Take Hunt Off

Hard watch second half but credit to Jones Mbete & Johnston mom for me. Never really in trouble first half but I think they showed us too much respect in that half , went for it more & our tiring players weren’t finding each other second half so we were reduced to wellying it up the park. Great win however & Trafford is a master of shithousery! Williams is naive to say the least as a defender , they targeted our left second half & somehow we got away with it thank god.

If we can emulate lasts seasons eight games we will be home & dry in the playoffs Won 5 D3 L0, 18pts, I think we might need 16pts ie 80 pts total. Don’t feel mega confident of accruing this total but the pressure will be on the other teams as well so five wins might do it (79pts) which would allow us a couple of fck-ups which as we know as Wanderers is usually on the cards. Hope it’s not an Omen but the game before the aforementioned run of eight unbeaten games was Plymouth at home (0-1)🤔

Did ours yesterday , wouldn’t surprise me if they moved the deadline back by a couple of weeks given the Wembley expense.

Going back a bit Bob Hatton , scored two early doors (Bury ?) then nowt until we got shut .Scored prolifically everywhere else , Carlisle & Brum being two where he scored a shed load.

Been reading your big red scrapbook again ? Rog the voyeur, ‘to the regiment I wish I was there’

Our lack of balance on the left was excruciating, I know John isn’t the best defensively but they still ripped us a new one on that side due to a suicidal pass Mbete’s uncertainty can’t be ignored but isn’t surprising either given no left sided midfielder either. Thomasson & Johnston’s return can’t come quick enough. John is still our best left wingback .

Slight positive from yesterday if we can keep Jerome fit I think he can make a difference particularly around the penalty box where he showed a bit of quality in our best move of the game, pity Bradley blasted his pass wide. Agree Victor looks wooden in his movement, let’s hope he’s just trying too hard.

Yes , took those odds , probably should have waited until HT.

Never thought at any stage we would achieve automatic promotion. We are capable of the playoffs, not guaranteed, but our chances will improve if we get anything from the next two games. That promotion feeling you get (many times in the past) just isn’t there yet with this team similar to the Phil Neal years , decent but not quite there.That’s not taking anything away from Evatt & the job he has done. It may be a longer road , but we’ll get there.

Being a bit of a statto I have been looking at our form since Xmas compared to last season when we dramatically improved after our January signings. Surprisingly we are only two points light on last season with same no. of games played our goal difference is identical ie W9 D1 L3 F28 A12 (last season)W8 D2 L3 F24 A8 this season .When you consider our recovering injuries , good points haul from first half of season I think we are in a decent place for a fifth or sixth spot. We might need to replicate our form over the last six games of last season but I reckon 81 pts will do it. Not forgetting we have Ipswich & Sheff Wed up next !

We have a good few injuries to players who would be in the starting eleven.ie Johnstone Bodvarson & Iredale. The January signings haven’t really impacted but can only be judged at the end of the season.Shortire certainly played well at Peterborough but has been pretty average since.Today in retrospect might have been better with two up top , although someone on here thought Dan was poor when he came on , I actually thought he took some weight off Charles who as ever ran his bollocks off. Katchuga / Sheehan are lightweights in games like these although Morley Dempsey Bradley & Santos showed plenty quality & fight.Toal was playing in the League of Ireland last season & has made a great start to his Bolton career but his passing today was abysmal, he needs to give the ball to Morley & concentrate on his defending which is more than adequate.We could do with Johnston back asap as our left side sometimes looks like it’s been abandoned defensively.Mbete & John need to sort out who’s doing what , Williams definitively jury out .

A point is utterly useless ? Give your head a wobble. We do need to learn how to shoot though! Dempsey played well , Dan on from the start might have helped .

Dempsey ran his stones off , Santos struggled a bit with Harrison (surprisingly in the air) , Trafford’s kicking was shite but saved & handled brilliantly.Toal was labouring a bit , he’s done well but isn’t Franz Beckenbauer .Most were below par but give credit to Vale who gave it a go with some really good football.Williams did well first half but struggled second half however Vic got his first goal which is a big positive.His injury not deemed too serious according to Evatt.

Our Achilles heal is still managing those tight games were the home team usually well organised & disciplined rather than talented break up our rhythm by a mixture of physicality & shithousery. We have definitely improved when dealing with this type of team , but we aren’t there yet .Wycombe are probably the leading exponents of these tactics . Hope we can muster a bit of grit for next Wednesday as Accy will be up for it !

Bit of a Jonah at OT , attended four won none lost three drawn one (Bob Taylor) I lived in the midlands at the time of the 2-1 & 3-0 victories the latter was a Dec Friday night fixture & was the day of our works Xmas piss-up .Got home around 10pm absolutely hammered not being able to get the result ie no mobiles in them days plus all my Bolton mates were at the match & promptly fell asleep in the chair much to my wife’s displeasure .My recollection was waking up & seeing the result at the end of News at Ten 3-0 to the whites which prompted me to jump up off the chair with arms raised but collapse in a drunken heap on the floor. Woke up in the morning with mega hangover before the ‘result’ flickered in my head .The wife wouldn’t speak to me or confirm the result .I began to think that it was a dream following my inebriation, so without further ado ran / stumbled down to the newsagents for some confirmation. Never was a hangover better cured. Ps. Sort of ironic that one of our most despised managers delivered us a home victory against the rags.

Chesterfield ?

Ibrox ?

1981 seems about right to me , pisstones gone , floodlights changed & embankment capacity cut back ie steep bit fenced off with hoardings.

The open urinals on the embankment were there until the mid-seventies along with the larger ‘Watson’ floodlights. Sad bastard that I am I still have a photo of them but don’t have the skill to post on here.

Sailed close to the wind at times , but you need character to succeed & SJM had loads of that. Excellent viewing & a journey we all travelled Happy days.

Having seen the highlights video it’s obvious Katchunga was fouled before he reacted with the rabbit punch , to state the obvious he shouldn’t have done it . Its also obvious he is trying to inform the referee he is the guilty party to no avail. The clapping / booing as he was substituted was an overreaction in my view.In a situation where we have few upfront options this was really counterproductive & probably reflects the fans anxiety at our recent transfer dealings & injury situation. Like others I don’t really understand what Katchunga brings to the team , but as others have said Evatt picks him week in week out & as such I try to support the team & not direct abuse at the player as many did around the ground last night. Anyway great three points thanks in the main to their lack of cutting edge & the work rate of of our team . Sadlier & John must be on their way not even getting on the pitch last night.

Aye I went to that ‘friendly ‘ match , it’s fair to say Bolton had a few faces there that day , I went to the match with a Cologne bar owner .He felt a little intimidated even though there was no danger to him. I think the video in question occurred earlier in the day , as I recall a large German who was part of a group attacking a bar where Bolton fans were holed up charged into the bar & was promptly battered under the Gazebo. The fully padded Gendarmes watched on from a safe distance. Match ended 1-1 very appropriately Basham scored for us.

When working in Germany I attended the Cologne v St.Pauli match .It was a right love in , match was on a Sunday & many of the St.Pauli fans spent the weekend in Cologne including in the Cologne fan club bars .Not a hint of any mither. Borrusia Munchengladbach in Cologne however is a very different kettle of fish !

Good post.

I’m sure Williams has played more games than was planned , as for Beck obviously Evatt doesn’t trust him, anyway are you saying Evatt is incompetent ? Anyway your ‘impression’ is neither here nor there.