Rising in Wembley's Glow: A Bolton Wanderers Tale - Bolton vs Oxford. 18th May 2024, 4.15pm

[GhostoftheBok]

You're missing the story, Insano. The engine room is recruitment. It's not there fault if they reccomend botleless fckrs. It's the managers for not setting them up right.

Who's said any of that?

The players bottled it. The manager fecking it up put extra pressure on them and made them bottling it even more likely than it would otherwise have been.

Evatt's style if supposed to be multiple easy passing options to get up the pitch. There was nothing on yesterday that wasn't into a pressing trap.

[BWFC_Insane]

How are you proposing he set them up?

Not to pass through a narrow 3 with a single pivot who is obviously going to be marked out of the game.

Oxford were warming up with Harris marking and their back three doing heading drills over their heads.

Their plan was always to shut down that short route out to Sheehan and then clean up long balls.

The only two players who reacted to the reality on the ground were Collins and Paris (it took them a while). Evatt never did.

But what would we have to do differently? I ask because I was with a good youth coach yesterday who within ten minutes identified that we needed to switch to a back four which would have stretched out their midfield block and provided us easy outlet to fullbacks.

I think tactically it looked pretty obvious. When Collins and Maghoma picked it up beyond the press Oxford did a pretty good job on them and again I think they had a plan to deal with that.

The weakness in how they set up was width but our system isn’t capable of exploiting that. Though I really don’t think it mattered much yesterday. They simply bottled it regardless.

[Worthy4England]

You're missing the story, Insano. The engine room is recruitment. It's not there fault if they reccomend botleless fckrs. It's the managers for not setting them up right.

Who's said any of that?

The players bottled it. The manager fecking it up put extra pressure on them and made them bottling it even more likely than it would otherwise have been.

Evatt's style if supposed to be multiple easy passing options to get up the pitch. There was nothing on yesterday that wasn't into a pressing trap.

Same folks who think hoofball is the only alternative...

[GhostoftheBok]

But what would we have to do differently? I ask because I was with a good youth coach yesterday who within ten minutes identified that we needed to switch to a back four which would have stretched out their midfield block and provided us easy outlet to fullbacks.

I think tactically it looked pretty obvious. When Collins and Maghoma picked it up beyond the press Oxford did a pretty good job on them and again I think they had a plan to deal with that.

The weakness in how they set up was width but our system isn’t capable of exploiting that. Though I really don’t think it mattered much yesterday. They simply bottled it regardless.

In the system we were using we had to have Paris dropping back to pick it up with a centre half stepping into midfield to provide an overload wherever Paris carried the ball. That frees up the wing back as the press snaps in and offers 2-3 outs as you progress. It forces Oxford to open up to maintain their coverage and makes them work/think.

Paris started to do that as he figured it out, but it obviously hadn't been set up.

When Paris signed the main reason I was delighted was precisely that option against exactly how Oxford played yesterday.

We had every tool to beat them (mentality aside for a second) and used none of them.

It may be that group would have collapsed regardless and there's no point pretending we could go back in time and save the day with a tactical tweak, but Evatt gave them no chance. He was asking them to play 20-30% balls regularly and if there's any mental weakness there that puts a fecking elephant on that stress point.

The tactical part is definitely Evatt's fault. I have no idea how much the mental aspect is his fault, as we can't see that side of things. It's his group though and he ultimately carries the can for the whole thing.

[BWFC_Insane]

But what would we have to do differently? I ask because I was with a good youth coach yesterday who within ten minutes identified that we needed to switch to a back four which would have stretched out their midfield block and provided us easy outlet to fullbacks.

I think tactically it looked pretty obvious. When Collins and Maghoma picked it up beyond the press Oxford did a pretty good job on them and again I think they had a plan to deal with that.

The weakness in how they set up was width but our system isn’t capable of exploiting that. Though I really don’t think it mattered much yesterday. They simply bottled it regardless.

In the system we were using we had to have Paris dropping back to pick it up with a centre half stepping into midfield to provide an overload wherever Paris carried the ball. That frees up the wing back as the press snaps in and offers 2-3 outs as you progress. It forces Oxford to open up to maintain their coverage and makes them work/think.

Paris started to do that as he figured it out, but it obviously hadn't been set up.

When Paris signed the main reason I was delighted was precisely that option against exactly how Oxford played yesterday.

We had every tool to beat them (mentality aside for a second) and used none of them.

It may be that group would have collapsed regardless and there's no point pretending we could go back in time and save the day with a tactical tweak, but Evatt gave them no chance. He was asking them to play 20-30% balls regularly and if there's any mental weakness there that puts a fecking elephant on that stress point.

The tactical part is definitely Evatt's fault. I have no idea how much the mental aspect is his fault, as we can't see that side of things. It's his group though and he ultimately carries the can for the whole thing.

The problem with that was Maghoma likely struggling with injury didn’t fancy contact. He was clearly not comfortable to do it. And secondly the out was Ogbeta who might as well have been a bloke from the crowd he was that bad.

[Worthy4England]

Sheehan spent most of 90 minutes, putting their 9 between him and Santos. It was spookily effective. No one could get the ball to him.

[GhostoftheBok]

The problem with that was Maghoma likely struggling with injury didn’t fancy contact. He was clearly not comfortable to do it. And secondly the out was Ogbeta who might as well have been a bloke from the crowd he was that bad.

I really don't want to shit on individuals.

I'd have subbed Oggy off after about half an hour. I'll say that much. I am fighting the urge to say more. I have sympathy for a young player, even if I'm angry.

Paris and Dempsey were probably the only players I wouldn't have a go at. Paris was clearly injured (it looked intentional from my seat, but I've not watched anything back) and Dempsey actually ran.

I feel for strikers in that kind of game, but that's not much a defence.

I'll keep my mouth shut about a lot of stuff for a while.

[GhostoftheBok]

As a fun aside, I did this weekend on a (re)fractured foot.

Pretty sure I still moved faster than Iredale did to take that corner.

[BWFC_Insane]

The problem with that was Maghoma likely struggling with injury didn’t fancy contact. He was clearly not comfortable to do it. And secondly the out was Ogbeta who might as well have been a bloke from the crowd he was that bad.

I really don't want to shit on individuals.

I'd have subbed Oggy off after about half an hour. I'll say that much. I am fighting the urge to say more. I have sympathy for a young player, even if I'm angry.

Paris and Dempsey were probably the only players I wouldn't have a go at. Paris was clearly injured (it looked intentional from my seat, but I've not watched anything back) and Dempsey actually ran.

I feel for strikers in that kind of game, but that's not much a defence.

I'll keep my mouth shut about a lot of stuff for a while.

Watched the whole game back today. Good tackle to be fair. Brannigan was clearly very wound up, which was in sharp contrast to our lot.

Sheehan didn’t want the ball after first few minutes as he was worried he might be tackled and it damage his manicure.

Dempsey and Maghoma arguably only two outfield players exempt. On second watch Thomason bust a gut and was at points almost crying but he absolutely had a mare on the ball and off it too.

[GhostoftheBok]

Watched the whole game back today. Good tackle to be fair. Brannigan was clearly very wound up, which was in sharp contrast to our lot.

Sheehan didn’t want the ball after first few minutes as he was worried he might be tackled and it damage his manicure.

Dempsey and Maghoma arguably only two outfield players exempt. On second watch Thomason bust a gut and was at points almost crying but he absolutely had a mare on the ball and off it too.

I'm not worried about Thommo. He's young and will kick on again, I should think.

I'd still sign Maghoma. He will continue to improve, but I imagine he'll want to go higher if it's on and I doubt we can now afford him.

Sheehan is our player of the season and deserved it. There are certainly games that don't suit him, but I'd not want rid. Baccus was the target to offer best of both worlds. If there's a similar model this summer then get it done.

I'm not binning off Collins and Dion. They'll probably score 40-50 between them next season if fit. We need pace off the bench.

If we can keep Baxter we should.

So the question is where you make significant changes to a group that clearly has issues, but which also has gone as close as you can get without going up.

Defence? Yeah. Does Johnston offer enough coming in? I'd like a serious option in through the door and if we are moving a couple on there's obvious work we can do there.

Then the flanks. Nobody fears us out wide. We tried to fix that in the market and failed. We all understood that might make the difference and it probably did in the regular season.

The final is and isn't a market issue. You need new players, but you also need to know what happens day to day at the training ground and I don't. I have no idea if I'd walk in there and think "This is fecking insane" or "Okay, this is fixable."

If it's the former we're screwed. If the latter than new faces and a serious rethink might be enough.

All we can do is chat about stuff we can actually see. I'd suggest Evatt may need to get someone into the leadership group who will push back against him from time to time, but that's a guess.

[BWFC_Insane]

The thing for me is we need big changes. Not tinkering. We need to look at how Oxford setup and play like that. We have quality up top. We need some wide players.

Go to a back four. Priority is to sign leaders throughout the pitch. Men. Who have done this before. Know what you need to do. Will set standards.

Brannigan is a good player. At Wembley he was visibly pumped and motivated and dominated that midfield. Everything Sheehan isn’t and doesn’t. I don’t want him back. Player of the season shows our delusion. As Iles has noted when the big games come around he’s useless. The absolute epitome of flat track bully. But you won’t get anywhere without a proper physical screen of your defence anyway.

Evatt needs to change. One dimensional approach to football won’t cut it. We need to be able to win transitional games. To put balls into the box earlier. To play on the counter. And to most importantly and crucially have a midfield drilled to win the second ball all the time.

[nicholaldo]

He had a wobble, in February when he was on about "the world's against me." If he's that fcuking soft, then it's pretty obvious why the team is.

Stats <> Bollocks.

Days after being beaten (again) in a local derby and the day before a crucial fixture against a then promotion rival:

"I've haven't enjoyed this week... it's taken an awful lot out of me" and "I'll reset in the summer and think about what happens in the future".

A sure fire way to rally the troops.

[Worthy4England]

He had a wobble, in February when he was on about "the world's against me." If he's that fcuking soft, then it's pretty obvious why the team is.

Stats <> Bollocks.

Days after being beaten (again) in a local derby and the day before a crucial fixture against a then promotion rival:

"I've haven't enjoyed this week... it's taken an awful lot out of me" and "I'll reset in the summer and think about what happens in the future".

A sure fire way to rally the troops.

That's the one. Thanks, Nicholado.

[BWFC_Insane]

The ‘improved us every season’ line is exploded by looking at the places that Derby, Portsmouth and Oxford finished last season. All below us. Oxford 19th. All have gone way past us now.

Each season is its own thing and it’s about achieving the goal in that season. This season is a failure and finishing third is completely irrelevant unless you go up.

Next season like this the only thing that matters is going up. Any manager has to be strong enough to deal with that. And we won’t be one of the best sides in the division so we need to accept that we will have to week in week out perform above ourselves be the best ‘team’ be tactically very flexible and accept a lot of the time we won’t be dominating the ball. All that requires a manager with the sort of mentality Allardyce had to squeeze everything out of a difficult situation. It takes real fight, know how and desire. It’s why I think Ainsworth would be a good fit. People can laugh and criticise the football but he won’t let us be outfought and will build a team spirit that has been sadly lacking.

[GhostoftheBok]

Days after being beaten (again) in a local derby and the day before a crucial fixture against a then promotion rival:

"I've haven't enjoyed this week... it's taken an awful lot out of me" and "I'll reset in the summer and think about what happens in the future".

A sure fire way to rally the troops.

One of the reasons I had him down as potentially (probably?) quitting is we (he) fell at the final hurdle is stuff like that.

If he didn't know when he got out of bed this morning that he had to set it right then that should probably answer his question.

He will have easier routes into the Championship on offer this summer and if he'd rather take one he should inform the board of that this morning.

What you don't want is him staying in the job purely for security until a better offer lands. Obviously for him that might be best, but for us that's the worst possible outcome.

The 24/25 season has already started. You are the manager. Get over your embarrassment of calling everyone out over "receipts" and other daft bollocks said in the media and crack on with fixing your own mess. If you can't, get out of the way and let another man fix it.

[GhostoftheBok]

The ‘improved us every season’ line is exploded by looking at the places that Derby, Portsmouth and Oxford finished last season. All below us. Oxford 19th. All have gone way past us now.

Oxford had a bad season, but stuck to the same plan they've been working to for a while and didn't panic. They needed a new manager and they added to their group, but the approach and recruitment process remained broadly the same.

4th, 6th, 8th, 19th, promotion.

They were consistently around the play-offs, had a bad year and refused to panic, then went up. This was their 3rd play-off campaign in 5 seasons - not some magical rise from obscurity.

If we sack Evatt (or, more likely, he walks) the general approach of the football club needs to remain the same and the manager we get in needs to fit into the plan.

[BWFC_Insane]

Days after being beaten (again) in a local derby and the day before a crucial fixture against a then promotion rival:

"I've haven't enjoyed this week... it's taken an awful lot out of me" and "I'll reset in the summer and think about what happens in the future".

A sure fire way to rally the troops.

One of the reasons I had him down as potentially (probably?) quitting is we (he) fell at the final hurdle is stuff like that.

If he didn't know when he got out of bed this morning that he had to set it right then that should probably answer his question.

He will have easier routes into the Championship on offer this summer and if he'd rather take one he should inform the board of that this morning.

What you don't want is him staying in the job purely for security until a better offer lands. Obviously for him that might be best, but for us that's the worst possible outcome.

The 24/25 season has already started. You are the manager. Get over your embarrassment of calling everyone out over "receipts" and other daft bollocks said in the media and crack on with fixing your own mess. If you can't, get out of the way and let another man fix it.

Football is bonkers and a broken industry so nothing surprises me. And it’s entirely possible that some championship club who is desperate decides they want Evatt to try and save them. God knows why but they might.

But he’s done absolutely nothing in the game. Nothing. He’s promoted a team from non league and Bolton Wanderers out of league two. On a mirror image of Phil Neal who was also never going to manage at higher levels.

He’s then had a fortune and failed.

We need realism. Evatt isn’t very good. In the grand scheme of managers. He’s lucky to be managing a big side in league one. At this stage of his career. He’s talked players up as championship standard when it’s laughable and I think perhaps now we can free ourselves of some of these delusions and get very real.

Evatt is a long long way behind a number of managers who will be in this league next season in terms of experience, achievement and day to day managerial ability. Let alone a level up.

He’s still young of course and learning and may well get better. I think it will take a few new jobs and experiences to do that. Most managers need a few different environments to learn the ins and outs.

But this idea and delusion that he’s too good for us or the players are is done now. We are too big for him and too big for a lot of them.

[BWFC_Insane]

The ‘improved us every season’ line is exploded by looking at the places that Derby, Portsmouth and Oxford finished last season. All below us. Oxford 19th. All have gone way past us now.

Oxford had a bad season, but stuck to the same plan they've been working to for a while and didn't panic. They needed a new manager and they added to their group, but the approach and recruitment process remained broadly the same.

4th, 6th, 8th, 19th, promotion.

They were consistently around the play-offs, had a bad year and refused to panic, then went up. This was their 3rd play-off campaign in 5 seasons - not some magical rise from obscurity.

If we sack Evatt (or, more likely, he walks) the general approach of the football club needs to remain the same and the manager we get in needs to fit into the plan.

You can say whatever you like but Oxford set up perfectly for that final. They didn’t come to be ‘pretty’. There was no nonsense. No ‘we have to play a high line and roll the ball around’.

Whatever anyone says or whatever picture they paint - Oxford had that in their locker in spades. Same in the semi finals. Tactically brilliant. Defensively solid and enough quality to bag a goal and win the game.

They found that for the last ten games - before that not so much. But they found it at the crucial time.

It had nothing to do with the sort of ‘gameplan’ we’ve had or the sort of approach we take to games. It was the polar opposite. They weren’t lumping balls up they played when they could. But they were primarily there to stop us playing and take chances when they could. They found a repeatable way to play like that game after game.

[GhostoftheBok]

You can say whatever you like but Oxford set up perfectly for that final. They didn’t come to be ‘pretty’. There was no nonsense. No ‘we have to play a high line and roll the ball around’.

Whatever anyone says or whatever picture they paint - Oxford had that in their locker in spades. Same in the semi finals. Tactically brilliant. Defensively solid and enough quality to bag a goal and win the game.

They found that for the last ten games - before that not so much. But they found it at the crucial time.

It had nothing to do with the sort of ‘gameplan’ we’ve had or the sort of approach we take to games. It was the polar opposite. They weren’t lumping balls up they played when they could. But they were primarily there to stop us playing and take chances when they could. They found a repeatable way to play like that game after game.

What does that have to do with the fact Oxford have built to a plan season on season and it has taken them up?

You've shifted from talking about progression as a football club to match tactics.

You used Oxford going from 19th to promotion to try and make a case that continual development doesn't matter. Oxford is a prime example of why it does matter. Their entire club works to a long term plan and it has got them punching way above their weight. 3 play offs and a narrow miss in 5 seasons - because they work long term.

Of course showing up on the day matters, but having the chance to is based on planning.

[BWFC_Insane]

You can say whatever you like but Oxford set up perfectly for that final. They didn’t come to be ‘pretty’. There was no nonsense. No ‘we have to play a high line and roll the ball around’.

Whatever anyone says or whatever picture they paint - Oxford had that in their locker in spades. Same in the semi finals. Tactically brilliant. Defensively solid and enough quality to bag a goal and win the game.

They found that for the last ten games - before that not so much. But they found it at the crucial time.

It had nothing to do with the sort of ‘gameplan’ we’ve had or the sort of approach we take to games. It was the polar opposite. They weren’t lumping balls up they played when they could. But they were primarily there to stop us playing and take chances when they could. They found a repeatable way to play like that game after game.

What does that have to do with the fact Oxford have built to a plan season on season and it has taken them up?

You've shifted from talking about progression as a football club to match tactics.

You used Oxford going from 19th to promotion to try and make a case that continual development doesn't matter. Oxford is a prime example of why it does matter. Their entire club works to a long term plan and it has got them punching way above their weight. 3 play offs and a narrow miss in 5 seasons - because they work long term.

Of course showing up on the day matters, but having the chance to is based on planning.

Well I think it very much depends what you define as a ‘long term plan’. Our plan is to get into the championship and then reassess investment.

Oxford were drifting to nowhere this season then their manager changed their shape had some honest words and changed their approach in games and they suddenly effectively became a side who kept clean sheets. When it mattered. If Allardyce was setting up Oxford that’s exactly how they’d have been.

So my point is that the plan for the football club might be promotion - it might be recruiting certain types of players with a recruitment team in place (though I see little coherent approach to recruitment). But ultimately all that is irrelevant unless you setup a winning side and win when it matters.

I want a manager capable of running this club in their image. Top to bottom making decisions. Because I think it needs that. It needs know how and experience from somebody who will take it on their shoulders and deliver.

You can worry about ‘approach’ after that.