Brand Evatt

[DazBob]

1 minute ago, DazBob said:

I hurt my foot kicking a step when that happened.  Every fucker in the ground shouting at someone to close him down.

I just remember the 'keeper giving it to Luiz, SKD going over to their left back to cut that pass out and there being a massive open space right down the middle of the pitch.  No Bolton players had a clue what to do ... and it happened repeatedly.

It was almost as if the team were under strict instructions to do something and not deviate from that plan ... even when the opposition has it completely sussed.

Hmmm.

[desperado]

On 05/08/2024 at 19:37, burnden said:

Hour long interview wit IE on Radio Manc earlier 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jbh7z4

Listened to it this morning.

For me he always comes across well in these longer interviews. He’s less prickly, arrogant (or self-confident) and he’s able to be self-critical and accepting of mistakes and where improvements need to be made.

He goes into detail (as much as he can do in an interview like this) about tactics, formations, recruitment which to me always sounds fair, processed, positive and detailed.

However he’s done this in the last two seasons with GMR before kicking off, so this year I’m slightly less convinced about his comments, the proof will very much be in the pudding, not in his words.

In addition to this, he talks about relationships with players and how they are all united in wanting to improve, doing this for him as well as themselves and each other.

Which prompted me to post the golf event from yesterday, nice to see a bit of camaraderie between players and manager.

[gonzo]

3 hours ago, Marc505 said:

Mental that. Phil Jones did the same to us around the same time. Phil. Jones.

Not a defender but Ben Afra did it at Newcastle too.

If only we had a big athletic central midfielder to put in the middle to stop such goals.

Sure Wigan home was a similar goal when we lost 0-1.

[Marc505]

26 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Not a defender but Ben Afra did it at Newcastle too.

If only we had a big athletic central midfielder to put in the middle to stop such goals.

Sure Wigan home was a similar goal when we lost 0-1.

That was the one where they were going on like it was goal of the season, Maradona-eque. He ran in a straight fucking line!

[Traf]

6 hours ago, Marc505 said:

That was the one where they were going on like it was goal of the season, Maradona-eque. He ran in a straight fucking line!

Keeper (Krul?) bowled it out to a defender who passed to Ben Arfa midway inside his own half. He just rolled his marker (Sam Ricketts?) and literally ran straight towards our goal avoiding some comedic TV/film-style tackle attempts before sticking it in the the corner of the net.

2012, I think, we haven't played them since.

Don't ask me what happened yesterday, though.

[Marc505]

17 minutes ago, Traf said:

Keeper (Krul?) bowled it out to a defender who passed to Ben Arfa midway inside his own half. He just rolled his marker (Sam Ricketts?) and literally ran straight towards our goal avoiding some comedic TV/film-style tackle attempts before sticking it in the the corner of the net.

2012, I think, we haven't played them since.

Don't ask me what happened yesterday, though.

Couldn't believe how much they were jizzing over it on MOTD2 afterwards, could see from the start it was unchallenged.

Ruined a good weekend, I know that.

[Zico]

25 minutes ago, Marc505 said:

Couldn't believe how much they were jizzing over it on MOTD2 afterwards, could see from the start it was unchallenged.

Ruined a good weekend, I know that.

Bank holiday iirc 

Was definitely there, but was going every season at that point

[tomski]

32 minutes ago, Zico said:

Bank holiday iirc 

Was definitely there, but was going every season at that point

Had a night out and the team were on the lash in Newcastle. Steinson was a top bloke

[gonzo]

Right it's your last fucking chance now you slag.

Hurt me again and it's 100% over.

[1969]

27 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Right it's your last fucking chance now you slag.

Hurt me again and it's 100% over.

Sorry I'll try to be more gentle 

[little whitt]

1 hour ago, gonzo said:

Right it's your last fucking chance now you slag.

Hurt me again and it's 100% over.

THIS 

fucks up with this New Squad 

he has to be gone by 

Christmas 

[Marc505]

2 hours ago, gonzo said:

Right it's your last fucking chance now you slag.

Hurt me again and it's 100% over.

One more time 😃

[desperado]

Before folk dismiss the influence of Sheehan and Santos this season, just reflect that they are both in the L1 team of the year for last season, voted for by their fellow professionals.

I suspect Evatt, quite rightly IMO, will still see these 2, as players vital to the way we we play.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

All teams evolve.

They get older or styles change etc.

Morley was arguably instrumental in our rise from the depths, but is now out of favour.

Iirc, both of them are out of contract at the end of the season, so it's not inconceivable that one or both could be sold, or simply allowed to go and not offered new terms.

We simply don't know. 

[kent_white]

On 08/08/2024 at 12:52, Marc505 said:

That was the one where they were going on like it was goal of the season, Maradona-eque. He ran in a straight fucking line!

Like that Ryan Giggs semi goal vs Arsenal everyone bums where he runs in a straight line and everyone falls over!

[wanderer1984]

27 minutes ago, desperado said:

Before folk dismiss the influence of Sheehan and Santos this season, just reflect that they are both in the L1 team of the year for last season, voted for by their fellow professionals.

I suspect Evatt, quite rightly IMO, will still see these 2, as players vital to the way we we play.

433!

[Stig]

1 hour ago, desperado said:

Before folk dismiss the influence of Sheehan and Santos this season, just reflect that they are both in the L1 team of the year for last season, voted for by their fellow professionals.

I suspect Evatt, quite rightly IMO, will still see these 2, as players vital to the way we we play.

I don't think most have dismissed the quality of player we have. More do we have the quality of manager to get the best out of what was definitely a top 2 worthy squad last season, and same this season.

Like we talk about needing to up the standard of player as we move up the leagues I think it's fair to wonder whether we need to upgrade the quality of manager. 

Edited August 20 by Stig

[burnden]

 

[radcliffe white]

Great for the players well done 👏 

only award I’m interested in is promotion 

Edited August 21 by radcliffe white

[Tonge moor green jacket]

1 hour ago, radcliffe white said:

Great for the players well done 👏 

only award I’m interested in is promotion 

Yep.

 

[royal white]

Remind you of anyone? 
 

 

[wakey]

9 hours ago, royal white said:

Remind you of anyone? 
 

 

Not half, looks a bit like that Irish bloke used to play for Forest and Man U

[Wanderlust]

On 20/08/2024 at 22:41, burnden said:

 

So this is the award that the opposition players voted they most enjoyed playing against?

 

Okay....

 

[desperado]

Cheers @gonzo for highlighting this on the poll thread. It was behind a firewall so couldn’t access at first. So I’ll cut and paste below so others can read if they so wish.

He’s come back from some adverse times over the last 4 seasons, but this is surely his biggest test now..

IAN Evatt can draw on some experience as he takes in the criticism and frustration vented in his direction from supporters after Wanderers’ slow start in League One.

Bolton fans have made their feelings clear since last weekend’s home defeat to Exeter City that performances have not been to their liking, and the manager’s own future has suddenly become the topic of conversation in pubs, living rooms and social media forums around the town.

But this type of pressured situation is nothing new to Evatt, who has shown impressive resilience at times in his four years at the helm to turn around poor runs of results and get his team back on track to hit their targets.

We looked back at some of the biggest flashpoints during his tenure, what factors were involved and how he eventually found a way out of the mess.

Sept 2020 – Five in a row.

No Bolton Wanderers manager in history had started off with five consecutive defeats but that was Evatt’s lot as his piecemeal team struggled to gel in its early days.

Cup disappointments against Bradford and Crewe were followed by a hat-trick of league defeats against Forest Green, Colchester and Newport County, leaving big question marks hanging over the new man in charge and his squad.

How it was solved: Ultimately, it took a change of goalkeeper a couple of months later, and a complete overhaul of the recruitment process at the turn of 2021 for things to truly stabilise, but Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso scored in an away win at Harrogate to hand Evatt a first win in charge, which temporarily eased the pressure.

Port Vale's Nathan Smith beats Bolton Wanderers' Ricardo Santos to the ball and heads his sides sixth goal (Image: Camerasport)

Dec 2020-Jan 2021 – Window heroes.

The first half of Evatt’s debut season in the dugout really did throw up some testing times and the manager has admitted that if fans had been allowed inside stadia at the time, then he might not have held on to his job.

Goodness knows what a live crowd would have made of a manic 6-3 home defeat to Port Vale, which was followed by a flaky performance at Walsall. By the turn of the year disquiet among supporters was clear to see as defeats against Crawley at home and Tranmere away left the Whites dangling just above the relegation picture in the final fortnight of the transfer window.

How it was solved: The winter window story is now the stuff of legend at Bolton as Evatt and his new recruitment chief, Chris Markham, finally took the shackles off to bring in some key men like MJ Williams, Declan John, Dapo Afolayan, Kieran Lee and Ben Jackson.

Antoni Sarcevic in what proved his final appearance at Bolton Wanderers (Image: Camerasport)

Oct 2021 – Captain’s exit.

Wanderers were pretty handily placed in seventh on their return to League One when all hell broke loose inside a week, starting with a heavy 4-0 loss to neighbours Wigan Athletic.

Then captain, Antoni Sarcevic, was unceremoniously dropped for the next game against his former club Plymouth Argyle and had been carrying an injury. Though he came off the bench in the second half of a rain-soaked 3-0 defeat at Home Park, the hours after the game saw irreparable damage done to his relationship with the manager, and his contract was terminated less than 48 hours later to facilitate a move to Stockport County.

Wanderers had been planning to replace the midfielder but the sudden change left fans unsettled. The Whites scraped a home draw with Gillingham but then lost at Portsmouth, leaving Evatt vulnerable again.

How it was solved: There is an argument that the Sarcevic situation was never resolved. The player recently told his side of the story on a podcast but Evatt has preferred to stay silent on the matter. He made Ricardo Santos captain and eventually carried through with his plans to bring in Aaron Morley and change the shape of his team to 3-5-2.

The scoreboard says it all after Wanderers' FA Cup exit at Stockport (Image: Camerasport)

Dec 2021-Jan 2022 – Injury pain.

With the Sarcevic story still hanging in the air, Evatt could have done without being drawn at Stockport in the FA Cup. He could certainly have done without his team throwing away a lead in both the first game and the replay – screened live by the BBC – and eventually being dumped out of the competition after extra time.

At that stage Wanderers were losing players hand over first to injury. Lloyd Isgrove succumbed to a hamstring tear, Josh Sheehan was out for a year with a ruptured ACL, MJ Williams had dislocated his shoulder and Gethin Jones, Eoin Doyle, Andy Tutte and Amadou Bakayoko had also been shelved.

It came to a head on an angry afternoon at Accrington just before Christmas where Evatt was subjected to angry calls for his head from some of the travelling supporters. That spell of games remains the only time he has lost four straight league games.

How it was solved: The transfer market again came to the rescue and the additions of James Trafford, Dion Charles, Aaron Morley, Kyle Dempsey, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Marlon Fossey and Kieran Sadlier made sure the second half of the season went a lot smoother.

Amadou Bakayoko looks dejected after a 1-0 defeat at Cheltenham Town (Image: Camerasport)

Oct 2022 – South West wobble.

A short but extremely pronounced spell of poor form with back-to-back defeats in Gloucestershire against Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers.

What had been a positive start to the season suddenly went into reverse in a crazy week where Evatt’s side just lost all sense of direction and confidence.

They regained some composure in a 0-0 draw at home to Barnsley and scrambled back to win 3-2 at Accrington to avoid a full-scale meltdown but there was unquestionably anger in the air.

How it was solved: Briefly, by shoe-horning fans’ favourite Dapo Afolayan in at wing-back but after he departed in January Wanderers did find the consistency they needed to hit their target of a play-off spot.

Ian Evatt exchanges words with Charlie Goode after the defeat at Wigan (Image: Camerasport)

Feb 2024 – Local let down.

Wigan Athletic had registered another 4-0 win at the Toughsheet in August and though Wanderers got their chase for automatic promotion going well, the opportunity for payback was one the fans did not want to pass-up.

Despite dominating the ball and creating chances, though, Stephen Humphrys scored the decisive strike and continued the Latics’ recent hold of results over the Whites.

To make matters worse, it came off the back of another defeat down the road in Blackpool. Another tale of missed chances ended sourly in a 4-1 scoreline and a farcical red card for Ricardo Santos which was rescinded.

How it was solved: Wanderers have yet to find a way of winning the high-pressure games consistently. Their hoodoo at Bloomfield Road now stretches back to the late seventies.

Nat Ogbeta, Dion Charles and Aaron Collins at the end of the play-off final (Image: Andrew Kearns)

May 2024 – Wembley woe.

We don’t need to sift through the wreckage again, do we? Suffice it to say that Bolton did not show up and their pre-match billing as favourites looked ridiculous against a well-organised Oxford United.

How it was solved: Evatt promised change. He signed eight new players and made tweaks to his gameplan and formation. Whether things have actually changed is up for debate, however, and the result from the play-off final still feels like an elephant in the room.

[Big E]

The big problem is he hasn’t changed. He’s not learnt from his mistakes.