It seems that what I have written is far too long for one post. So im going to split thi up into several... Curse the character limits.
Anyway...
For me now Freedman has had it. I have snapped and lost all confidence in him, for me he is no longer right for the job.
However, I want to ignore his influence entierly now. I dont think it's nessiseraly all doom and gloom. I still think this squad has something in it to have a decent season, or at least far better than it is showing right now. I have at least something positive to say about almost every member of the first team squad and feel that we are much better than we are currently showing.
Goalkeepers
We have 2 good keepers who on their day will make a big difference and they know they are in direct competition with each other, and either one of them could and has been number 1. This has not been the case at Bolton for a long time and it should bring the best out of them.
Adam Bogdan: A great shot stopper and is finally starting to grow in confidence in commanding his area. He has been prone to silly errors in the past but he has started to erase those from his game and is maturing into a very good goalkeeper. He still can't kick the ball to a while shirt but I would rather he stopped shots than kicking in a straight line.
Andy Lonergan: In all honesty pretty similar to Boggers. This is not a bad thing though as we have competition for a keepers position. Lonergan sometimes looks a little more assured and his kicking is better but not quite as good of a shot stopper as Bogdan.
Defence
The defence showed us in the second half of last season that it can perform and not leak stupid goals, unfortunately too many mistakes have been made so far this season but we know it can be solid. We have had a few players moving about and being brought in, along with a couple of injuries along the way, hopefully it can get back to the level from last season.
Matt Mills: Seemingly one of the most improved players I have ever seen, he found his feet last season and showed us that he is an extremely capable defender. Now he is vice captain and one of the more solid and consistent defenders we have.
David Wheater: Big and solid, he hasn't been on the most perfect form of late but we all know what he is capable of and alongside Mills they could form a very strong partnership.
Tim Ream: Filled in so well last season at left back and deservedly got player of the season , he brings a bit of pace and more technical ability to our back line and is an incredibly valuable player to have as he brings us something a little different. He is also versatile as he can play across the whole back line as well as in midfield if needed.
Kevin McNaughton: I'm a big fan of his and its great to have him back. He is an extremely solid full back who's positioning and general defensive ability is superb especially as far as modern full backs go. Although he is certainly capable of joining up in the attack as well and whipping crosses into the box
I haven't seen enough of Moxey, Devite or any of the younger players to pass any judgement yet.
Are we as bad as we look?
posted on 23/8/14
Midfield
Our midfield is potentially very strong, if we play it right and have the correct players fit (something we haven't had for a long time). We have a lot of midfielders at the moment and almost all of them bring us something. We have hardly seen what we would consider a full strength, first choice midfield for a very long time now (even without Dougie's constant tinkering)
Neil Danns: I have seen this guy get a little stick recently and I honestly can't see why. He is the one player we currently have who can put his foot on the ball and make something happen, he has that little creative spark and touch that can make things happen. He was the guy pulling the strings last season when Juke and Mason were scoring all those goals and I tip him to do the same again this season. If we want to be getting the goals then we want him in the team.
Lee Chung-yong: Seemingly he has never quite recovered from his broken leg, but he has recently been showing flashes of the player we were valuing at around £7 million+ just a few seasons ago. He was the one player who looked interested and was causing problems against Forest, if he can play like that on a more consistent basis he could be a big player in this division
Mark Davies: We all know what he is capable of. On his day he is one of the best in the Championship, his technical skill is not matched by anyone else in this squad and can at times be untouchable. He was just starting to add goals to his game before he was injured and will hopefully start to do so again.
Jay Spearing: He didn't have the best of seasons last year, he certainly didn't hit the heights of what he had achieved when he was on loan but I put a lot of this down to him playing at the same time as Medo. I'm not putting Medo down here, I think he is great, but I don't think they work together in the same team as they are far too similar, a bit like the Lampard, Gerard situation with England in the past. Both deserve to play, but they just don't go together. When he is playing at his best he is a brilliantly solid central midfielder who will give everything every game and drive the team forwards while still covering at the back, but he needs someone who compliments him alongside him to get the best out of him rather than more of the same.
Medo: Very similar to Spearing, although I feel he brings a little more to his attacking game while bringing a little less to his defensive game. He can make a big difference to the team and galvanise our midfield, just not at the same time as Spearing.
Liam Feeney: I haven't seen much of him yet but if what he did on loan last season is anything to go by then we should have cause for optimism. We finally have a winger with pace who will hug the line, bomb down it and whip in some extremely dangerous crosses.
Darren Pratley: Hit and miss is the most I can say about him. Started last season well, then got injured and lost form. On occasion he has shown he has something going for him but he hasn't shown it often enough. Maybe another manager could bring the best out of him. Not a total lost cause but he hasn't shown enough for me.
Liam Trotter: Unfortunately, he has not had a good time at the Wanderers so far, with the exception of his spectacular goal against Sheffield Wednesday last year he has shown little interest or desire. Its a shame really as the rest of the midfield has plenty going for it, but I just cant see it with Trotter at the moment. I hope he proves me wrong.
Forwards
Our front line could lead to be our undoing this season, we only have 3 strikers at the club who will realistically be in the first team every week and only one of them seems to hit the target consistently. There could be goals in there, but whether its confidence, lack of decent service or something else, there is something wrong with it and that has to change.
Joe Mason: Our saving grace in the front line. He proved last season he is an extremely talented striker, who can score from any position and can make chances for himself. If he is given the ball in a good position you can be confident he will at the very least make the keeper work. He is probably the most complete striker we have and he is the man we need to score the goals this season.
Jermaine Beckford: One of the most frustrating players I have seen at the club. He gets in so many goal scoring positions but his goal scoring record for us does not reflect this. The amount of times he has simply missed the target when in a perfect goal scoring position is frankly scary for a striker of his supposed calibre. Perhaps its a confidence thing and he just needs a couple to go in to get him going. A Beckford putting away more of the chances he gets alongside Joe Mason could produce a lot of goals. Lets hope so
Craig Davies. He does not have the best of goal scoring records for us, and he has been pretty hit and miss for us so far. He has ability, and he will score goals. He certainly isn't bad as back up and can give our attack a different dimension to what Beckford can provide.
Overall I think we have a decent squad. Certainly far better than it is currently showing itself to be. It's far from perfect, but with the right tactics and formations I believe we have at least enough to finish in the top half. Whether we will get that with the current management is yet to be seen, but I don't think our current squad is as bad as some people seem to think. That's my take on It anyway and I'm sure some will disagree.
Are we as bad as we seem?
posted on 23/8/14
Well, it doesn't look like it's going to get better under Douglas. Sack him off. Now. David Lee and Jimmy Phillips at least till the end of the season. Bring the fans back onside, build momentum, time to start the upward curve. COYWM!!!!!!!!!
posted on 23/8/14
Needs a change in momentum big time. Not going to happen with douglas in charge.
posted on 23/8/14
A couple of very good critiques of the current players. I'd add that of our current players only Tim ream and mavies look comfortable in possession. Cravies has got better with fitness but in time he can get to be the player we need him to be.
Problem with dougie has been our start to seasons. He's proved that we can kick on later but this whole start thing is a massive problem.
posted on 24/8/14
No we're NOT as bad as we look. It would be more accurate to say we're not as GOOD as we look mate.
More seriously, No, I really think our players CAN do a lot better but they're so badly mismanaged and coached that they've either stopped listening to Dougie or just don't understand what it is he's asking them to do. And no it's not a joke about his accent.
I think there's a clear and fatal breakdown in communication because we make the same mistakes every week and give away stupidly soft goals, most of the possession and don't look like we have any kind of coherent plan. Dougie HAS to be held responsible for that after two years in which nothing has changed except a few of the faces on the pitch making the mistakes at least as bad as their predecessors.
Time is long past up.
posted on 24/8/14
Gothic, he was never right for the job, the problem was most fans couldn't see it.
posted on 24/8/14
We replaced Coyle with his managerial twin...
A lot of us were wrong with the chase for Coyle, but we learnt & so weren't keen on Freedman. Sadly, the chairman didn't learn....
posted on 24/8/14
comment by SUPERWHITEINEXILE (U2020)
posted 19 minutes ago
Gothic, he was never right for the job, the problem was most fans couldn't see it.
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I will admit I was one of them, I thought he could turn it around, but he has now proven to me that he can't. I don't enjoy disliking the manager, I want to like him and perhaps that's one of the reasons it took me so long to snap, but for the sake of this club he has to go and he has to go now.
posted on 24/8/14
The players are bad but more could be got from them. The simple fact is the problem starts with PG he will never admit mistakes and never admit he is wrong. DF was the wrong choice but I'm afraid that before anything is done we will be looking at relegation.
90% of fans want DF removed but it simply wont happen before Christmas we are rapidly becoming a laughingstock.
posted on 24/8/14
Yes we are unfortunately 3 games we have been in a winning position and only got one point from 9.