Oh to be in Bolton....At Home to Carlisle United , Sat 7th Sept. 3-o'clock.

[BWFC_Insane]

I still can’t quite get my head around our summer transfer business. It started off well with the free signings of Baxter and Dacres-Cogley. But we then either missed out on a lot of targets or were very complacent, deciding to pretty much go with what we had.

Why did we not sign another RWB after the Kane Wilson deal fell through? Pure arrogance or stupidity to think JDC could play pretty much every minute of the season.

LWB as well. Evatt clearly didn’t fancy Sadlier or John to back up Williams this season which is fair enough, I agree with him there, but then why not sign another proper LWB to compete with Randy (and not just a 20 year old defensive full back from West Brom)?

It was clear last season that we needed more defensive solidity and athleticism in midfield (i.e and upgrade on MJ) why was this completely neglected, leaving us with the booking magnet that is George Thomason as our only true DM?

…and finally don’t get me started on Nlundulu, horrendous business, even if we’d got him on a free. But £300k?! Jesus wept

I said this all summer. So let’s not pretend it’s hindsight.

It’s incredibly frustrating to know and see what is needed but watch a manager who has achieved nowt in his career bar two lower league promotions preen about telling every to trust the process and believing his own drivel.

January we need to sign 6 established players at this level, in key areas. Two midfield players…physical units who can run. Two wing backs. Two strikers.

If we want any chance it’s going to be about spending a fortune in January. It’s too late for signing premiership kids unless we can get some who already have played a lot of football and they will cost a fortune.

Short of that we can count us out this season.

And that relies on us not allowing the gap between ourselves and the top two to widen from the 7 points it stands at now. We won’t make up a 10-12 point gap, not in this league. It’s already at a point it can’t be allowed to widen from.

And that relies on Sharon having the money to fix this mess and trusting Evatt to spend it. I wouldn’t. Any fool could see Nlundulu was an absolute shocker last season. We spent money on him. He’s the worst player I’ve seen us pay a fee on. Absolute dross on every level. Evatt so arrogant he can’t admit he was wrong last January so wasted the clubs money.

[DJBlu]

Don't forget we paid for Mario Jardel.

[BWFC_Insane]

Both were penalties too….Evatt needs an eye test.

[DJBlu]

Both were penalties too….Evatt needs an eye test.

Second yes, first was a very well timed tackle and was saved so irrelevant.

[BWFC_Insane]

Both were penalties too….Evatt needs an eye test.

Second yes, first was a very well timed tackle and was saved so irrelevant.

Dempsey didn’t get the ball. He got the man. Penalty. All day long.

https://x.com/bwfc714/status/1710747927 ... o4TppbHkNQ

Penalty. Eye test for Evatt.

[DJBlu]

20231007_213319.jpg (83.31 KiB) Viewed 11066 times

Demps toe poke.

Again semantics as it was saved so irrelevant.

[BWFC_Insane]

Nah demps didn’t get the ball, clear as day in the slomo.

https://x.com/bwfc714/status/1710747927415496990?s=20

[Worthy4England]

I don't think anyone needs to pretend anything. We don't have the cash, say Ipswich, spent last year. We don'thave the sort of cash Sheff Weds had to pay Bannan (and others). We have nothing like the wage bill Parky had and in fairness to Phil, he was completely hamstrung by it.

So, for me, we're on a dice roll. I'd be stunned if we bought 6? quality players in Jan.

I also don't think Carlisle "set about us." It really wasn't, for me, any sort of in your face game, we were just really bad...feels like we need a lower intensity "plan B"

[Worthy4England]

Oh, after listening to IE's post match, I think it's weird to claim "we didn't get the breaks" with an OG and a saved pengy.. You don't often get them breaks in the same 90...

[Mar]

Nah demps didn’t get the ball, clear as day in the slomo.

https://x.com/bwfc714/status/1710747927415496990?s=20

That's not overly clear. Need better quality footage to know for sure. The lack of frames doesnt help, neither does the picture quality. On that evidence, I can't tell if the player catches his foot and moves it to the ball, or whether he genuinely catches the ball.

I can see why the ref has given it. Carlisle player IMO gets to the ball first and passes it to the player on the edge of the box. Clumsy to slide in there.

Toal's penalty is clumsy too.

3 penalties in two games and another defeat. We've really got to get into the habit of winning regularly. Seems like we're just going through the motions as opposed to having the confidence to go out there and put teams to the sword.

[BWFC_Insane]

Nah demps didn’t get the ball, clear as day in the slomo.

https://x.com/bwfc714/status/1710747927415496990?s=20

That's not overly clear. Need better quality footage to know for sure. The lack of frames doesnt help, neither does the picture quality. On that evidence, I can't tell if the player catches his foot and moves it to the ball, or whether he genuinely catches the ball.

I can see why the ref has given it. Carlisle player IMO gets to the ball first and passes it to the player on the edge of the box. Clumsy to slide in there.

Toal's penalty is clumsy too.

3 penalties in two games and another defeat. We've really got to get into the habit of winning regularly. Seems like we're just going through the motions as opposed to having the confidence to go out there and put teams to the sword.

You don’t need extra frames. Players right foot wraps round and plays ball then Dempsey catches him. It’s a penalty…..

[BWFC_Insane]

I don't think anyone needs to pretend anything. We don't have the cash, say Ipswich, spent last year. We don'thave the sort of cash Sheff Weds had to pay Bannan (and others). We have nothing like the wage bill Parky had and in fairness to Phil, he was completely hamstrung by it.

So, for me, we're on a dice roll. I'd be stunned if we bought 6? quality players in Jan.

I also don't think Carlisle "set about us." It really wasn't, for me, any sort of in your face game, we were just really bad...feels like we need a lower intensity "plan B"

Carlisle were absolutely on it, from minute one. They wanted it. They had a game plan which was to sit deep and hit on the break but they worked incredibly hard, fought for every 50:50. It was blindingly obvious at half time how much more effort they put in. And unless that changed we’d lose. And we did. And in fairness we got lucky it wasn’t by a much greater scoreline.

The summer was a waste of resources. It’s that simple. The money we spent on abject rubbish should have been used appropriately. January wasn’t really any better tbh.

The ‘oh we don’t have that big of a budget’ defence doesn’t wash this season, since nobody does. And to be honest the club made it abundantly clear what our expectations should be.

End of the day if next season three come down with money then it will be ‘Ah well can’t compete’. Then season after…

Evatt has a job to deliver and is failing. He needs to turn it round. And not just for a week or two, to go up you need consistency and not to have a result like today every few weeks.

[Worthy4England]

The budget thing wasn't a defence of Evatt, it was an "I'm not sure it's stretching to 6 quality signings in Jan" thing - players who are known outside the confines of people with spreadsheets. I don't see us assembling an XI where it's clear, the team just has to show up. But equally, I doubt Oxford have that sort of squad either

Our last promotion season from this division, we were one point less at this stage, with the same number of losses...Sheff Utd were further back than us. I don't think we've got the right squad or mentality to go on the type of run needed but there's a long way to go yet.

[officer_dibble]

Keep coming back to it, this season represents the best chance we’ll get of promotion given the lack of quality that came down. Next year will be different.

I think the recruitment has been lazy. If it were my investment I would be hauling Evatt and Markham over the coals tomorrow - why sign Bodvarson and Dan the donkey? Seemingly because they were already here, and they didn’t have to put the time in scouting better and cheaper alternatives? Why do we not have a midfielder with some bite who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck? Are you happy with flogging the two wing backs and moaning about tired players game in game out? Why didn’t you recruit more players, you have three gaps in the squad? Looks like lazy management to me.

[The_Gun]

The budget thing wasn't a defence of Evatt, it was an "I'm not sure it's stretching to 6 quality signings in Jan" thing - players who are known outside the confines of people with spreadsheets. I don't see us assembling an XI where it's clear, the team just has to show up. But equally, I doubt Oxford have that sort of squad either

Our last promotion season from this division, we were one point less at this stage, with the same number of losses...Sheff Utd were further back than us. I don't think we've got the right squad or mentality to go on the type of run needed but there's a long way to go yet.

Surely no one seriously thinks we still need six quality signings in Jan to get promoted?

Wingback cover, another midfielder and a better striker than Dan and we’re pretty set.

[Harry Genshaw]

I worry about Morley. He's gone backwards since he joined.

[BWFC_Insane]

The budget thing wasn't a defence of Evatt, it was an "I'm not sure it's stretching to 6 quality signings in Jan" thing - players who are known outside the confines of people with spreadsheets. I don't see us assembling an XI where it's clear, the team just has to show up. But equally, I doubt Oxford have that sort of squad either

Our last promotion season from this division, we were one point less at this stage, with the same number of losses...Sheff Utd were further back than us. I don't think we've got the right squad or mentality to go on the type of run needed but there's a long way to go yet.

Surely no one seriously thinks we still need six quality signings in Jan to get promoted?

Wingback cover, another midfielder and a better striker than Dan and we’re pretty set.

Not in my view. Midfield as an example. Morley is dreadful. Sheehan and Dempsey and Morley are one player. You can only pick one of them if you are serious about promotion. You need two actual commanding hard running mids with one of them. Maghoma is nice but isn’t that. So we need two there then we have two from three with Thomason the third option.

Upfront we need to get rid of the three stooges and recruit two strikers who can run and add to our attacking options. CMG can be considered a striker too as I don’t think we can really carry him in midfield given the shape we are playing.

Then we need cover for both wing backs.

That’s 6 players. 3 additional given we need rid of the three strikers.

That for me is what we are short of if we want to make the top two.

It might not be as extreme as that if Evatt would play some of the younger players but he has a pathological fear or doing so it seems. Even when it’s clear they’d be better options than what we actually do bring on. Nobody can be worse than what we bring on.

[Worthy4England]

Strikers, he may have half a chance, as I guess Bod and Cameron only on 6 months left, by Jan so maybe.

Dan. Different, has a long way to go on his...Doubtful that we'd sell and loan, I suspect we'd want to cover what we're paying him.

Cover for WBs sure feels like we need that

MF's, I think they're all on pretty long contracts, obvs with Maghoma on loan...would we have room there without selling - dunno.

Then we come to what you perceive as a quality player within our budget vs what Evatt actually might have to spend on what he sees as a quality player.

Edit: In a similar vein, fairly sure we extended Evatt's contract to 2026 too. Not sure FV are overly trigger happy...

[officer_dibble]

We could do without Dion Charles going on international duty - he’s due a rest!

[BWFC_Insane]

I note JDC in his post match has said Carlisle ‘showed more fight’ than we did. How is that acceptable? The bare minimum, bare minimum should be matching the oppositions effort and physical output surely?

It’s happened too often but for me it simply cannot. If you play for Bolton Wanderers and are outfought by Carlisle you really shouldn’t be here.