Going for the full Nelson? Away to Portsmouth Mon, 11th Dec, 8-o'clock.

[officer_dibble]

Presumably went off to stop him getting carded - anyway it’s a good game on Saturday to get back on it. As there plenty of in this league - seconds still to play for.

[GhostoftheBok]

Ultimately, the lads we are slating tonight have been vital to us having one of the best runs in the history of the club.

We travelled 300 miles for a Monday night game, on a small pitch, against the top side in the league...we lost.

Two home games coming up now. Back to winning ways, please.

We absolutely don't need wholesale changes in January.

[BWFC_Insane]

Ultimately, the lads we are slating tonight have been vital to us having one of the best runs in the history of the club.

We travelled 300 miles for a Monday night game, on a small pitch, against the top side in the league...we lost.

Two home games coming up now. Back to winning ways, please.

We absolutely don't need wholesale changes in January.

Definitely not wholesale changes but I think a couple of fresh faces to strengthen would be useful. We perhaps showed tonight against the best the league has to offer weaknesses in some areas that would be ideally addressed.

[Mar]

Santos and Sheehan played us into trouble with lazy poorly executed straight balls. All the time.

So let’s not pretend they were trying to tiki taka it.

The point I was eluding to was that it makes little point trying to play out from the back if the midfield is going to go full hoof mentality. Sure there were a number of players with poorly executed balls, but at least some were trying to stick to the game plan, others seemingly lost the plan and were just hoping to get rid of the ball as soon as they had it.

Possibly a confidence thing, who knows.

[GhostoftheBok]

Definitely not wholesale changes but I think a couple of fresh faces to strengthen would be useful. We perhaps showed tonight against the best the league has to offer weaknesses in some areas that would be ideally addressed.

Yes, but then look at the job Luton did on City the other day - or Palace on Liverpool.

Fratton Park is a tight pitch and Pompey are brilliant in the press.

This is a recurring issue for us, but we have undoubtedly got better at it over time.

I'm sure we will continue to improve . If we can find the players to get us further along in January then that's great. We wanted Baccus to play that Sheehan role, but from a more combative player; so we're not blind to the weaknesses that exist.

I said at one point ages ago that I wanted Joe Morrell and I thought he was great tonight. I think part of that was him putting down a marker to Sheehan, who was after his Wales squad spot.

[DJBlu]

Team was due a bad one. Let Pompey think they'll walk the league. One poor performance doesn't make a season.

[BWFC_Insane]

Santos and Sheehan played us into trouble with lazy poorly executed straight balls. All the time.

So let’s not pretend they were trying to tiki taka it.

The point I was eluding to was that it makes little point trying to play out from the back if the midfield is going to go full hoof mentality. Sure there were a number of players with poorly executed balls, but at least some were trying to stick to the game plan, others seemingly lost the plan and were just hoping to get rid of the ball as soon as they had it.

Possibly a confidence thing, who knows.

The point Im making is that playing through their midfield didn’t work. It’s what they wanted. Thomason realised the space was in the channels and played early longer balls down the sides that caused them trouble. But too many others like Santos and Sheehan just kept walking into their midfield and letting them turnover and leave us vulnerable. You’ve got to have more to your game than just doing that time and time again.

[TANGODANCER]

Ultimately, the lads we are slating tonight have been vital to us having one of the best runs in the history of the club.

We travelled 300 miles for a Monday night game, on a small pitch, against the top side in the league...we lost.

Aye, and after a good long rest. I'm no pessimist and not slating the lads for football, just lack of heart. Teams other than Portsmouth will be having a good look at us knowing we're beatable.

I also reckon rules on fouls need updating and revising.

[Prufrock]

Santos and Sheehan played us into trouble with lazy poorly executed straight balls. All the time.

So let’s not pretend they were trying to tiki taka it.

The point I was eluding to was that it makes little point trying to play out from the back if the midfield is going to go full hoof mentality. Sure there were a number of players with poorly executed balls, but at least some were trying to stick to the game plan, others seemingly lost the plan and were just hoping to get rid of the ball as soon as they had it.

Possibly a confidence thing, who knows.

The point Im making is that playing through their midfield didn’t work. It’s what they wanted. Thomason realised the space was in the channels and played early longer balls down the sides that caused them trouble. But too many others like Santos and Sheehan just kept walking into their midfield and letting them turnover and leave us vulnerable. You’ve got to have more to your game than just doing that time and time again.

You go one of two ways, you either have a plan B or you do plan A better. There are genuinely pros and cons for both. I think I know what Evatt will do.

It's a tough game, you're away to the team up there with you, tight pitch, big crowd. Two many dropped off and when plan A is a team thing you're going to struggle. Williams and Toal were really poor. Really really poor. And then it's infectious. I wondered (hoped) we were a team that would stand up today, win and then romp it given the leaps we've made recently. We're not that. Charles misses a shocker (and goals do change games) a few things to against and then heads drop. Everything we do relies on everyone doing their simple job quickly and positively. Suddenly we played half-hearted passed to nothing that got nicked, and then hugely overcorrected and started playing the pass so safely that the next pass wasn't on. The number of times we'd play a pass that would normally be on someone's right foot to move on, but so safely it was two yards behind them that that next pass wasn't on.

I mean, still. They're six points ahead but played a game more and have to come to ours. It's not going to be a cakewalk but I don't think there will be much between us at the end of the year.

Also, annoying but Mengi was superb. Rico has been imperious for a long time. I don't think he was that bad today, but if their forward is even in the game 1v1 against us Geth and Toal really struggle.

Touch short on quality and a long way short on confidence (though I'd argue a big part of confidence *is* quality, and vice versa.

[Worthy4England]

I keep coming back to, in a "serious about promotion" season, your losses are going to be the arbiter. Good news for us, is we're still second, with at least 3 points or one game in hand...

[GhostoftheBok]

I keep coming back to, in a "serious about promotion" season, your losses are going to be the arbiter. Good news for us, is we're still second, with at least 3 points or one game in hand...

Other teams around us will strengthen in January. We say we don't plan to.

Evatt believes this group of players is still playing within itself.

We'll see.

[Harry Genshaw]

Disappointing and too many players off it today. Its been said before that we're flat track bully's who walk all over sides who let us play but often go hiding when faced wurh a physical press. As Santos struggled physically for once, it felt several of our lot went hiding too.

And please, just once or twice when we have a free kick just inside our opponents half, can we try a lofted ball or direct pass that might ask a question or two of their centre backs? I know we're a footballing side but it doesn't always have to be taken quickly, short, sideways or backwards and then be back with Baxter in 2 touches every bloody time!

We're still a good side though. Back on it by Saturday hopefully. My credit card could have done without the hammering it's taken this weekend though!

[Worthy4England]

Yeah, getting that call right, seems pretty important, but there was a range of either discontent or at least discomfort that we were somewhere between a bit light or a lot light, dependent on your viewpoint, from summer. But we're still second with at least three points or one game in hand....

If he doesn't strengthen and we make it, kudos him. If we don't make it, I'm sure a few will point out we should've. Them's the breaks...

[DJBlu]

It will be reet.

#Woblinglabia.

[GhostoftheBok]

#Woblinglabia.

Dion's miss was so bad he's moving to a small town in the Australian Outback?

[GhostoftheBok]

So, thoughts on how the 11 did.

Baxter - Excellent. Good saves, great on the ball, etc. His usual self.
Jones - Bullied and then lazy.
Santos - Played against a 6'3" unit like he was up against a 5'8" striker and got bossed when it mattered. Still made some superb clearances.
Toal - His worst game for us. He's not a kid. He's a 24-year-old international. He has to learn fast.
Cogley - Alright when running, awful at any other time.
Sheehan - Stuck to his task and kept going, but pressed out of the game and made too many errors.
Thomason - The most dogged mid in the first half, disappeared in the 2nd.
Paris - Like Thommo, creative and willing in the first half, but disappeared.
Randell - Was he on the pitch?
Dad Bod - Great when the ball was right at him, useless if it was even 5 yards away.
Dion - I know he played, because he missed that sitter. Otherwise another contender for "his worst game for us."

All in all, Baxter, Thommo, Paris, Sheehan and Bod could probably have played in a winning side las night - if the defence had stood up, the wing backs had provided outs and Dion had showed up. Once the wings and defence fell apart the entire team lost it.

Baxter easily our man of the match.

[BWFC_Insane]

So, thoughts on how the 11 did.

Baxter - Excellent. Good saves, great on the ball, etc. His usual self.
Jones - Bullied and then lazy.
Santos - Played against a 6'3" unit like he was up against a 5'8" striker and got bossed when it mattered. Still made some superb clearances.
Toal - His worst game for us. He's not a kid. He's a 24-year-old international. He has to learn fast.
Cogley - Alright when running, awful at any other time.
Sheehan - Stuck to his task and kept going, but pressed out of the game and made too many errors.
Thomason - The most dogged mid in the first half, disappeared in the 2nd.
Paris - Like Thommo, creative and willing in the first half, but disappeared.
Randell - Was he on the pitch?
Dad Bod - Great when the ball was right at him, useless if it was even 5 yards away.
Dion - I know he played, because he missed that sitter. Otherwise another contender for "his worst game for us."

All in all, Baxter, Thommo, Paris, Sheehan and Bod could probably have played in a winning side las night - if the defence had stood up, the wing backs had provided outs and Dion had showed up. Once the wings and defence fell apart the entire team lost it.

Baxter easily our man of the match.

Agree with that. Evatt seemed pretty angry that we allowed ourselves to be physically bullied ‘I thought we were past that’ were his words. The thing about that striker that did santos was not his physicality, he’s hardly a brute but rather his movement and pace, that did for him. Down the sides santos was ripped apart and maybe that’s the weakness in how we play being exposed. At a higher level I can see championship sides really exploiting that. It’s fine when santos is dominant. But when a bit of trickery and pace are in the mix it looks quite vulnerable with such a high line.

Maghoma went missing a bit off the ball too which is maybe a habit he needs to work on.

Thomason for me is becoming so pivotal that it almost made sense to sub him to avoid a red but I think when he went off we really did look a much poorer side. Dempsey isn’t getting back in for me. Neither is Morley though one of them will need to play Saturday as Sheehan is out.

It was Jones’ worst game in a while.


To be honest win Saturday and it doesn’t matter a whole heap right now. We’ve been knocked off the horse but that was inevitable. Get back on it and we are very handily placed. Let it affect us and then that’s an issue.

[boltonboris]

On the end of a closely fought defeat against the best team in the league. Had to lose at some point. I'm not too disheartened. It happens. What we don't need as the players who been in great form for so long suddenly being thought of as sh*t, soft, lazy, etc etc on the back of last night.

Pompey played with an intensity and hunger you normally see in play-off matches and it certainly took me by surprise that they were able to continue it all night long. Fair f'in play to 'em!

A night to forget, but let's move on and take at least some of the good spells as a positive to build on to start a new run

[boltonboris]

On another note, I have never seen a player commit as many fouls and not be carded as that striker of theirs. Handful or not

[boltonboris]

Decent first half. Piss poor second half.

Overawed by the occasion. Heads gone. Keeper trying to pass out the back, midfield hoofing, strikers left stranded.

Strange decision starting with Bod who was performing striker tonight but it looked like we were disjointed. It's a gamble that didn't pay off.

Plenty in that first half to suggest that we're going to challenge at the top.

Most maddening thing is that we just seemed to pull another Wigan game. Shock and awed. It's not the bolton side that we've become accustomed to.

Plenty of positives, just not that second half.

I could see the sense in starting Bodvarsson. 5 goals in 2 games. If you don't reward performances with starts in the league it sets a dangerous precedent and gives a sign to fringe players that there's no pathway into the league XI - Then people think 'what's the point'