Here Wycombe again. At home to the other Wanderers. V the high flyers, Friday 18th Apr, 3-0 Clock.

[Worthy4England]

That'll teach me - I've been gearing up for the Tuesday 7:45 kick-off. Should read shit.

Aye, seems forever. As a Catholic I'm not a believer in Good Friday fixtures, but Israel is two hours ahead of us in the time difference clock, so I suppose it's okay to watch and hope

I'm pretty sure watching us at the moment will serve as some sort of penance TD.

[TANGODANCER]

That'll teach me - I've been gearing up for the Tuesday 7:45 kick-off. Should read shit.

Aye, seems forever. As a Catholic I'm not a believer in Good Friday fixtures, but Israel is two hours ahead of us in the time difference clock, so I suppose it's okay to watch and hope

I'm pretty sure watching us at the moment will serve as some sort of penance TD.

Unfortunately, can't discount that possibility Worthy.

[Prufrock]

Can skip the fish, I reckon.

[BWFC_Insane]

Reading Thomason’s interview in the Bolton News today for me highlights every single problem with the mentality of this group of players. I like George. I really do. But….

“The expectations are obviously really high here but it has almost gone up another notch after last season's disappointment,” Thomason told The Bolton News. “And when we talk about the rollercoaster of emotions, it's probably been the highest rollercoaster that we've ridden this year, and with the lowest drops, that's the real problem.

“The highs have been high and the lows have been too low and we have never found a middle ground.

Sorry but no. Expectations are as low as they can be at Bolton Wanderers. You think they are high because your mentality is all wrong. And then you reinforce that by suggesting we’ve had a season of highs and lows. George, this is one of the lowest ebbs in Bolton’s history. There is no ‘high’ in a season where we are struggling to make the league one play offs. Statistically this is likely to be in the bottom 10 league (or so) finishes the club in its history has suffered. That’s bottom 10 in not far off 150 years. It’s not a series of highs and lows. It’s just one massive depressing low. And statistically a very low low too.

Why can’t you just say ‘we’ve let the fans down again. We know this season has been very poor all we can do is win the last four and see.’

That’s it. All you need to say.

That’s before I get onto his comments later about how the ‘physically weak tag is unfair’. Again I think revealing a lot about this group even the more likable ones. Infected with the nonsense of the last boss is how I’d sum it up.

[TANGODANCER]

Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We may face many challenges in this fallen world. However, because “hope springs eternal” in our souls, we can choose to overcome fear and place our hope in God in any circumstances.

Unfortunately, football and negativity are exempted...

[Bertie Wooster]

Reading Thomason’s interview in the Bolton News today for me highlights every single problem with the mentality of this group of players. I like George. I really do. But….

“The expectations are obviously really high here but it has almost gone up another notch after last season's disappointment,” Thomason told The Bolton News. “And when we talk about the rollercoaster of emotions, it's probably been the highest rollercoaster that we've ridden this year, and with the lowest drops, that's the real problem.

“The highs have been high and the lows have been too low and we have never found a middle ground.

Sorry but no. Expectations are as low as they can be at Bolton Wanderers. You think they are high because your mentality is all wrong. And then you reinforce that by suggesting we’ve had a season of highs and lows. George, this is one of the lowest ebbs in Bolton’s history. There is no ‘high’ in a season where we are struggling to make the league one play offs. Statistically this is likely to be in the bottom 10 league (or so) finishes the club in its history has suffered. That’s bottom 10 in not far off 150 years. It’s not a series of highs and lows. It’s just one massive depressing low. And statistically a very low low too.

Why can’t you just say ‘we’ve let the fans down again. We know this season has been very poor all we can do is win the last four and see.’

That’s it. All you need to say.

That’s before I get onto his comments later about how the ‘physically weak tag is unfair’. Again I think revealing a lot about this group even the more likable ones. Infected with the nonsense of the last boss is how I’d sum it up.

This is the problem & sums up most of the issues with the current team, this is the captain saying this.

[Mar]

Not sure I agree with Thomason when he says there have been highs this season. Reading 5-2, Birmingham 3-1 are probably the only ones that spring to mind.

Sure we've had 4-2 over Northampton and 4-1 over Stevenage, but we should've been expecting results like that at the start of the season.

Our highest position in the league was on the opening day and its just been a decline ever since. We've not looked anywhere near reaching the play offs for a sustained period of time. Even if we reach the play offs this season it'll be an outside bet. We've been in the play offs for 6 games weeks out of 42. Contextually that's so poor is ridiculous. We were supposed to be 2nd favourites to go up, not just scrape the 7th place.

As soon as we looked like getting into the play offs (7 wins in 9) we bottled it to the point where we lost 5 in 7 straight after that. Almost as if resetting our expectations.

I believe the players don't want the play offs. They don't want to go through what they went through last season and given our current state, that is what is likely to happen.

We don't have a proper 9, our midfield is shot, our defence is patchwork. Why on Earth would they possibly want to get into the play offs only to be spanked another 5-0 by Stockport.

Us losing to Wycombe on Friday, may be the mercy killing we need.

I firmly believe that this set of players would massively benefit from a sports psychologist helping to get their mindset right. The play offs at this time of the season should be something they strive towards, a chance to get promoted, not something that should be inducing fear.

The seasons all but gone. Bring on next season.

[BWFC_Insane]

I think a sports psychologist can work on stuff like nerves, anxiety, routines to help people deal with different situations mentally. I don’t think they can fix what is clearly an embedded set of beliefs into a large group of players. That’s not really psychology. It’s likely a hangover of Evatt and the nonsense he brought but I do feel it’s pretty horribly systemic.

If you are as a player in essence blaming expectations for your failures you either don’t think you are good enough (which is a problem whether you are or aren’t) or think your team mates aren’t good enough - again a problem whether they are or aren’t.

Everything they say screams a group who feel sorry for themselves have a lack of real bottle and character and are under the misapprehension that the club is lucky to have them.

[Bertie Wooster]

I think a sports psychologist can work on stuff like nerves, anxiety, routines to help people deal with different situations mentally. I don’t think they can fix what is clearly an embedded set of beliefs into a large group of players. That’s not really psychology. It’s likely a hangover of Evatt and the nonsense he brought but I do feel it’s pretty horribly systemic.

If you are as a player in essence blaming expectations for your failures you either don’t think you are good enough (which is a problem whether you are or aren’t) or think your team mates aren’t good enough - again a problem whether they are or aren’t.

Everything they say screams a group who feel sorry for themselves have a lack of real bottle and character and are under the misapprehension that the club is lucky to have them.

Yes a sports psychologist can't provide the players with a pair of nads, character and a competitive run through a brick wall mentality - all of which this squad of players lack.

[TANGODANCER]

Out of twenty four clubs in the League, we are currently 6th/7th. At worst, if we don't qualify for the play-offs that leaves quite few multi thousand football fans who would swap places with us. There's still seems quite a fair feeling of divine right existing in our own fans. We all know the reality of football and dream chasing but we still live in hope, at least some of us do, those that kick every thread in the bollocks before we even play might not agree of course. COME ON YOU WHITES....

[Bertie Wooster]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

[Worthy4England]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

I'd have thought that'd be more down to coach than psychologist tbf.

[Bertie Wooster]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

I'd have thought that'd be more down to coach than psychologist tbf.

Yes of course, that was in jest.

[Worthy4England]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

I'd have thought that'd be more down to coach than psychologist tbf.

Yes of course, that was in jest.

Oh.

[BWFC_Insane]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

I'd have thought that'd be more down to coach than psychologist tbf.

I’d let Super John have a go with him. What’s the worst that can happen?

[Prufrock]

I love SJM as much as the next man but he's thick as two short planks.

[Bertie Wooster]

I wonder if a sports psychologist can teach or even just ask McAtee to jump for headers, something that kids are taught to do at school. It's astonishing as a professional football player that he doesn't even attempt to get his feet off the ground, instead he just backs into the defender and gives away free kicks.

He's not small, just think how many headers he could win if he started to jump and really try to win headers.

I'd have thought that'd be more down to coach than psychologist tbf.

I’d let Super John have a go with him. What’s the worst that can happen?

I'm sure that SS and his coaches could quite easily teach McAtee to jump for headers should they be inclined to do so.

[Worthy4England]

I guess it sorta depends on whether they have any intention that he ever has to head the thing. Listening to a podcast, I think from Markham they were discussing Prem academy defender loans - they actually said something along the lines of they don't train them to do that!

[TANGODANCER]

I love SJM as much as the next man but he's thick as two short planks.

Aye, that's quite possibly because he's a footballer and not a coach or sport's psychologist. He's conversely far more experienced at playing then talking about it. At that' he was actually quite good.

[BWFC_Insane]

I love SJM as much as the next man but he's thick as two short planks.

Don’t disagree but we don’t need a brain box to teach McAtee what a striker’s role is. McAtee is clearly not exactly a bright spark.