Just now, JimmyRiddle said:

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.

It’s not cult like

Its patience

Changing managers every time there’s a bad run of form doesn’t work. Look at Sunderland and Forest though I’m sure there are many more.

Evatt deserves a fair crack at the project that’s going on.

If he gets us relegated, then maybe he would have to go.

1 hour 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. 

Irritates the fuck out of me not beating the first man on corners , it should be simple from a dead ball.

11 hours ago, Rudy said:

You have no full idea what went on behind the scenes

He came in adopted a style of play, got us on the best run I can remember in my lifetime

Won promotion.

Is he an excellent manager? No, is he a young inexperienced manager who’s still learning, yes. 
 

Do I think he’s a good manager, yes, the best we’ve had since Big Sam easily. 

THIS 

1 minute ago, burnden said:

Irritates the fuck out of me not beating the first man on corners , it should be simple from a dead ball.

Lee’s corner leading to Williams miss was superb and Doyle scores if MJ doesn’t get in the way. We need a team full of Lee’s

If we finish safely in mid table with no stress that will be a success in my eyes it’s going to have to be a slow build . Lots of clubs in this division have a bigger budget/ more experience than we have . It’s a very competitive league everyone will give us a game . 

1 hour 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. 

In Sheehan's case, him lifting the ball above his head is about as high he gets it 

Bolton being shit at corners is not an Evatt issue . It's been going on for years. Other than Allardyce I can't remember a manager that has had us being decent at corners. 

Was Evatt an improvement on Hill ? 
Did we bring in decent players at start of last season ? 
Has Evatt tried to play good football ? 
Did we improve last Jan transfer window? 
Did we strengthen in summer ? 

For me all 5 are big positives, we are work in progress, Evatt himself is learning, but we are 100% heading in the right direction. Owners are great and increasing connection with fans. Evatt's interview after game yesterday recognised that the fans stuck with the team and him and that helped.

It is hard to remember how far the club had fallen and the journey will be tougher and longer than some might like, look at Sunderland 30k for home games, never dropped as far as us but struggling to get out of this division. Instead of breaking our progress down to last 2-3 week look at 6 month gaps and we are moving very much in right direction.

I back Evatt 100% to get it right in the longer run. I am equally sure that FV will back him and enable us to continue to progress. He will make mistakes and hopefully learn not to talk shit in interviews. At some point we may hit a level that he can not take us past but we are not there yet. 
Still do not think we have paid a transfer fee for a player, certainly not paying too wages in the division. The club seems to be in a good place and going in right direction get onboard and enjoy the journey it is miles better than last few years. 

 

2 minutes ago, Ani said:

Was Evatt an improvement on Hill ? 
Did we bring in decent players at start of last season ? 
Has Evatt tried to play good football ? 
Did we improve last Jan transfer window? 
Did we strengthen in summer ? 

For me all 5 are big positives, we are work in progress, Evatt himself is learning, but we are 100% heading in the right direction. Owners are great and increasing connection with fans. Evatt's interview after game yesterday recognised that the fans stuck with the team and him and that helped.

It is hard to remember how far the club had fallen and the journey will be tougher and longer than some might like, look at Sunderland 30k for home games, never dropped as far as us but struggling to get out of this division. Instead of breaking our progress down to last 2-3 week look at 6 month gaps and we are moving very much in right direction.

I back Evatt 100% to get it right in the longer run. I am equally sure that FV will back him and enable us to continue to progress. He will make mistakes and hopefully learn not to talk shit in interviews. At some point we may hit a level that he can not take us past but we are not there yet. 
Still do not think we have paid a transfer fee for a player, certainly not paying too wages in the division. The club seems to be in a good place and going in right direction get onboard and enjoy the journey it is miles better than last few years. 

 

SPOT ON 

4 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Bolton being shit at corners is not an Evatt issue . It's been going on for years. Other than Allardyce I can't remember a manager that has had us being decent at corners. 

As I said previously we’ve had many defenders being busy in the box from corners/free kicks coyles & Parkinson’s sides

16 minutes ago, JimmyRiddle said:

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.

Maybe it's people seeing the gradual progress & looking at the bigger picture & not wanting to hit reset everytime there's a few bumps in the road. Evatt is young & only 3-4yrs into management. In that time he has managed 2 promotions with teams playing expansive football so I reckon he has plenty of credit in his account.... especially where FV are concerned. 

            I've seen times where Ian Greaves, Bruce Rioch & BSA have been questioned when they had dodgy patches & they were excellent managers but not with social media it's fucking ridiculous! If, at the end of Ken the cunts reign, someone had offered us what Evatt has brought to the table in less than 18 months we would have snatched their hand off. 

  T

Let's let him manage, accept his mistakes whilst he's learning his trade & be grateful for what we have because believe me we would struggle to find a better man to lead us. 

2 hours ago, jules_darby said:

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

Where I am with it, well put. No need for Evatt to be getting into a cold sweat about abandoning principles, just a bit of tweaking needed, mainly to get us out of the bad habit of slow starts and cheap goals tossed away.

I'd just like to see us back to being a bit more front foot from kick off, teams have woken up to the idea that if they are they can knock us out of our stride and pinch a goal before we've got going. We've dropped off the pace from kick off lately and need to start matching that early intensity and effort of opponents, they're not all going to sit back and let us have it. 

Evatt might have to acknowledge our defence isn't that capable at this level and go with a 'double pivot' (getting in with the current buzz words here!) that protects them a bit more but can still spring attacks

Interesting to see we’ve played 9 of the top 10 teams, our league position isn’t bad taking that into consideration. 

11 minutes ago, Mounts Kipper said:

Interesting to see we’ve played 9 of the top 10 teams, our league position isn’t bad taking that into consideration. 

I don’t think it’s bad at all

And I’m still firmly behind Evatt

I think a few tweaks would still see us improve though 

1 minute ago, jules_darby said:

I don’t think it’s bad at all

And I’m still firmly behind Evatt

I think a few tweaks would still see us improve though 

I’ve faith in Evatt, was worried he could of lost the dressing room first half but the fight back second half was more like it. 

Said weeks ago if we hang around mid/top half till January no reason we can’t get play offs

thats of course with some key additions a striker being one of them 

I really enjoy watching us under Evatt. I hope he sticks with his principles.

We didn't strengthen much yet from a team that was built from scratch to play in league two - that is living within our means which is all everyone wanted.

A top half finish and push on again next season would be great. Especially watching us pulls teams apart at times.

We do need to stop conceding early because a lot of teams are exhausted against us be 70 mins, if we can improve defensively and keep patience with the style this will be a team to enjoy the next few seasons.

Once the bawlers and moaners from NSL had left yesterday, the positive noise went up and the players got a boost.

42 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Bolton being shit at corners is not an Evatt issue . It's been going on for years. Other than Allardyce I can't remember a manager that has had us being decent at corners. 

2% of goals come directly from corners.

11 minutes ago, jules_darby said:

I don’t think it’s bad at all

And I’m still firmly behind Evatt

I think a few tweaks would still see us improve though 

That’s football in fact that’s sport. Tweaking minor things to improve. Done at every level. 

Kneejerk reactions and toys out of the pram from some supporters isn’t warranted at all. 

This season, reaching the play offs would be great but in reality, survival in Division 1 will be success & part of the gradual rebuild from rock bottom. We don't have the money to buy instant success or insulate ourselves from setbacks like our current poor run.

Sadly there will always be people who demand instant success & are desperate to criticise  but the last 18 months have seen far more highs than lows which has given me confidence that FV & IE will continue to take us forward in the longer term.      #Team FV       #Team Evatt  

2 minutes ago, Rudy said:

2% of goals come directly from corners.

That’s football in fact that’s sport. Tweaking minor things to improve. Done at every level. 

Kneejerk reactions and toys out of the pram from some supporters isn’t warranted at all. 

So long as it’s just moaning & whinging and nothing more supporters pay their money and rightly so can have a moan 

1 minute ago, radcliffe white said:

So long as it’s just moaning & whinging and nothing more supporters pay their money and rightly so can have a moan 

Absolutely. I just hate the negativity that creeps in when I don’t think it’s warranted. A lot of it is down to patience. 
People were calling for his head in October last year. 
It’s a process and I can’t think of a better manager out there that we could get that would do a better job than IE is doing right now.

It’s a marathon. 

Only issue I have with IE he needs to think before he speaks ffs telling all other teams we are the best team in league 1 no need for a team talk from opposing managers ! 

 

Just now, Rudy said:

Absolutely. I just hate the negativity that creeps in when I don’t think it’s warranted. A lot of it is down to patience. 
People were calling for his head in October last year. 
It’s a process and I can’t think of a better manager out there that we could get that would do a better job than IE is doing right now.

It’s a marathon. 

Totally agree

football is so frustrating and let’s be honest the good folk of bolton are hard to please

But when you think it wasn’t long ago we was bossing Sunderland/sheff weds & charlton it’s suddenly taken a turn

but yes it’s a marathon and you can suddenly jump up with a few results 

1 hour ago, emus wig said:

If we finish safely in mid table with no stress that will be a success in my eyes it’s going to have to be a slow build . Lots of clubs in this division have a bigger budget/ more experience than we have . It’s a very competitive league everyone will give us a game . 

💯 %

3 minutes ago, radcliffe white said:

Totally agree

football is so frustrating and let’s be honest the good folk of bolton are hard to please

But when you think it wasn’t long ago we was bossing Sunderland/sheff weds & charlton it’s suddenly taken a turn

but yes it’s a marathon and you can suddenly jump up with a few results 

Anything below the championship and all you need is a good quarter to fire you up the league, considering our luck with injuries at the moment I’d say we were about right. 
IE can see Gordon and Brockbank aren’t good enough to start so he changed what he needed to change.

FWIW Isgrove was almost a right winger yesterday. Needs to work on those deliveries from that position but again it’s just tweaks to be made.

We we’re all concerned about the mood in the camp after Friday but 2-0 to get a draw and almost a win shows that the camp is good and are willing to fight for the club and manager

It’ll be reet