Been staying off the boards since the display against Norwich as i just didn't want to say something random i may regret a few days later.
I have to say i cannot believe a few of the comments that are being written by Bolton fans on here, Fans actually calling for Coyle to be sacked it is like the dark days of Megsons reign on here again.
We all knew that when the fixtures came out we were in for a tough time the top 5 in the first 7 games last season we got 1 point from those 5 fixtures home or away against them so we could still get something against Arsenal or Chelsea and be just as well of as last season.
We pretty much all expected to lose or only draw with QPR but we won and most fans thought our only win in these 7 opening games would come from the Norwich game but we were wrong but how many of us only expected to have 4-5 points tops on the board after the first 7 games?
Answer is pretty much most of us, so why are we all calling for the axe to grind all ready 5 games into a new season.
Yes we have won 2 games since April BUT as many have said that was last season it bears no bearing on this season.
We played well against QPR and did well against City but it is our displays in the past 3 games that worries us is it not?
Truth is we were awful against Liverpool we cannot hide the fact we didn't show up and they destroyed us plain and simple,
But against United we didn't really do that much wrong we conceded some very soft goals which show our defensive issues which are something i feel need to be addressed now but we had a decent go at United but we just didn't get the lucky breaks plus bad refereeing decisions for me played a huge part.
Norwich first half awful worst i have seen for some time and going down to 10 men did not help we did this last season against Birmingham and Blackpool we gave them a 2 goal lead but somehow got back into it to draw the game, Saturday we did not have enough left in the tank to get that goal to get us a point if we had played like the second half in the first we would have won with ease.
Issues for me are the defence we need to drop Knight as i have read on here he is as bad as when he first arrived and with Wheater on the bench we can solve this issue right away, Also the injuries do not help we have 3 right backs and all 3 are out injured Mears, Ricketts and Steinsson if these guys were avaliable it would be a different story here and with Alonso out as well we have no choice but to put up with Robinson for now.
Jussi for me is not as good as he was he punts the ball up field to much only for it to come right back at us 5 seconds later and our defence is not good enough to cope with that pressure all the time, We let Habsi go so we now have to stick by Jussi or we go for it and chuck young Bogdan in at the deep end and hope he can swim.
In midfield we are missing 2 of our best players in Holden and Lee so we are bound to struggle without them but once Holden returns and settles in to a partnership with NRC we will be more balanced and hopefully Petrov will continue this rich vein of form he is in and Eagles looked better second half for me than he has all season.
The midfield will sort itself and we have believe that.
Upfront Davies is going through some sort of crisis his confidence is shot to bits and i feel Coyle needs to bite the bullet and drop him to take him out of the firing line for a bit with Klasnic banned now i don't think he will but he should try Tuncay and NGog upfront to see what they can do.
Villa on Tuesday is the perfect time to try out a new look team we have nothing to lose we are expected to lose anyway so why not try a new team and see what they can do i would field this side.
Bogdan
Steinsson (if fit) Cahill Wheater Robinson
Eagles NRC M Davies Petrov
NGog Tuncay
lets see how a new strike force goes and hopefully Holden may get 20 minutes from the bench and start to build up for an October return to the first XI.
In closing there is no real reason to press the panic button yet i am just as fed up with losing as any other fan and i too pay hard earned money to support my team but that is the thing here support them i go to the games and within 10 minutes everyone sat around me are moaning and giving abuse to the players get behind them and we may see something different from them.
We are Bolton we need to get behind the team and the gaffer and if come the end of October we are in the bottom 3 and still looking as bad as we did first half v Norwich then i too may change my tone but for now lets look at why we are struggling massive injury list to star players and low confidence from a hard run of games and think that maybe just maybe Arsenal are there for the taking Saturday and support the team you love like me COYWM!!!!!!
We are Bolton.
posted on 19/9/11
"Bogdan doesn't command the area very well " ? Since when did Jaaskelainen command his area ?
They should have made Al Habsi first choice keeper. No-one would pay £4m for Jussi, that's for sure.
posted on 19/9/11
Id normally say your right but Its not a just about Jussi and Ali but also Boggers. I have been very impressed with him so far and while he may not be ready right this moment he is not far off perhaps the end of the season. Had we kept Ali though he would now be our 1st choice keeper for a few years and Bogdan will end up stagnating like I believe Ali has to a certain extent and had he been made number one a few seasons ago or been loaned out for a few seasons then he would now be a better keeper than he is.
Keeping Ali May have been the best Decision for this season in terms of Keepers but for next season maybe not and the cash we got from his sale has allowed us to break even on transfers which we otherwise could not have done.
It come down to would you rather have Ali for 5-6 years then Bogdan for another 5-6 or Jussi now then Bogdan for 12years and the 4mil. That is how I look at it anyway Yes this season we may have been very slightly better of but not next season.
posted on 19/9/11
Bottom of Prem. without Megson in charge. Oh well!
O Coyle is a good manager, but you need money to buy quality players.
posted on 19/9/11
Also Blakeman and O'Halloran could also do with a look in.
....
Please...not O'Halloran.
Obadeyi deserves a crack. And so does Jack Sampson.
In my more than humble opinion...
posted on 19/9/11
They should have made Al Habsi first choice keeper. No-one would pay £4m for Jussi, that's for sure.
--
Thats exactly why we sold him, we didn't do too badly without him last season and we aren't now ....
posted on 19/9/11
I have not called on OC to go..I offered the point of view that he may be out of his depth but hope to be proved wrong... No way do I want him gone..he is a breath of fresh air after you know who so lets not all jump on the bandwagon about this....Fact is our last three performances have been dire and OC shows too much loyalty to Davies and Klasnic so I would like the new signings to be given a chance...PS I am not panicking and fully expect things to even thenselves out...Mid table for me
posted on 19/9/11
It's not thy he's shown to much loyalty to them, they played well in 1st game, they both scored vs City. The team as a whole coolant match Liverpool or United. I was safe to assume I think that they could play well again against Norwich, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Hard to gauge when facing united and Liverpool, but the loss shows they cnt do their best together, difficult to gauge when facing the above mentioned teams.
posted on 19/9/11
ali habsi,has'nt looked to good at wigan this season.certainly no better than jussi.fact
posted on 19/9/11
Al Habsi has looked poor at times for them this season i agree the only reason i think the club could have considered hanging onto him was for him to be first choice this season why young Bogdan went out on loan to get a full season playing under his belt.
Looked what Joe Hart did on loan for Birmingham, He came back and became number 1 for club and country.
I hope Bogdan gets starts in the cups but i do agree he is not ready for the league yet.
Jussi just needs to stop punting it long and start to distribute better imo and maybe command his box a tad better but with the defence at present it is no wonder we are shipping goals they have no confidence left and Knight is the major weak link that can be sorted with either Wheater or Boyata slipping into that spot alongside Cahill.
posted on 19/9/11
Only one thing wrong with your team there in that Holden's fit and should play IMO. My team would be the same as yours with that sole exception. I know it's meant to be heresy but IMO SKD isn't suffering a crisis of confidence, he's just past his best. Jussi is also not the keeper he was and seems to lack the lightning reflexes he had even eighteen months ago.
I don't think anyone is really seriously thinking about Owen's position and if they are they need their heads examining. We've played five, three against Amn U and Man C plus Liverpool. Yes Norwich was unacceptably bad but every season has one game like that and hopefully that means ours is out of the way. Either way I doubt Owen will make the mistakes the nameless one made. Firstly he won't keep faith forever with players who aren't good enough. second he WILL listen to advice from others including the fans with respect whether he agrees or not and third, he can and WILL lift the lads. He's a natural leader and a winner and he will NOT accept anyone around him who isn't and doesn't want to be the same way.