The ianevattable sacking

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I linked an interview with Markham where I think he talks about a partnership, rather than one being above the other on an org chart. So they're both in the same pot for me.

https://youtu.be/MJH0sesX9Z4?feature=shared

I agree, that it's not all one or another. And there's going to be some good and some bad signings. Most analysis is helpful rather than 100% infallible.

I think we have no right to be greater than 8th, but that is a combination of things including coaching and management but Evatt can't instill the spirit of Sparta in a player whose natural attitude is laid back. Some needs to come from manager, some from within the player themselves.

Put it another way, I'd like a job where what I needed to do was say "he's not using 'em right, not my fault guv," unless Markham has delivered exactly what Evatt wanted (within budget) and it was really clear cut.

Not a fan of the DoF approach for this very reason, leads to he said/she said, and given I'm not enamoured of no-tackling possession football, if we belatedly get to the point of change, I'd prefer a fresh mindset.

Fair - still not watched that video! will bookmark it

I think this squad is better than 8th but insufficiently coached. We'll never know. Especially now.

I assume that when Markham suggests players it's then Evatt who speaks to them. You can't measure "grit" etc so it's up to the manager not the analyst to assess attitude. Again, we won't know. Again, nobody gets it right all the time. Again, IMO it's clear to see we should be doing better with the players we've had.

[Worthy4England]

Not at all convinced Santos dictates our formation, Dibs. They all seem to be about tippy-fcuking tappy. Evatt and Markham. If we jettisoned Santos, I suspect top of every one's shopping list would be Santos v2.0. It's the only way to play football...

[irie Cee Bee]

I expected Sharon's backing. Evatt seems to push all her buttons with his b/s and she is no expert on football matters. Bless her soul for helping to get BWFC out of the mess that we were in.

I no longer get up out of my chair at home watching us play since that play-off loss to Oxford. We are a poorer team since the last transfer window. I hate the boring stuff we play. But I will still pay my subscription to watch, hope against hope that I will see us play better on the football field, but know within myself, that my manager is no more than a L1 manager, and will not take us up.

[officer_dibble]

Not at all convinced Santos dictates our formation, Dibs. They all seem to be about tippy-fcuking tappy. Evatt and Markham. If we jettisoned Santos, I suspect top of every one's shopping list would be Santos v2.0. It's the only way to play football...

Not for me. If he could play as a normal centre half who could mark someone in a back 4 we could play 433/451/4231. It’s for a different thread this but I have been thinking it for a while. If he was injured or not here (next season) I could see us setting up differently. Whilst he is here all I see is different formations varying on a back 3.

I do feel a bit sorry for him - I think he’s being asked to play as a free role sweeper and he’s not good enough. But then the fact he shrinks in the tough games and disappears when you need him to attack a set piece, plus him dropping the captaincy, makes me feel a bit less sorry!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Not at all convinced Santos dictates our formation, Dibs. They all seem to be about tippy-fcuking tappy. Evatt and Markham. If we jettisoned Santos, I suspect top of every one's shopping list would be Santos v2.0. It's the only way to play football...

Not for me. If he could play as a normal centre half who could mark someone in a back 4 we could play 433/451/4231. It’s for a different thread this but I have been thinking it for a while. If he was injured or not here (next season) I could see us setting up differently. Whilst he is here all I see is different formations varying on a back 3.

I do feel a bit sorry for him - I think he’s being asked to play as a free role sweeper and he’s not good enough. But then the fact he shrinks in the tough games and disappears when you need him to attack a set piece, plus him dropping the captaincy, makes me feel a bit less sorry!

There must be a reason Evatt has persisted with a back three despite claiming he prefers a back four - which is the system that got us promoted from the 4th. Not entirely sure Santos is the reason, though.

Santos operates as the free man while defending corners, so we need markers from elsewhere. I've said before I can see us playing a back four with Toal alongside Santos, Johnston as left-back and then a more adventurous RB - could be Jones, JDC (who'd be better as an overlapper than a sole outlet) or JOT. Worth a go? I'd say so. But will Evatt?

[Worthy4England]

Fine. Can’t and won’t support this. No longer Bolton wanderers. If Sharon wants Ian Evatt FC she’s got it. Destroying Bolton wanderers in the process.

Well done. I’ve zero interest and won’t be bothering to go or follow it. I know a lot of others in the same boat.

I mean you did say you wanted her to release a statement as she'd been too quiet about the whole situation...

I don’t think I did. But regardless it’s disenfranchised me. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe all the supporters who it disenfranchises shouldn’t be fans.

That’s the end result. I’m sad more than anything else. Not surprised but sad. On the plus side Saturdays can be filled with other stuff that I’ve been enjoying more and might not disappoint as much.

Whilst we need all the fans we can get, it's probably a good decision for your own mental health to switch off from Bolton for a while and fill that time with something you enjoy mate - Hopefully you'll be back sooner rather than later

Well thanks. It’s not a mental health thing. Bolton wanderers has been very important to me but not that important. But I do think if you fall out of love with something you stop. And I can’t say whether Evatt and Brittan are the reason or it would have happened anyway for sure but certainly it doesn’t feel like the club I’ve supported for decades and decades anymore.

I suspect it has a broader set of causes too. Football is just pish nowadays and I guess most people get old and say the same regardless. But it’s lost a lot of what made it exciting and dynamic for me. That’s not just here - I think mostly the game has gone to pot.

Agree with a lot of this. Apparently only goals are exciting. Make it 10 minutes long and just take penalties at each other. Cuts out those unnecessary boring bits like defending.

[BWFC_Insane]

Fine. Can’t and won’t support this. No longer Bolton wanderers. If Sharon wants Ian Evatt FC she’s got it. Destroying Bolton wanderers in the process.

Well done. I’ve zero interest and won’t be bothering to go or follow it. I know a lot of others in the same boat.

I mean you did say you wanted her to release a statement as she'd been too quiet about the whole situation...

I don’t think I did. But regardless it’s disenfranchised me. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe all the supporters who it disenfranchises shouldn’t be fans.

That’s the end result. I’m sad more than anything else. Not surprised but sad. On the plus side Saturdays can be filled with other stuff that I’ve been enjoying more and might not disappoint as much.

Whilst we need all the fans we can get, it's probably a good decision for your own mental health to switch off from Bolton for a while and fill that time with something you enjoy mate - Hopefully you'll be back sooner rather than later

Well thanks. It’s not a mental health thing. Bolton wanderers has been very important to me but not that important. But I do think if you fall out of love with something you stop. And I can’t say whether Evatt and Brittan are the reason or it would have happened anyway for sure but certainly it doesn’t feel like the club I’ve supported for decades and decades anymore.

I suspect it has a broader set of causes too. Football is just pish nowadays and I guess most people get old and say the same regardless. But it’s lost a lot of what made it exciting and dynamic for me. That’s not just here - I think mostly the game has gone to pot.

Agree with a lot of this. Apparently only goals are exciting. Make it 10 minutes long and just take penalties at each other. Cuts out those unnecessary boring bits like defending.

I can’t describe the immeasurable joy of watching a 0-0 in the away end at Newcastle with Simon Charlton at centre back. That sort of thing was brilliant. Wouldn’t get that now.

[Mar]

https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/message-chairman

Full backing for IE from SB.

Well, I guess that clears that up. Or rather, confirms the can has been kicked down the road. A sad-emoji summer sacking it is, unless they panic in spring if we dip too far behind the 6th place that was never even mentioned as an acceptable target.

Meanwhile, Schumacher, Robins, Buckingham etc will get jobs elsewhere.

Can kicked down the road or giving Evatt the January to sort it out.
Presumably we'll be likely to offload a forward and bring in a midfielder or defender. Maybe recalling Morley will be intriguing.

I would imagine the board would've asked the players are they behind Evatt and they would've given lip service aiming not to upset the apple cart. Similarly the decision to oust the staff members early in the season would've been a notable flag to say where they got it wrong and that they've not had the time to get it right.

The fact that we've made progress year-on-year probably buys Evatt some extra time. Not saying its warranted given the 2024 as a whole, but it is something they've likely taken into consideration.

The club would've likely reviewed the situation and set out a couple of plans, one for if Evatt manages to turn it around with a good January window and the other if we get further from the playoffs.

Not sure a hail mary incoming manager in March will be enough to turn the ship around, but it's probably less disruptive and gives them time to set plans for next season.

[TANGODANCER]

Once he comes out of our box Santos's distribution is good, especially cross-field. The main problem is up front failing to win the ball. Dion is all too often our solo target and needs support he doesn't often get. I can understand wanting to keep possession away from the opposition , but we really do need to put pressure on their box and tippy-tappy only works so far.

At the risk of being boring, accurate shots on goal are worth all the possession going, especially when there's no end product. What's this got to do with sacking the managers, you might ask? Well, just about everything really.

[Bertie Wooster]

Check out todays latest Evatt me me me....interview with BBC Sport, its another Evatt v the fans piece after Saturday's 'the fans disrespecting him'- he just doesn't learn and can't stop himself - personally I think that he's made it even harder to ever recover from this with the fans.

I may be wrong but he's starting to come across as quite narcissistic.

[Mar]

Surely Evatt's done media training before.

To come out and say i've got the backing of the people that matter surely is hinting towards anyone that doesn't support him doesn't matter.

I'm hoping it wasn't intentional, but given the amount of time they've had to prepare for statements to come out this should've been considered already.

So much for mending broken fences. He did say at the end he needs to say less and do more, we can all agree on that.


Points and promotion is what matters, if he can deliver that then all is good, i'm not a believer that thinks he'll turn it around, so he's got work to do to win us over.

[DJBlu]

Check out todays latest Evatt me me me....interview with BBC Sport, its another Evatt v the fans piece after Saturday's 'the fans disrespecting him'- he just doesn't learn and can't stop himself - personally I think that he's made it even harder to ever recover from this with the fans.

I may be wrong but he's starting to come across as quite narcissistic.

Manager taking the heat of the players, fans vs him.

There is a dig in there and he's really shit or bust.

Win vs Wycome and he'll say he didn't mean and it came across wrong. Maybe the wrong choice of words ....

Lose and he's on his own.

[BWFC_Insane]

Check out todays latest Evatt me me me....interview with BBC Sport, its another Evatt v the fans piece after Saturday's 'the fans disrespecting him'- he just doesn't learn and can't stop himself - personally I think that he's made it even harder to ever recover from this with the fans.

I may be wrong but he's starting to come across as quite narcissistic.

Saw the interview - and your last line makes me laugh. ‘Starting to…..’ good lord. It’s been all about him since he arrived.

He’s utterly unlikable and that would be ok if alongside it he had proven a top manager. But the combination of absolutely unlikable and dreadful at his job is not a good one.

I also love the idea that he talks about how good he is at handling pressure whilst clearly demonstrating an inability to handle pressure.

Only one other manager in Bolton history has decided to make it an open pitched battle with the fans and that was Megson. I don’t understand why Evatt would choose to do so rather than get his head down but there we have it.

[Bertie Wooster]

He obviously can't handle the stress & pressure judging by these last two interviews, I'm really not sure who he's trying to convince by keep saying this ? what does he think he will gain by making it Ian Evatt v the fans ? he really can't handle any criticism can he ?

I was being kind by saying 'he's starting to come across as quite narcissistic'.

[BWFC_Insane]

He obviously can't handle the stress & pressure judging by these last two interviews, I'm really not sure who he's trying to convince by keep saying this ? what does he think he will gain by making it Ian Evatt v the fans ? he really can't handle any criticism can he ?

I was being kind by saying 'he's starting to come across as quite narcissistic'.

Go back to the first season in league one. Just won promotion had a decent start and we go to Sheffield Wednesday, play them off the park but manage to lose 1-0. Evatt does his post match and blurts out the famous ‘we are the best team in this league’ line. It was then that I knew. Few weeks later he fell out with half the players, shipped his captain off and needed a January rebuild.

You might be frustrated to lose 1-0 when you dominated but blurting that line out is a clear a sign as any that you are concerned and trying to convince yourself. It showed a huge degree of mental weakness. Allardyce would have said ‘we’ve played well but if you don’t take your chances and then fall asleep at the back this is what happens’. Outlandish statements about how good you are after a loss to me are a clear sign you aren’t controlled and aren’t handling pressure well.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Bloke does too much talking and not enough achieving to back it up.

[TonyDomingos]

Football managers talking to the media before and after games? Whatever will they think of next?

[DJBlu]

Bloke does too much talking and not enough achieving to back it up.

Marc Iles is jumping to his defence, saying the question asked was can he remove the emotion and focus on the football. Also claims the start of the answer is missed.

Maybe this rhetoric control is part of the problem. No difficult questions, I think Jack Deardens' wad the first we've heard that went against the stream.

[officer_dibble]

“I have the backing of the people that matter” sounds very much like, the board back me if the fans don’t, and then to that end the fans don’t matter. No matter how it’s clipped. He’s deffo going down the Megson route - Infact it’s worse to be honest, at least megson wasn’t as egotistical about his achievements of finishing third in div 4 and winning the papa johns!

[DJBlu]

Can't wait for him to become director of football in Jan.