Burn after Reading. Reading (A) League 1. Saturday 16th September 2023. 3pm KO

[BWFC_Insane]

Yeah. We definitely are not a fit squad.

[TANGODANCER]

Here's a good idea, a truly cunning plan: Ban all talk of promotion and just take each game as it comes. In reality we're not special outside the borders of Bolton and district and nobody's afraid of us; this is why Wigan wallop us and we lose a winning lead and three points to a team currently third bottom of the table.

"Hang him"...you might cry, were' only three poiints off top spot....Aye, and play like we did today and that could soon be a lot more. Is Jon Bodvarson really a quality striker? If the answer is yes, then why does he get ten minutes against a bunch who, Dion Charles apart, aren't exactly breaking many pots. Please don't throw unfair refs at me (even though it's a truth) because what? five yellows and a red card takes more than a bit of swallowing, but it's a reality. I've been reading of songs of derring do and great intent these last few days from our new heroes, but it's brave music of distant drums unless it's more than just noise.

Time to stand up Mr Evatt. I'm no stonechucker, but the recent transfer window raised a lot of unanswered questions. If we win, you may get away with a knowing wink, but that's what we have to do, and now. Either that ot just shut up and let actions speak louder than words. I'll be first in line with apologies if you make me eat my words.

AMEN..

[Worthy4England]

It's a results business,. Either we do or we don't.

[The_Gun]

Could only follow the live text today, but a bitterly disappointing result given we seemingly spurred some easy chances.

I go back to Evatt’s comments about there being no PL loanees he thought would add value to us this season, and I really, really cannot believe this can have been the case. We must have players in our own, virtually non-existent, youth system who could do a better job than Nlundulu and Jerome.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I go back to Evatt’s comments about there being no PL loanees he thought would add value to us this season, and I really, really cannot believe this can have been the case.

Me neither.

[Mar]

I go back to Evatt’s comments about there being no PL loanees he thought would add value to us this season, and I really, really cannot believe this can have been the case.

Me neither.

It's not as though he can hide behind the whole improving our players for saleable assets either because we're playing Cameron Jerome. Sure Jerome might have his uses but to have him as first choice off the bench is a bit ludicrous, especially when he was seemingly coming here as cover for JDB.

Maybe the backroom staff were disheartened by losing players at the end of the loan windows and didnt want to repeat it.

[Worthy4England]

We've not yet played anyone in the top 8, other than if you undeducted Pies 8 points and they battered us. There's something amiss if we're saying players are shagged, 6 weeks into the season on the back of a two week break.

[officer_dibble]

Our recruitment starting to look lazy to me. Did Markham get August off?signed Nlundulu on the back of him being here for 6 months, and Bodvarson presumably because we thought we could the player from 18 months ago back. Did we not look for alternatives? Maghoma was at Mk last season and we obviously knew Mendes Gomes. Why the feck didn’t we have a scout around for better? We’ve got something like 3 squad places free and Evatts moaning they are tired after an international break. Not going to wash.

[Bertie Wooster]

It's not as though he can hide behind the whole improving our players for saleable assets either because we're playing Cameron Jerome. Sure Jerome might have his uses but to have him as first choice off the bench is a bit ludicrous, especially when he was seemingly coming here as cover for JDB.

Maybe the backroom staff were disheartened by losing players at the end of the loan windows and didn't want to repeat it.

For me the issue is that Evatt isn't improving anything, we have the same issues as last season combined with being weaker at the back and seemingly having fitness issues throughout the team. I thought that our possession based football was to tire the opposition out so that we can score for fun in the last 20 mins. It's actually the opposite, we are tired, shot in the last 20-25 mins of almost every game which means that he has to bring on the 'finishers' (sorry stiffs), which make us even worse and its actually us who are conceding late in games. It's quite alarming how unfit the team looks, with many blowing after 35-40 mins - Evatt has said on numerous occasions over the years that his teams are the fittest in the league, when in fact its the opposite.

His (or the boards) decisions in the summer to go with a lean squad and not recruit a couple of experienced, leader types will come back to haunt us IMO, as will the decision to not sign JCH or a proven striker, I also think that perhaps these Evatt off field issues could also be having an effect behind the scenes ?

[Bertie Wooster]

Our recruitment starting to look lazy to me. Did Markham get August off?signed Nlundulu on the back of him being here for 6 months, and Bodvarson presumably because we thought we could the player from 18 months ago back. Did we not look for alternatives? Maghoma was at Mk last season and we obviously knew Mendes Gomes. Why the feck didn’t we have a scout around for better? We’ve got something like 3 squad places free and Evatts moaning they are tired after an international break. Not going to wash.

Spot on this.

[TANGODANCER]

We've not yet played anyone in the top 8, other than if you undeducted Pies 8 points and they battered us. There's something amiss if we're saying players are shagged, 6 weeks into the season on the back of a two week break.

About sums it up. We need to stop fooling ourseves, toughen up and start playing football. We need to do it NOW.. Look where the two teams that have beaten us are...and wake up...Appoint Kev Davies as physical training instructor....

[BWFC_Insane]

Our recruitment starting to look lazy to me. Did Markham get August off?signed Nlundulu on the back of him being here for 6 months, and Bodvarson presumably because we thought we could the player from 18 months ago back. Did we not look for alternatives? Maghoma was at Mk last season and we obviously knew Mendes Gomes. Why the feck didn’t we have a scout around for better? We’ve got something like 3 squad places free and Evatts moaning they are tired after an international break. Not going to wash.

This. All of this.

[The_Gun]

What the hell has happened to JDB?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

With a night’s sleep, a bit more match analysis and some distance and perspective, my anger has subsided. (We made more than enough chances to win, and I’m past being angry with chances missed.) Sadly, what’s not gone is the thing that anger almost always springs from: fear.

I don’t have a problem with substituting players after 75 minutes: they should be tired and we should have options. But we don’t. Getting away with holding on vs Derby might have made Evatt think he could get away with it again. We didn’t, and now it’s ugly again.

Just read an Athletic piece about Postecoglu’s Spurs and their late comeback against Sheff U: the players they could bring on. An unfair comparison perhaps but they really are “finishers” - different options causing differing problems. OK, ludicrous comparison; but even 18 months ago we had the muscular Baka or the thoughtful Bod as gamechangers. What do we have now? The best hope is that oppo defenders choke on one of Jerome’s Werthers Originals or simply collapse under the existential paradox of trying to figure out what the hell a Nlundulu is.

I’m not defenestrating baby with bath water. I think Evatt is a good coach on a learning curve; I think Markham is about the best we could expect in that role; I think the board are the best we can expect right now, if we are building carefully.

But. I worried that we weren’t improving the squad over the summer. I get that some players were rejected for reasons medical, mercantile or both, and I understand that. But the squad looks painfully thin and I come back to The Gun’s disbelief that there were absolutely no players that could have improved us. Early days but right now that looks like a gamble too far.

[The_Gun]

For what it’s worth, I do think CMG and Maghoma look like they could be genuinely different and impactful options.

[BWFC_Insane]

With a night’s sleep, a bit more match analysis and some distance and perspective, my anger has subsided. (We made more than enough chances to win, and I’m past being angry with chances missed.) Sadly, what’s not gone is the thing that anger almost always springs from: fear.

I don’t have a problem with substituting players after 75 minutes: they should be tired and we should have options. But we don’t. Getting away with holding on vs Derby might have made Evatt think he could get away with it again. We didn’t, and now it’s ugly again.

Just read an Athletic piece about Postecoglu’s Spurs and their late comeback against Sheff U: the players they could bring on. An unfair comparison perhaps but they really are “finishers” - different options causing differing problems. OK, ludicrous comparison; but even 18 months ago we had the muscular Baka or the thoughtful Bod as gamechangers. What do we have now? The best hope is that oppo defenders choke on one of Jerome’s Werthers Originals or simply collapse under the existential paradox of trying to figure out what the hell a Nlundulu is.

I’m not defenestrating baby with bath water. I think Evatt is a good coach on a learning curve; I think Markham is about the best we could expect in that role; I think the board are the best we can expect right now, if we are building carefully.

But. I worried that we weren’t improving the squad over the summer. I get that some players were rejected for reasons medical, mercantile or both, and I understand that. But the squad looks painfully thin and I come back to The Gun’s disbelief that there were absolutely no players that could have improved us. Early days but right now that looks like a gamble too far.

Look at the records of Evatt and Phil Neal as Bolton bosses. Their respective league finishes season on season.

I’m struggling not to be convinced that Evatt is ultimately Phil Neal. A decent solid sort who starts the ball rolling but is nowhere near good enough to really get the full job done.

My major worry is it’s three summers in a row now where the same mistakes have been repeated and this summer was one where we all said we absolutely couldn’t afford that. If he’s learning I’m not convinced he’s doing so remotely fast enough.

He needs to abandon this idea that we only recruit players who fit some imaginary style and sign the best players possible available to him and then organise and play those players in whatever way maximises their ability to get results. That needs to start now with some emergency looks at the free transfer market as there is no way on gods Green earth we can just roll into the next couple of months with this squad minus Maghoma, CMG and Charles and expect anything positive to happen.

[Worthy4England]

We don't actually know who recruitment recommended nor whether our actual signings were near the top of their lists...I've not seen enough of Maghoma and CMG for us yet (and I thought CMG was a likely decent signing)...

Baxter seems OK, JDC has slotted in nicely. So in that sense I say "not terrible" given we were unlikely to buy the same quality as Traff. You could argue neither are upgrades, but the only way that was likely is through loans again.

The two I couldn't fathom at all were Dan and Bod. Bod only started about 50% of the time, even when he wasn't injured...

[BWFC_Insane]

For what it’s worth, I do think CMG and Maghoma look like they could be genuinely different and impactful options.

Yet like all new signings appear to be here they are injured within a few months and out for a fair while and in Maghoma’s case it’s a mystery injury picked up during a two week break…a break that leaves our players tired and unable to complete 90 minutes…something isn’t right. It’s another repeating pattern.

[BWFC_Insane]

We don't actually know who recruitment recommended nor whether our actual signings were near the top of their lists...I've not seen enough of Maghoma and CMG for us yet (and I thought CMG was a likely decent signing)...

Baxter seems OK, JDC has slotted in nicely. So in that sense I say "not terrible" given we were unlikely to buy the same quality as Traff. You could argue neither are upgrades, but the only way that was likely is through loans again.

The two I couldn't fathom at all were Dan and Bod. Bod only started about 50% of the time, even when he wasn't injured...

The trouble is that JDC is the only signing where I think we got what was really needed. Goalkeeper - yeah that is what it is we couldn’t replace Traf. JDC adds the delivery we sorely lacked. But beyond that January and the summer we’ve added some players who might be good. Might have ability. But we’ve not built a team that can win this league. And that was the requirement. Too many are ‘well sure they look good’ but don’t fit the holes we have perfectly and therefore need time to adapt. Or are still learning their game. Or are just a bit rubbish generally.

I’ve no doubt Markham has an eye for a player. My worry is that Evatt has no idea what you need in a team to get out of this league and each summer proclaims he has the exact squad he wants that is clearly short in many key areas.

[Worthy4England]

Yeah to the "it takes more to make the individuals a team" bit. Less sure around the Phil Neal comparisons. I think Evatt has the highest win rate for about 125 years...he's 12% higher than Phil Neal.

Last season many signings were written into the annals of pub league, yet those same signings and this manager finished 5th.

Like many it feels like we're lacking squad depth, nous and sometimes that elusive "bottle.." To echo DSBs point I'd have much rather seen Baka (or even King Arthur!) coming on, than the capitulation duo. Even Sads, on the naughty step for allegedly not running where the gaffer wants him to, has to be a better option...