Eagle85

Probably shouldn't bring this up again as everyone had hopefully forgotten, but in what was comfortably my worst post of a bad bunch this year I predicted back in August for Cogley to get player of the season simply by taking advantage of the ACD factor. As I'm curious to just how much effect playing with a winger that good has on a fullback i'll be keeping tabs on JOT next year even though I'm not usually arsed about how our former players do.

Gutted about Tutu. Maybe he's made it clear that he doesn't want to play right back if he considers himself a winger. Don't think he's good enough for the wing in the championship. If he was happy to continue at right back then it's a surprise he's leaving, the fact that he showed his best in the most crucial games at the end of this season made me think he could do the step up. Although playing behind ACD must be a full backs dream so difficult to assess how good he really is.

Spent all yesterday completely drained on the back of one of the best days of my life. Getting to go the game and celebrate with the wife and daughter after the heartbreak of 2 years ago was priceless. Tutu and Dalby were incredible but RR was man of match for me. His work rate from first minute to last in those conditions was unreal. For the first goal he drives forward out wide to provide the space for Gale to cut in and shoot then carries on into the box to score. For the second his positive drive past his opponent and at the defence is key. So many times he was making bursting runs don't know how he managed it. Masterclass from SS. Brave decisions at the perfect times. Even though I'd have started both in an ideal world was delighted he saved Ibra and Dalby for those latter stages. Loved seeing so many Bolton flags/scarfs on the drive home. What a day.

Haha. It was a shit post and I own that. Of course I wanted us to win. Think I was trying to explain that Id be more nervous defending a lead instead of being behind with nothing to lose and I might have said I'd feel better which was a poor way to phrase it.

Superb fighting performance, everyone was right up for it. We are clearly a much more mentally and physically tough team than the one that has entered the playoffs on the last two recent occasions. Didn't feel massively confident we could get a goal before it happened and was brilliant when it seemed to come a bit out of the blue. We seemed to to drop a gear for the last 10-15 almost like we were content with the 1-0, understand that but it did feel like they were there for the taking a bit. The back 4 in particular were fantastic, they have to be with the way Bonham is looking lately. Their fans were proper shit.

Haha didn't expect any likes but didn't think it would be received that badly. I accept on reflection it's a poor outlook, probably nerves combined with pessimism based on what we've seen under certain circumstances this season.

Not saying I want us to lose tomorrow, but I'd maybe feel better going into the 2nd leg 1 goal down, with them sitting back and us attacking with nothing to lose. Those situations have brought out the best in us by far this season. If we're a goal or 2 up we will naturally drop deep and I don't trust our defence to hold out and once they get any momentum with a fired up home crowd it will be incredibly difficult to turn around.

Gutted about the result but we've not been short of entertainment this season. Looked fantastic going forward despite some poor final choices, but my word we have some crap defenders. Cant see a solution as Christie and GJ are somehow even worse. Conceded 3, missed pen and they hit woodwork 3 times, 2 of which really should have been scored. I don't think it can be blamed on us having too many attacking players, Kenny and ACD work their tits off, RR and Sheehan for me work harder and win the ball better than our other 3 CMs that are supposed to be used mainly for that purpose. Conway's mistake for the first when it was in the air forever was beyond embarrassing, it's the kind of thing you in kids football when they aren't yet used to judging the flight of a ball.

What's surprised me most about RR is his work rate, I think he grafts more than Simons or EE. I've not looked back at it but seemed to recall during the game for the one that led to their penalty/red was because RR overcommitted with the press, so technically he did leave us exposed but more to do with the fact that he was working too hard rather than not hard enough. It was 1-1 at the time with us on top for most of the game so can't blame him for that really. Seeing someone with that kind of technical ability run around the pitch so much is great to see.

The difference ACD makes cannot be understated, and I dont just mean the goals. I often think our squad can freeze a bit in the high pressure situations, with nobody seeming to take responsibility. HIs determination and work rate both out of possession and also in position constantly looking for space is exceptional. Not only has it driven the team forward but I'd imagine it makes it easier for others to find space on the back of the chaos he causes the opposition.

Not exactly sure why but hearing about football teams losing loads of money has always stressed me out, even more so after what happened to us a few years ago. I'd give anything for some kind of salary cap on overall wages spend to prevent these kinds of losses, with it being increased as a percentage of your incoming gate receipts. That way there is still a hierachy same as now with bigger clubs having a slight advantage but it gets the smaller clubs a bit closer. And a rugby league style incentive of any youth players coming through your system you get some of their wages at a discount towards the cap. It's impossible though as it would have to be a worldwide thing or else all talent would just move abroad.

Also the rest of league one this year. Huddersfield and Luton with similar expectations finding it tough. Plymouth a disaster all year and now on a great run once it seemed like any chance of promotion was off the table so pressure was gone. The current top 2 include a team nobody expected and the other, whilst a big(ish) club, still get poor crowds for an established championship team that's been top for most of the season. Big clubs with similar expectations promoted from league 1 last few years - Sunderland needed playoffs, Sheff Weds needed playoffs, Derby needed multiple ugly/nervy 1-0 wins to scrape 2nd. Birmingham last year the obvious exception.

I think we underestimate how much pressure there is playing for a club as big as ours in the current level, with such a demand on expectations. I think it makes it much harder for players and managers to achieve with those demands. Look at this season so far - Our players know that too many sideways/backwards passes or small mistakes, particular against poor teams with low blocks, will invite pressure from the fans. This might explain our first half performances. I also think we are so good at late comebacks because when behind with a few minutes left you can't overthink things and have to go for it. It then becomes an automatic response rather than a thought process so thoughts of the bigger picture briefly go out the window. If this is part of the problem I know the obvious answer is to have staff and players that can handle it, but then how much do you compromise quality, and how easy is it to spot who will be able to cope and who won't.

Very late to the party catching up with this thread but that pass you mentioned almost made me melt in my seat. Sublime stuff.

With the exception of those that have genuine reasons, so many of our fans leaving early was shocking. Especially considering how many late goals we've got although that should be irrelevant. As an example theres one guy who sits near me who always leaves around 60-70 mins when we're losing, muttering that hes had enough as he storms off. He's missed all our late goals this season, and I'm not exaggerating, every single one. Today he left at half time. Injury time winners are the best bit of football by a mile, how can someone repeatedly deny themselves the possibility of seeing it just because they cant handle a bit of adversity. Absolute madness.