MATCHWATCH : Bolton Wanderers (a)

[Hound]

Maybe we should have offered Wareham more than 1 year. He'd have started every game so far.

He’s not pulling up any trees at Exeter. Benched on Tuesday

[Hound]

MOM is looking poor because he’s getting sod all help. He is NOT a Forster type who can lead the line and create chances on his own, he looks like someone who needs someone to play off.

I don't think it's just that.

He looks utterly lost. He clearly doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing. He doesn’t press hard. Savage, Kyerewaa and Doyle to a lesser extent were flying round the pitch into closing down, he had nowhere near their energy at any point. To the point other people come and pressed his man for him.

He drops back into midfield. His challenges for balls up to him are lacklustre and half hearted. When he does win a header he's trying to flick it on to no one. When we do clear the ball, usually to fairly typical areas, he's never near.

We put crosses in, and he's never making the right run and its often not fully commited.

He got the ball down facing goal once that I could see in the game in a potentially promising moment... what did he do? Blasted a shot from 25 yards directly into the defender 3 yards in front of him. Moronic.

Don’t agree with the first paragraph. He pressed all game, and also came back to support the midfield and defence throughout. He was doing way too much. He pressed far more than the other forwards. Savage and Fraser also similarly ran round like headless chickens and also had v poor games

I agree though that he looks utterly lost. Constantly in the wrong place and god knows why but he seems to have a deeper starting point than the wingers. He doesn’t look like scoring at all and is losing all the long balls up

He needs help here. No idea what he’s being asked to do but whatever it is it certainly isn’t working. For me he should be on the shoulder of the last man, not charging round all over the place and therefore forever in the wrong position

He’s trying to fill in all the gaps left by our ridiculously exposed press and lack of compactness

An experienced striker like Smith would just refuse or have the football intelligence not to do it

I commented on Saturday that Kelv was extremely frustrated and kept going over to the bench. My guess is likewise he’s being expected to do far too much

Also noted Kelv has a muscle strain after that game

[Sutekh]

MOM is looking poor because he’s getting sod all help. He is NOT a Forster type who can lead the line and create chances on his own, he looks like someone who needs someone to play off.

I don't think it's just that.

He looks utterly lost. He clearly doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing. He doesn’t press hard. Savage, Kyerewaa and Doyle to a lesser extent were flying round the pitch into closing down, he had nowhere near their energy at any point. To the point other people come and pressed his man for him.

He drops back into midfield. His challenges for balls up to him are lacklustre and half hearted. When he does win a header he's trying to flick it on to no one. When we do clear the ball, usually to fairly typical areas, he's never near.

We put crosses in, and he's never making the right run and its often not fully commited.

He got the ball down facing goal once that I could see in the game in a potentially promising moment... what did he do? Blasted a shot from 25 yards directly into the defender 3 yards in front of him. Moronic.

Don’t agree with the first paragraph. He pressed all game, and also came back to support the midfield and defence throughout. He was doing way too much. He pressed far more than the other forwards. Savage and Fraser also similarly ran round like headless chickens and also had v poor games

I agree though that he looks utterly lost. Constantly in the wrong place and god knows why but he seems to have a deeper starting point than the wingers. He doesn’t look like scoring at all and is losing all the long balls up

He needs help here. No idea what he’s being asked to do but whatever it is it certainly isn’t working. For me he should be on the shoulder of the last man, not charging round all over the place and therefore forever in the wrong position

He’s trying to fill in all the gaps left by our ridiculously exposed press and lack of compactness

An experienced striker like Smith would just refuse or have the football intelligence not to do it

I commented on Saturday that Kelv was extremely frustrated and kept going over to the bench. My guess is likewise he’s being expected to do far too much

Also noted Kelv has a muscle strain after that game

Sounds then that the issue is the management.

[hughsies no.1]

In summary - A team very low on confidence goes away from home and nabs a point in a game they deserved to get nothing from.

What this means going forward -
- it could be a turning point
- it fundamentally has to mean that Ben Elliott is the first name on the team sheet every week as it will genuinely be Hunt's downfall if he doesn't start him every week. He is the only midfielder that wants to pick the ball up facing his own goal, turn and drive forward to break the lines. He changed the game last night. I find it inexcusable that he has not been starting for us.
- Our press is a disgrace, I have never seen a team played through so easily than us and it has happened twice this season - Huddersfield and now Bolton. If we can't do it - we may as well not bother. Also highlights what a miss Knibbs is, not for his goals/ assists - BUT for his turnovers and winning the ball in opposition half. That was invaluable.
- A lot of pressure on the returning Paudie & Lane
- A striker... for me, the only reason no money has not been spent on a striker from the Knibbs money is the owners are deciding whether they keep Hunt or not - and they would rather get their own man in and let him spend the money on a striker.

We go again Saturday...

[RoyalBlue]

I don`t give a flying one how bad a player is, the pelters a certain player is getting on X and here now is absolutely appalling, I thought some of the posters on here were above that.
He`s young, and he very probably reads it, that`ll do his confidence a world of good won`t it?

Agreed.

And if pelters are to be dished out, it should be to the owners, recruitment team, manager and coaches who have left him expected him to single-handedly to carry the team in terms of potential goal threat.

Given how the team as a whole are currently 'performing', we just need to sign a proven goalscorer who can create all of the goal chances for himself!

[Hound]

I’ve actually been persuaded by our last two games that we absolutely do need an experienced striker in. I’m not expecting it to be anyone particularly good but someone who knows how to play whatever roles this system is asking of them. Someone like Aneke or Cole will have a better understanding of where they should be on the pitch

Doesn’t even need to be a great goalscorer