12 minutes ago, Not in Crawley said:

Fair points, and I'm very happy to be proved utterly wrong.

I don't think he performed a minor miracle last season, but others disagree.

We have a paper thin squad, and I think we have a very inflexible manager, we should be doing better. Wouldn't surprise me if we parted company after this term.

As I say, others may disagree, and I really, really hope I'm wrong.

You expected us to go up last season without even knowing what players we were to bring in?

It doesn't need saying again but this time last year we were struggling in league two.

Its because of Evatt and his signings last season we are where we are now. If it wasn't for him we'd still be in the division below. 

Maybe we've over achieved in your eyes..  that's why you expect more. 

2 minutes ago, wanderer1984 said:

You expected us to go up last season without even knowing what players we were to bring in?

It doesn't need saying again but this time last year we were struggling in league two.

Its because of Evatt and his signings last season we are where we are now. If it wasn't for him we'd still be in the division below. 

Maybe we've over achieved in your eyes..  that's why you expect more. 

I didn't expect us to go up last season.

After the Cambridge game I really thought we were in for a shot.

I think Evatt is great for us, but I don't think we're suddenly on a run to the Championship with him I'm afraid.

19 minutes ago, Not in Crawley said:

I didn't expect us to go up last season.

After the Cambridge game I really thought we were in for a shot.

I think Evatt is great for us, but I don't think we're suddenly on a run to the Championship with him I'm afraid.

Not sure that many of us have that expectation, a few maybe on Twitter and FB but most folk I reckon would be happy with mid table and moving things forward again in next Summer's window. 

Its also not just whether we're on a run to Champ with Evatt, it's about what he's got to work with as well. Most of it was good enough to finish with a wet sail and get out of L2, a fair few finding the step up a challenge and we haven't got the budget some others have in this league for a wholesale upgrade. A steady effort this season and some further squad surgery before next season will do for me

Evatt has a plan, a way of playing & knows the type of players he wants that will fit that style. What he doesn't have is unlimited funds so he's cobbling a squad together as best he can. 

      We are moving forward for the first time in 10yrs, we have hit a bad patch & lost a bit of belief.... Its not the critical headshot that some might like to believe. It will be sorted & I for one reckon we will be a League One side in 18 months time, in the meantime I'm just grateful that watching Bolton isn't the soul destroying, boring experience it has been for many years. 

         

Was really pissed off with Kachunga's performance today and rightly so but I think he has potential to turn things around. Very easy to jump to conclusions about players early on when they don't hit the ground running.

No one's been great last few games, even Dapo has struggled at times.

Sheehan has had some criticism but hasn't got half as bad of what I've seen people say about Kachunga and I think Kach and Sheehan have been equally shite since the Sunderland game. 

Yes Sheehan's got the benefit of a free kick goal against MK Dons and scoring against Wimbledon but Kachunga also assisted the equaliser against MK Dons, which was massive.

Santos was the worst player ever for us at one point and now he's our captain. I know Madine splits opinion but he was similarly hated and then became vital to us winning. What's to say Kachunga can't turn his form around and silence his critics?

It always seems unlikely in the moment when they're not performing as you'd like but I'm going to try and not be so quick to judge him in future.

He's been at the club for what? 14 games. If he's shite then fair fucks but just don't want to scapegoat him without real reason.

12 minutes ago, Mantra said:

Was really pissed off with Kachunga's performance today and rightly so but I think he has potential to turn things around. Very easy to jump to conclusions about players early on when they don't hit the ground running.

No one's been great last few games, even Dapo has struggled at times.

Sheehan has had some criticism but hasn't got half as bad of what I've seen people say about Kachunga and I think Kach and Sheehan have been equally shite since the Sunderland game. 

Yes Sheehan's got the benefit of a free kick goal against MK Dons and scoring against Wimbledon but Kachunga also assisted the equaliser against MK Dons, which was massive.

Santos was the worst player ever for us at one point and now he's our captain. I know Madine splits opinion but he was similarly hated and then became vital to us winning. What's to say Kachunga can't turn his form around and silence his critics?

It always seems unlikely in the moment when they're not performing as you'd like but I'm going to try and not be so quick to judge him in future.

He's been at the club for what? 14 games. If he's shite then fair fucks but just don't want to scapegoat him without real reason.

Doesn't fit the system. Move on ASAP.

1 hour ago, Mantra said:

Was really pissed off with Kachunga's performance today and rightly so but I think he has potential to turn things around. Very easy to jump to conclusions about players early on when they don't hit the ground running.

No one's been great last few games, even Dapo has struggled at times.

Sheehan has had some criticism but hasn't got half as bad of what I've seen people say about Kachunga and I think Kach and Sheehan have been equally shite since the Sunderland game. 

Yes Sheehan's got the benefit of a free kick goal against MK Dons and scoring against Wimbledon but Kachunga also assisted the equaliser against MK Dons, which was massive.

Santos was the worst player ever for us at one point and now he's our captain. I know Madine splits opinion but he was similarly hated and then became vital to us winning. What's to say Kachunga can't turn his form around and silence his critics?

It always seems unlikely in the moment when they're not performing as you'd like but I'm going to try and not be so quick to judge him in future.

He's been at the club for what? 14 games. If he's shite then fair fucks but just don't want to scapegoat him without real reason.

Err whichever way you dress it up, he’s fucking shite mate, never a Lge 1 player as long as he’s got a hole in his arse. If he joined Sarce at Stockport i doubt he’d make the starting X1

9 hours ago, masi 51 said:

year this week we lost 6-3 at home....Enjoy where we are and have a great evening

Incorrect.

We had just drawn away @ Cambridge 1-1. 

 

9 hours ago, bolton va va said:

Going back to Isgrove's ( & others ) crossing....we've got no aeriel threat which makes putting high crosses into the area with Doyle surrounded by 7ft defenders pointless, so it looks like we're deliberately crossing the ball low which will always result in most crosses being cut out & looking crap. IIRC our 2nd goal came from a low cross that got through.

I get that, and I thought Bakayoko was going to be our option for that but he’s been playing wide.

My issue however isn’t the height of the crosses, it’s more the timing 

The amount for of times we don’t cross it when we could (ground or airborne), allows them to set and our runners come to a halt is scandalous - then how often are we passing it around a crowded box and get nowhere? A lot is the answer 

KL’s goal came from a move from deep hence him still moving ‘on to the ball’; KL to Isgrove, early ball in from him, when that was too long John drives it in and KL is still on the move. 
I like ‘proper football’ as much as the next person but moving it quickly always gets the opposition thinking and panicking more

Yesterday, and recent games, have had shades of the first half of last season about them; if we can bolster the squad similarly to last year then I see no reason why we can’t push on a bit, but we aren’t going to tika-taka around teams in League 1 with much success (and without conceding) with this lot as it stands - we’d be better being a wee bit more pragmatic at times

 

49 minutes ago, jules_darby said:

My issue however isn’t the height of the crosses, it’s more the timing 

The amount for of times we don’t cross it when we could (ground or airborne), allows them to set and our runners come to a halt is scandalous - then how often are we passing it around a crowded box and get nowhere? A lot is the answer 

Spot on, we said exactly this at the game yesterday. Isgrove has a bad habit of taking an unnecessary extra touch which kills the momentum of the attack and also makes his own job a lot harder. Also makes it worse for Doyle who has had to check and is then covered.

Can’t believe how poor we’re from corners it was highlighted last year and no improvement whatsoever

Going back there’s been wheater/beevers/Cahill/mills etc who busied themselves in the box and caused problems we have nowt

 

I don't think there's an issue with the way we play going forward. We move the ball well and we create chances. 

There were always going to be hurdles along the way. The opposition are starting to key in on Dapo. Teams are sitting very deep if they get Infront. They have stopped pressing us and let us have in in our own half.  We just need to adapt and work out how to play against this. 

The last 15 minutes yesterday we did it right. We spread the ball wide and stretched them. Mj was excellent last 15 spreading play  We moved dapo centrally. We made subs early enough for them to have an impact.  We didn't resort to long hoofball to the striker. We kept going and got back in the game. We didn't abandon our philosophy. 

The way we are defending needs to be addressed. That's the issue. Particularly how we defend corners and long throws. Midweek against Plymouth , poor goal conceded off a corner. Same against Rotherham at home. We didn't deal with a long throw yesterday and let the guy have a free shot at the edge of the area. 

We need to work on defending set pieces because it's costing us points. 

A question relating to Sheehan's corners. (Or anyone else's for that matter)

These special codes a player does either before or after he places the ball down,  do they mean anything?

Often a player raises either one or two arms. Sheehan raises the ball above his head. He did this for every corner he took and from both sides yesterday.  Is it a sign of where he's kicking the ball?  If it is he needs to adjust the code because from where I was watching from, ball above head means I'm going to aim for the first defender. 

5 minutes ago, MickyD said:

A question relating to Sheehan's corners. (Or anyone else's for that matter)

These special codes a player does either before or after he places the ball down,  do they mean anything?

Often a player raises either one or two arms. Sheehan raises the ball above his head. He did this for every corner he took and from both sides yesterday.  Is it a sign of where he's kicking the ball?  If it is he needs to adjust the code because from where I was watching from, ball above head means I'm going to aim for the first defender. 

Ball above head = I’m going to hit the front man

Ball bounced on floor = I’m going to float it into the keepers’ hands

16 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

I don't think there's an issue with the way we play going forward. We move the ball well and we create chances. 

There were always going to be hurdles along the way. The opposition are starting to key in on Dapo. Teams are sitting very deep if they get Infront. They have stopped pressing us and let us have in in our own half.  We just need to adapt and work out how to play against this. 

The last 15 minutes yesterday we did it right. We spread the ball wide and stretched them. Mj was excellent last 15 spreading play  We moved dapo centrally. We made subs early enough for them to have an impact.  We didn't resort to long hoofball to the striker. We kept going and got back in the game. We didn't abandon our philosophy. 

The way we are defending needs to be addressed. That's the issue. Particularly how we defend corners and long throws. Midweek against Plymouth , poor goal conceded off a corner. Same against Rotherham at home. We didn't deal with a long throw yesterday and let the guy have a free shot at the edge of the area. 

We need to work on defending set pieces because it's costing us points. 

Interesting point on MJ and we were mentioning it yesterday. 
There’s no doubt that the teams we have played recently have realised just how important he his to how we play and there is always now 1 player that seems to have the task of sticking as close as possible to him and stopping him controlling the game.

It was the same for the first 70 mins yesterday, then they seemed to tire and he got free and it was a different game. I don’t know how we get around it but we need to, because teams have figured us out and now know how to stop us.

9 hours ago, RONNIE PHILLIPS said:

Evatt has a plan, a way of playing & knows the type of players he wants that will fit that style. What he doesn't have is unlimited funds so he's cobbling a squad together as best he can. 

      We are moving forward for the first time in 10yrs, we have hit a bad patch & lost a bit of belief.... Its not the critical headshot that some might like to believe. It will be sorted & I for one reckon we will be a League One side in 18 months time, in the meantime I'm just grateful that watching Bolton isn't the soul destroying, boring experience it has been for many years. 

         

It'd been a long day. Should have said a Championship side in 18 months! 😁

11 hours ago, Mounts Kipper said:

In what way don’t you trust him?

Some of the points made about Evatt have some validity in that he does seem inflexible at times. 

On the other hand, he remained steadfast in his principals last season, and we get promoted. 

Absolutely no doubt that he is inexperienced and still learning, but we've also had a massive upheaval within the club, no money, and yet between him and Sharon, we've got our club back and on the pitch we're more pleasing to watch, and others in the game are noticing. 

He's doing a lot right, frustrating at times, but we're going in the right direction. 

1 hour ago, ErnestTurnip said:

Spot on, we said exactly this at the game yesterday. Isgrove has a bad habit of taking an unnecessary extra touch which kills the momentum of the attack and also makes his own job a lot harder. Also makes it worse for Doyle who has had to check and is then covered.

As much as I like Isgrove I have to say he had me screaming at him yesterday when he had the ball rolled to him on the edge of the box & instead of putting it in he rolled it forward with the sole of his boot & then he his cross closed down. 

As much fun as it might be, I’m not sure getting promoted this year would actually do us much good long term.

We won’t suddenly have millions to spend on transfers and, more importantly wages, as I reckon we’d need at least a dozen new players of the right quality to compete in the second tier.

I’d still like it to happen, but the realistic part of me thinks another season of solid building is needed. Evatt has probably over achieved and the last few games have highlighted some fragilities. Not the end of the world, I suspect Evatt and co. see them too and will be looking at ways to fix it.

A solid top half finish and maybe a shot at the playoffs would be decent I think.

But next season I’d be wanting us right up there.

 

48 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

I don't think there's an issue with the way we play going forward. We move the ball well and we create chances. 

There were always going to be hurdles along the way. The opposition are starting to key in on Dapo. Teams are sitting very deep if they get Infront. They have stopped pressing us and let us have in in our own half.  We just need to adapt and work out how to play against this. 

The last 15 minutes yesterday we did it right. We spread the ball wide and stretched them. Mj was excellent last 15 spreading play  We moved dapo centrally. We made subs early enough for them to have an impact.  We didn't resort to long hoofball to the striker. We kept going and got back in the game. We didn't abandon our philosophy. 

The way we are defending needs to be addressed. That's the issue. Particularly how we defend corners and long throws. Midweek against Plymouth , poor goal conceded off a corner. Same against Rotherham at home. We didn't deal with a long throw yesterday and let the guy have a free shot at the edge of the area. 

We need to work on defending set pieces because it's costing us points. 

I don’t think we are clamouring for a switch to hoofball or “gerrit forwards” as such, but of us moving it with more decisiveness and movement off the ball, as we did (as you say) in the latter part of the game yesterday 

I think you can play football and show urgency at the same time, but yesterday from their first goal until the 75/80th minute we didn’t do that, hence we created v little. 
 

In fact with 10/15 mins left I showed my phone to my father in Le who was sat next to me and we’d had 2 shots on target all game according to SkyBet. It seems about right 🤷🏽‍♂️
 

Lots of mirroring of early last season before we found our stride when we seemed to press go only in the dying embers of games 

Just now, Spider said:

As much fun as it might be, I’m not sure getting promoted this year would actually do us much good long term.

We won’t suddenly have millions to spend on transfers and, more importantly wages, as I reckon we’d need at least a dozen new players of the right quality to compete in the second tier.

I’d still like it to happen, but the realistic part of me thinks another season of solid building is needed. Evatt has probably over achieved and the last few games have highlighted some fragilities. Not the end of the world, I suspect Evatt and co. see them too and will be looking at ways to fix it.

A solid top half finish and maybe a shot at the playoffs would be decent I think.

But next season I’d be wanting us right up there.

 

I’d take that but we’d need the premise of a big season next year to keep the few quality players we have for this level 

3 minutes ago, jules_darby said:

I’d take that but we’d need the premise of a big season next year to keep the few quality players we have for this level 

Absolutely.

Im relying on us still being a big fish in a small pond in this division to keep attracting the right calibre of player.

Once we get promoted, we’ll be rubbing shoulders with bigger clubs and Newcastle, so won’t be so easy.

I thought Isgrove put some decent crosses in yesterday and a combination of their good defending and our forwards not gambling or lack of movement was more an issue. Either way he was in our top three players and ran himself into the ground.

4 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

 On the other hand, he remained steadfast in his principals last season, and we get promoted. 

Conversely these same principals put us 20th, our lowest ever position when he didn't have the players to play that way, or the sense to find an alternative for half a season.

Last season did not need to be as hard as he made it. 

This season his footballing principles have lost us more points than they have gained if you analyse the matches. Alongside this our CF has yet to score from open play in 15 games, 15!! That is crazy, so I still think our style flatters to deceive and is more to do with Evatt's ego than looking to eek out every point available to the team. He really needs a dose of pragmatism.

That's not to say I don't enjoy it when we on blob, or that he needs to move away from the fundamentals, but the free kicks and corners, they are huge opportunities we just piss up the wall to score a goal! 

And people saying one more window, Evatt signed Kanchunga! Added to the Crellin and Sarc issues, so I think there as many questions as answers with Evatt tbh. And he may come good, hope he does, but don't understand the almost cult like status he has with some on here, I really dont get it.

The fact Burton are above us blows my mind if we are all that! And that Wigan shambles will live long in the memory.

So I'm in the @Not in Crawley camp and agree with @jules_darby has said earlier.

10 hours ago, Not in Crawley said:

Hope you are right, I'm not sure you are though. There is no way Evatt is a new Rioch.

Good lord not a chance