Port Vale (H) - EFL Trophy Last 16

[W.cramp]

Mad how hardly any Bolton 'fans' were arsed before this game and now wow,  its all ss out !   

Really wouldn't want a lot of so called Bolton 'fans' in the trenches wi me.   Way to many fairweather fans who now have the platforms to moan like fook.

 

[DazBob]

Whilst I wasn't arsed in the slightest that we were knocked out, what was a HUGE concern again was so many players playing so badly.

Something appears to be badly broken.  Apart from Sheehan, it looks like every single player is playing with no confidence whatsoever.

Just simple things like passing the ball to a teammate and being able to control a ball looks beyond so many of them.

Richard Taylor also put in one of the worst performances I've ever seen from any defender at any level.

[deeane Koontz]

Simons looks completely unrecognisable to the player he was early season.

[Winchester White]

5 minutes ago, deeane Koontz said:

Simons looks completely unrecognisable to the player he was early season.

I thought he was excellent early season and just what we needed, he looks a totally different player these days!

[onefinfrandsen]

6 minutes ago, deeane Koontz said:

Simons looks completely unrecognisable to the player he was early season.

Considering he was one of our hallmark signings in the centre of midfield, very rarely finishes a game if he’s not coming off the bench.

[Dr. Feelgood]

Goodness me.

 

[FrancisFogarty]

14 minutes ago, deeane Koontz said:

Simons looks completely unrecognisable to the player he was early season.

He looked the part early on in the season but I think lack of game time hampered him. He seems to have fallen into the square peg/round hole syndrome.

[waffer cup 07]

Shocking defending, but its being highlighted because they scored. If the linesman was doing his job, he'd have flagged for offside.

[wakey]

5 hours ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

SS comments concern me, he said we were ok, not great, for 60 minutes. We were not ok, we were well off it. I am worried he thinks that is ok as the stats might show a slightly different story. Bar 5 minutes of the first half where we probably were, just about ok, for the other 40 we were bad and then got worse after the subs. 

he also said we've been rubbish over the last few games in one of his interviews, so he knows it's not all rosy.

In fairness, he can't be calling out the players every game even if he might feel like it.

[Ratwhite]

imagine if we’d played ACD on left and Gale on the right from the off.

and we had a big strapping forward who can head the ball. And the wingers crossed the ball into the box at first attempt.

imagine what may have happened 

[Dimron]

6 hours ago, Dr. Feelgood said:

Goodness me.

 

That was a player who WANTED the ball playing against players who wanted a wage

[Zog1]

31 minutes ago, Ratwhite said:

imagine if we’d played ACD on left and Gale on the right from the off.

and we had a big strapping forward who can head the ball. And the wingers crossed the ball into the box at first attempt.

imagine what may have happened 

I think the pure shock of that would have had us 2/3 up by half time. 

[Whitestar]

12 minutes ago, Dimron said:

That was a player who WANTED the ball playing against players who wanted a wage

I'm sure i read on wanderers ways early in the season that Taylor was one of the fastest players in all the leagues.

Well call me old fashioned but that looks like he had just got up out of a wheelchair.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

He seemed decent pre season, but with the form of Conway, didn't get in.

I suspect he's disillusioned and pissed off, and not in the right frame of mind.

In which case he should just fuck right off.

If he is in the right frame of mind, then his level isn't good enough. 

[Farnywhite]

Didn’t we give simons a 4 year contract as well ? Think we handed out a few four year deals in the summer 

[RUREADY2ROLL]

10 hours ago, Farnywhite said:

Didn’t we give simons a 4 year contract as well ? Think we handed out a few four year deals in the summer 

That Fergal has ruined us and looks like we can’t afford the squad and left with many sub standard players

[Rival Son]

14 hours ago, Farnywhite said:

Didn’t we give simons a 4 year contract as well ? Think we handed out a few four year deals in the summer 

3 years for Simons. Still questionable. Don’t understand the love-in from some on here. Has shown very little, in my opinion.

[meanderson93]

2 hours ago, Rival Son said:

3 years for Simons. Still questionable. Don’t understand the love-in from some on here. Has shown very little, in my opinion.

Can't fault giving him that contract when you've spent money on the lad, only 22, come from a good academy, played a good amount of football at our level and above. England Youth International.

In a rut like the rest of them but had a fantastic first couple of months, arguably the best midfielder in the league in that span, no sense being revisionist now we're struggling. It was and remains a good signing.

[Tombwfc]

1 hour ago, meanderson93 said:

Can't fault giving him that contract when you've spent money on the lad, only 22, come from a good academy, played a good amount of football at our level and above. England Youth International.

In a rut like the rest of them but had a fantastic first couple of months, arguably the best midfielder in the league in that span, no sense being revisionist now we're struggling. It was and remains a good signing.

 

By what criteria are we judging he was the best midfielder in the league? 

[Johnnyrotten]

6 minutes ago, Tombwfc said:

 

By what criteria are we judging he was the best midfielder in the league? 

I agree that can't be knowledge that anyone would have at any time never mind after 2 or 3 months.

And Castledine scoring for fun at Huddersfield would have more votes than Simons.  Then there are the proven one's doing it season after season not for 3 months, like Connell or Sheehan arguably.

But Simons looked quality, his passing, tackling, physicality, organising and driving forward at the heart of a defence was a step up from what we'd got used to, he also nearly had that champagne moment at Blackpool that was chalked off.

But that was months ago, a different player since.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

2 hours ago, Tombwfc said:

 

By what criteria are we judging he was the best midfielder in the league? 

Fair point, though he was playing well.

At the same time he no longer is.

He starts well, so he is, irrespective of current form.

If he had started poorly, and improved, would he have still been shit?

Whether he turns out to be a good signing is yet to be determined for me.

 

[RUREADY2ROLL]

1 hour ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Fair point, though he was playing well.

At the same time he no longer is.

He starts well, so he is, irrespective of current form.

If he had started poorly, and improved, would he have still been shit?

Whether he turns out to be a good signing is yet to be determined for me.

 

Simons is the best signing of the summer( apart from ACD but he is just on loan).

Something has happened because he was quality but doesn’t seem to bother any more

[Tonge moor green jacket]

12 hours ago, RUREADY2ROLL said:

Simons is the best signing of the summer( apart from ACD but he is just on loan).

Something has happened because he was quality but doesn’t seem to bother any more

Agree with you.

My point was simply that had he started poorly and got better, would he have been labelled "cack" from off and still have that tag, even though he had improved?

Either way, there would be levels of ability on show, and some doubt over consistency, with the possibility of a different view from fans.

Something has definitely gone on that has upset the apple cart.

[L/H White]

luton reinstated after swindon fielded 2 ineligible players 

[RUREADY2ROLL]

1 hour ago, L/H White said:

luton reinstated after swindon fielded 2 ineligible players 

Might have done that against us in the FA Cup