ALAN HOUGHTON'S FAN'S VIEW: Bolton Wanderers 0 Middlesbrough 3

The international break had given us all a couple of weeks to get over our drubbing on Humberside and rekindled hope for kick-starting our season against Middlesbrough.

The Doombar deliberations were quite upbeat following the closure of the transfer window, in which we managed to conjure up the signing of Craig Noone and attempted to re-sign Chung Yong Lee, the latter showing some ambition.

The news about Julio Baptista and Joey O’Brien training with the club had generated positive stories in the press for a welcome change.

Phil Parkinson made several changes in his attempt to find the right balance in this league, welcoming back David Wheater, chucking new signing Craig Noone in the deep end and swapping goalkeepers with Ben Alnwick coming in.

Then we looked at the Middlesbrough team and reality set in very quickly. Money may not be a guarantee of success but it sure helps.

They have spent more than £40million to our zero. It showed in every position.

They were quicker, better organised, more creative and clinical in their finishing.

We couldn’t handle the likes of Adama Traore, who was awesome at times. Two unstoppable runs from him led to two goals on a plate for Britt Assombolonga.

Marvin Johnson added a third to make the score reflect the difference in class between us and them.

It was men against boys.

You cannot fault the effort in our team but we are struggling to adapt to the higher level. Gary Madine was the exception again with two great individual turn-and-shot attempts which deserved better.

Maybe Julio Baptista has taught Gary a trick or two.

This match showed just how big the task ahead is this season.

Avoiding relegation will be a bigger achievement than getting promoted last season. We’ve almost got to look at the Championship like we used to look at the Premiership.

Any points that we can take off the top-half teams will be a bonus and we must concentrate on taking points off the teams around us.

We must get something out of matches like against Sheffield United and Brentford at home.

This season is going to be a real test of faith for the fans and we need to stick together. Financial matters are slowly being sorted with Ken Anderson’s takeover.

Thanks must go to Ken and to Dean Holdsworth, who took us on when no-one else would.

Source

Alan Houghton wrote:You cannot fault the effort in our team

Is this guy a real person?

The lack of effort is a big part of the problem.

Of course we don't expect to beat Hull and Boro, but we do expect to at least let them know they've been in a game.

We failed miserably.

Before the season started me and my friend identified where we would struggle .Howard/Alnwick Leauge 1 at best ,you saw Randolph save two good efforts from Madine although Alnwick was at fault only for the 3rd. Midfield with Vela out is poor.Pratley is shocking.Morais was brilliant last season. This season say no more.We will be battling to stay in this leauge.Ken Anderson where's the £££ we are still under an embargo. You don't have to be a brain Surgeon to realise it's going to be a long Winter. The Pain.

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Morais was brilliant last season. This season say no more.

Morais is our only creative player - so far he's been played as a defensive player and then out on the left.

It's madness. Blame finances all you like, but the tactics and team selection leaves a lot to be desired.

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Before the season started me and my friend identified where we would struggle .Howard/Alnwick Leauge 1 at best ,you saw Randolph save two good efforts from Madine although Alnwick was at fault only for the 3rd. Midfield with Vela out is poor.Pratley is shocking.Morais was brilliant last season. This season say no more.We will be battling to stay in this leauge.Ken Anderson where's the £££ we are still under an embargo. You don't have to be a brain Surgeon to realise it's going to be a long Winter. The Pain.

Hello and welcome mate and good summary.

I guess we all knew we faced pain this season and keeping up is really our only objective this season (at least on the pitch).

I'd be happy with that.

Do you think we will achieve it though?


But you are right it will be a long Winter.

Part of the cross we bear being a Wanderers fan though I guess!

Hi thanks for the welcome. I've not missed a match home or away this season. Highlight beating Sheffield Wednesday, Dissapointments Hull C and the realisation that a lot of the squad just are not good enough.
Can we stay up ? ask me after Tuesday. It's as important we stay up as we went up. Ken Anderson told us the embargo was going two years ago.
He's renegotiated a loan with Bluemarble. WTF ,I'm hoping someone like the king of Bahrain buys us.Ken Anderson has no love for Bolton in my opinion. So I hope he will sell the Club to proper people with money.We now need 6 points from our next two home matches.
Going home getting beat every week is a Sickener. Away we got 2 draws and a shocker at Hull. I went to my first match in 1972 and the 90's under Rioch and the BSA reign were great Munich,Madrid,but last season at Port Vale 4-500 fans brilliant. For them brief moments is why we follow all over. Hope we don't start getting people knocking Parky 6 matches in. But let's get behind the boys Tuesday we can win this. COYW

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Hope we don't start getting people knocking Parky 6 matches in.

Look away now then.

Parky is out of his depth at this level. Several games in and he still doesn't know his best team or formation. And his signings have been woeful.

And the excuses have started already. Just like under Lennon.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Hope we don't start getting people knocking Parky 6 matches in.

Look away now then.

Parky is out of his depth at this level. Several games in and he still doesn't know his best team or formation. And his signings have been woeful.

And the excuses have started already. Just like under Lennon.

Hatw to say it but

We were lucky to get promoted.Selling Clough turned out to be good business .Prior to Ameobi and Clough leaving we had not won away since November. When we went to Fleetwood we had played 4 home matches more than away. The win at Fleetwood and Filipe Morais green patch pulled us over the line . Failing to beat Chesterfield who had been beaten 4-1 at home by Rochdale told me unless an injection of Cash and better players we would struggle. I read today Arsenal and Liverpool fans were saying they should sack their managers on Radio 5.
You can't turn Selling platers ( horses) in to Derby runners.
As for formations,they only work well if the players are good enough.
Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

Wanderers for 45 wrote:
Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

I feel one of Ms. Whittam's famous death threats incoming.

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

Don't take her too seriously!

Sluffy wrote:

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

Don't take her too seriously!

Why? Shes spot on with this one

y2johnny wrote:

Sluffy wrote:

Wanderers for 45 wrote:Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

Don't take her too seriously!

Why? Shes spot on with this one

Ok, I'll be more specific -

Don't take her too seriously all the time.



For what it's worth I think Parkinson's done a magnificent job considering the hand he's been given.

I doubt Steve Cotterill or Nigel Adkins (whom Iles guaranteed one of which was going to be our manager) could have done better (and both of whom are still out of work even now!).

Yes there are better managers but there are better clubs for them to go to as well.

I can't think of many others who realistically we could attract to manage us at the time, to have done better - and until Anderson can take the club forward - I think that still holds true even now.

If we sacked PP now - who would risk becoming our manager now whilst we are under a player embargo and with an owner probably looking to sell the club with a new owner probably wanting to bring in his own manager?

I think Parkinson will be here as long as Anderson is this season, whether we like that or not.

Wanderers for 45 wrote:
You can't turn Selling platers ( horses) in to Derby runners.
As for formations,they only work well if the players are good enough.
Me thinks Miss Whittam is full of SHIT.

Firstly, sluffy hasn't been to the Macron in his life, and spends his Saturday afternoons shouting at folk who walk past his house. His words are meaningless.

I know more about BWFC than you know about talking shit. And you're an expert in that.

A bit of commitment and aggression can make a poor team average, we've had it done to us a million times by teams we should have beaten.

Parky's team has no heart, no passion and no leaders. And three right wingers. With the best right winger on the left.

He's out of his depth.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Alan Houghton wrote:You cannot fault the effort in our team

Is this guy a real person?

The lack of effort is a big part of the problem.

Of course we don't expect to beat Hull and Boro, but we do expect to at least let them know they've been in a game.

We failed miserably.

TBH Alan Houghton's review is far less blinkered that some of his previous offerings.

I'm not convinced lack of effort is as much a contributor to our performances as lack of ability, power, pace and a system that gets the best from what we have. 

Seeing as we're stuck with these players, I reckon it's down to the manager to find a way to grind out results.

Bullshit. The effort just isn't there. No one put their foot in, in days gone by N'Gotty or Taggart would have had Traore in row z within 5 minutes.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Bullshit. The effort just isn't there. No one put their foot in, in days gone by N'Gotty or Taggart would have had Traore in row z within 5 minutes.

Correct. At times he was taking the piss.
Someone needed to take one for the team and give him a whack. Never easy to be quite so confident when you're fearing for your knee caps.
As you can see,I'm not a purist.

boltonbonce wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Bullshit. The effort just isn't there. No one put their foot in, in days gone by N'Gotty or Taggart would have had Traore in row z within 5 minutes.

Correct. At times he was taking the piss.
Someone needed to take one for the team and give him a whack. Never easy to be quite so confident when you're fearing for your knee caps.
As you can see,I'm not a purist.

They'd have had to have caught him first and they just weren't quick enough, although both Beevers and Robinson had the chance to get to him on the touchline prior to the first goal. Still, booting a player doesn't equate to effort and neither does "putting your foot in". Whether they fell short because of poor mentality, poor managerial instructions or poor athleticism is up for debate but you're implying it's because they weren't trying. For me it was more like racehorses against carthorses with the carthorses unable to get close enough to "put their foot in".

I'm not sure Derren Brown could motivate this lot.

I suppose he could make a start by telling Pratley that the round thing is a ball.

wanderlust wrote:

boltonbonce wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Bullshit. The effort just isn't there. No one put their foot in, in days gone by N'Gotty or Taggart would have had Traore in row z within 5 minutes.

Correct. At times he was taking the piss.
Someone needed to take one for the team and give him a whack. Never easy to be quite so confident when you're fearing for your knee caps.
As you can see,I'm not a purist.

They'd have had to have caught him first and they just weren't quick enough, although both Beevers and Robinson had the chance to get to him on the touchline prior to the first goal. Still, booting a player doesn't equate to effort and neither does "putting your foot in". Whether they fell short because of poor mentality, poor managerial instructions or poor athleticism is up for debate but you're implying it's because they weren't trying. For me it was more like racehorses against carthorses with the carthorses unable to get close enough to "put their foot in".

Clearly you've never played regularly as a defender in an eleven a side team.

If you can't beat the attacker for skill and/or pace, you have to get into his head and you do that by clattering him early in the game so that he has it in his mind if you are going to do that again in future when he has the ball.

The youngster Robinson should have been the one to hit him (as he seemed to be on his side of the pitch) but maybe he was too worried about getting booked/sent off on his debut with us or something.  Maybe Traore intimidated him - he looked a big bloke - but if they are a better player than you, you simply have no other choice but to try to impose yourself physically on them otherwise you might as well not be on the pitch for the rest of the game as he will simply run rings around you until he gets tired of doing so.