A View From The Other Side

[jmjhb]

That's not going to win any awards for journalism 🤣

[matty2094]

[matty2094]

MATCH THREAD

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Small complaint but why a white flag instead of green.

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Really poor defending from Argyle. The lad was completely unmarked.

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This could get embarrassing

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WHERE IS THE fudging DEFENCE

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Tugboat said:

This could get embarrassing

It already is

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We look completely shellshocked. What a completely disastrous start.

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Trying to stay positive, at least we've got plenty of time to put it right!

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We look totally overwhelmed by the occasion whereas they’re on it and confident.

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What a total clusterf**k this has been so far.

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Longs balls to Hardie being marked by Santos clearly not going to work.
Defence are all over the place and Dempsey is running the show for them.

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Men against boys

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Tackle dummies would be more effective than our midfield

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Hit and hope to Hardie, that’s all we’ve got.

And at the other end they’re ripping us a new one.

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They have too much pace between the lines for our 3 big centre-halves.

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Defence is absolutely shambolic, their attack are just walking through us with ease!

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Bolton should probably be 4 up.

This is so bad.

They want it, we don’t.

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This could quite easily end up being the 4th time this season we’ve conceded 5 away from home. We’re only still in this because Bolton have let us off the hook.

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Never seen a concourse this busy on 35 minutes.

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Bolton started at 100mph and we looked completely shellshocked, and unable to handle it.

Would have no complaints if we were 4 down here, we've looked terrified every time they attack. Houghton is so far off the pace it's embarrassing.

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An embarrassment of a performance. They should be 4 0 up

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Terrible half for us, really poor.
Tactically Evatt has got it right as well and we need to change the shape as soon as possible.
This isn't gone yet though, we're better than this.
COYG

HALFTIME

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Ridiculously easy for Bolton, I am afraid. What a anti-climax

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The right decision by the referee in the context this is a Wembley Final but that was an horrendous challenge and a straight red all day long .

Lucky boy

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Wrong prep. Bolton travelled Friday. Trained in London and toured the stadium Saturday. We travelled on Saturday ….

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Wow they had us all ends up for 35 minutes. Couldn't cope with Dempsey at all. This has another 5 drubbing (it should be 4 already) unless Shuey changes something.

I hate Wembley

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Two goals from our own throws. That’s just unacceptable

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ITS Fudging SUNDAY LEAGUE

NOT CUP FINAL

🤬🤬🤬

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Awful goal. Unacceptable at any level. What a shame.

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One of the worst performances in living memory. This is an absolute Fudging disgrace. It's like Premier League vs Conference South.

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One of the worst Argyle performances I’ve ever seen, and at the home of football.

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39000 fans turn up - the team doesn’t. Sad

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This is the Argyle way, we bottle the big occasions, it’ll always be the case. That’s why I seriously hope we can get over the line in the League because in the play offs we’ll have no chance.

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For the first ever time in my life I'm thinking if leaving early.

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This has got 5 conceded written all over it. Bolton have got us all ends up and some

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How are we top?

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Embarrassing, another terrible bit of defending. Should have been a pen to Bolton is ref had seen the push. Awful. Horrific

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Don’t think I’ve ever felt as humiliated as an Argyle fan. We have been comprehensively mullered as a starter followed by a second course of being shown how to play football

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Just when I thought it couldn't be worse - I thought we may get this lot in the play offs.

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I don’t see them winning another game

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Public humiliation over, sat beside the Bolton fans and bailed at 70 minutes

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Feels depressing to be walking back down Wembley way with 20 minutes to go.

Useless.

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Pick a number, could be 8 or 9 still.

It’s so bad I wouldn’t surprised to see refunds given.

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This has been like that Man City v Watford final from a few years back. Let’s hope it’s the last time the lads sleepwalk into a game. It has cost us. Credit to Bolton for being on their game though.

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I never came back for the 2nd, stayed at the bar and left the ground at 4 nil, I’ve never done that before.

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How can Bolton have two players tackling one Argyle player and still have one Bolton player picking up the loose ball and having a choice of 3-4 Bolton players to pass to??

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Lucky that's not a red

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I'm in a pub with, God help me, a couple of Exeter fans on a nearby table. They're currently amusing themselves by reading this thread out loud in exaggerated Janner accents and laughing uproariously. Excuse me while I go and flush my head down the toilet.

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He should be off for that, awful tackle.

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Everytime we get the ball, we slow it down.

Everytime they get it, they speed it up.

One team wanted this today, and it wasn't us.

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A very slow start from us and we never really got going. The main difference has been Bolton have run and carried the ball. We’ve tried to pass and been pressed to the point of not getting anywhere. We’ve also looked second best physically and fitness wise. Strange performance. The 2-0 lead hit our confidence and buoyed theirs. 

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The strange thing about this is that we can still go up as Champions whereas Bolton might even find themselves out of the playoffs.

And that would be strange.

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All credit to wanderers.
Bolton players seem technically superior.

FULL TIME

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Only 4 very lucky

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We've flattered to deceive all season. Hopefully we have an easy enough run in to get over the line. If we fall out of the autos it's season over.

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4 nil is a very good result considering the performance.

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That could and should have been 6 or 7. Boy that was arse. 

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It was bad enough with us looking poor to such a giant audience, but that tackle from Cosgrove at the end made it even worse by making us look like childish thugs.

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I do question the preparation too. Evatt bigged it up, whereas Schuey kept preparation the same

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I'm embarrassed and I took my 10 year old son away early because we didn't turn up, we didn't play football and Bolton deserve the victory. 

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Hardie was in Santos’s pocket.

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After the third goal I knew there was no coming back, then the fourth I had to leave, couldn't watch anymore!

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i'm always disappointed when we lose but this abject performance has me feeling let down for the first time since schuey started here.bolton were superb.

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Dion Charles and elias tkachuknga cut us to shreds with their pace, movement and finishing - ably assisted by Kyle Dempsey

Gethin jones gave our left sided players little change

If this was just a one off I wouldn't be so worried- but I fear it points to serious recruitment issues in the summer

Charles,kacunga, Dempsey and jones are the type of players we need to be targeting

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As I drove home from work (I obviously didn’t go to London) I did wonder how many times we have worn the third strip and what was our record with it? So many passes going astray and being over and under passed I do wonder if it wasn’t off putting or not nearly as clear as the white Bolton shirt. So much passing and movement from Bolton that it would be easier to see a flash of white running through than the black and green pinstripes.

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I agree, Hardie was having longs balls kicked at him in the first half when he was being marked by Santos. If the game plan was long balls to a centre forward why have Cosgrove on the bench..

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I would disagree with Hardie being in Santos pocket. How tall is Santos and how tall is Hardie I mean anyone of Hardie's height having balls kicked at him would struggle against Santos.

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Argyle are not massive everywhere we go.

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Truly outplayed from the 1st to last minute,every time Bolton attacked I feared the worst, I do fear that result/mauling might effect the run in

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Should we be relieved that Bolton only managed 4 today then? Green shoots of recovery!!!

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Mayor & Cosgrove were both lucky not to be sent off
Am afraid the whole thing will have left a nasty taste in the mouth of a lot of supporters ,we have now played in 2 Wembley finals in 7 years & not managed to score a goal !
Am just glad i dont work with a Bolton or worse still Exshitter supporter, by the way Spotlight & local ITV sports coverage such as it is, will have a field day .

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Also I now have a new favourite player to hate. Dion Charles. He’s deffo the type who would hit you then roll around holding his face. Connor Bradley for them is some player tho.

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Absolute abomination today, never got started, second to everything, gave them so much space and the freedom to do what they wanted. Complete shambles today.

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It is difficult after watching the match to understand how Bolton have accrued 16 points less than Argyle. It should read the other way around, I would have thought.

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Totally agree about being second best physically and fitness wise...Bolton were so much quicker all over the pitch

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Never in my wildest nightmares did I expect it to be that bad. It looked like top of League 1 versus bottom of League 2, at best. Abject performances all over the pitch, the tone set by Dan Scarr gifting possession to them in the 2nd minute, conceding a stupid free kick (which he should have been booked for), corner, free header, goal.
Charlton, Grimsby, Peterborough, Barnsley, Bolton. 5 absolute maulings in a season that has otherwise been truly outstanding. It is truly bizarre and if we do make it up automatically there will be a significant rebuilding job to do on the defence, and our strategy and tactics away from home next season. If we end up in the playoffs we'll be playing League 1 football again next season.

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I’ve not read the previous threads but I am completely shocked with how poor we were today. Apart from the performance, the other disappointment was the complete lack of noise from the 39000 Argyle fans. Who could blame them ? I suppose everyone was in complete shock after 10 minutes.

Let’s hope we can put in a performance against the middle / bottom teams in our remaining games. I still think we can finish in the top two. I certainly wouldn’t want to play Bolton again ……

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Total shocker. My theory is that psychologically they were prepared wrongly. Was this ‘a cup final to just enjoy and the real focus is promotion’ of course they wanted to win but how much? It was obvious to all that ZbBolton were very much treating this like a must win game. Before the game I wasn’t that worried about the result as it was a bit of a ‘free hit. ‘
However I am a tad angry at that complete ‘no show’. Embarrassing, and to have to listen to the 35,000 Bolton supporters enjoying it so much was just excruciating.

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 My 8 year old daughter (at her first Argyle game) at one point asked me, why aren't Argyle trying as hard as Bolton? Says it all really.

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Credit to Bolton - they were good. But we were absolutely terrible, and that's the most disappointing thing. Really didn't do ourselves justice on the biggest stage (again).

 

[Tombwfc]

Certainly know how that feels.

[Arrested development]

I know how they feel but I can finally stop being pissed off at Robert Huth scoring a 30 yard volley. Demons banished.

[Matt Lofthouse]

Great compilation Matty 👍🏼 

Read it with a silly grin on my face. 

[tomski]

Seem a sincere and honest bunch reading that. Wish em well for the season providing we don’t meet again. 
 

Credit where credit is due, our game plan and execution was nothing short of superb.

[RUREADY2ROLL]

Just now, tomski said:

Seem a sincere and honest bunch reading that. Wish em well for the season providing we don’t meet again. 
 

Credit where credit is due, our game plan and execution was nothing short of superb.

Just hope Ipswich and Barnsley get the automatic places because I think we can beat the rest easily

[Matt Lofthouse]

5 minutes ago, RUREADY2ROLL said:

Just hope Ipswich and Barnsley get the automatic places because I think we can beat the rest easily

Agreed. Ipswich did a job on us need to avoid. Not arsed about the rest.

[tomski]

26 minutes ago, RUREADY2ROLL said:

Just hope Ipswich and Barnsley get the automatic places because I think we can beat the rest easily

Sadly im

not at that square. 

Need to qualify which isn’t a given yet.

Think we should/need to finish 5th.

Yesterday was a big shot in the arm for handling the big game/occasion though.

[Barnstoneworth White]

Great work Matty 

[Benny The Ball]

I always enjoy reading these views from our opponents fans , and with yesterday being such a  high profile game i thought i would while a way an hour looking on a few of our local and play off rivals forums to see if we got a mention 

Here is a small selection of the comments 

Preston

Hate him, but Evatt is doing a super job with this Bolton side. No right to be matching the other clubs in the top 6 but they’re aggressive and positive all over the pitch Very impressed

Blackpool fans will be suggesting him as their next manager……Truth is that Bolton could be swapping places with Blackpool

 Blackpool

I'm no Bolton fan but a big well done to Evo (& of course their top keeper coach Matt Gilks) - now move to BFC, as you won't get promoted 🤣

Make him an offer he can't refuse and pay the compo. Show him the vision.

Show him WHAT. Vision? Bolton took best part of 40 000 fans to Wembley and in the promotion mix. I think he's already pretty excited about Bolton's vision at the moment. Not even sure whatever vision we might have is even visible sadly 

 Manchester City

 Surprised no thread......
But huge congratulations to Bolton for winning the Football League Trophy,in front of 80k at Wembley,yesterday. Special mention for our own James Trafford too,who was again in great form and is really making a name for himself between the sticks (Trafford made one outstanding save from Hardie in the first half that came at a crucial stage of the game. He had the confidence of a seasoned veteran)

 Bet that Japanese fan that was all over the bbc sports reports pre-game who came over to support Plymouth was pissed off.

 I was at Wembley in support of my home town club, Plymouth Argyle. A thoroughly chastening experience. With Bolton failing to score against the Greens in either league meeting and Argyle 16 points above Wanderers in the table, no one saw this coming! Bolton completely outclassed Plymouth and we were lucky to get away with conceding "only" the four. I just hope this does not derail our promotion campaign - would certainly hate to meet Bolton in a play off final!

I have a mate who now lives and works in Nottingham.Carried on supporting the Trotters through thick and thin. He's 40 this year and has decided to watch every single first team game. Yesterday was game number 49. He's writing a book about this season and all his experiences following Bolton. He's a smashing lad and I am really chuffed to bits for him - he went to the semi final against Stoke all those years ago and yesterday was pretty cathartic for him to say the least. Silly sod has text me this morning to say he's had to go in work with a very, very, very thick head!

Barnsley

Bolton on fire. Hope this knocks the stuffing out of Plymouth

When the pressure on Plymouth bottle it ,hope springs eternal

Green Army looking a bit green around the gills

Cum on Plymouth got 240 quid riding on this,

The way it’s looking now for the top six (as it was with Derby in it):
Ipswich, Reds, Bolton - all going up.
Weds, Plymouth, Derby - wheels already off or coming off.

stark reminder to anyone thinking league position makes any difference in the play offs

I said before we played Plymouth that they have it in them to completely capitulate. They've taken some hammerings this season despite being 2nd in the league and still in pole position to win the title.They also seem to get jitters for the big games. They threw away their play-off spot on the last game of last season when they got hammered by MK Dons.
I hope they carry this form into the league.

The score is hardly a surprise to anyone who saw both teams at Oakwell.

Don't forget Plymouth don't lose any points today. They get to dust themselves down and come out all guns firing next week. In fact, they'll want to show that this is a one-off

Plymouth hopefully will bottle the run in and open it up to us to push past into the top two. Can see us and Ipswich battling out for the title. Who would have thought that at the end of last season

I've blown 100 quid backed em at 7/5 thought they were a good thing, move on, back to the grindstone.

Sheffield Wednesday

 Bolton showing that they'll be the team to beat on the Playoffs, nice mix of experience and youth. I think they're better than Barnsley

 May end up meaning very little. Confidence hit a bit, though they've got Morecambe next which is about as good a fixture as you could hope to have to recover. Still - makes you wonder what they'd do if they wound up in the play offs.

 I’m expecting Ipswich winning the league, and Bolton are the only team that worry me in the play offs. Think we’ll smash the others if we play um. 

 Nice to see Lee win something, even if it is just this trophy

 Plymouth fans have been taking the P out of the Owlstalk ‘meltdown’ all weekend. 

Ironic considering the monumental meltdown going on on their forum right now.

Portsmouth

Oops a f***ing daisy  Bit of a battering, they've not had many of those this season, didn't see that coming. Hey ho, a little slip up in the league too now would be welcome.

 I'm generally an optimist, but got to admit, the first thing I got from that result was hoping it doesn't boost Bolton's confidence.

Hoping for the best of both points of view. Bolton slump and we replace them in the play-offs. Then, we take on and thrash a dispirited Plymouth

and from one of my favourite forums 

Sunderland

 Some start by Bolton like...Plymouth have never had a kick, haway Argyle!

 Plymouth work rate is on a par with their dockyard workers

 If Bolton turned up like this, and like they did last season against us, they wouldn't be in this league.

 Ian Evatt's looking like he's a good manager mind

 Winning a final at Wembley 100 years after winning the first one at the stadium makes it even more special. 79,389 there as well, biggest attendance in Europe this weekend.

 Happy for Bolton. Proper Football Club.

 

Oh and here's a surprise we didnt get so much of a mention on the Wigan Blackburn and Tranmere forums

 

[Mounts Kipper]

22 minutes ago, Benny The Ball said:

I always enjoy reading these views from our opponents fans , and with yesterday being such a  high profile game i thought i would while a way an hour looking on a few of our local and play off rivals forums to see if we got a mention 

Here is a small selection of the comments 

Preston

Hate him, but Evatt is doing a super job with this Bolton side. No right to be matching the other clubs in the top 6 but they’re aggressive and positive all over the pitch Very impressed

Blackpool fans will be suggesting him as their next manager……Truth is that Bolton could be swapping places with Blackpool

 Blackpool

I'm no Bolton fan but a big well done to Evo (& of course their top keeper coach Matt Gilks) - now move to BFC, as you won't get promoted 🤣

Make him an offer he can't refuse and pay the compo. Show him the vision.

Show him WHAT. Vision? Bolton took best part of 40 000 fans to Wembley and in the promotion mix. I think he's already pretty excited about Bolton's vision at the moment. Not even sure whatever vision we might have is even visible sadly 

 Manchester City

 Surprised no thread......
But huge congratulations to Bolton for winning the Football League Trophy,in front of 80k at Wembley,yesterday. Special mention for our own James Trafford too,who was again in great form and is really making a name for himself between the sticks (Trafford made one outstanding save from Hardie in the first half that came at a crucial stage of the game. He had the confidence of a seasoned veteran)

 Bet that Japanese fan that was all over the bbc sports reports pre-game who came over to support Plymouth was pissed off.

 I was at Wembley in support of my home town club, Plymouth Argyle. A thoroughly chastening experience. With Bolton failing to score against the Greens in either league meeting and Argyle 16 points above Wanderers in the table, no one saw this coming! Bolton completely outclassed Plymouth and we were lucky to get away with conceding "only" the four. I just hope this does not derail our promotion campaign - would certainly hate to meet Bolton in a play off final!

I have a mate who now lives and works in Nottingham.Carried on supporting the Trotters through thick and thin. He's 40 this year and has decided to watch every single first team game. Yesterday was game number 49. He's writing a book about this season and all his experiences following Bolton. He's a smashing lad and I am really chuffed to bits for him - he went to the semi final against Stoke all those years ago and yesterday was pretty cathartic for him to say the least. Silly sod has text me this morning to say he's had to go in work with a very, very, very thick head!

Barnsley

Bolton on fire. Hope this knocks the stuffing out of Plymouth

When the pressure on Plymouth bottle it ,hope springs eternal

Green Army looking a bit green around the gills

Cum on Plymouth got 240 quid riding on this,

The way it’s looking now for the top six (as it was with Derby in it):
Ipswich, Reds, Bolton - all going up.
Weds, Plymouth, Derby - wheels already off or coming off.

stark reminder to anyone thinking league position makes any difference in the play offs

I said before we played Plymouth that they have it in them to completely capitulate. They've taken some hammerings this season despite being 2nd in the league and still in pole position to win the title.They also seem to get jitters for the big games. They threw away their play-off spot on the last game of last season when they got hammered by MK Dons.
I hope they carry this form into the league.

The score is hardly a surprise to anyone who saw both teams at Oakwell.

Don't forget Plymouth don't lose any points today. They get to dust themselves down and come out all guns firing next week. In fact, they'll want to show that this is a one-off

Plymouth hopefully will bottle the run in and open it up to us to push past into the top two. Can see us and Ipswich battling out for the title. Who would have thought that at the end of last season

I've blown 100 quid backed em at 7/5 thought they were a good thing, move on, back to the grindstone.

Sheffield Wednesday

 Bolton showing that they'll be the team to beat on the Playoffs, nice mix of experience and youth. I think they're better than Barnsley

 May end up meaning very little. Confidence hit a bit, though they've got Morecambe next which is about as good a fixture as you could hope to have to recover. Still - makes you wonder what they'd do if they wound up in the play offs.

 I’m expecting Ipswich winning the league, and Bolton are the only team that worry me in the play offs. Think we’ll smash the others if we play um. 

 Nice to see Lee win something, even if it is just this trophy

 Plymouth fans have been taking the P out of the Owlstalk ‘meltdown’ all weekend. 

Ironic considering the monumental meltdown going on on their forum right now.

Portsmouth

Oops a f***ing daisy  Bit of a battering, they've not had many of those this season, didn't see that coming. Hey ho, a little slip up in the league too now would be welcome.

 I'm generally an optimist, but got to admit, the first thing I got from that result was hoping it doesn't boost Bolton's confidence.

Hoping for the best of both points of view. Bolton slump and we replace them in the play-offs. Then, we take on and thrash a dispirited Plymouth

and from one of my favourite forums 

Sunderland

 Some start by Bolton like...Plymouth have never had a kick, haway Argyle!

 Plymouth work rate is on a par with their dockyard workers

 If Bolton turned up like this, and like they did last season against us, they wouldn't be in this league.

 Ian Evatt's looking like he's a good manager mind

 Winning a final at Wembley 100 years after winning the first one at the stadium makes it even more special. 79,389 there as well, biggest attendance in Europe this weekend.

 Happy for Bolton. Proper Football Club.

 

Oh and here's a surprise we didnt get so much of a mention on the Wigan Blackburn and Tranmere forums

 

I love it when proper football clubs fans like Sunderland know we’re a proper football club…I’m sad I know but it’s great they do. Up the Trotters!! 

[little whitt]

1 hour ago, Benny The Ball said:

I always enjoy reading these views from our opponents fans , and with yesterday being such a  high profile game i thought i would while a way an hour looking on a few of our local and play off rivals forums to see if we got a mention 

Here is a small selection of the comments 

Preston

Hate him, but Evatt is doing a super job with this Bolton side. No right to be matching the other clubs in the top 6 but they’re aggressive and positive all over the pitch Very impressed

Blackpool fans will be suggesting him as their next manager……Truth is that Bolton could be swapping places with Blackpool

 Blackpool

I'm no Bolton fan but a big well done to Evo (& of course their top keeper coach Matt Gilks) - now move to BFC, as you won't get promoted 🤣

Make him an offer he can't refuse and pay the compo. Show him the vision.

Show him WHAT. Vision? Bolton took best part of 40 000 fans to Wembley and in the promotion mix. I think he's already pretty excited about Bolton's vision at the moment. Not even sure whatever vision we might have is even visible sadly 

 Manchester City

 Surprised no thread......
But huge congratulations to Bolton for winning the Football League Trophy,in front of 80k at Wembley,yesterday. Special mention for our own James Trafford too,who was again in great form and is really making a name for himself between the sticks (Trafford made one outstanding save from Hardie in the first half that came at a crucial stage of the game. He had the confidence of a seasoned veteran)

 Bet that Japanese fan that was all over the bbc sports reports pre-game who came over to support Plymouth was pissed off.

 I was at Wembley in support of my home town club, Plymouth Argyle. A thoroughly chastening experience. With Bolton failing to score against the Greens in either league meeting and Argyle 16 points above Wanderers in the table, no one saw this coming! Bolton completely outclassed Plymouth and we were lucky to get away with conceding "only" the four. I just hope this does not derail our promotion campaign - would certainly hate to meet Bolton in a play off final!

I have a mate who now lives and works in Nottingham.Carried on supporting the Trotters through thick and thin. He's 40 this year and has decided to watch every single first team game. Yesterday was game number 49. He's writing a book about this season and all his experiences following Bolton. He's a smashing lad and I am really chuffed to bits for him - he went to the semi final against Stoke all those years ago and yesterday was pretty cathartic for him to say the least. Silly sod has text me this morning to say he's had to go in work with a very, very, very thick head!

Barnsley

Bolton on fire. Hope this knocks the stuffing out of Plymouth

When the pressure on Plymouth bottle it ,hope springs eternal

Green Army looking a bit green around the gills

Cum on Plymouth got 240 quid riding on this,

The way it’s looking now for the top six (as it was with Derby in it):
Ipswich, Reds, Bolton - all going up.
Weds, Plymouth, Derby - wheels already off or coming off.

stark reminder to anyone thinking league position makes any difference in the play offs

I said before we played Plymouth that they have it in them to completely capitulate. They've taken some hammerings this season despite being 2nd in the league and still in pole position to win the title.They also seem to get jitters for the big games. They threw away their play-off spot on the last game of last season when they got hammered by MK Dons.
I hope they carry this form into the league.

The score is hardly a surprise to anyone who saw both teams at Oakwell.

Don't forget Plymouth don't lose any points today. They get to dust themselves down and come out all guns firing next week. In fact, they'll want to show that this is a one-off

Plymouth hopefully will bottle the run in and open it up to us to push past into the top two. Can see us and Ipswich battling out for the title. Who would have thought that at the end of last season

I've blown 100 quid backed em at 7/5 thought they were a good thing, move on, back to the grindstone.

Sheffield Wednesday

 Bolton showing that they'll be the team to beat on the Playoffs, nice mix of experience and youth. I think they're better than Barnsley

 May end up meaning very little. Confidence hit a bit, though they've got Morecambe next which is about as good a fixture as you could hope to have to recover. Still - makes you wonder what they'd do if they wound up in the play offs.

 I’m expecting Ipswich winning the league, and Bolton are the only team that worry me in the play offs. Think we’ll smash the others if we play um. 

 Nice to see Lee win something, even if it is just this trophy

 Plymouth fans have been taking the P out of the Owlstalk ‘meltdown’ all weekend. 

Ironic considering the monumental meltdown going on on their forum right now.

Portsmouth

Oops a f***ing daisy  Bit of a battering, they've not had many of those this season, didn't see that coming. Hey ho, a little slip up in the league too now would be welcome.

 I'm generally an optimist, but got to admit, the first thing I got from that result was hoping it doesn't boost Bolton's confidence.

Hoping for the best of both points of view. Bolton slump and we replace them in the play-offs. Then, we take on and thrash a dispirited Plymouth

and from one of my favourite forums 

Sunderland

 Some start by Bolton like...Plymouth have never had a kick, haway Argyle!

 Plymouth work rate is on a par with their dockyard workers

 If Bolton turned up like this, and like they did last season against us, they wouldn't be in this league.

 Ian Evatt's looking like he's a good manager mind

 Winning a final at Wembley 100 years after winning the first one at the stadium makes it even more special. 79,389 there as well, biggest attendance in Europe this weekend.

 Happy for Bolton. Proper Football Club.

 

Oh and here's a surprise we didnt get so much of a mention on the Wigan Blackburn and Tranmere forums

 

@Marc505 this you

 

[little whitt]

5 hours ago, matty2094 said:

MATCH THREAD

HALFTIME

FULL TIME

 

Some Classics in there 

[Mantra]

Great work Matty and Benny, what a fucking weekend 🤩

[Casino]

1 hour ago, little whitt said:

@Marc505 this you

 

No way hes only 40

But yes, pretty sure its him

[Marc505]

1 hour ago, little whitt said:

@Marc505 this you

 

Ha! I'll be messaging him again later, bloody giving my age away like that 😀

[little whitt]

11 minutes ago, Casino said:

No way hes only 40

But yes, pretty sure its him

Was born on a Leap year 😜

[MickyD]

Exeter City forum. https://www.exeweb.com/forums/threads/bolton-wanderers-home-discussion-prediction-thread.64327/

 

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Looking forward to congratulating Bolton as they parade their EFL trophy around the pitch before kick off.

 

[globaldiver]

18 hours ago, Marc505 said:

Ha! I'll be messaging him again later, bloody giving my age away like that 😀

We’ve got the book to look forward to!

[Marc505]

5 hours ago, globaldiver said:

We’ve got the book to look forward to!

Who knows how it will end 😀 probably be a fair while off, but hopefully finishes up with a Wembley return!

[Wanderlust]

3 hours ago, Marc505 said:

Who knows how it will end 😀 probably be a fair while off, but hopefully finishes up with a Wembley return!

TBF Wanderers have given you some fantastic material to work with - bloody roller coaster ride watching us. Love this club.

In other news, Mexican ref gets 12 game ban for kneeing a gobby player in the nads.

[BeeversLeftPeg]

Back for a brand new season folks - here we go!

Pre-match and it's already getting tiresome:

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What would you expect in the Tough Shit Stadium - or Constipation Stadium as my brother is calling it.

Let's get the songs going this afternoon!

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Yep, deffo at the Tough Sh**t stadium....

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Morning Imps! Looking forward to this, will be good to see how the revitalised squad is gelling. Safe travels to everyone headed for the Toughsh*t (that name's definitely staying!) today.

Onto predictions:

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Afternoon Imps.

I'll take the draw and a big win next week please Bob.

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Good morning/afternoon Imps. Happy to be here with everyone again for the first game of the season. Come on City let’s start the season on fire.

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Almost the last half hour before the start of the season. About at my most optimistic. What could possibly go wrong? UTI

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Afternoon match thread team. Felt since the fixtures came out we'd win this 1-0, but now not so sure. Could be a tricky afternoon. Should be interesting anyway!

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about to start now. Here we go, come on City.
let’s take it to Bolton today.

4 minutes in...

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Oh dear

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Kinell

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It's going to be a long day...

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Not a good start. Bugger

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Radio said it shouldn’t have been a corner

Our mate Jules loving Wanderers TV coverage, and the Wanderers fans, and the referee:

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One lucky corner that resulted in a goal and they have done little since. The home commentary is crap.

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The irony of their supporters shouting for handball in the box when they got a corner from their own players hand...

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Clear foul on House not given.

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Their commentators make our long throw sound like some sort of dirty tactic...

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Clear push. Should be a booking for something so blatant!

'Dirty Bolton'

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Dirty Bolton this isn't it? Foul a minute.

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They seem to like committing fouls...

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Every time we get the ball they foul us.

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Nothing changes with them always been dirty barstewards and always will be. Imps 4ever and we can win this 

Half Time:

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Well, one down at the break from a corner that was a goal kick...

 

A little balance:

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Ref's been fine. We've been poor. Bolton started well but dropped off. We're still in it but need to improve massively.

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Bolton look pretty decent... and we've improved as the half went on. Chance of a draw maybe - but this probably one of ghe toughest games all season.

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Actually if you slow a replay down Paudie played it off Roughan. Watch Sean’s reaction. He heads straight back for a corner. At full speed it does look like a goal kick though due to the camera angle.

Jules is back, and is turning on his own

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I'm not sure how much longer I can listen to the bullshit that is the home commentary. I expect some bias, but not as much as this, with total disrespect to us.

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I think I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself in the second half, to keep @Sincilbanks happy.

Can't have me taking advantage of my way to release some frustration/anger by way of posting on the match threads. Something which I have stated many times before!

Big Vic scores the second:

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FFS 2 goals from corners

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Another set piece buggeration

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Still plenty of time to get 3 goals and win this 

3-0

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All over

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Blow up ref, that's enough for today

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I wouldn't say we are bad, we just look rusty. We are a yard off the pace, more importantly we are slow in making decisions which is making us look worse. I question if we put enough competitive minutes into the team pre season?

Post match views

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As said, Bolton have the players to be a top side this season so I think that this was always going to be a tricky opening game.

On to the next match, with some areas to work on and some relationships to develop.

Come on you Imps !!!!!!

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3-0 was what I expected all day - sometimes you just feel a result. The way it happened is disappointing, but I suppose it is easier to address defending corners than if we'd been sliced open for the goals

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The more worrying stat is no shots on target over 104 minutes

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Bolton will be up there, and rightly so. Played some lovely football at times.

As a poster has said above, it’s easier to analyse how to defend set pieces in future compared to if we were exposed and wide open.

Bolton will be beating plenty of teams by 3+ goals this season. It’s a shame we’re the first, but we certainly won’t be the last.

Hamilton was a positive.

Intrigued to see how MK reviews the game.

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We were dog shit.....

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Just got back from the Toughshit, I hate the place, Imps now played 4 lost 4 and I've been to all them.

Bolton were as cynical as last season, weak ref let them get away with a lot too. But not many will finish above them.

So our performance needs to be seen in that context. We were, however, sluggish throughout, so still undercooked - I'd treat that as a positive.

Really missed Rushworth and Poole. Defending of corners was rock solid last season, conceded via a free header from the first this season and repeated the trick for the second. Communication a work in progress, Jacko gave Jensen a real rollicking at one point. Several of last seasons stalwarts had shaky matches including O'Connor and House.

Positives? We wont play Bolton every week. Walker, and the squad, will get fitter and better understanding. As others have said, Hamilton looked class.

Disappointing, but not doomed. Onto the next!

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Bolton far and away the better of the teams today and will be up there come May. No shame in losing to the better team, but bit concerned on how easy it was for Bolton… they may not have an easier game this season and barely had to get out of 2nd gear. Bolton defence has its fragilities but we didn’t expose it enough, that said they were very streetwise and stopped any attacks before momentum could build.

We looked a yard off the pace and unfit! We have Bolton far too much space and respect and lost the midfield battle. They seemed to have a man or two in space at all times, at one point I counted how many players were on the pitch. We looked slow and the defensive line looks vulnerable to pace. Desperately hoping we are going to get a few more players as the bench was lacking any depth. The defending of set pieces was a bit worrying. Sorensen looked out most dangerous outlet, but a bit rusty in defending (though in fairness he came out against a very good winger in Williams).

Liked the look of Hamilton who got round the pitch well. We created a couple of half decent chances and Hackett should have scored with his header.

First game of the season out the way and it’s difficult to know exactly where we are at, but certainly work to do!!

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Bolton were very good indeed. Slick purposeful passing, lots of quick movement, using the full width of the pitch, mixing up long and short games to great effect, and more.

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The most depressing thing about modern football is the cynical so-called professional fouling that is ruining the game.
Bolton were the masters of it yesterday (and I know we also indulge from time to time). I just want to see attractive, skillful football, especially when one side like us is under the cosh. Is that too much to ask?
We just start to get in good positions in midfield and before the final pass can be made a pull or trip gives away a foul. The ref yesterday was so inconsistent and the award of a mere free kick does not seem to fit the crime.

Jules is back!

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Just to please one person I decided to sign out at half time. That was tough. This thread is my release from the rest of the crap in life, as I have said time and time again!

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I'm feeling really relaxed tonight. I'm sat here playing FM while enjoying a few G&Ts.

I have realistic expectations of the first few matches and I think it is important we all do.

As I said in the first half, there were a couple of things we tried that will come off once things start to click.

We just need to be patient and realistic, rather than straight for the keyboard at the first opportunity to be negative.

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Sadly, money in the hands of cheats.
 

 

[athywhite1958]

Superb stuff