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After the recent long treks to Ipswich, West Ham and Bristol, the drive down to Villa Park seemed like a local excursion.
We were welcomed into the marquee at the rear of the Witton Arms after paying a £2 entrance fee. Lunch was burgers or hot dogs, otherwise known as Holte Cuisine in those quarters.
We were encouraged by Tuesday night’s performance at Bristol and the introduction of Karl Henry. Our thoughts were that we would put up a good show but that Villa Park was a difficult place to get anything, even if we were playing well.
Hopes were high that we might at least end our record-breaking run without scoring. It’s got to the stage now that fans are reluctant to go to the toilet during play as they don’t want to miss the goal when it comes.
Phil Parkinson made a few changes with Sammy Ameobi, Jem Caracan and Adam Armstrong coming in for Filipe Morais, Jeff King and Craig Noone. He went for a back four again and we looked better.
We more than matched Aston Villa and on the play, we deserved to get something from this match. Their penalty looked like a blatant trip by Mark Beevers, so no grumbles there. However, we can grumble about our poor finishing which cost us again. We had plenty of chances to score and most attempts were pathetic. Their goalie had very little to do. The enthusiasm, the effort and the energy are all there but the execution is disappearing when we get in the final third. I think that the players are beginning to wonder if they’ll ever score again. It’s now a mind issue that will only get sorted by hard work – and maybe a stroke of luck.
We’ve got the international break now, giving us a fortnight to get more injured players fit again and to work out how we are going to score. We’ve then got two home games to do something and get this season under way. We’ve got lots to look forward to; our first league win of the season, our first point at home and our first goal after Blank September. As they say, ‘Don’t panic Mr Anderson, we’re all in this together’. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Let’s rekindle the famous Bolton spirit. We’ve given the rest of the Championship more than enough start.
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We were welcomed into the marquee at the rear of the Witton Arms after paying a £2 entrance fee. Lunch was burgers or hot dogs, otherwise known as Holte Cuisine in those quarters.
We were encouraged by Tuesday night’s performance at Bristol and the introduction of Karl Henry. Our thoughts were that we would put up a good show but that Villa Park was a difficult place to get anything, even if we were playing well.
Hopes were high that we might at least end our record-breaking run without scoring. It’s got to the stage now that fans are reluctant to go to the toilet during play as they don’t want to miss the goal when it comes.
Phil Parkinson made a few changes with Sammy Ameobi, Jem Caracan and Adam Armstrong coming in for Filipe Morais, Jeff King and Craig Noone. He went for a back four again and we looked better.
We more than matched Aston Villa and on the play, we deserved to get something from this match. Their penalty looked like a blatant trip by Mark Beevers, so no grumbles there. However, we can grumble about our poor finishing which cost us again. We had plenty of chances to score and most attempts were pathetic. Their goalie had very little to do. The enthusiasm, the effort and the energy are all there but the execution is disappearing when we get in the final third. I think that the players are beginning to wonder if they’ll ever score again. It’s now a mind issue that will only get sorted by hard work – and maybe a stroke of luck.
We’ve got the international break now, giving us a fortnight to get more injured players fit again and to work out how we are going to score. We’ve then got two home games to do something and get this season under way. We’ve got lots to look forward to; our first league win of the season, our first point at home and our first goal after Blank September. As they say, ‘Don’t panic Mr Anderson, we’re all in this together’. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Let’s rekindle the famous Bolton spirit. We’ve given the rest of the Championship more than enough start.
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