Mantra

https://yellowsforum.co.uk/threads/28-11-2023-l1-oufc-v-bolton-wanderers.10080/ 41% of them predicted us to win in their pre match build up thread poll.

was refreshing to see how much support Dan got in replies to this post, seen a lot of negativity about him online, I’m sure those messages will mean a lot to him and boost his confidence even more. Having said that, this post under the official goal notification did make me chuckle:

Dan is the Anti-Balotelli

Excited for tonight and hopes are up which means we probably lose, COYW keep the run going

Good time to be hitting top form, but on the other hand, a run of fixtures like this can stunt that momentum. Will need to rotate the squad a fair amount between 23 December and 13 January.

that link up play for the first goal is bloody beautiful

Be interesting to look back at Thomason's career in 10 years' time. He turns 23 in January...Wonder what the lad's ceiling is. He has improved so much already, at the very least he will be a solid Championship quality player if his development continues at anywhere near the same rate as it has the last few years.

Best performances under Evatt, absolute domination.

Great win that, couldn't believe my eyes when Thomason rattled one in from outside the box. Seen him sky those chances a few times. The lad has come on leaps and bounds and to my mind is the most determined player to improve in the squad. No wonder Bristol offered £1m for him. Maghoma was boss, was like Dempsey when fully fit but with even more pace and skill. Would love to keep him on next season. Sheehan also bossed it, always offering himself to the back 3 and dribbling into space to link up defence and attack. Loving the way we're playing again, getting back to our best, just gotta keep up the momentum and positivity now. Playing Oxford away at the end of the month presents a great chance to leapfrog them.

Didn’t watch last night as was busy but sounds like a great win Very happy for Thomason though, took his goal well. Quickly becoming one of my favourite players in this team. Has come on leaps and bounds and it’s a good story of him coming from non league and proving himself. He must have a steely determination to improve as much as possible and make the most of his career. Didnt think Sheehan was up to it last season but he’s been very good so far this year. How did JDC do at LWB?

No clue what to expect. A good performance would be a start. Performances of late have been poor or average. If santos starts then that’s a major boost. Dempsey out is a miss but not been at his best with the injury anyway. Excited to see what Paris can bring if he plays in Dempsey’s absence. Evatt says we have trained really well - similar to pre Wembley. Let’s hope it shows on the pitch on Saturday.

Pretty sure Evatt said earlier in the season - I think after the Wigan defeat(again paraphrased) - 'we've brought in technical players and those types lack that grit. The players who have grit lack technicality. The ones who have both are in the premier league'. I think that's a bit of a false dichotomy to be honest. There's no reason why we can't recruit players with more aggression and directness to help give us another dimension. Maybe that was the thinking behind signing big strikers like Bod, Dan and Jerome. Equally there's no reason in my mind that a 'gritty player' can't play within a technical focused team, as long as he's instructed to keep it simple and let the technical players do the mojo.

Not sure to be honest - some stats may count passes and crosses as separate. However, it may just be that he crossed it in, someone missed the tap in but it fell to another player on the Wales team, hence 100% accuracy...

😂😂 when I posted it and saw how long it had become I thought, no one is gonna read this but it was too late to go back! Cool graphic @desperado never seen one like that. I love tactical stuff but the initial point of my post before it became an essay was just to observe that more in-depth tactical instructions have now kind of made flair players and moments even rarer as they’re not a reliable source of goals week to week compared to a system or structure that players can slot into. In a way that’s a bit sad as players are under much stricter direction than previously meaning they have less freedom to express themselves.