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Post by Trotter on Sept 21, 2015 8:12:09 GMT
Well after RTF created the last and her first match thread (lost 1-4) I have jumped to the rescue so RTF does not do another  With that said I cannot guarantee another heavy defeat given we take on League Leaders Brighton & Hove Albion who are sweeping everyone aside it seems, Lennon is on the lookout for a striker if reports are to be believed and going of our results we need more than a striker so I am going for a 0-0 draw Bolton 0 Brighton 0 (fingers crossed) |
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Post by realtrottersforever on Sept 21, 2015 11:10:07 GMT
Thanks Trotter  In my first and last (probably) match thread I didn't make a prediction but for this match I feel so disheartened with the performances of the team and feel that Lennon's pedigree may not be as good as we all felt it was (I think Jimmy Crankey could manage Celtic and make a success of it) that I think the only result likely is a drubbing similar to what we received at Huddersfield. So it's 0-3 for me. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2015 14:06:54 GMT
Well after RTF created the last and her first match thread (lost 1-4) I have jumped to the rescue so RTF does not do another With that said I cannot guarantee another heavy defeat given we take on League Leaders Brighton & Hove Albion who are sweeping everyone aside it seems, Lennon is on the lookout for a striker if reports are to be believed and going of our results we need more than a striker so I am going for a 0-0 draw Bolton 0 Brighton 0 (fingers crossed) There's grovlin and grovlin but that's the tops trotter so I will go for a 1-0 win , got to go two men in white coats >:Dhave called |
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Post by one2many on Sept 21, 2015 14:33:28 GMT
We have no fit strikers, and Goal machine Madine is clearly pants. The risk is that we will have no fit/experienced centre backs if Prince is still puking his guts up, Dervite and Wheater injured and Derik suspended. Guess he will pack the midfield and we will escape only losing 0-1 to a headed goal from a corner.
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Post by OohMac on Sept 21, 2015 16:22:18 GMT
Think the same, we'll be so hung up on defending that we'll have no threat at all. We'll hope to contain them for 90 mins but will probably get caught once or twice and Plan A will be out of the window with no plan B.
Its not great man management from Lennon though is it, how much Finney be feeling now. Seeing a teammate reenacting that scene from The Exorcist and then go and play a 45 minute horror show what must he be thinking on the bench? Why did Lennon even come out with that? They knew what happen I don't think the fans had to know, makes him look a look worse and Prince not much better.
Taylor had a decent debut last season and not seen again and the likes of Josh Vela and Jay Spearing have to watch the droll that we create.
I'm not anti-Madine by any stretch, we get what we paid for, but to get dropped and then have a wonderful opportunity to come on after 10 minutes with us already 1-0 up and not to look interested at all is just baffling. I'd have been itching to prove the manager wrong and stake my claim but I get the feeling he doesn't have the stomach for the fight. Lennon asked for a striker "right now" but we're going into this game severely lacking again.
Be tempted to put Mark Davies up front and pack the midfield. Negative maybe but I can't see any way of getting any points with the system they play and personnel missing.
Think he'll go for Moxey in the middle and Pisano maybe.
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Post by BWFCTILIDIE on Sept 21, 2015 19:59:12 GMT
Dreading this game
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Post by andyl on Sept 21, 2015 20:14:21 GMT
It's only Brighton and they are due a defeat. Didn't impress at Wolves. We need to get our act together. Not surprised Prince was sick at the match on Sat. From what I can gather most of the fans were.
We definitely need to pack midfield and to use Spearing Vela and Trotter. We certainly don't need two lightweight flankers. If no striker then don't bother with one. Spain won a World Cup in that mode. Neil has had a bad run of games and has been no different than Freeedman and Coyle really.But as argued for the both of them and Megson and LSL before all managers, reliant on players as they are, have bad games but the best ones learn from their errors. Brighton are beatable with the right set up.
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Post by OohMac on Sept 21, 2015 20:24:53 GMT
I was thinking that Andy, I thought I deleted it but did say that I would play Davies up front on his own in the Fabregas role that Spain deployed. The reason I thought I deleted it because I wondered how long it would take people to realise that we don't have Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets or Xavi Alonso to call on. I definitely think Spearing in paricular really struggles with possession football.
If we'd have beaten Burton, Dericks suspension wouldn't have been as important. We could have rested players, given more match time to players who aren't quite match fit and we'd have more preparation time and recovery time for a more important league match. Oh well, that's clutching at straws.
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Post by andyl on Sept 22, 2015 8:13:01 GMT
Yes, Ooom, I had read your post and indeed also now refer to westandlower on Huddersfield thread. It is time not so much to be critical of Neil ( although anxiety and concern are permissible) but to hope he'll learn and find a path forward.
Booting balls to Madine is as wasteful as kicking to SKD's ghost last year and the ghost made more effort. When Emile has been on a long ball has brought more joy but it's a sterile tactic.
Also if we are to play wingers then we have to move the ball to them crisply and ahead of them. All too often Feeney and Silva but also Walker have had to retrieve balls when surrounded. They would have to be a lot stronger and better to succeed. on Saturday Neil criticised Silva and Walker but not Feeney , Madine but not Heskey . But what about the service to them?
I agree that Spearing has weaknesses and was amongst the first on this forum's predecessor to criticise his average play especially his passing and ball watching. I understand he was poor at Middlesbrough. But he's more experienced,strong, and a t crisp passer when he gets it right. He was Dougie's captain, for a while took all free kicks and corners and by all accounts did ok at Blackburn. Put simply he's a darn sight better than Feeney, Madine,Silva and Clough and the formation needs to accommodate him
In my opinion the same goes for Trotter. Seldom injured at Millwall he did fairly well for them. We have seen glimpses of what he can do but his lethargic demeanour and error strewn cameos have not endeared him to fans. But again he's a good deal better than Feeney from the same stable. Again a packed midfield might play to his strengths if he is allowed to go forward
Vela's situation is more complex. A pre season virus appears to have weakened him but again he's a better player than those mentioned so if fit get him in, if unfit leave him out altogether. He's not an impact sub. That's what Silva, Feeney, Dobbie, Clough and Heskey are. And no more than that.
goodness knows what's going on with Medo but in him we have another midfielder on our books whom we have seen playing better than current forwards
This is not just a matter of looking for another striker to get disillusioned upfront. Indeed in Clayton and the others we may yet have enough if midfield is strengthened and allowed to flourish. I suspect that if Derik or Moxey is moved forward we may also improve and Pisano, Casada (?) have yet to be seen
i also think Twardzik may be worth a go on the left. He has a touch of Gareth Farrelly about him and why not play a left footer on the left. Who knows-maybe he can cross a ball. He may be lightweight but surely not more so than Feeney, Silva, Clough and Madine. And he's better in the air!!( I think)
Neil thinks we are top heavy in midfield. My response is to ask him to consider using what we have rather than wasting it . Our league position and possession stats should tell him something??? Yes he seems to be a good motivator.. But if selection and tactics are not working then he needs to rethink how current assets are used. This week all press seems to argue him desperate for external solutions. If that's true we can book our trips to Peterborough and Bury now! No the answer has to lie within.. If there is to be one.
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Post by riochforthereebok on Sept 22, 2015 17:55:31 GMT
I'm only glad the scoreboard has gotten smaller as it hides the embarrassing defeats to those with poor eyesight like me  It's all well and good saying we are due a result and Brighton weren't that good v Wolves, they are top and we are bottom, that's the obvious denominator. Who is this 'mystery striker' I wonder? Listening to Lennon last night on GMR, he had such a defeatist monotone attitude to his voice and I'm not sure if that was to extract more empathy or sympathy, I'm not very trusting of his dealings in the transfer market as none of them have really shown any promise. I know we are in bargain basement territory before I get that rammed down my throat, but other manages have managed to polish turds, why can't NL 1-3 |
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Post by whitesince63 on Sept 22, 2015 19:55:38 GMT
I think most of us are losing a little faith in NL now. He was the big hope but for all the hype he's actually done very little to impress. I can't help feeling that we do actually have enough in the squad to do better but somehow Lennon doesn't seem to be able to get it right. I agree with Andy, for all their faults, both Medo and Spearing have more quality than some of those Lennon fields regularly. Why are managers so often reluctant to mix the pack, try people in different positions and see if it improves things rather than keep making the same mistakes. I don't know about Lennon being a motivator, I've seen none of that so far and I really fear that more heads are going to drop unless things change. We constantly berate Gartside but it's Lennon who picks the team, trains the team and decides how we play and so far I see none of the expectations I originally had in him. For that I fear for Saturday and will go for a 0-3 loss for Wanderers.
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Post by joanna on Sept 22, 2015 20:03:41 GMT
Not sure what you are expecting in our position: we have lost two games badly, one where NL admitted he'd got the system wrong and one where our centre half was violently ill at half time with the score at 1-1. Otherwise we have competed well, but have lacked the killer touch near goal.
Time to take stock a little more soberly: NL came in, steadied the ship, kept us up. Job done.
He then tackled the high wage earners got shut of most of them and reduced the wage bill - Job done
With no cash he scours the market, brings in Wilson, Prince and Osede and the two full backs yet to play. Up until last weekend, our defence was looking more solid, we conceded few and we have two players for every position.
Bolton fans love to find a scapegoat for weaker performances: step up, Moxey. Damn, Lennon and co have improved him beyond all recognition so let's turn on Feeney again; we need a winger. NL brings in Silva - job done.
Strikers have been disappointing: the gamble on Madine has not paid off yet but last year's displays suggested Clough would be a success so it has come as a nasty shock to find that a new man has to be found in this most expensive area. The latest rumour is that Anichebe may be the man we are chasing. Would you fans be happy with that?
So lets enjoy the progress, recognise our cash limitations and be thankful that Lennon, despite all the problems at the club, has stayed loyal.
The above is perhaps a simplistic view, missing out some of the more puzzling issues, and there is a lot still to be done, but I'm not sure that anyone else could have done much better in the circumstances.....unless you think you could have done the job better yourself, as some of you seem keen to suggest in your posts.
The biggest disappointment has been the loss of CYL whom NL had brought to peak form, providing the service to forwards as spoken of above. Having built his team around the Korean, Lennon suddenly had to find an able replacement, an impossible job on the finances available. Injuries too have limited what Neil can achieve.
A reality check needed from the critics, I feel!!
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Post by whitesince63 on Sept 22, 2015 22:20:09 GMT
All very fair points Joanna and it's hard to argue them but I sometimes feel that more is being made of the money shortage than needs to be. I accept we're shopping in the bargain market but I still think more should be coming from existing players than we're seeing. Maybe I do need a reality check but I just think confidence is falling rapidly and NL has to be responsible for that. Still, a win on Saturday would be a good start.
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Post by riochforthereebok on Sept 23, 2015 8:33:03 GMT
Got to be honest Joanna, I got my reality check when Gartside strengthened his fireproof shell the day he let BSA go. He's gone through manager after manager and yet he's the one that's still here!! It's like ED is even scared to get rid. Think PG might sack ED rather than the other way around!!
Quick run down of PG's tenure after BSA
Relegation.
Failed manager after manager
Star names leaving
Poor names joining
Dwindling crowds
Court action -Gavin McCann saga
Loss of main sponsor
QuikQuid!!!
Increase in debt
Allowed OC to pay over £3m for Marvin Sordell...
I'm sure there's more to add to that
Give that CV to any conglomerate and they'd laugh their heads off.
We're not laughing....
Yes, PG doesn't pick the team but he might as well do for all the dross he's served us over the last 5 or so years
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Post by joanna on Sept 23, 2015 8:42:54 GMT
Yes, but some of you are just LOOKING to find fault! How does it help to be giving marks as low as 1 or 2 out of 10, or to be constantly, relentlessly on a player's back, even when he has begun to score goals, for example? We all have our favourites and we all have those we love to pick on but often that blind predisposition to hurl abuse at the ones we actually CHOOSE to hate is borne out of a need to have our views underlined and vindicated. Ask yourself if you are one of the ones on a mission to prove that you were right from the start and that you know better than the manager. How would it be if, in schools, teachers yelled at struggling pupils instead of giving them support?
Confidence comes from winning games, scoring goals. I don't think the manager could personally do more to offset the gut-wrenching feeling of failing to convert easy chances:-he is always praising players in glowing terms. Only very recently has he turned to criticism of individuals, and has had to do that as a last resort to try to gee up those not putting in the effort now. Notice that he quickly turns to praise again, as we all should.
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With that said I cannot guarantee another heavy defeat given we take on League Leaders Brighton & Hove Albion who are sweeping everyone aside it seems, Lennon is on the lookout for a striker if reports are to be believed and going of our results we need more than a striker so I am going for a 0-0 draw 
In my first and last (probably) match thread I didn't make a prediction but for this match I feel so disheartened with the performances of the team and feel that Lennon's pedigree may not be as good as we all felt it was (I think Jimmy Crankey could manage Celtic and make a success of it) that I think the only result likely is a drubbing similar to what we received at Huddersfield. So it's 0-3 for me.
