All the young Dudes.. Home to Aston Villa Under 21's.Tues 8th Oct 17-45.

[TANGODANCER]

Football League Trophy night at the Toughsheet as we entertain the Midlanders Young Guns. What sort of a Liquorice Allsorts\ Dolly Mixtures eleven can we expect to see gracing the home fort grass and will it be taken serious or no? Your views?

[Harry Genshaw]

I'll pop along to this one. Hopefully Hutchinson, Matheson and Lolos all start. Inwood too perhaps.
2-1 win

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'll pop along to this one. Hopefully Hutchinson, Matheson and Lolos all start. Inwood too perhaps.
2-1 win

Inwood is a good shout. With us down to three centre-backs and therefore zero (specialist, adult) cover, it would make no sense to lose someone in this game. However, it might just be Dacres-Cogley at RCB, especially if Matheson plays RWB.

Actually thinking about it, Toal is away too. Maybe that means we keep George Johnston in.

Matete needs a start in midfield, as arguably does Arfield, and Lolos could do with 60 minutes (perhaps replaced by CMG). Remember Sheehan's away. Randy can play the 90 out left to stay topped up.

Up top, maybe rotate again to McAtee/Collins – although I'd like to see Vic start with one or the other, to test a new partnership. No Dion so either one of the forwards plays the 90 or we spring a suprise. Actually maybe Lolos or CMG could play up top.

[Mar]

Ridiculous fixture this.
Either we win and it's men vs boys or we lose and its embarrassing.

Stupid decision to have EFL teams playing U21 teams. If those players are good enough, send them out on loan.
As it stands, we've had a good run against the U21 sides, having last lost to an U-23 side in 2016 (Everton U23).

Since then, against the U21's we've beat:

Man City 3-1
Newcastle United 3-2
Liverpool 4-1
Leeds 3-0
Man Utd 4-0
Man Utd 8-1


Despite all those results, not of them felt like a win we could celebrate. Hopefully we beat Aston Villa this time round, but i'm sure a few would be keen on us dropping out of the competition to ease workload.

[officer_dibble]

It’s definitely a game where the potential negative consequences far outweigh the positives.

Schon is away now as well so Williams will start.

Gethin Jones is the other absentee we haven’t heard about other than the “nearing a return” think we got before this weekend.

I think Hutchinson is playing by default and it sounds like Inwood has a fair chance of starting.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Schon is away now as well so Williams will start.

Gethin Jones is the other absentee we haven’t heard about other than the “nearing a return” think we got before this weekend.

I think Hutchinson is playing by default and it sounds like Inwood has a fair chance of starting.

Congrats to Szabi, glad he's back in the Hungary squad.

Gethin would be a pleasant surprise but I doubt they'd rush him back for this.

Hutchinson - maaaybe, but Luke Southwood (which is what the Angel of the North does) needs games and frankly I'd play him.

Either we win and it's men vs boys or we lose and its embarrassing.

Stupid decision to have EFL teams playing U21 teams.

You are far from alone in thinking that, even if the League permitted Big Club Kids in an attempt to add some star power. i think they thought they'd have the next Class of 92 parading around the grounds. Instead, the big clubs didn't even join for the first few years, and none of the teams have done very well anyway.

It's also incredibly discordant for the competition to allow kids' teams in wholesale, while also insisting the League member clubs can't just blood their own kids en masse. Again, that was unintended consequences - they tightened up with the "Qualified Players" rule precisely because fans complained clubs were disregarding/cheapening/throwing the tournament by resting their best players. Tough gig, football administration.

[officer_dibble]

Southwood can’t play - he’s away with dion and eoin

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Southwood can’t play - he’s away with dion and eoin

Ahhhhh of course. Hutch it is then!

[Worthy4England]

Tea lady, yo mamma, young 'uns, fella on the gate + anyone who needs a competitive game

[officer_dibble]

What’s up with Coleman anyway? Don’t remember him getting injured.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

What’s up with Coleman anyway? Don’t remember him getting injured.

Was on the bench in the first two League Cup rounds (Mansfield and Shrews) but the latter was Aug 27 and he's not been in the matchday squad since. I think it was around the Barrow game that it was revealed he was injured (with Southwood away, Baxter played).

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Evatt in the BN: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... -u21-test/

“Klaidi will play. Hopefully, in the next week we will have Gethin and Will Forrester back. Then the world looks a very different place in terms of squad depth.

“We will get through Tuesday night as best we can with the bodies we have available. There will be some young players playing, there is no denying that. They have to, but we trust them and it is a great opportunity for them to show what they can do.

“Sam [Inwood] will be in the squad, he is a player who has done very well. I love his attitude, he has that George Thomason kind of attitude. He's improving all the time and wants to learn. I know the B Team set-up have been very impressed with the way he has started the season, he will be involved with us.”

[GhostoftheBok]

I love these fixtures, precisely because it affords us a chance to see the younger lads.

Lads like Inwood can come in and for them it's a genuinely meaningful game. They can test themselves against some of the best young players in the country and look to impress the manager.

It's a game we can just enjoy.

[nicholaldo]

There can't be many times we've started our fourth choice goalkeeper before.

[TANGODANCER]

There can't be many times we've started our fourth choice goalkeeper before.

Not the mot unusual goalkeeping tale ever though: Nat Lofthouse once went in goal during a match and saved a penalty.

[knobpolisher]

Didn't Scott Green do it once or was it super John versus the Baggies

[officer_dibble]

Super John, reading
Bo Hansen went in once as well against Newcastle I think.

[knobpolisher]

I seem to recall being at WBA when Dibble was in goal and he got sent off and Scott Green went in goal. Long time ago though.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Bo Hansen went in once as well against Newcastle I think.

Aye - and though he conceded 3, he also saved 3 on-target efforts against him; this 50% save ratio put him above the rags' baldy gaul-keeper Fabien Barthez, who was on 46% if I remember rightly

[TANGODANCER]

We once had a goalie called Crossbar who saved 29 shots on target from Man City. We got a pen and went on to win 1-0. It didn't go down well in Manchester.