Johnnyrotten

Twice. Very rarely let us down, pleased for him, hasn't played many for Morecambe so he's taken his chance. Seeing the 2 neat finishes it looks like he was playing down the middle.

Yes its a struggle to remember a game in the last 40 years when we were 2-0 down at half time, never looked like pulling a goal back in the 2nd half, and everyone came off saying "what a cracking atmosphere".

100% agree. Not a day goes by that I don't think how great it feels to be a Bolton fan, compared to (as referenced by Satan Greavesie) where we were after the Tranmere defeat and when 2 down at Mansfield. We couldn't even compete at league 2 level and now we're looking like an established league one club, fingers crossed, with hopes of looking towards promotion in a year or 2 instead of fearing what the future holds.

That sums it up perfectly. For all "Warne outthought Evatt; they were more streetwise; they did a job on us" etc, they won because that first goal was a shot that I'm not sure we have a player capable of executing. And they scored from one of their few corners partly because their corners were dangerous, compared to our frustrating near post deliveries. We can talk tactics all day long but if you can't, or won't, cross or shoot accurately that has to be what needs addressing first.

Our improvement last season was largely when IE changed our team from February. The signings of Dapo, Williams, Lee, John were obviously pivotal. Some players improved - Baptiste and Jones went from average to undroppable - but I don't expect much improvement from the current squad, without new recruits and the return of Baka. That's not a criticism, its just where we're at currently. IE said in an interview on the EFL podcast last week that his weakness is set pieces because he doesn't enjoy working on them, and that's clear when watching us, defensively and offensively. But Johnstone is definitely a step in the right direction because he looks to have a knack of winning headers offensively and knows where the goal is, that's down to recruiting a player that has that in his locker.

It will go under the radar because we lost, but in the 2nd half Santos was fantastic. He won every challenge (even if some are borderline fouls that he never seems to get penalised for) and his distribution was outstanding. That drilled 40 yard pass onto Dapo's toe would have been lauded if we'd been winning. He's got a mistake in him of course (OG last week etc) but today he looked quality.

Difficult to put a case for Lee offering more than Sarce. I like both players, but they are limited, in different ways. Lee seems to play games like its 5 a side, all neat and tidy and I bet its impossible to get the ball off him at 5 a side, but never seems to look up and play the incisive pass or switch play. Sarce is all action, heart on sleeve, 100% committed, does a bit of everything well, but no better than a mid table league one player, and that's not a criticism, he's a proper captain.

I thought that too, didn't look as good as MK Dons or Oxford, although clearly a step up from Burton. Just an off day from us, especially Dapo. If we'd played well and/or got the rub of the green with the Doyle chance and the disallowed goal, it could have been an entertaining 2-2 at least.

Yeah agree with most of that, I didn't think we were bulled at all, Rotherham looked very open and easy to get through in the first half - loads of openings, played well generally 1st half, just the usual achilles heal of not being very good at shooting, if Dapo's having an off day. I thought Sheehan played well for an hour, then seemed to run out of steam, I thought his substitution was right because he simply wasn't playing well at that stage, and his corners were dreadful. Plus Lee played well v Burton and unlucky to be dropped.

Agreed. I would have snatched hands off to be where we are, given how we struggled to beat the likes of Harrogate, Barrow and were well beaten by Exeter and Grimsby very recently, with virtually the same team. The opposition isn't as good as I expected to be honest, I think the few improvements we need are well within our grasp in the next couple of seasons.

I must admit I thought it was odd to give that away in his interview post-Ipswich, I think it slipped out in the afterglow of a thumping win, its clear to any observer that we'll struggle against defensive minded teams, especially if Dapo is having one of his off days.

Good shout that. He seems to go under the radar, but done a great job at Coventry in 2 different spells, as well as at Rotherham (signed ALF there so arguably he couldn't fail in league 2!), and Barnsley. Poor spell at Huddersfield. Not like he's a flash in the pan, loads of experience but doesn't seem to get touted for bigger jobs.

https://www.morecambefc.com/tickets/season-tickets/ at those prices, it would have been poor if they hadn't. Cheapest in the EFL, I'm guessing a big proportion of their matchday income comes from away fans (similar to Salford no doubt).

For some balance, if Doyle had stayed on at Lincoln we arguably draw 0-0. Kachunga was as influential as anyone in the last 15 minutes or so, creating the goal for Sarce and then being a great outlet while we ran the clock down by staying on the front foot. And we lose the first game v MK Dons without him, great assist for Baptiste when nobody would have blamed him for trying to shoot from a tight angle.

Agree with that. There are loads of reasons why women's football carries zero appeal to me, and I do enjoy other women's sports like tennis, athletics, Olympic sports etc. But nobody's weekend is spoiled by City women losing v Chelsea, apart from the players involved. And that's no different to Daisy Hill losing to Padiham. Why should it be on TV? There are so many sports that could do with more exposure/funding - badminton, bowls, squash doesn't get that benefit, they have to fend for themselves.