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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

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  1. Here goes. And @Johnnyrotten can fill in any gaps or correct me. Phil Mason did a 30 min speech about the bondholders money. In a nutshell, it’s been spent on players, upgrading hospitality, installation of the LED stuff in ground and improving the ‘connectivity motorway’ (stopping tech breaking basically). Most impressive of this was the hospitality with over 1,200 people most match days now in this, and it generates well over £1 million for club per year. They’re part of a scheme that links clubs across Europe. We’re looking to work with clubs of similar revenue to us and find out what they do to increase that. Niah Sharzad was really clear that they’re striving to make the the club sustainable, so not completely reliant on investors. Only way to do this is to find more ways of making money. They’ve got a good link up with Ajax and met them recently. Looking at their youth set up and how it can be replicated at Bolton. They didn’t give much detail but sounds like a long term thing. This doesn’t mean we’ll be getting their players. But we can use their ideas and knowledge. Phil Mason spoke really well. So passionate about the club. Niah Sharzad much more corporate but still impressive. Both were full of praise for Sharon. Couldn’t speak highly enough of her enthusiasm and desire to do good. She’s involved regularly with them and they talk daily. Phil Mason took time to thank Ian Evatt. Felt genuine. Club was on its arse a few years ago, and his work has brought us back to where we are. He said it’s been an ‘interesting’ week and the club were working to make a swift appointment. Club has financial plans next season regardless of division. BUT they were both clear that promotion remains the aim this season. If still in League One, we’re fine, but they didn’t say how much investment would be coming in. Said Julian Darby is excited beyond belief about today but also very anxious and nervous. Got the impression he’d be leading things of the 3. Spoke about him being a ball boy, player, Bolton lad, etc and what a proud moment it is. And he’s right. Ju Ju Ju Darby will never forget today. There wasn’t much football talk because there couldn’t be. As I mentioned, in a private conversation, I was told the incident last weekend pretty much sealed Evatts ending. Would rather not say more than that. And was also told in the same conversation the Swiss investors are keen to invest much more heavily should we get to the Championship. John McGinlay rounded things off with a little 5 min speech. Love how much he loves the club. He described the 4-0 Wembley day as one of his proudest in football, seeing all his family there celebrating together. All in all a good, informative evening. Club is in a sound place and really good people running it. Just gutted I didn’t win the 10 Pink Floyd platinum vinyls signed by Nick Mason. I might have missed some bits so will post more if stuff pops into my head.
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  2. Morecambe away in Covid. Celebrations outside the hotel after winning promotion. Last min goals all over the gaff. Crewe, Morecambe to name but a few. Accy semi final Plymouth final Barnsley play offs Beating Blackpool at home twice A promotion, 2 top 6 finishes and some big dismantling of teams along the way. 25k home crowds, every away game selling out in minutes. He bought the buzz back in watching Bolton and secured a new generation of fans that'll be here forever. Don't let Oxford, the big game capitulations and this season blight the memory too much folks, it hasn't been all bad. It just ran stale and he ran out of ideas. Thanks for the memories and good luck. (Not too much if its over this way like ) Onwards and upwards. Let's get back together 💙⚪️💪
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  3. Sure it's that Mandela effect in full flow here that we all seem to be OK with this. It's a fucking travesty and complete shitshow. He's our most prolific striker by a country mile, has been absolutely brilliant for us, scored over 20 in back to back seasons. And we've just let him go for peanuts to bloody Huddersfield. Fucking shambles.
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  4. Really hope it works out for him.
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  5. As pointed out by others, the supporters have been entirely supportive for a number of years now. Despite the shit show end of last season , they've been right behind the team and manager. Fans were still willing to forgive Evatts previous embarrassments against Wigan 3rd time around, even singing his name at kick off with 24,000 in attendance for a 3rd tier game. All to be served with a steaming pile of shit, no heart, no effort and tactically beaten again with the manager adding another to the growing list of big game failures. Average crowds of 22,000 this season, record season ticket sales. Even recently had 2000 away at Mansfield on New Year's Day. 2000 sold out away at Rotherham in the snow at a 12:30 KO. All to be let down yet and yet again. The fans are the least problem with the club right now. We've shown support throughout this season and fans have had enough seeing no change in action. The fans are the very heartbeat of the club, the custodians and the customers that long outlast any player or manager. And telling some of your customers to "fuck off" is firstly unprofessional in any walk of life from anybody in a managerial position and secondly is a sign of somebody who mentally cannot cope with the pressure.
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  6. My name is Ianus Maximus Passbackius, commander of Bolton of the north, general of sidewise legions, loyal servant to the true chairwoman Sharonus Brittanus. Father to clueless team, husband to a betrayed wife. And I will have my possession based football. In this game or the next.
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  7. A red card, fuck knows how many yellows, seven goals, twelve minutes of injury time, at least two changes of formation, a quadruple substitution, a 90+9 winner, shithousing cunts on the floor crying at full-time Bolton fucking Wanderers
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  8. Only watching a team like ours can create absolute limbs and carnage with 99th minute goal against ten men Crawley fucking Town in division 3 No different from winning at Old Trafford or scoring at The Allianz Arena. It was just the same. That's what is watching our team is all about. We fucking love it 💙💙
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  9. The best interview from a manager ever, and probably the most un-manager like interview ever! Can see why he coaches the u18s, and is doing so well at it. Pure joy; back to the days of ding dong do. No airs and graces, techno word salad, nor aloof comments. Not sure he could cope with it all long term, but maybe a higher coaching role, in the background. In fact he is giddy like a kiddy, and it's simply wonderful to witness.
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  10. Is there any other modern day managers as much of an epic weapon as evatt? Headbutting opposition players, telling fans to fuck off, gambling problems, no loyalty to wife problems, outcoached most weeks problems, sending videos of his feebley misshaped widgey out n about, and a severe God complex? Most other managers are able to.toe the line. Guy is a complete lemon.
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  11. Son in law a big city fan bought his kids city bedding and stuff we’ve got them 3 season tickets for wanderers they come to most games the middle one told his dad to get the city bedding off because he supports Bolton along with the other two he now has Bolton bedding
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  12. I've just read in the BN that Evatt reckons players are "shocked" by the level of vitriol from the fans. In this one sentence he sums it all up. What on Earth do you expect when you turn up as manager of Bolton Wanderers Football Club and get smashed 5-0 at Stockport and under-perform against a sequence of other clubs? We won't even get in to the abysmal consecutive non-appearances against Wigan. They want to be in a comfort zone where there's little pressure from the support base or within. They want to be able to continue their little Pep/Jurgen wet dream, that attempts all the style at those clubs but none of the substance. He says he understands and accepts the expectation at the club. He isn't even close to understanding it. The fact that he believes that results like Stockport 5 Bolton 0 and Bolton 0 Wigan 2 can be forgotten like a parent or teacher forgiving an errant teenager speaks more eloquently than anything. He thinks 32,000 of us going to Wembley for a pathetic no-show can be put down to experience and the slate can be wiped clean. Mr Evatt, it cannot. You delivered this bleakness and you have to pay the price for it. It is unacceptable. When is the penny going to drop with you that you are are beyond redemption at BWFC and need to move on? When is the board going to realise the same thing? You are not capable of dealing with life at Bolton Wanderers, you are not cut from the right cloth, you don't have the necessary metal for the task. Go.
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  13. Felt kind of unifying in the stand yesterday. Stood with mates I've known 20+ years, my Dad and Peteski, my son and folk I've been sat with for decades, we've all hugged and kissed at some point. All still there, all turning out. Thick and thin and all that. Seen all the highs together and now stood there totally beleaguered, pissed off, freezing, watching a manager cling for his life in a silent stadium with players no longer responding to him. Just made me realise, we've all been there long before Ian Evatt and this current cluster fuck, and we will all be there long after. There's no point getting angry. Just stay on the ride and hope for sunnier times.
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  14. I was about to write about that second goal we conceded and the problems in our team that caused it, but it feels pointless. We all know it’s fucked and it’s not just that goal, it’s fundamentally broken and you could pick apart almost all of the match for one reason or another. I laughed when they scored and I didn’t jump up and celebrate when we did. That’s not me trying to prove a point, it was just my natural reaction which I think is really telling. Apathy is a killer. I very nearly found a reason not to go today but even when I was there I couldn’t really be arsed with it, I was more interested in just how shit we could actually get. He’s got to go, surely. I want the excitement back and it can be salvaged this season. We’re 3 points outside the play offs - if on Monday we sacked him then all of a sudden I’d be bang up for making a fight of it for the rest of the season (sheer hope from a change), whereas if he stays we may as well be 23 points away from them as I just have zero belief that we can go up with him in charge.
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  15. Despite my own pretty conservative views on expressing discontent and disappointment, there’s certain things I can let ride in the current situation. I’ve never minded the difference of opinion discussed on here, crazy political analogies, Evatt/Stalin 😂) I’ve not spoke out at instinctive moans in the stadium and boos at half/full time. I’m even becoming increasingly tolerant at some of things we are now seeing, the banners, the dark humour of cheering opposition goal and some of the taking the piss chants at our downfall. But I really dislike the personal stuff. We all agreed the murder joke was anything but that. Similarly with the targeting of his family - scumbags. But also some of the abusive and inhumane stuff disappoints me. While he might be arrogant, disillusioned, limited, narrow-minded and plenty of other failing adjectives at the moment, he’s not evil, I’m not wishing he hadn’t been born. While he might be doing a bad job of it at the moment, he’s a guy who has passionately tried to do the best for BWFC - he doesn’t deserve some of the abuse he’s getting.
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  16. I love his pre match tactics of "they score from crosses so stop the crosses, and they score from long shots so stop them from shooting". None of this low block, transition etc buzz word nonsense. Great to hear
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  17. Good man Julian Darby. Late on his career with us he had some rough times with the fans but even then he scored a couple of really crucial goals when Bruce got us promoted. This is a properly deserved little bonus for him fairly late on in his footballing career. One of our own and I bet he feels nine feet tall this evening. Chuffed for him.
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  18. Fucking brilliant! Plenty of shithousery, no fucking about at the back, defenders knocking Charles about like a ragdoll. Superb gritty team performance. Absolutely made up, especially for Julian Darby. COYWM
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  19. We don't need a sentimental appointment here to put a fire out. Like said above, we are fully loaded and ready to go. It's actually a dream job for someone. Sqaud full of talent ✅️ Decent owners not afraid to spend ✅️ Decent crowds & 2nd Biggest clubs in the division ✅️ In touch with play off places ✅️ It's a perfect job. It's also pivotal to us. Probably one of our most important appointments in decades. The money won't be here forever, either will the Swiss mob. Another season or two down here the sqaud will depreciate even more. This is our Bruch Rioch moment. They need to get this right.
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  20. Is this what we’ve become? Getting upset and on our high horse about something as trivial as this? Some of the shit on twitter reminds me of those people desperate to be offended and upset by anything. The bloke should be gone, long gone, but in the heat of the moment, after all the shit he’s been getting, I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t have done the same.
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  21. Been trying to make sense of yesterday and the season, so here’s my two penneth. 1. Yesterday was, in my opinion, worse than Stockport, Huddersfield and Wigan. It’s the first time I’ve seen players going rogue and doing their own thing. I’m not saying this to pass blame to the players, though as professional people they need to shoulder some responsibility, but it’s a clear sign that the structure within the squad has broken. 2. Evatt clearly doesn’t know how to change it. He admitted this himself when he passed blame on to the players. He may be right that they didn’t follow instructions (tend to agree with him here), but the big question is why. He is responsible ultimately for the culture in that squad and across the training ground, and it’s failing. It’s on him and he needs to accept that. 3. I don’t actually think the players know how to fix it either. I highly doubt they’ve clubbed together and decided to down tools. I do think it’s a combination of issues. Players out of contract (who may have moves lined up - Santos / Baxter) are probably falling 5% short of the required standard. Players who put everything into last season pushing for promotion haven’t found their mojo (Jones, Sheehan, Thomason, Charles, JDC, Etc) and there are new or newish players who are luxuries that we can’t afford to carry in such numbers (Collins / McAtee / Lolos / CMG - and seemingly Randall). On top of that, players like Dempsey, Toal and Forino, who i think were seen as key players, have largely been injured. It’s just a bad mix. 4. The one thing Evatt has always pushed is the process and the structure. His teams, whether some have liked it or not, have had a clear identity. That has gone. I no longer know what our identity is. We used to look to dominate teams and, at times, tear them apart. We now play a system that leaves huge gaps in midfield, doesn’t allow us to dominate games, and simply leaves every game we play as a 50/50 shootout. I can say for almost certain that we wont win both of our upcoming home games. If i had to predict, we will win one and lose one. 5. Looking for positives, i see similarities with us now and where Ipswich were 3 years ago when McKenna came in mid season and where Portsmouth were when Mousinho came in mid season. The squad has a huge amount of talent in it (whether people chose to believe it or not) and is capable of pushing for promotion next season with some changes. Santos and Baxter will go, players like Jones and Arfield need moving out, but theres the core of a very good squad. A lot of managers would love to come and work with this squad, at this stadium in front of 20,000 fans (give or take a few thousand). I think we’re about 5 or 6 games away from writing the season off (I’ll await the dramatic replies of ‘I’ve already written the season off), and then Sharon et al need to decide what they want. I admire her dedication to him, but it’s hard to see anyway this gets turned around. Never really taken to Evatt myself, and i think many feel the same. He’s done a great job taking the club from where it was to where it is, and deserves a lot of credit. Sadly for him, i think these final days are tainting that. Apologies if you’re still reading. More of a blog than a post that 🙂
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  22. Really? I couldn't give a monkey's where he turns up and when. I don't wish him any ill will, but I'm just not arsed.
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  23. Will be fondly remembered. Did a great job and built solid foundations, should have been put out his misery long before now though. I wish him well.
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  24. If I met him in the street I'd roll my socks down, mince about a bit and ask for a contract.
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  25. Fuck me. We must watch totally different games.
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  26. He didn't "get grief for years". He did get grief for a spell in late 1991 and 1992 when Phil Neal's reign was turning sour and admittedly it was pretty grim stuff. I don't remember grief before that though. He scored a lot of goals (powerful daisy cutter shots and headers) and covered every blade of grass. Then under Bruce he got goals at Bournemouth (a) the game before the famous Hull match and the winner v Stoke at Burnden in the one before the PNE promotion game. He's one of ours born and bred and he and his family will always remember yesterday. Let's enjoy it with him.
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  27. “Changing me won’t change anything”
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  28. he would be a car crash
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  29. Fuck me Cheese does everything have to be so confrontational with you? Take a fucking chill pill for fucks sake you make everything hard work.
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  30. It's just ridiculous that they're waiting on promotion being mathematically impossible to then get rid of him. Just wasting everybody's time. Are the board willing to let this toxicity carry on and keep pushing away the fans, undoing all the hard work they put in the first place, just for the sake of one man? Early bird renewals will be in a few weeks time and they need to be planning on a substantial reduction in renewals from supporters, which will hit accounts hard. Folk this time last year had a high confidence in us playing Championship football. Okay that didn't happen, but it's not like we are competing like last year, we are so so far off it. We've been embarrassed in every big game, battered, humiliated, and we can't even beat the so called minnows of the division at home anymore. I don't care about Birmingham's financial backing, we are the biggest frigging team in this whole league, a manager who has had autonomy over the club for 5 years and millions upon millions to spend to perfect his team. And yet we are an EMBARRASSMENT! There's a dark cloud hanging over the football club at the minute and that is Ian Evatt. Until he's gone, we won't see the sunshine sadly.
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  31. Was there today, and everyone has their opinion of how we played a poor Cambridge side. My point is how absolutely classless Bolton fans are. The chants I heard about Evatt were frankly embarrassing....If you want him out, protest outside the Directors post match soiree. Don't disrespect our great club and it's players wearing the shirt by booing them off and cheering a player being substituted. We are better than that. Again f*ckin embarrassing.
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  32. I like the idea of a pacy forward in theory. But in reality, he'd get there 3 weeks before the ball.
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  33. You going to change your username to 'bwfcuntilmay'?
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  34. For me it's not his goals we will miss. It's his energy, his tenacity, his press and pace. We have nobody in the team like him in that regard. Especially upfront. Lads a frigging nuisance. We will undoubtedly miss that side of him. Even if he is a plonker.
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  35. Just seen this comment on twatter that i agree with... After the play off Final surrender he talked about mental fragility and said he needed to sort it. Nine signings & 24 games later he reiterates his criticism. Condemned out of his own mouth. The recruitment at our club is mind numbingly poor & that's surely on Evatt & Markham.
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  36. Collins worked his balls off last night. He's a rolls royce at this level. Lad needs building around.
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  37. I'm pleased for Julian Darby actually. Proper Bolton fan, even if he is only temp joint manager I'm sure he's feeling 10ft tall.
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  38. Not one person has defended him. I've hated this season. I hated large bits of last season too. I hate the way we now play, I hate our treacle ball, I hate our build up play, I hate attitude of the players and their individual mistakes. I hate the subs Evatt makes, I hate system he's currently playing, I hate possession based football, I genuinely hate watching us play in this current guise. It's wank, boring, predictable and easy to play against. Do I hate Ian Evatt? Do I fuck. Do I need to scrawl on a bedsheet my displeasure? Do I fuck. Am I defending him? Am I fuck Should he be sacked? He's fucking a lucky man. Will I be there tomorrow cheering the team on/ sat bored to tears watching it the clock tick? Of course
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  39. Folk can do what they want but just keep it fucking civilised and don't ruin the day for folk who are there to simply watch a game of football with their friends and family and support their football club.
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  40. At Rotherham on Saturday I joined in with "sideways and backwards" as that is generally true and quite humerous, and I also suspect it riles him. I just can't bring myself join in with "we want Evatt out" as I don't think it helps anyone at all during a game, including the players on the pitch as well.
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  41. He could have simply said "we were better than Saturday, but not great. A clean sheet is welcome, though we also have a touch of fortune. Pleased that we're through, and I felt the players showed a better attitude" Or words to that effect. Spouting on about DNA, with a meaningless word salad is frustrating, patronising and actually diminishes from what was apparently a poor performance with a positive result.
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  42. Quoting myself here But after some digging, if you combine the amount of shots on target we had in our games against Rotherham, Wigan, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Stockport and also Oxford at Wembley. Do you know how many we got? 5. FIVE, in 6 matches. Some DNA that is Ian!
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  43. He can't survive that rant, surely he couldn't possibly expect to walk into that dressing room or on that training ground (when he can be bothered to make the trip), surrounded by an entire squad of players that he alone has assembled and expect them to respond to a single word he has to say now. The board allowing him to start the season was a mistake, him not then being let go after 10 games was an embarrassment but this, this has become a trainwreck. It needs to end. Tonight.
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  44. That was so poor. We’re getting the very basics wrong. Evatt overcomplicates things. He’s got himself caught up in a spaghetti of his own thinking. The one time we keep a clean sheet at Wycombe - with Forrester defending in the middle of a three rather than us trying to play out from defence like Beckenbauer - we change it. He did the same when Aimson came into that position last season and we had a very tight defence for a month. It’s Evatt’s unwillingness to learn, adapt and (at this level) keep things simple that will be his downfall.
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