Bolton 1-2 Derby

Tough one this, 1-1

We'll stuff them.

Nothing to be bothered about here.

10-0 Bolton

Ref watch: Stephen Martin to oversee Derby County clash

Stephen Martin will run the rule over Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship tie as Bolton Wanderers welcome Derby County to Macron Stadium.

Involved in the game since the 2008-09 season, the official has overseen three fixtures this season issuing two yellow cards in the process. His last fixture saw one yellow card produced, during Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, last year the Staffordshire-born referee took charge of 35 games producing 78 cautions and three red cards. Mr Martin last took control of a Bolton game in February 2016, with the Whites losing 2-1 to Burnley.

Matthew McGrath and David Avent will run the line, while Simeon Lucas is the fourth official.

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3-1. Armstrong, Buckley and ALF

Bugger. If Boggers says we're going to win it spells certain defeat.

It would be brilliant for morale if we can win this one but it's a big ask against such a strong team so a draw wouldn't be the end of the world. We do need to start putting some points on the board though and 3 of them would do wonders.

I think it will also put the team in the right mind-set, something that, even though its very early, is needed.

A bit of pressure with whipping boys Burton coming from behind to beat Brum last night and leaping above us in the table. Obviously it's early doors but the result does emphasise how competitive this league is and the importance of getting as  many points as possible in home games.

Only Burton and Barnsley have shorter odds than us for getting relegated so perhaps Parky should use that to focus minds. Building a home "fortress" got off to a poor start but today is an opportunity to start putting that right.

Preview: Five talking points ahead of Bolton Wanderers v Derby County



As Wanderers return to Macron Stadium to take on Derby County following three successive away days, bwfc.co.uk highlights five talking points ahead of Saturday's clash with the Rams.


1. Back at Macron Stadium
Wanderers take to the Macron Stadium turf for the first time since the opening day of the season as they take on Derby County this weekend.

Coming into the Sky Bet Championship clash after three successive away days, the Whites picked up their first win of the season at Crewe Alexandra in the Carabao Cup before fighting out draws with both Millwall and Birmingham City.

Following three promising performances on the road, Bolton will be looking to build on their early-season promise in front of their home fans against one of the division's potential promotion candidates.

2. Striking options
Phil Parkinson has a decision to make regarding his striking options after Adam Armstrong's impressive performance in midweek against Birmingham City.

Having scored his first goal for the club on his full debut against Crewe, the Newcastle United loanee was handed his maiden Trotters league start on Tuesday night as he partnered Gary Madine in attack at St Andrew's with Adam Le Fondre dropping to the bench.

Le Fondre and Madine are also already off the mark this season after both scored against Leeds United on the opening day.

With veteran Aaron Wilbraham eyeing up a potential home debut having featured in each of Wanderers' last three outings, Parkinson will be hoping that competition for places continues to bring the best out of his forwards ahead of his side's clash with Derby County.

3. First league win?
The Whites will be searching for their first league win of the season on Saturday as they take to the field in front of their home fans.

Having fought out two away draws from their last two outings, Bolton have looked confident in their early Sky Bet Championship encounters as they look to establish themselves back in the second tier.

There is an added spice to Saturday's clash with Derby County as the Trotters face the Rams for the first time since the East Midlands outfit confirmed their relegation to Sky Bet League One in April 2016.

Now determined to put past demons to bed and to build on their early promise, management, players and fans alike will be keen to ensure Wanderers do not have to wait long for a maiden victory of the season.

4. Golden Gamble

Supporters attending Saturday's game will be in with a chance of winning one of ten prizes as part of our matchday Golden Gamble draw, with tickets available both outside the stadium  and in the concourses at Macron Stadium from various vendors.

For just £1, everybody who purchases a ticket will be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes, including being entered into our new £100 per game rollover.

Meanwhile, Golden Gamble season tickets are also on sale for a limited time only! Costing £20 for 22 games, fans can now secure their place in every matchday draw, ensuring they have the chance to win one of the great prizes every matchday at Macron Stadium!


5. The Wanderer
Fans attending this Saturday's game can snap up a copy of the club's matchday programme for just £3, with copies available for purchase both outside and in the concourses at Macron Stadium.

Boasting 84-pages of exclusive content, 'The Wanderer' offers up an in-depth look at our visitors from Pride Park, including detailed player profiles, a trip down memory lane to games gone by and a view from the other side of the fence.

There's also a six-page interview with striker Gary Madine, a pull-out poster of our No.14 and a number of special features to mark the Whites' 20th anniversary at Macron Stadium.

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Report: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Derby County

A first-half David Nugent brace ensured that Wanderers slipped to defeat against Derby County at Macron Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Rams took the lead against the run of play in the eighth minute of the clash, with the striker given the simple task of tapping the ball home after connecting with Matej Vydra’s cross, while the former England international doubled his tally in the 20th minute with a close-range header.

The Whites did halve the deficit in second-half injury time through Gary Madine's goal to set up a frantic finish, but it was simply a consolation effort come full time.

TEAM NEWS

Wanderers named an unchanged starting XI from the side who lined up against Birmingham City on Tuesday evening, with the substitutes’ bench also the same as four days’ previous.

FIRST HALF

It was the home side who looked mostly likely to break the deadlock inside the opening stages of the clash, with some clever link-up play between Darren Pratley and Filipe Morais deserving more as the latter whipped two dangerous crosses into the Derby six-yard box.

Bolton’s pressure continued, but against the run of play the visitors took the lead as Vydra found Nugent a matter of yards out, with the frontman given the simple task of tapping home past a stranded Mark Howard.

It was the Rams’ first sight of goal, and they had certainly punished the Whites with it.

Following their opener, County pushed forward and were eventually rewarded with a second goal as Nugent nodded home from a similar position to his first to double his own tally for the afternoon and his side’s advantage.

Vydra should have been on the scoresheet himself with 27 minutes gone as he found himself one-on-one with Howard, but the Czech Republic international somehow skewed his effort high and wide to the relief of those of a Bolton persuasion inside Macron Stadium.

It was an opportunity which left the home faithful rallying behind their side, with them willing them to halve the deficit by any means possible.

Vydra again came close just after the half hour mark when volleying over from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Wanderers were being forced back in their numbers as the clock ran down to half time as the Rams pushed to add to their goal tally.

Andre Wisdom had Bolton hearts in mouths on the stroke of the 45 too, with his mazy run from the halfway line and consequent shot trickling inches wide of Howard’s far post.

Come half time however, the scoreline remained two nil in the Rams’ favour.

SECOND HALF

There was one change for the Whites at the break, with Adam Le Fondre replacing Adam Armstrong for the second half.

And Alfie looked lively from the outset, with the Trotters’ No.9 causing problems early on.

Wanderers definitely had more fire in their bellies following the restart, with the visitors being forced onto the backfoot inside the opening ten minutes of the half.

Scott Carson was yet to be really tested however, with the majority of Bolton’s pressure being in and around the box as opposed to in the form of clear-cut goalmouth opportunities.

Bolton’s confidence was growing though, and the home fans were responding with their vocal backing.

Their efforts meanwhile were being rebuffed by a solid Derby defence, with the Rams packing eleven men behind the ball in a bid to preserve their lead.

Pratley came within inches of pulling Bolton back into the encounter with 20 minutes to go after chasing down Dorian Dervite's flick-on from a Morais free-kick, but Carson was just a split second quicker than the Whites' skipper and managed to safely smother the ball.

The home side were still trying their luck as the game ebbed towards its conclusion, while Andre Wisdom was lucky to stay on the field after avoiding what appeared to be a certain second yellow for a cynical foul on Andrew Taylor.

Morais' resulting free-kick from that incident caused a few problems in the Derby six-yard box too, but the Rams eventually managed to clear their lines after Carson had been forced to punch the ball away under pressure from Madine.

Aaron Wilbraham - a second half substitute for Wanderers - looked set to capitalise after the ball fell kindly for him 12-yards out from goal, but the linesman's flag ensured that he was stopped in his tracks.

Four additional minutes were indicated at the end of the 90, and the Whites ensured something of a grandstand finish when Madine rolled the ball home from ten yards out.

Despite their best efforts however, Wanderers couldn't force a leveller and found themselves on the losing side come full time.

FULL TIME

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It's bad when the highlights of our attack in the report are a tackle, a cross and an offside. Plus our one shot on target to give us the consolation goal. 
Add that to dodgy defending and it is surely time for Parky to rethink his system and selection.

The midfield was awful today, Pratley 10 minutes behind  for most of the game. We could only string passes together at the back, once we tried going forward we were losing the ball far too many times.

A shocking performance, especially the first half, it should have been 4 or 5 to Derby by half time. The defence was awful and looks a shadow of last season, the sooner Wheater is fit the better.

The midfield was truly awful as well, the captain was a passenger the whole game and every pass was backwards. Cullen and Karacan weren't much better.

The 352 is plainly not working and we need to change to a flat back 4 and release Morais (the one player who can hold his head up today) to be a proper winger.

Parky needs to be more flexible, why didn't he change the formation at half time? Instead all he did and always does is just make like for like subs.

It's going to be a long season watching hoofball and a defence that keeps making simple mistakes and gifting teams goals 

That was dire. Nothing else I can say.

Terrible, just fucking terrible.

Make excuses about lack of funds all you like, but effort and commitment costs nothing and should be the bare minimum expected of anyone who pulls on the white shirt. Today we looked beaten before a ball was kicked.

But today was about Phil Parkinson following in a long line of useless Bolton managers who refuse to change tactics. The 5-3-2 wasn't working, our only attacking player (Morias) was stuck defending for much of the match because the absolutely useless midfield trio of Pratley, Karacan(t) and Cullen offered no protection whatsoever.

For fucks sake Parky, everyone in the ground could see that Derby were killing us, they should have been 5-0 up at half-time. But instead of changing the system and pushing Morais forward he brought on Le Fondre for Armstrong. Fuck off. Armstrong hadn't been brilliant but he hadn't had a decent pass all half. He isn't 7ft2. The system needed changing, not the strikers.

And can someone explain why Beevers and Dervite are staying in defence when we have a throw-in near to the opposition penalty area? Last season we looked very dangerous in this situation, Beevers and Wheater regularly popping up to find the net. Now they stay back. Fuck off Parky, you are too fucking negative.

We have three midfielders who offer no protection to the defence and no support to the attack. Every time the strikers got the ball the midfielders were back in our penalty area. Pratley needs to fuck off, he isn't a footballer anymore. As I said when we signed him, Karacan(t) is lightweight and clueless. Cullen possibly broke the record for the number of backwards passes today.

We made more of a fist of it in the second half, but never looked like scoring. But even when we did fluke a goal there was no last minute bombardment, no centre half playing upfront, just nothing. It was as if Parky was protecting the 1-2 scoreline.

For the next league game he needs to revert to a back four. Fuck Dervite off. Play four in midfield, probably Morais, Buckley, Derik and Robinson on the left. Up top it's any two from four. I thought Wilbraham did more in 10 minutes than Madine, Le Fondre and Armstrong did in the whole game.

Whoever plays, we are in deep shit. Some shite teams survive because they have heart and character. We have nothing but ponces.

I'd sack Parky now.

This team is very much on a par with the one that got relegated two years ago to me. No quality going forward, incredibly sloppy at the back. I think 0-4 would have been a fairer score than 1-2, and the only reason there wasn't a deafening boo at full time was the goal we somehow managed against the run of play.

Sadly - although I've never been a fan of Parky's playing style - I don't see it getting much better whatever approach he or anybody else were to have. I think it's back to reality now after the end to last season, and it'll be interesting to see how many of the Parkinson fans from a few months ago are still behind him after another 10-20 games like that.