High Noon Cover up. V Rotherham away Sat 11th Jan 12-30.

[DJBlu]

If you're not easily triggered then have a listen to his post match.

It's still not his fault.

[Bertie Wooster]

And another

https://x.com/BOLTONFMSPORT/status/1878108395690926576

[The_Gun]

I still think the physicality thing is being overblown. We finished third last year with a bunch that were no more physical than the current lot, and we’ve dropped off massively.

Signing athletic players wouldn’t hurt, but I’m far from convinced it’s the biggest problem right now.

Overblown ? they got bullied all over the pitch - standard shoulder charges when they went to ground too easily, 50/50 tackles non existent - it not necessarily athletic players we need its bigger more physical players, tougher players we need & have needed for a few years now. This team shrinks, they hide, they go missing, they don't want to know half the time, spineless sh*thouses.

And all of these players are Ian Evatt's signings after apparently doing due diligence with Markham about the players mentality & attitude etc. prior to signing them.

One of the differences this season is that they lack confidence & belief and look like they have stopped listening to Evatt, and it does look like the fitness and conditioning has dropped off this season big time, they look and play like a steam of under trained strangers who want to be elsewhere. Piss poor management and its all down to Ian Evatt, and Ms Brittan can't escape criticism for burying her head in the sand & very weak leadership letting this shambolic season continue and spiral.

Did we have bigger and more physical players last season?

[irie Cee Bee]

I still think the physicality thing is being overblown. We finished third last year with a bunch that were no more physical than the current lot, and we’ve dropped off massively.

Signing athletic players wouldn’t hurt, but I’m far from convinced it’s the biggest problem right now.

Overblown ? they got bullied all over the pitch - standard shoulder charges when they went to ground too easily, 50/50 tackles non existent - it not necessarily athletic players we need its bigger more physical players, tougher players we need & have needed for a few years now. This team shrinks, they hide, they go missing, they don't want to know half the time, spineless sh*thouses.

And all of these players are Ian Evatt's signings after apparently doing due diligence with Markham about the players mentality & attitude etc. prior to signing them.

One of the differences this season is that they lack confidence & belief and look like they have stopped listening to Evatt, and it does look like the fitness and conditioning has dropped off this season big time, they look and play like a steam of under trained strangers who want to be elsewhere. Piss poor management and its all down to Ian Evatt, and Ms Brittan can't escape criticism for burying her head in the sand & very weak leadership letting this shambolic season continue and spiral.

Did we have bigger and more physical players last season?

Teams never knew we were softies until Oxford showed them we were. This season, they know and use that knowledge well as we can see.

[Worthy4England]

^^ And we had Dion and Dempsey putting in workrate. This plan goes to shit if we don't have a brilliant press.

And a lot of teams stood off us.

[officer_dibble]

And another

https://x.com/BOLTONFMSPORT/status/1878108395690926576

Another mental interview. Sharon has to be too many Proseccos deep when these go out. I’ll take responsibility, then it’s the r players letting me down, even the penalty he didn’t see then it was wrong.

[officer_dibble]

Poor old jack getting both barrels again

[officer_dibble]

BTW the Rotherham view is we are the worst side they’ve played all season - especially the defenders.

It’s amazing how many times we play like absolute shit and he gets away with it. Most managers would get the boot after Huddersfield but he’s had about 5 Huddersfield’s now.

[Bertie Wooster]

You have to now really start to question Ms Brittan and her judgement in regards to not sacking Evatt, both after Oxford and several times this season after these dismal, abysmal performances.

If as a board they have a genuine target of reaching the championship, they have to see that it's not going to happen under Evatt - he lost the fans weeks ago, and it's getting more toxic week by week and after his post match interviews today he could (if he's not already) lose they players.

He's the manager, they are his tactics, his players, his signings, his training methods, his way of playing, his job to motivate and coach (his coaches) yet he continually says that it's not down to him, so what exactly is his job and what is he accountable for ?

[officer_dibble]

At what point do they listen to their customers as well. It’s not like a small minority are calling for his sacking it’s all of us!

[Bertie Wooster]

At what point do they listen to their customers as well. It’s not like a small minority are calling for his sacking it’s all of us!

With Evatt throwing his players under the bus today, surely the investors have to seriously question why we have regressed so much despite them funding numerous quite expensive signings (by recent standards), who Evatt is now openly questioning their mentality, attitude, desire, skill and will to win.

[TonyDomingos]

You have to now really start to question Ms Brittan and her judgement in regards to not sacking Evatt, both after Oxford and several times this season after these dismal, abysmal performances.

If as a board they have a genuine target of reaching the championship, they have to see that it's not going to happen under Evatt - he lost the fans weeks ago, and it's getting more toxic week by week and after his post match interviews today he could (if he's not already) lose they players.

He's the manager, they are his tactics, his players, his signings, his training methods, his way of playing, his job to motivate and coach (his coaches) yet he continually says that it's not down to him, so what exactly is his job and what is he accountable for ?

Having listened to both interviews, I was having similar thoughts. He seemed to be close to saying a manager plays no role beyond picking the team. I also thought he was quite derogatory about the players. He either thinks his hard words in public will be motivational or he no longer cares what the players think about him. All very odd.

[Prufrock]

His head's completely gone again.

The depressing thing is they've just given him £1m so I can't see them sacking him. We've got months more of this at least.

Cup game next. Might be a chance to try a different shape Ian. You know the one you keep saying you prefer anyway.

[Harry Genshaw]

Just back. As if the performance, the toxicity and fans fighting amongst themselves at the end wasn't bad enough. I've just heard Evatt's interview

[Worthy4England]

You have to now really start to question Ms Brittan and her judgement in regards to not sacking Evatt, both after Oxford and several times this season after these dismal, abysmal performances.

If as a board they have a genuine target of reaching the championship, they have to see that it's not going to happen under Evatt - he lost the fans weeks ago, and it's getting more toxic week by week and after his post match interviews today he could (if he's not already) lose they players.

He's the manager, they are his tactics, his players, his signings, his training methods, his way of playing, his job to motivate and coach (his coaches) yet he continually says that it's not down to him, so what exactly is his job and what is he accountable for ?

Having listened to both interviews, I was having similar thoughts. He seemed to be close to saying a manager plays no role beyond picking the team. I also thought he was quite derogatory about the players. He either thinks his hard words in public will be motivational or he no longer cares what the players think about him. All very odd.

The primary problem with the DoF model..Not me, guv.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

You have to now really start to question Ms Brittan and her judgement in regards to not sacking Evatt, both after Oxford and several times this season after these dismal, abysmal performances.

If as a board they have a genuine target of reaching the championship, they have to see that it's not going to happen under Evatt - he lost the fans weeks ago, and it's getting more toxic week by week and after his post match interviews today he could (if he's not already) lose they players.

He's the manager, they are his tactics, his players, his signings, his training methods, his way of playing, his job to motivate and coach (his coaches) yet he continually says that it's not down to him, so what exactly is his job and what is he accountable for ?

Having listened to both interviews, I was having similar thoughts. He seemed to be close to saying a manager plays no role beyond picking the team. I also thought he was quite derogatory about the players. He either thinks his hard words in public will be motivational or he no longer cares what the players think about him. All very odd.

Aye.

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault” - it’s not, it’s a collective. And the players have to take responsibility as well. I don’t send my players out to play and perform and show that lack of fight, courage and energy.

I think it’s time I called them out because it’s me that gets it all. I can take it all but sooner or later they have to take some responsibility. That is a collective thing. I will take responsibility, I always will. The first place I look is in the mirror at myself. But some of them need to look and themselves as well, because for this club that isn’t good enough.

It is a collective thing and, for me, we are making it incredibly difficult for ourselves conceding some awful goals, and that isn’t just down to the keeper and the defenders. It is a team, collective thing. And for me it is a mentality thing. Teams that are mentally fragile and weak concede goals like that, and that is what we have been doing.

It doesn’t matter who is in charge, the mindset is going to be the same. The players are still the players and we have to make sure we are better than that. And that isn’t acceptable for the level we have had in the past.

[The_Gun]

I think ‘it doesn’t matter who is in charge’ might be contested by quite a few.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

[jmjhb]

To make a bad day worse, Rotherham ran out of both beer and pies before half time.

[Mar]

There was an argument for making sense of his decision making, in terms of his statements, tactics and general approach. Now it just seems like he's sticking to his guns in an effort to try and prove that it's not the tactic that's at fault.

We've recruited for that tactic, have players who are well versed in the tactic and it isn't working, consistently so.

I'm under no illusions that other managers would be able to get more out of the squad than we're currently seeing. Feels like we need to make the change in order to salvage reaching the playoffs.