we need.

[BWFC_Insane]

But we can’t keep ignoring Charles not being very good beyond one distinct type of play we don’t ever actually play. Dapo hadn’t done anything for a long long time. And in his supposed best position yesterday was poor again.

Funny, he can knock a couple of offside goals in and most folk seem to think he's worth his spot. You not liking him doesn't mean he's no good. Stick with him and Bod up front. They're strikers, and it's goals we need.

Funny how those actually watching the games including Iles all saying the same thing.

He’s not good enough apart from playing in behind a defence. Doing that requires us to play a different game than we are. But in build up play he’s utterly hopeless.

And no amount of wishful thinking changes that.

We played one up front first half. That one has to be Bod because he’s the best we have. Failing that then it’s Baka.

In a two it’s a different conundrum but Charles wouldn’t get in on current form and is too limited in his game to really suit how we play.