Villa 1-2 Bolton

Lofty_Love wrote:

Please give me your insight into how we will win? With who exactly are we ment to experiment with? or have you just realised that the only player we haven't experimented with all season is Sordell.

Bogdan

Greta Ream Knight Wheater Petrov

Eagles Mavies NRC

Klasnic Sordell

That team would get 3 points at Villa.

Natasha Whittam wrote:
Bogdan

Greta Ream Knight Wheater Petrov

Eagles Mavies NRC

Klasnic Sordell

That team would get 3 points at Villa.

Interesting selection but of course OC won't start Klasnic, Sordell or Knight so we will never know what they could achieve.

Petrov at left back?

Mark Davies, Ryo and Pratley could all be missing tomorrow, according to Marc Iles of BEN.

In which case i hope he does give Vela a try.

If he's terrible, so be it, got to throw people in at some point.

Natasha Whittam wrote:
Bogdan

Greta Ream Knight Wheater Petrov

Eagles Mavies NRC

Klasnic Sordell

That team would get 3 points at Villa.

So you've gone for this Wiganesque 3CBs I was flogging a while back?
In theory Petrov could be wing back if we have 3 Cbs but it kind of defeats the objective as the LCB would be covering for Petrov and we'd end up with a 442. And the centre is too soft.
But with a little tweaking it could be great:
Bogdan
Steinsson Ream Knight Wheater Alonso
Ricketts NRC
Mavies
Sordell Ngog (replaced by Klas at half time)

If Mavies not available:
Back 5 as previous
Ricketts Vela
NRC
Sordell Ngog
Now that team could do some damage if the FBs got forward.

I have to say that if Coyle picks the same team as he did against Swansea we have absolutely no chance, but knowing Coyle he most probably will.

What do you think of this team line up?
-------------------------------Jussi
Steinsson--------Wheater---------Knight----------Ricketts
------------------------------NRC
---------------------Mark Davies----Eagles
Ngog--------------------Klasnic-------------------Sordell

It would be like a 3 pronged attack with pace and 3 players who can score goals. Davies and Eagles are good players going forward and can help create chances. Mark Davies, Eagles, Ngog and Sordell would have to put in a shift to help defend when we don't have the ball.
Any thoughts?

Natasha Whittam wrote:


Bogdan

Greta Ream Knight Wheater Petrov

Eagles Mavies NRC

Klasnic Sordell

That team would get 3 points at Villa.

We can't control the midfield with 4 players never mind 3 , Eagles and M.Davies are extremely lightweight to play 3 in midfield.

Pretov doesn't have the necessary wing back skills.

Klasnic and Sordell are both poachers from what ive heard on Sordell so they won't help the lightweight midfield at all.

This formation would just invite constant pressure on our defence, with the only possible chance of a goal being from a counter attack. Playing against Villa we should be aiming to be the better team, not just hoping for a lucky counter attack.

On another note I don't really see how you can call M.Davies as much as you do and then include him..

The reason we play 4-5-1 is because its the formation that suits our team the best, it took Coyle a long time to figure it out but it does and has got us results so I don't see any reason why we need to experiment.

Its the little tactical mistakes that will lose us games, such as us not playing our wingers high enough in the second half of the Swansea game.

Or not responding to how the game is going, Im not saying play 4-5-1 all game, you change depending on whats happening, but we do best when we start 4-5-1, otherwise we usually just get over run.

Lofty_Love wrote:

We can't control the midfield with 4 players never mind 3 , Eagles and M.Davies are extremely lightweight to play 3 in midfield.

This is a five man midfield of sorts with the full-backs pushing forward. Eagles, NRC and Mavies are all playing central roles.

I hope Coyle is reading.

Natasha Whittam wrote:
This is a five man midfield of sorts with the full-backs pushing forward. Eagles, NRC and Mavies are all playing central roles.

I hope Coyle is reading.

I always wonder if any of the squad read forums like these. They must do sometimes, I certainly couldn't help myself if I was a player.

Some players must have read the 606 forum!

Lofty_Love wrote:

I always wonder if any of the squad read forums like these. They must do sometimes, I certainly couldn't help myself if I was a player.

Couldn't agree more, especially as they have loads of free time. For all we know Largehat could be Zat Knight.

I'd be amazed if the whole Bolton squad didn't know Natasha Whittam.

Twitter messages piling in from Villa fans as they see tonight's game as a "must win" for their team. Not good news. Meanwhile BBC sports blog compounds the pressure by asking "If Bolton lose tonight is there any way back for them?" Barstewards the lot of them.
Final potential points as it stands:
Villa 48
Wanderers 45
Wigan 43
QPR 43
Rovers 40
Although we play Villa and Rovers play Wigan so not everyone can fulfill their potential!

wanderlust wrote:Meanwhile BBC sports blog compounds the pressure by asking "If Bolton lose tonight is there any way back for them?" Barstewards the lot of them.

There isn't. They're just stating the obvious.

So when we lose tonight it will be..
Villa 48
Wigan 43
QPR 43
Wanderers 42
Rovers 40

....and we'll have to back Rovers to draw with Wigan. And pray that Chelsea and City somehow manage to scrape a point between them at home to QPR. Obviously Wigan are going to beat Newcastle so we're obviously sunk already.

If you seriously think Bolton will win this game it is simply heart ruling the head. Bolton simply don't win this sort of game.

I don't. I hope we will.
However we need to pick up points somewhere and if you look at
Villa A
Sunderland A
Spurs H
W Brom H
Stoke A
I think I'd be telling the players that I'd hate to be sent down by Stoke - the team that started the rot - on the last day of the season. Of these teams Stoke have been the crappest of late, but I'm sure they'd be up for relegating us. Can't see Rovers getting anything apart from possibly the Wigan game. QPR will lose at Chelsea and City so all is not yet lost - despite the club whingeing about injuries and fixture congestion already!
Maybe some new blood will shake things up. Vela to start tonight.

Natasha Whittam wrote:If you seriously think Bolton will win this game it is simply heart ruling the head. Bolton simply don't win this sort of game.

Think your being a bit harsh Nat, we have a pretty good record in these relegation battles this year.

Ive got hope for this one....

1-2

But if we lose we HAVE to beat both Sunderland and Tottenham.. ouch

Lofty_Love wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:If you seriously think Bolton will win this game it is simply heart ruling the head. Bolton simply don't win this sort of game.

Think your being a bit harsh Nat, we have a pretty good record in these relegation battles this year.

Ive got hope for this one....

1-2

But if we lose we HAVE to beat both Sunderland and Tottenham.. ouch

The last three games have all been must win games and we've won none of them. I stand by my prediction we won't win again this season.

wanderlust wrote:
I think I'd be telling the players that I'd hate to be sent down by Stoke - the team that started the rot - .

Stoke didn't start this rot, we have been performing quite badly under coyle for a while before that. The wolves game when Sturridge made his debut was an aweful game.

Anyway we have to forget about Wembley, this season has been a total disaster under coyle, poor tactics, changing the team nearly every week, a different striker up front on his own every other game.

Natasha Whittam wrote:
The last three games have all been must win games and we've won none of them. I stand by my prediction we won't win again this season.

I don't like this term 'must win game'. Its usually used for games which arn't, Swansea a prime example, it wasn't must win because we still have a chance to stay up having gotten a point from it, this isn't must win either but like I said Tottenham and Sunderland would be.

Fans have been labelling pretty much every game since January as a 'Must Win'.

Theres 1-3 true must win games a season.

None of the last 3 were.

Obviously it would have been nice to have got more points from them, but a true must win game is, for example Blackburn's game against Wigan.

And you made that prediction a while ago but we have won and predicted we would be last with 20-something points as I remember