What's Ste Evan's Age? 61, I think. Stevenage away. 29/03/2024 - 3pm

[officer_dibble]

JDC looks like a lower league wingback for me. When it’s a position we need to be high quality he often looks bang average.

[officer_dibble]

I tell you what as well - the other 3 play off sides will want to play us. Bang average, not willing to roll our sleeves up. If we can get to Wembley the pitch might suit us, that’s the best hope I have!

[Mar]

Ian can answer questions at the end of the season if he fails in his objective to get promotion. It’s not good enough with this squad of players - why were the wingbacks not changed? Both were ineffective and he had options that he has signed on the bench. Kyle Dempsey? Aaron Morley? Pointless.

Better side brings us 1 point, not three today Ian.

7 crosses in a row were blocked by the first man or keeper.

JDC doesn't offer anything on the right wing other than a drive into the middle or a pass back into defence or midfield.

At this point its not just JDC.

Since Feb 1st, we've managed:

JDC: 1 assist (Charlton), 1 goal (Oxford)
Ogbeta: 2 assists (Wycombe, Oxford), 2 goals (Carlisle, Oxford)
Ashworth: 1 assist (Charlton), 1 goal (Barnsley)
Iredale: 1 assist (Exeter)
Jones: 0 assists, 1 goal (Wycombe)

Total: 13 games, 5 assists, 5 goals.

Take away the Charlton and Oxford goal fests and we're looking at:
11 games, 2 assists, 3 goals.

Given how we has been effective in 6 games:
Charlton, Oxford, Wycombe, Carlisle, Barnsley, Exeter.

That's not to say they've not contributed to other parts of our attack. But given the vast majority of our attacks end up with being out wide.


I'd be fascinated to see what % of our attacks out wide end up getting to our attackers. Our strikers can't score if they never receive the ball from out wide.

[Bertie Wooster]

Ian can answer questions at the end of the season if he fails in his objective to get promotion. It’s not good enough with this squad of players - why were the wingbacks not changed? Both were ineffective and he had options that he has signed on the bench. Kyle Dempsey? Aaron Morley? Pointless.

Better side brings us 1 point, not three today Ian.

It's just not good enough, he's had the players together for two weeks yet nothing changes - we could have played another 90 mins and not scored, toothless with almost zero creativity. Apart from the Oxford game the football has been dire since Xmas - this was a must win game if the target is still the top 2, but it was lacking a lot IMO. Santos was abysmal, absolutely shocking - never been captain material or a leader

With this set of players, and the backing FV gave him in the Jan window against a poor Stevenage side, its a very poor result - now 1 away win from the last 8 - just not good enough. However at least Dave the Minion (aka Ian Evatt) & Mar will be happy as in their opinion Evatt can't do anything wrong. Where is the desire, urgency and will to win ? sadly lacking motivation along with Evatt's tactical nous & flexibility. Still going off his sulking press conference prior to the game it looks like he's giving in like the players are.

The only way that I'm renewing my ST if we are still in League 1 next season is if the manager isn't Evatt.

[officer_dibble]

He’ll get questions at the end of the season. If we don’t go up - what will he do differently? If he says “nothing, just do plan A better” I’d sack him if it were my money.

[Bertie Wooster]

4 wins in 13 in the league since January.

[TANGODANCER]

Sunday pub league stuff. The game was less than scintillating and the keeper to Sanchez stuff is becoming predictably boring, not to say risky in its repetition. Defenders just barge into us willy-nilly and Ricardo isn't winning challenges against faster players. We never really looked like scoring and a striker should be capable of beating his marker occasionally. Our whole campaign is looking
a bit false-feathers right now. In short, Play-offs at best barring Divine intervention.

[officer_dibble]

Santos is extremely lucky not to be getting serious pelters tonight. Captain material?

[jmjhb]

Evatt bemoaning injuries in the aftermath presser...we've had 2 weeks to prepare. These excuses are running thin.

[Mar]

Ian can answer questions at the end of the season if he fails in his objective to get promotion. It’s not good enough with this squad of players - why were the wingbacks not changed? Both were ineffective and he had options that he has signed on the bench. Kyle Dempsey? Aaron Morley? Pointless.

Better side brings us 1 point, not three today Ian.

It's just not good enough, he's had the players together for two weeks yet nothing changes - we could have played another 90 mins and not scored, toothless with almost zero creativity. Apart from the Oxford game the football has been dire since Xmas - this was a must win game if the target is still the top 2, but it was lacking a lot IMO. Santos was abysmal, absolutely shocking - never been captain material or a leader

With this set of players, and the backing FV gave him in the Jan window against a poor Stevenage side, its a very poor result - now 1 away win from the last 8 - just not good enough. However at least Dave the Minion (aka Ian Evatt) & Mar will be happy as in their opinion Evatt can't do anything wrong. Where is the desire, urgency and will to win ? sadly lacking motivation along with Evatt's tactical nous & flexibility. Still going off his sulking press conference prior to the game it looks like he's giving in like the players are.

The only way that I'm renewing my ST if we are still in League 1 next season is if the manager isn't Evatt.

I'll give Evatt criticism if he's deserving of it. Today's game is a prime example of having to rally the troops and whatever half time team talk just seemed to have the opposite effect. The players came out a shadow of their first half selves.

It was a must win game due to us not delivering in shittier games in the season. The fans knew all week we had to keep the pace with the top two and get a result. Today's result may have been on par with other teams results against Stevenage but it's not helping. We want to get promoted and that comes with getting better results than our counterparts. We didn't get that today but the most infuriating thing is we didn't try.

Evatt needs to galvanise the squad. Instead it seemed like he's playing a two game weekend and strategizing on how to keep our levels up without focusing on the result.

We need the points. Instead we bowed out of Today's match in the same manner that we bowed out against Barnsley in the play off semi. It was apathy from the players, almost like they're not in it completely.

Add the Dion situation to the mix and the Baxter situation and its clear we've not got a happy camp.

We need players pulling the others up a notch if their performance isn't good enough and it never felt like that today. Who was telling the players to keep going and get through it? It very much seemed like we had players sulking at stray passes and mistakes rather than encouraging one another and asking for quicker tempos.

Our best chance was in the opening twenty minutes and we just didn't match it after that. Almost as if we're expecting to be frustrated.

No wins in seven away games. That should be the reason to up the standards.

We played todays game like a mustn't lose rather than a must win. That second half was a complete waste of time.

We know the players are better than that, but the effort levels need to be there. Today they weren't.

[Bertie Wooster]

Mar, decent post that.

However, all the points you make IMO are down to the manager i.e. the not trying, galvanising the squad, motivation, apathy, half time team talk, effort levels, mustn't lose. These are all his players playing his system and his tactics.

The job of manager isn't just signing players and picking a team, its the motivation, half time team talk, tactically going for the win, the players sulking not trying etc. Also, what's happened to being the fittest team in the league, tiring the opposition out - most of the team looked absolutely knackered & that's after a 2 week break !

[TANGODANCER]

Just a comment about the cloggers we played today: Hardly dazzling in their determination to hospitalise a few Whites were they? A very poor display by the whistle man too. Okay, they're excuses, but valid ones. Not exactly your Pierre Luigi Collina standard to say the least.

[Mar]

Mar, decent post that.

However, all the points you make IMO are down to the manager i.e. the not trying, galvanising the squad, motivation, apathy, half time team talk, effort levels, mustn't lose. These are all his players playing his system and his tactics.

The job of manager isn't just signing players and picking a team, its the motivation, half time team talk, tactically going for the win, the players sulking not trying etc. Also, what's happened to being the fittest team in the league, tiring the opposition out - most of the team looked absolutely knackered & that's after a 2 week break !

I'm aware that it's the managers job to get them fired up and across the line.

I'm also not quick to be too critical. Weve had a few games like the Derby one where we shoulder come away with more than we have.

Evatt can only do so much. Its up to the players to do the rest. Evatts not perfect but he offers more good than bad.

I question his inflexibility and game management with subbing the strikers every game. Not because its the right or wrong decision but more because it seems like he's boxing himself into a corner and looking to prove a point to silence the critics. As fans we want the best for the team and the squad, not criticise just for the sake of it.

Today's result seemed very much a case of you've got a game on Monday so take it easy and win without over exerting yourselves. Something less likely to happen when we take the pressure off the opposition.

[dave the minion]

However at least Dave the Minion (aka Ian Evatt) & Mar will be happy as in their opinion Evatt can't do anything wrong.

The only way that I'm renewing my ST if we are still in League 1 next season is if the manager isn't Evatt.

Seriously??? This is hilarious...

In case you need it spelling out, I'm not Ian Evatt. I'm a simple Bolton fan. One who is a damn sight more measured than most in my humble opinion, but a fan no less.
I'll admit, I am an Evatt fan. He's the best manager we've had in years. By a country mile.
Is he perfect - clearly not. Is he the most tactically and motivationally amazing manager - clearly not.
If he were he wouldn't be managing in the 3rd tier of English football
However, what he is, is our manager, and right now we should.be behind him and not making his life & job harder by berating him and looking to assign blame constantly.

A question for all you doubters - one which I've asked before and none of you have ever answered - tell me who else you would rather have? I've not heard a single person out there suggest a viable and available alternative????

As for you renewing your season ticket: clearly that's your perogative (didn't Bobby Brown once sing about perogatives???). But, for what íts worth, if you were to be sat near me and I could hear you regularly spouting your negative shite every game like many others around me, then quite frankly I won't miss you if you don't.

If though - you were to get behind the team a Nd manager and actually want them to succeed and maybe - just maybe - try to enjoy the games, then I will welcome you back with open arms

[Bertie Wooster]

Don't take this the wrong way Ian (sorry Dave) but I really don't care about your opinion, approval / welcome etc.

The fact is I have only enjoyed a handful of games over the past 2 seasons under Evatt. most games send me to sleep, the football is turgid, boring, slow, predictable, robotic.

With the squad we have most managers in this league would have them performing better than we have since Xmas (BTW plenty of names are being discussed on other forums), they may even try other formations, perhaps even play with wingers i.e. Dapo. They may even encourage Santos to stop playing walking football.

With you being more measured than most you may be able to stomach the general shite on display most weeks, but that doesn't mean that the 'growing' list of doubters have to - the proof will be in the ST numbers next season should we not go up, which if we don't I suspect will be a few thousand down on this years

[DJBlu]

Don't take this the wrong way Ian (sorry Dave) but I really don't care about your opinion, approval / welcome etc.

The fact is I have only enjoyed a handful of games over the past 2 seasons under Evatt. most games send me to sleep, the football is turgid, boring, slow, predictable, robotic.

With the squad we have most managers in this league would have them performing better than we have since Xmas (BTW plenty of names are being discussed on other forums), they may even try other formations, perhaps even play with wingers i.e. Dapo. They may even encourage Santos to stop playing walking football.

With you being more measured than most you may be able to stomach the general shite on display most weeks, but that doesn't mean that the 'growing' list of doubters have to - the proof will be in the ST numbers next season should we not go up, which if we don't I suspect will be a few thousand down on this years

Who comes in then? Who is going to not recieve bitter comments from Bertie?

Every manager since Allardyce has had it both barrels.

[officer_dibble]

I don’t think who comes in is for now. Evatt gets the play offs to achieve the aim. If he fails, it’s a fair discussion - who would have got this squad promoted? And, are they available / should we be looking?

I like watching us when it’s good under Evatt - he’s been a good manager. This season will be the first he doesn’t meet expectations if we don’t go up. Let’s see where we are.

[truewhite15]

Don't take this the wrong way Ian (sorry Dave) but I really don't care about your opinion, approval / welcome etc.

The fact is I have only enjoyed a handful of games over the past 2 seasons under Evatt. most games send me to sleep, the football is turgid, boring, slow, predictable, robotic.

With the squad we have most managers in this league would have them performing better than we have since Xmas (BTW plenty of names are being discussed on other forums), they may even try other formations, perhaps even play with wingers i.e. Dapo. They may even encourage Santos to stop playing walking football.

With you being more measured than most you may be able to stomach the general shite on display most weeks, but that doesn't mean that the 'growing' list of doubters have to - the proof will be in the ST numbers next season should we not go up, which if we don't I suspect will be a few thousand down on this years

Who comes in then? Who is going to not recieve bitter comments from Bertie?

Every manager since Allardyce has had it both barrels.

Some clogger who goes Route One at every opportunity, puts 10 behind the ball, and plays for scraps pff our 20% possession every game. But hey, at least we'll show some fight and bottle, spending all that time defending our own six-yard box.

[irie Cee Bee]

We got a very fortunate point. We survived the usual 2 mess ups per game at the back and have to thank Coleman for keeping this clean sheet. We tired badly in the 2nd half after starting it well. The changes made us worse. Anyway, still feeling that we can win the playoffs as we just have to. Financially, we need to be in the Championship or else this summer, a huge cull will take place to balance the budget.

[Mar]

Failing this season isn't the end of the world. Promoted in the first season, stayed up in the second, cup win in the third and now, we're struggling to finish our good early season progress. We should be getting promoted this season but a bad patch doesn't pave over the good work.

The board will be the ones that judge whether the improvements are substantial enough for year on year progress. I'd rather they not change on a whim and see us ending up with another Keith Hill type. Evatts done a decent job and deserves a grace period. We can all decide when that'll be.

For me, Evatts the best manager we've had since Allardyce. We've won games by more goals than we ever managed under Allardyce. Clearly Evatts philosophy has worked and is working elsewhere, but it's not a carte blanche solution for every situation. Evatt still needs to learn, just like the players.

The problem is that I'm seeing Evatt become more closed off from the criticism. Or saying things that aren't media savvy.

On the brink of an important game, we're seeing closed off body language and bemoaning Charles and Baxter. Not exactly conducive to a happy squad.

If someone would've told me we'd be going into the end of the season with either Jerome or JDB up top with our backup goalkeeper, I'd be expecting us to struggle. We are struggling.

Evatts improved expectations. Were not always going to meet them.