Confidence-Builder or Unnecessary Distraction? Mansfield (h), 13/08, 19:45

[truewhite15]

On to the Football League Cup. Not to be confused with the Football League Trophy.

A cup that a club in our position is never winning in a month of Sundays; up against opponents that we're going to be playing a number of times this season anyway. Both sides will presumably at least hope to progress to a potential money-spinning big-name draw - but how much do we want that, really?

Evatt said over the summer that he may have to rethink his approach to cup competitions, having previously wanted to go deep into all three tournaments; that may have cost us some sharpness at the, well, sharp end of the season, and who knows what impact it had on the injuries that set us back?

I'd expect wholesale changes, but even our second string is pretty strong these days. Southwood, Forino, Johnston, Morley, Nlundulu all to start, I reckon...

[GhostoftheBok]

We need these minutes to get people up to speed and it'll be hard for us to put out a bad team.

The challenge is keeping the defence fresh whilst people return to fitness.

Every game the new lads play will improve them. McAtee, Lolos (hopefully, though maybe not now), Tutu and others need to play to get used to the tactical requirements and also get their eye in.

We could cup tie Matheson, if he's going on loan to non-league again. If so it'd be something like:

Southwood, Toal, Santos, Iredale, Matheson, Matete, Morley, Osei-Tutu, Dan, McAtee, Vic.

Obviously if any of the centre backs are fit then Forino, Johnston or Forrester slot in easily enough.

[dave the minion]

who'd have thunk it that we'd have a second-string cup side looking like that!!!!

[Bertie Wooster]

Absolute distraction - hopefully get knocked out then concentrate on the league.

[GhostoftheBok]

Absolute distraction - hopefully get knocked out then concentrate on the league.

8 games until we're back in Europe

[TANGODANCER]

We need these minutes to get people up to speed and it'll be hard for us to put out a bad team.

With a few players who only met each other a week ago, I'd say totally useful and necessary. And don't take them for granted. Cup games are renowned for producing shocks.

[Mar]

Who knows what the league will bring this season. Cups may be a respite. Let's enjoy them.

We all want to get promoted, let's hope the cups don't impact as much.


Is this game on tv?

[GhostoftheBok]

Is this game on tv?

I think it's on Sky Plus, as with the league game.

[Mar]

Is this game on tv?

I think it's on Sky Plus, as with the league game.

Cheers.
Better coverage than last season I guess.

Looks like I'll have some work cut out getting it to work outside of the UK

[GhostoftheBok]

Cheers.
Better coverage than last season I guess.

Looks like I'll have some work cut out getting it to work outside of the UK

I imagine there might be a seat on the couch.

[DJBlu]

Cheers.
Better coverage than last season I guess.

Looks like I'll have some work cut out getting it to work outside of the UK

I imagine there might be a seat on the couch.

Where there is a will there is almost certainly a way!

[GhostoftheBok]

I am looking forward to the "distraction" today.

Obviously we will be focusing mainly on promotion, but the reality is that if we say "We have league aims, so the cups don't matter" then the cups will never matter.

The vast majority of Bolton seasons we are playing for *something* in any division, whether it's to go up or stay up.

The main history of this football club is built on cup success, or cup runs against the odds.

The White Hot years are mostly remembered now for the cup runs.

I'm bored to death of the attitude that cups are somehow a distraction from the real football played in the league. The game is about trophies and the only league trophy that matters is the Premier League.

By all means play lads who need the minutes, but for god's sake leave it all out there and push for the win.

Anyone who is happy to see Bolton lose a game is of a completely alien mindset to me.

[BWFC_Insane]

I am looking forward to the "distraction" today.

Obviously we will be focusing mainly on promotion, but the reality is that if we say "We have league aims, so the cups don't matter" then the cups will never matter.

The vast majority of Bolton seasons we are playing for *something* in any division, whether it's to go up or stay up.

The main history of this football club is built on cup success, or cup runs against the odds.

The White Hot years are mostly remembered now for the cup runs.

I'm bored to death of the attitude that cups are somehow a distraction from the real football played in the league. The game is about trophies and the only league trophy that matters is the Premier League.

By all means play lads who need the minutes, but for god's sake leave it all out there and push for the win.

Anyone who is happy to see Bolton lose a game is of a completely alien mindset to me.

The white hot years. First year the cup run inspired a league run. It helped to kickstart the run in. Not like we topped the league at that point.

The second year was consolidation and the cup run effected our form following the exit iirc but mid table was fine.

The third season one might argue that without the cup final we’d have potentially gone up automatically. If we hadn’t then I’m sure a lot would have wished we’d not ended up in the final against Liverpool. We carried she’d load of injuries into the Reading Wembley game. Way more than we had last season. Had to play four strikers strung out across the pitch, Thommo in centre mid (which was not normal at that point).

Evatt has himself said the cups cost us last season. There is a big difference between wanting to lose and wanting to ensure we rest players and minimise injuries. I want to win tonight but let’s be honest if we don’t it doesn’t matter much at all.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Obviously I'd be much more upset to lose to Wrexham than Mansfield, and not just because of who they are.

But Evatt, for all his lip-service to "league is our bread and butter", will not want our first home game – after a close season in which his continuing employment was questioned - to end in a humiliating defeat to a club that's only ever had one season above this league tier, back before Thatcher was in power. He'll know that for the foreseeable future he's only going to be one unsatisfying result from severe criticism, bordering on existential crisis.

Worth noting too that Mansfield won't have our strength in depth, so will be less likely to rotate. That might affect them on Saturday but is unlikely to do so in the season's second game. They're a team on a roll, with a good first league win behind them, and a manager who knows what he's about.

Evatt will know that if he takes this game in any way lightly, and we fail, he will be under a lot of pressure going into Sunday's huge home game. He needs to rotate the team to get more players up to speed, but he will be hoping they don't let him down. They're good enough - even with our injury problems, you could make 9 or 10 changes and still put out a very good third-tier side - but I do worry whether they'll click. Making 9 or 10 changes is good for the legs but not necessarily for the teamwork and patterns of play.

Southwood; Forino, Santos, Johnston; Osei-Tutu, Matete, Morley, Schön; McAtee, Adeboyejo, Nlundulu.

It's not a bad shadow XI, is it? And that's without Jones, Forrester, Williams, CMG and Lolos. Could also play Matheson RWB (though it would cuptie him) and switch Tutu to LWB, to give Schön a breather.

[The_Gun]

I think with our current squad we can have a good go in the League and FA cups without impacting our ‘bread and butter’. It’s the BSM we need to completely deprioritise and play the B teamers as much as possible.

[Mar]

Cheers.
Better coverage than last season I guess.

Looks like I'll have some work cut out getting it to work outside of the UK

I imagine there might be a seat on the couch.

Where there is a will there is almost certainly a way!

That would be appreciated

[Mar]

I think we'll go strong again. Few changes but not a full rotation. The league is bread and butter but we don't need a shock this early on whether that's Wrexham or Mansfield.

Go strong and see the result out.

[irie Cee Bee]

We have a strong squad so we go strong. We play to win. My starting side:

Southwood
Toal Santos Johnston
Tutu Morely Matete Schon
Macktee Dan
Ade

Forino off the bench.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

We have a strong squad so we go strong. We play to win. My starting side:

Southwood
Toal Santos Johnston
Tutu Morely Matete Schon
Macktee Dan
Ade

Forino off the bench.

Interesting. I think Forino needs minutes, and I think he will start. But I'd play him alongside Rico (instead of, er, instead of him) so he can watch from close-up. Might also be interesting to see how we play with two absolute units at the back. Nice for the traditionalists, perhaps.

Question is whether Johnston and Forino can both play 90 minutes. If neither can, do we have two centre-back subs?

[Mar]

We have a strong squad so we go strong. We play to win. My starting side:

Southwood
Toal Santos Johnston
Tutu Morely Matete Schon
Macktee Dan
Ade

Forino off the bench.

Interesting. I think Forino needs minutes, and I think he will start. But I'd play him alongside Rico (instead of, er, instead of him) so he can watch from close-up. Might also be interesting to see how we play with two absolute units at the back. Nice for the traditionalists, perhaps.

Question is whether Johnston and Forino can both play 90 minutes. If neither can, do we have two centre-back subs?

My moneys on GT being the covering defender in that instance.

Going off what you said Toal would be the one likely to drop out. I think Santos will be rested however and Forino starting.

The rest I'd agree with. Perhaps Khumbeni in to get the bloke in the window for a decent loan.