I know it was only stoke, and there were poor. But what a refreshing change. Muamba was MOM. elmander looks class, very direct gets a shot off asap. he helped davies who played with so much freedom and confidence. back 4 solid. nolan great start. We looked very fit, and at times quite arrogant. There seemed to be a tactic today of getting crosses in early. Steinson, goal of the month contender

 

We are top of the league

 

God to see Browny win too/

 

Bring on the toon.

 

I'm all giddy?????!!!!!!!!!

muamba had a cracking game

Mumba had a superb game, as said before would have like to see Riga get a run for Elmander instead of GMc but if that s the only neagative from Sat we doin' summat right already.

thought it quite interesting that Nolan had a much more advanced role than last year, we seemed to be playing 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-1-3 depending how you view it.

 

JOB & Muamba both seemed content to just sit deep giving Nolan licence to get further forward into the 'hole'! I personally think it worked a treat, albeit against poor oppositon.

 

Maybe GM has pulled a masterstroke by allowing Nolan to become this creative midfield type we all think we need? If he can get close to 10 gols this seson he may be proved right??

 

Muamba was MoM for me.

thought it quite interesting that Nolan had a much more advanced role than last year, we seemed to be playing 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-1-3 depending how you view it.

 

JOB & Muamba both seemed content to just sit deep giving Nolan licence to get further forward into the 'hole'! I personally think it worked a treat, albeit against poor oppositon.

 

Maybe GM has pulled a masterstroke by allowing Nolan to become this creative midfield type we all think we need? If he can get close to 10 gols this seson he may be proved right??

 

Muamba was MoM for me.

I thought

 

4-2-3-1

 

With not as big a gap between the "1" and the rest

3 quality goals ? ragging pisser , the 1st wernt a cross then ? we will get better when we have ex bolton star faye in from nxt week , 1st game in prem dont judge us yet mate . you sound like a ragging manure fan , WE ARE STOKE !

we will stay up im sure of that ,

we will stay up im sure of that ,

go and play on your own fcuking shitty board you shitdick !!! you thought you come up here and beat us easy , what a load of fcuking knobs you really are !!! your the worst team ive proberbly seen ever at the reebok !! and thats a fact !! you will get less points than derby , cause your that shite !!!!!! enjoy the prem while it lasts my friend , you`ll only be in it for one season !! you knobhead !!!!!!

we will stay up im sure of that ,

listen dickhead , i promise you , you wont !!!

Solid first half. Disappointing 2nd. Megson should really have given Riga 20 minutes when he took Elmander off.

 

Elmander looked a clever player. Muamba hardly put a foot wrong. Centre backs dealt with the aerial threat very well. Thought Samuel looked good too.

To the Stoke fan who is getting upset...do one! You were piss poor and as my mate said at half time, worse than Derby. You put us under pressure for the first 20 minutes by running around like dick heads. You then ran out of steam and I said to my mate that you had gone and lo and behold 3 quick goals. Your team looked so unfit and that is diabolical if you ask me. You can't compete in terms of qulity but surely you have to get fitter. We didn't get out of first gear in the second half as so often happens when a team scores a bundle in the first half.

Don't take it personal but you are not good enough. You got dicked by a team that struggled last season so god knows what will happen when you come up against Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez at full throttle. I am sorry Stoke but I can see a few 6 nil pastings like Derby received last season.

we will get better when we have ex bolton star faye in from nxt week , 1st game in prem dont judge us yet mate

 

You mean that you'll be just plain shite instead of extremely shite.

Take it easy on the Stokies lads.

 

They love their team just as much as we do ours and it's only right that they 'think' they can win games. We also see games through rose tinted glasses, this is a precursor of football fans.

 

Admittedly they where poor and will struggle this season, they just need a few more games under their belts to be able to judge how they will perform this season. Just like last season, Derby fans realised they where in for a rough ride and the Stoke lot will wake up soon.

Stoke will bag a few this season from those long throws/long balls into the box. It's a good job they've got the 2 Fayes to come, because they shouldn't fool themselves - the only reason they didn't get battered by at least 5 was because we took our foot off the gas & replaced a striker with a midfielder. As someone said earlier, the likes of Man Utd on a good day will hit 6+ against them without a problem.

And the best part for me is that we killed the game off instead of sitting back on a lead.

lmfao!!!!!!

beltin ! hahahaha

 

Was feeling good at half time, 3-0 up, lovin it, drinkin a (half decent) pint of the "bow!

then, i fealt like we had lost when the whistle went! sorry, to piss all those off who are just "happy" to get 3 points in the first game!

bollocks!!!!!

wtf were we doing replacing elmander with the badger? at least give riga a run!!!(yes i know someones said it before!)

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

have him warming up most of the second half and make the poor bast**d sit out the rest of the game. shame on you!

yes i'm drunk, but i'm a damn site more sober than yesterday! mccan spent the first 5 mins running after nothing! and forgive me if i get carried away, but i am of the school that says the best form of defence is attack!

bring riga on, let him go at the bag of shi*e (deffo the worst team i've seen in the prem for years!), and get our goal diff up!!!

FFS!!!!!

3 points in the bag,yes, moral victory, to who? erm who gives a shite, i wanted 5 or 6 goals!! and a blow job!!! i got neither!! assho**s!!!!

keep smiling!!!

Was at the game yesterday and it was the best opening day performance i've seen from Bolton in a few years - poss since we beat Charlton 4-1.

 

Hazzyinbolton is correct in saying that we could have wone by 5 or 6, just on some of the opportunities in the 1st half. In the second half we were quite content to pass the ball about a bit in the midfield and also spread the play with some good crossfield psses and keep Stoke off the ball and not let them have momentum or to stretch the game.

 

I would have liked to have seen Riga come on instead of McCann with 15 minutes to go as the game was won by then but never mind. Hopefully we'll see him next weekend or against Northampton.

 

Our back 5 looked very solid and dealt with nearly everything Stoke threw at us. Jussi made a couple of good saves, particularly one against Carl Cort (even tho it was offside). Samuel and Steinsson looked good in defence and linked up well with attack, overlapping and getting some good crosses and balls into the box. Cahill and O'Brien look like they've continued their soli partnetship at the back, looking composed and assured

 

Joey O'Brien really impressed me in midfield as he helped with McCnn in breaking up the play and passsing the balls out wide or to Nolan. He doesn'tquite have the composure, awareness or vision yet but that will come with experience. Muamba had an outstanding game in central midfield and grew greater in confidence as the game went on. For a 20 year old and a ?5m buy it looks like Megson has done some great business again. He won nearly every 50-50 tackle, got forward well and his passing was better than I thought it would be. Nolan did ok. He made some nice passes and almost scored after a delightful link up with Elmander. With Muamba and JOB playeing deeper I'm hoping he'll enjoy playing more advance and linking up with Davies and Elmander and getting more goals.

 

Matt Taylor for me had quite an average game. He did ok linking up with Samuel on the left side and sent across 1 or 2 teasing crosses which nearly created goals. He didn't have many set-pieces/corners from which we could use that part of his game. I'm delighted KD got on the score sheet today. I thought he played well on the right hand side and linked up well with Steinsson and helped to cover the defnce when Steinsson went forward. Is it me or does he always seem to score in the 1st game of the season? (Spurs, Villa, Stoke, BBurn spring to mind) Hopefully he'll score more goals this season and also sign a new contract

 

An finally the new ?8.2m man himself, Johan Elmander. A very impressive debut from where I was sitting. He grew into the game and whenver he got given the ball he always seemed to have an intelligent pass or flick or run and looked dangerous. Considering he's only played 2 pre-season games for the club, is at a new country and club and has had a new baby (alot of distractions + upheaval) i thought he showed alot of positives and a very able replacement (if not more suitable replacement) for Anelka. He fitted our style of play and when the team didn't have the ball he was running and chasing down the opposition, putting in blocks and tackles. I'm really glad he got a goal today as that will settle his nerves and give him confidence. He was very unlucky not to score 2 or 3 from both a Steinsson cross and a Muamba pass. The positive thing is that he will get better as he plays more and gets used to the team

 

A 3-1 score line i think is not a bad reflection on the game. Stoke had a couple of chances (namely from Delaps long throws or another set piece). A very positive start and with the prospect of 2 possible new faces to strengthen the team things are definately on the up!!

 

Player Ratings:

Jussi - 7 (could do nothing about the goal and made 1 or 2 good saves)

Steinsson - 8 (good defensively and in attack and scored a spectacular 1st goal for the club)

Samuel - 7 (looked confident in defence and got forward when given the opportunity)

Cahill - 7 (very good display but slightly responsible for Fuller's goal otherwise he would have an

A O'Brien - 7 (looked good in defence but did give away a few silly freekicks and Kitson did get ontop on occasion)

Taylor - 6 (not his best performance but solid)

J O'Brien - 7 (did well in midfield but outshone by Muamba)

Nolan - 7 (good passing and distribution, particularly for Steinssons goal. almost scored in a very nice move)

Muamba - 9 (dominated the midfield. won nearly every challenge. looked very fit and energetic. a very promising display

Davies - 8 (helped lead the line well. typical KD goal. good defending aswell particularly at set pieces

Elmander - 8/9 (very confident debut. good runs, passes and skills. tracked back very well. good header for the goal)

 

MOM - Muamba

Carl Cort

 

 

Didn't read the rest.

you lot are deluded . stoke were in control till your cross hit the net knocked us for six dont get excited you wont be far from us come end of season !

So the opening goal knocked you for six. You are in for a bad time pal. You will be getting hit for plenty of sixes then. The harsh, reality of the prem hit you in your first game.

Down to earth with a bump springs to mind.

First goal 'knocked em for six' eh....

 

 

Have fun at Stamford Bridge lads!

WHY ,WHY ,WHY

 

Didn't read the rest.

 

 

Niether did I!

Neither did I!

I did and Carl Cort, Leon Cort who cares?... It was a good match report and not so far away from what most other fans think I'd say. Nice one Jon!

 

One thing I would slightly disagree with though... and maybe just me cos nobody mentioned it yet but I wasn't too impressed with the defence and AOB in particular seemed to be a bit worrying.

 

Really excited about the Muamba and Elmander though and I think special praise should also go to Gretar... the way he jees the fans up and his obvious passion and enjoyment of the game is fantastic!

 

Come on you Whites!

Edited August 18, 200817 yr by Arnold Jackson

Niether did I!

I got to Charlton and left it at that. It's me ADHD you see!

Tony Pulis gave Meggo a job last summer as Stoke coach,i think that may have been behind the decision not to turn 3-0 into 5-0 or 6-0.

My thoughts too, I though we should have gone for it in the second half (couldn't hurt the goal difference), instead megson went more defensive. But three points, no injuries and 3rd in the league is a good day at the office.

One thing I would slightly disagree with though... and maybe just me cos nobody mentioned it yet but I wasn't too impressed with the defence and AOB in particular seemed to be a bit worrying.

 

I must admit from the bit i saw, i thought we looked a bit dodgy in the centre of defence. I still think we need another centre half.

i think your being a bit kind JLS even though i thought he got better as the game went on but was far from brilliant. AOB looked a little sloppy at times but im sure that was a bit of early season rust and he will get better.