Another fine mess Stanley...Away at Accrington in the Cup. Wed 22-Feb. 8-O'clock.

[TANGODANCER]

Accrington bricks are as tough as they come. Can our somewhat depleted warriors cement a victory at the Crown Ground or will it be another fine mess we've got into? Will our Laurels be Hardy enough for the task? Have at it then...

[BWFC_Insane]

Its going to be interesting to see how we do. I feel it has a stodgy 1-0/2-1 written all over it one way or another.

Its clear we are taking it very seriously given the comments about the game from Bradley post match and indeed Mbete when he joined.

[Mar]

I can imagine this being taken very seriously, like season defining seriously.

Would be very surprised (and equally pissed) if he decided to pull a Megson and field a weakened side. Chance for Wembley, lets have at it.

[The_Gun]

Live on Sky Sports, huge Bolton away following, a chance of a first cup final in 20 years... what's not to like?

My spirits were dampened somewhat on Saturday, but woke up this morning feeling bullish again. Dempsey being available would be huge, but even if he's out we should have enough.

Assuming no Demps or Gethin, I'd go with:

Traff

Toal Santos Mbete

Morley Sheehan

Bradley Williams

Lee

Jerome Charles


I don't really want Declan John for matches where it's likely to be attritional, and I like the option of Randy's long throw as a wildcard to throw at them.

I'd rather not have to start Sheehan, but can't see a viable alternative. Thomason has been out for quite a long time, so I don't think it would make sense to throw him straight in.

[Prufrock]

Live on Sky Sports, huge Bolton away following, a chance of a first cup final in 20 years... what's not to like?

My spirits were dampened somewhat on Saturday, but woke up this morning feeling bullish again. Dempsey being available would be huge, but even if he's out we should have enough.

Assuming no Demps or Gethin, I'd go with:

Traff

Toal Santos Mbete

Morley Sheehan

Bradley Williams

Lee

Jerome Charles


I don't really want Declan John for matches where it's likely to be attritional, and I like the option of Randy's long throw as a wildcard to throw at them.

I'd rather not have to start Sheehan, but can't see a viable alternative. Thomason has been out for quite a long time, so I don't think it would make sense to throw him straight in.

That's the same as my XI other than I'd just gone for John over Randy based on form over the past few weeks. But I'd be happy with yours too.

[BWFC_Insane]

The long throw is a good point but I'd rather have John playing for set piece delivery personally in a game like this. You've got to match a team in a battle for sure but you also need ways of scoring against them - probably the biggest concern is how we score goals against Wycombe's and Derby's who are well organised at the back and will restrict space and nullify how we can score goals in open play. Accrington will try and do the same - so delivery becomes paramount in open play and from set plays. I don't think we're 'soft touches' in the sense that whilst we lost the midfield to Wycombe that was a function of playing Shola who simply isn't going to do the job yet needed in those sorts of games and we should have played him up front and Lee behind. But I think we can go toe to toe generally - our midfield is a little weak at times but generally we can if we set up right match teams.

Its the scoring of goals in these games that I am mainly worried about. You won't get the space Charlton, Posh and MK Dons offered and short of a set piece or an early goal you can pretty much nail it down as a 'struggle'. We've got to find ways to score more goals in these sorts of games when teams condense space I think we've got to find ways of cranking up the pressure and make them constantly defend their box. At times we are just too passive in these games as a team and it leads to the opposition being too comfortable in what they're doing and their ability to stop us scoring.

[Harry Genshaw]

I mentioned it in the Wycombe thread but I'd like to see our midfielders and strikers have a crack from outside the box occasionally. It was the way we finally broke down Cheltenham and provided you don't overdo it, it mixes things up, tests the keeper (hopefully) and can give scraps to the front 2 to follow up on.

If he's fit and still plays for them, you can be sure Ethan Hamilton will try a couple for them. That was a strong part of his game.

I fear another 0-1 defeat.

[officer_dibble]

I think we’ll win…wouldn’t be surprised to see Thomason start either. Don’t think he trusts Sheehan.

[knobpolisher]

Would Isgrove not be an option, never lets us down and was on the bench last Saturday?

[officer_dibble]

In centre mid? That would be a kick in the knackers for poor old Josh.

[Worthy4England]

I think we’ll win…wouldn’t be surprised to see Thomason start either. Don’t think he trusts Sheehan.

That last bit might not be an exclusive group of one!

Feels to me like Sheehan is not a great pick, if we're expecting them to go toe to toe in MF...(and I think they will try that)///

[BWFC_Insane]

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... emi-final/

Dempsey and Jones having scans today. Jerome a doubt with another back issue.

Oh goody! Doesn't sound to me like Dempsey and Jones are likely to play if its as far as needing a scan.

A lot riding on Charles to do the business against his old club and Kachunga to have his 'Defreitas moment' and actually bang a couple in.....

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Oofsh. If Jerome is out (and I think we must now assume Geth and Demps are) then we’ve got very little choice in the entire central section. Dion-Kacha up top; Lee at 10; and either Sheehan or Thomo alongside Morley is our only choice as we are also down to three for centre-backs.

We do, however, have four wingbacks, so that’s good….

[The_Gun]

Ah feck, that Jerome news is a right shitter. If that Carty lad wasn't on loan in Ireland I think I'd have been tempted to play him in front of Kachunga, but as is we pretty much have no other viable options.

[GhostoftheBok]

The issue is availability. Not just because of a lack of options, but also because it can have a negative impact mentally. Players rarely feel as tired as when they have to play because there are no other options. Throw in that we may have to ease off the intensity in order to have forward players able to run for the full 90, rather than our usual 60-70, and you've got issues.

The saving grace is that they are crap. Far worse than last year, having lost the spine of a good side on free transfers.

We are much the better side, but it's getting very, very tight in terms of selection and Evatt won't be able to tailor things much. That'll even things up a bit.

For me it's about how the lads react psychologically. Sky cameras on, a bit of adversity...how's your character?

[Worthy4England]

The issue is availability. Not just because of a lack of options, but also because it can have a negative impact mentally. Players rarely feel as tired as when they have to play because there are no other options. Throw in that we may have to ease off the intensity in order to have forward players able to run for the full 90, rather than our usual 60-70, and you've got issues.

The saving grace is that they are crap. Far worse than last year, having lost the spine of a good side on free transfers.

We are much the better side, but it's getting very, very tight in terms of selection and Evatt won't be able to tailor things much. That'll even things up a bit.

For me it's about how the lads react psychologically. Sky cameras on, a bit of adversity...how's your character?

I hope it's better than when we played Stockport in front of cameras and with a bit of adversity... there could be 6 starters from that night....

[DJBlu]

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... emi-final/

Dempsey and Jones having scans today. Jerome a doubt with another back issue.

Oh goody! Doesn't sound to me like Dempsey and Jones are likely to play if its as far as needing a scan.

A lot riding on Charles to do the business against his old club and Kachunga to have his 'Defreitas moment' and actually bang a couple in.....

He's on a 3rd time lucky with the overhead kicks so you heard it here first. Kachunga overhead kick to win it in the 88th minute.

COYWM!!!!

[Worthy4England]

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... emi-final/

Dempsey and Jones having scans today. Jerome a doubt with another back issue.

Oh goody! Doesn't sound to me like Dempsey and Jones are likely to play if its as far as needing a scan.

A lot riding on Charles to do the business against his old club and Kachunga to have his 'Defreitas moment' and actually bang a couple in.....

He's on a 3rd time lucky with the overhead kicks so you heard it here first. Kachunga overhead kick to win it in the 88th minute.

Know it was only a short cameo, but I thought he gave us a chunk of forwards momentum when he came on, on Saturday...

[nicholaldo]

My spidey senses are telling me we might lose this. It just has the feel of "that" FA Cup semi-final for some reason.

I'd obviously much rather be wrong.

[jmjhb]

This would be a 1-0 loss if we were in November/December. It will be a yardstick of how much we've improved imo.