Fleetwood Town (h) match thread 20/08/16

[truewhite15]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

Agree with most of that. We'd clearly set up to build slowly, hoping that spaces would become available, but had to resort to long diagonals to Madine. Bringing Woolery on was an opportunity to change that, but it was only after the break that we started to look for the ball in behind to exploit his pace.

We weren't brilliant in the first half, no doubt, but its not as if Fleetwood were looking like world beaters. A massive cock-up from Moxey was the only difference between the sides.

I'd have Spearing MotM. Constant steadying presence.

[BWFC_Insane]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

Agree with most of that. We'd clearly set up to build slowly, hoping that spaces would become available, but had to resort to long diagonals to Madine. Bringing Woolery on was an opportunity to change that, but it was only after the break that we started to look for the ball in behind to exploit his pace.

We weren't brilliant in the first half, no doubt, but its not as if Fleetwood were looking like world beaters. A massive cock-up from Moxey was the only difference between the sides.

I'd have Spearing MotM. Constant steadying presence.

Spearing would be second for me. Followed by Wheater, Beevers and Buxton. All of whom were solid as you like.

[norm the jedi]

c'mon ye whitings - let's score a shoal.... err....

Hoping for a strong shoaling from Gary Sardine battering away up front

Roes like a Salmon to net the first



I'll get me coat...

[Peter Thompson]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

See I thought that the 1st half was the worst I've ever seen from a Bolton side in all of my 40 years watching the whites - lethargic, pedestrian, zero effort, clueless - it was absolutely appalling & they deserved booing off IMO, not one of them would have got a 2 out of 10 in the first half....Madine & Moxey where abysmal 1st half, it was like watching an average Sunday League side

2nd half was completely different though - fair play to PP, he got them organised and must have put a rocket up them at HT because they actually started to play some football, and got better when Woolery came on with his pace, but he's still very raw - for me Spearing was MOM, closely followed by Wheater, Mark Davies also played well 2nd half.

Apart from the goal I thought that Vela was poor today, great finish which outweighs everything else but he didn't play well IMO

Great win, deserved for the 2nd half performance and its great being top, but personally I didn't think we played well at all & in all honesty I thought were generally poor - 1st half appallingly poor

[LeverEnd]

Woolery made a huge difference. Really scared their defence. We never looked like scoring first half but 2nd half they were backing off because of him.
PP needs to let Andrew Taylor have a crack at LB because Moxey was really poor. Nt just the cock up but te predictability going forward and lack of pace. He had loads of the ball and lots of space but couldn't exploit it. Crying out for a fast winger.

[BWFC_Insane]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

See I thought that the 1st half was the worst I've ever seen from a Bolton side in all of my 40 years watching the whites - lethargic, pedestrian, zero effort, clueless - it was absolutely appalling & they deserved booing off IMO, not one of them would have got a 2 out of 10 in the first half....Madine & Moxey where abysmal 1st half, it was like watching an average Sunday League side

2nd half was completely different though - fair play to PP, he got them organised and must have put a rocket up them at HT because they actually started to play some football, and got better when Woolery came on with his pace, but he's still very raw - for me Spearing was MOM, closely followed by Wheater, Mark Davies also played well 2nd half.

Apart from the goal I thought that Vela was poor today, great finish which outweighs everything else but he didn't play well IMO

Great win, deserved for the 2nd half performance and its great being top, but personally I didn't think we played well at all & in all honesty I thought were generally poor - 1st half appallingly poor

Clearly didn't go much last season then. Can think of a dozen games we looked way worse in.

First half wasn't a lack of effort. We tried to do too much through midfield. Ironically Clough going off helped as the intricate stuff into his feet wasn't working.

[Bijou Bob]

I thought the first half exposed our limitations in the squad. Fleetwood had done their homework and packed central midfield, looking to catch us out by breaking with pace out wide. The lack of an out ball was painful, with Madine holding the ball up but no one running off him. Clough was simply awful, running into blind alleys or putting himself in positions where he couldn't do anything with the ball if he got it.

I was unsure what Vela's role was in that first half and whilst Moxey was poor, for most of the time he was dealing with 2 on one situations as he had no midfielder in front of him to assist. We played so narrowly that we made it easy for them. Did anyone get a good look at the Mavies 'dive' that got him booked. Couldn't see from where I was if there was contact or not??

They fired a warning shot or two at us before they got what was a deserved break.

Woolery for me, has everything that Clough hasn't. He directly pressures defenders and his pace frightens them into making mistakes, giving us back possession and allowing us to build. We put far more pressure on the ball in the second half and it paid dividends. Wilkinson looked quite poor in his cameo, no pace and not much work out of him. I noticed that he seemed to be blowing hard after 5 minutes on the pitch.

I'm not sure we deserved all 3 points, and if that last minute scramble had resulted in an equaliser, I'm sure their fans would have felt it a fair result. I'll take 3 points when we play badly and I'll settle for a point in Sarf Laaaarnden. If someone had said we'd be 11 points clear of Sheff Utd after 4 games, I'd have been more than happy.

Sort out a wide man or two and we could well push on from here with more confidence.

[Peter Thompson]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

See I thought that the 1st half was the worst I've ever seen from a Bolton side in all of my 40 years watching the whites - lethargic, pedestrian, zero effort, clueless - it was absolutely appalling & they deserved booing off IMO, not one of them would have got a 2 out of 10 in the first half....Madine & Moxey where abysmal 1st half, it was like watching an average Sunday League side

2nd half was completely different though - fair play to PP, he got them organised and must have put a rocket up them at HT because they actually started to play some football, and got better when Woolery came on with his pace, but he's still very raw - for me Spearing was MOM, closely followed by Wheater, Mark Davies also played well 2nd half.

Apart from the goal I thought that Vela was poor today, great finish which outweighs everything else but he didn't play well IMO

Great win, deserved for the 2nd half performance and its great being top, but personally I didn't think we played well at all & in all honesty I thought were generally poor - 1st half appallingly poor

Clearly didn't go much last season then. Can think of a dozen games we looked way worse in.

First half wasn't a lack of effort. We tried to do too much through midfield. Ironically Clough going off helped as the intricate stuff into his feet wasn't working.

Went to plenty last year squire - its only my opinion & you have yours but mine is that 1st half was fcuking appalling, really shite - it really was, this is a League 1 home game against Fleetwood.

Like I said credit where its due, 2nd half was much better and we deserved the win in the end and its a great feeling being top - but don't mask over how utterly poor the 1st half was - and all game Trotter was shocking.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Having attacking options up front doesn't half help change a game, if you've got a manager willing – or forced? – to use them. One of the things I've liked most about Parky is that his changes do actually change things. Maybe that's because we've faced squads far more limited than ours - I mean, a player with the potential of Clough wouldn't be on the bench for many teams at this level - but it's also because our gaffer has made some wise switches. Woolery's pace frightened them and it sounded like Wilkinson out himself about a bit late on. Perhaps even more tellingly, he didn't make a third change - maybe he thought (or, with hindsight, realised) that the blokes on the pitch were capable of doing the job.

Onwards. Good lads. And nice to see us coming from behind again, having the belief not to fold like the cheap deckchair we'd become.

[Peter Thompson]

I thought the first half exposed our limitations in the squad. Fleetwood had done their homework and packed central midfield, looking to catch us out by breaking with pace out wide. The lack of an out ball was painful, with Madine holding the ball up but no one running off him. Clough was simply awful, running into blind alleys or putting himself in positions where he couldn't do anything with the ball if he got it.

I was unsure what Vela's role was in that first half and whilst Moxey was poor, for most of the time he was dealing with 2 on one situations as he had no midfielder in front of him to assist. We played so narrowly that we made it easy for them. Did anyone get a good look at the Mavies 'dive' that got him booked. Couldn't see from where I was if there was contact or not??

They fired a warning shot or two at us before they got what was a deserved break.

Woolery for me, has everything that Clough hasn't. He directly pressures defenders and his pace frightens them into making mistakes, giving us back possession and allowing us to build. We put far more pressure on the ball in the second half and it paid dividends. Wilkinson looked quite poor in his cameo, no pace and not much work out of him. I noticed that he seemed to be blowing hard after 5 minutes on the pitch.

I'm not sure we deserved all 3 points, and if that last minute scramble had resulted in an equaliser, I'm sure their fans would have felt it a fair result. I'll take 3 points when we play badly and I'll settle for a point in Sarf Laaaarnden. If someone had said we'd be 11 points clear of Sheff Utd after 4 games, I'd have been more than happy.

Sort out a wide man or two and we could well push on from here with more confidence.

Bob, this was exactly how I saw the game - great goal from Vela mind, having done sweet FA for the previous 80 mins.

[BWFC_Insane]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

See I thought that the 1st half was the worst I've ever seen from a Bolton side in all of my 40 years watching the whites - lethargic, pedestrian, zero effort, clueless - it was absolutely appalling & they deserved booing off IMO, not one of them would have got a 2 out of 10 in the first half....Madine & Moxey where abysmal 1st half, it was like watching an average Sunday League side

2nd half was completely different though - fair play to PP, he got them organised and must have put a rocket up them at HT because they actually started to play some football, and got better when Woolery came on with his pace, but he's still very raw - for me Spearing was MOM, closely followed by Wheater, Mark Davies also played well 2nd half.

Apart from the goal I thought that Vela was poor today, great finish which outweighs everything else but he didn't play well IMO

Great win, deserved for the 2nd half performance and its great being top, but personally I didn't think we played well at all & in all honesty I thought were generally poor - 1st half appallingly poor

Clearly didn't go much last season then. Can think of a dozen games we looked way worse in.

First half wasn't a lack of effort. We tried to do too much through midfield. Ironically Clough going off helped as the intricate stuff into his feet wasn't working.

Went to plenty last year squire - its only my opinion & you have yours but mine is that 1st half was fcuking appalling, really shite - it really was, this is a League 1 home game against Fleetwood.

Like I said credit where its due, 2nd half was much better and we deserved the win in the end and its a great feeling being top - but don't mask over how utterly poor the 1st half was - and all game Trotter was shocking.

It's a league one game and we are a league one side. Not sure why that is relevant? I've been to games where we've been 3 or more down by half time. Whilst I don't think we were good, suggesting that was the worst in 40 years is surely a bit of hyperbole?

[bristol_Wanderer3]

Does anyone else think Woolery should be higher up the pecking order? I appreciate he is raw but imo the only way he will lose that rawness is regular games. And his pace is priceless particularly in our side when Madine is playing. To me this is the right time and the right circumstances to play him regularly, and especially when Proctor isn't available. He has the potential to be at least a Championship level striker in a couple of years imo. I was hoping Clough would start in Mavies' position today, given we have had a heavy workload recently and Clough was fresh.

[twilight]

We were very poor in the first half. Played too narrow and no outball, just hoofing it most of the time to Clough....the first half reminded me of most of last season. So credit to Parkinson in the 2nd half, he changed it. I was quite impressed with Fleetwood first half, but I was glad we wiped the smug look off Rosler's face.
Would just like to say I did not like the ref one bit...clueless

[BWFC_Insane]

Does anyone else think Woolery should be higher up the pecking order? I appreciate he is raw but imo the only way he will lose that rawness is regular games. And his pace is priceless particularly in our side when Madine is playing. To me this is the right time and the right circumstances to play him regularly, and especially when Proctor isn't available. He has the potential to be at least a Championship level striker in a couple of years imo. I was hoping Clough would start in Mavies' position today, given we have had a heavy workload recently and Clough was fresh.

Woolery is quick but I'm not sure whether he has much else.

We definitely need to bring in another pacy forward option. But today Woolery didn't let anyone down. Mind his blushes were saved by Vela and he should have scored earlier, as should Mark Davies.

I think Woolery offers better balance to the side than Clough. Perhaps we may look to sell Clough if his injury isn't that serious. I like him but cannot see how he fits in. He certainly isn't a midfield player.

[plymouth wanderer]

People were harsh to call our first half disgraceful. We did not play well but for me we tried to do too much in midfield.

Second half we put balls over the top for Woolery and the simpler style got us back in.

Credit to Vela. Brilliant finish and he was my man of the match out on the right hand side. Superb game from him.

See I thought that the 1st half was the worst I've ever seen from a Bolton side in all of my 40 years watching the whites - lethargic, pedestrian, zero effort, clueless - it was absolutely appalling & they deserved booing off IMO, not one of them would have got a 2 out of 10 in the first half....Madine & Moxey where abysmal 1st half, it was like watching an average Sunday League side

2nd half was completely different though - fair play to PP, he got them organised and must have put a rocket up them at HT because they actually started to play some football, and got better when Woolery came on with his pace, but he's still very raw - for me Spearing was MOM, closely followed by Wheater, Mark Davies also played well 2nd half.

Apart from the goal I thought that Vela was poor today, great finish which outweighs everything else but he didn't play well IMO

Great win, deserved for the 2nd half performance and its great being top, but personally I didn't think we played well at all & in all honesty I thought were generally poor - 1st half appallingly poor

THe crowd booed the team of at HT?

[twilight]

Yes Plymouth there were a few boos at HT

[bristol_Wanderer3]

Does anyone else think Woolery should be higher up the pecking order? I appreciate he is raw but imo the only way he will lose that rawness is regular games. And his pace is priceless particularly in our side when Madine is playing. To me this is the right time and the right circumstances to play him regularly, and especially when Proctor isn't available. He has the potential to be at least a Championship level striker in a couple of years imo. I was hoping Clough would start in Mavies' position today, given we have had a heavy workload recently and Clough was fresh.

Woolery is quick but I'm not sure whether he has much else.

We definitely need to bring in another pacy forward option. But today Woolery didn't let anyone down. Mind his blushes were saved by Vela and he should have scored earlier, as should Mark Davies.

I think Woolery offers better balance to the side than Clough. Perhaps we may look to sell Clough if his injury isn't that serious. I like him but cannot see how he fits in. He certainly isn't a midfield player.

I deffo don't think we should sell Clough now. He has proved already he can score goals at a higher level than this, and will only get stronger and more savvy. Even if he doesn't do well this season his value won't go down, he will still be viewed as a talented player with the priceless ability to score. I think he would work better playing behind Proctor or Woolery rather than Madine, because that would push our opponents defensive lines back and create more space for him.

[Bijou Bob]

Personally, I'm not sure Clough is going to come good. He flatters to deceive and as someone around me said this afternoon, he seems to have a body made of tissue paper. If we get a half decent offer, I can't see him being a great loss. I'm still hoping he'll prove me wrong, but every time he plays, he seems to prove me right.

[BWFC_Insane]

Does anyone else think Woolery should be higher up the pecking order? I appreciate he is raw but imo the only way he will lose that rawness is regular games. And his pace is priceless particularly in our side when Madine is playing. To me this is the right time and the right circumstances to play him regularly, and especially when Proctor isn't available. He has the potential to be at least a Championship level striker in a couple of years imo. I was hoping Clough would start in Mavies' position today, given we have had a heavy workload recently and Clough was fresh.

Woolery is quick but I'm not sure whether he has much else.

We definitely need to bring in another pacy forward option. But today Woolery didn't let anyone down. Mind his blushes were saved by Vela and he should have scored earlier, as should Mark Davies.

I think Woolery offers better balance to the side than Clough. Perhaps we may look to sell Clough if his injury isn't that serious. I like him but cannot see how he fits in. He certainly isn't a midfield player.

I deffo don't think we should sell Clough now. He has proved already he can score goals at a higher level than this, and will only get stronger and more savvy. Even if he doesn't do well this season his value won't go down, he will still be viewed as a talented player with the priceless ability to score. I think he would work better playing behind Proctor or Woolery rather than Madine, because that would push our opponents defensive lines back and create more space for him.

But Parky seems to like split forwards. Not sure when Zach fits in. I also worry that his hamstrings are like Michael Owen's and he's one who will never be fit.

I think he's a good player but needs to be fit and then show he has a role. I'm not convinced we will play the number 10 role Clough needs that often.

[thebish]

It's great when we win and we're arguing about how shit we were in the first half and whether Clough is any good or not!