Bolton 2-1 Watford

Coyle has up to now responded to criticism commendably. He's a human being and I wouldn't begrudge him today's hissy fit, if indeed there was one.

Coyle to be fair to him had us winning well at half time. 2-0. You can understand why no chnages were made. Then, when Watford were overrunning us in the middle he did switch to 451 like so many people would have said he should have done if we had gone and lost at 442. And also, he recognised that Andrews was getting progressively worse and subbed him like for like (sort of).

We played some decent stuff and got three points. My main concern is that there seemed no sense in Davies being run ragged. We also played some poor stuff. Mainly Mears and Andrews. But there are signs of better to come.

Even though we played well in the first half, every time Bogdan kicked the ball out, it was to SKD. No attempt at changing it for a different tactic, such as, perish the thought, play it through the middle. No wonder SKD was knackered. With regards the run up the left wing by Eagles, what amazed me , and the guy next ot me, was not how SKD couldn't get there , but how Afobe wasn't making the slightest effort to get there. He was actually jogging, and didn't even catch up with SKD. What a lazy bastard. What was also evident was the panic and desertion of the front and midfield after Watford scored. which just invited constant pressure. A sign of how fragile the team is.

We've been inviting pressure for a number of seasons now and it's hard to watch. I always seem to be clock-watching if we're ahead and never feel comfortable with a lead, even a two goal margin.

If you think about the Italian teams of the 70s, they'd grab a lead and then set their stall out not to concede which they seldom if ever did. Never even looked like conceding.We are diametrically opposite to that "they shall not pass" approach. We seem to make the game more open when we're ahead instead of locking down the midfield and hanging on to the ball when we get it.

Now OC has used less players this season than any other manager in the Championship. When he does make changes, it's almost invariably like for like and seldom for tactical reasons like trying to regain control in midfield and keeping possession. I do hope he is prepared to think about using less glamourous players who can do a job when the game demands it rather than continue flogging a dead horse as he has been doing.

Sometimes you have to rotate the squad to get the job done, and OCs unwillingness to do so is worrying.



I think Spearing was an astute deal and said so at the time - he will serve us well this season and should play every week unless he goes through a bad patch.

Coyle has made some changes though. He has noticed that Lee is not up to scratch and left him out. Same with Petrov sort of. Although I would prefer Eagles to play right mid. He has also brought in Alonso who is playing well for Ricketts who has not been too impressive and he has dropped the underperforming Reem and stuck it out with Mills who seems to be bedding in ok now. He has also brought in Spearing for a position we really need filling and looks to have been a good deal for us.

He subbed Andrews off when he was having a poor game. He switched to 451 when we were getting overrun in midfield. We got three points.

Ok so there are more improvements to be made but most managers don't make massive changes all at once. It does concern me though that we still play the long ball at times but please be fair - it is probably 30% of how much we used to do it with Meggo.

Mears needs looking at. Some good, some bad parts to his game. Not great yesterday. Perhaps Ricketts or Riley can step in there.
It may also be time to leave Mavies out and use Eagles and Petrov/Wylde/Lee when we play 442. And use Mavies when we play 451.

Yet again we defended corners without front and/or back post markers? It's going to cost us!!

Barryjw wrote:Yet again we defended corners without front and/or back post markers? It's going to cost us!!

yer not wrong, Bazza

Hello

But again, changes are happening. We left one man up on all corners. (Or most). It gives us a numerical advantage in the box and in addition it means that the opposition can't just mop up and pump it back in when we clear it.

I pointed out to my seated neighbour that when we cleared a corner Eagle's presence on the half way line meant that the two defenders back there did not have time to bring it under control and launch another attack, instead their main concern was to prevent Eagle's breaking away so they would just head or kick the ball into touch resulting in possession for us.

We can't all have everything we want all at once. Coyle is making some changes to remedy some problems. That is enough for me right now - if he continues to address other problems along the way then that is the best you can hope for really.

All in favour of leaving somebody upfield at corners for the reason JJ gives, and it may as well be the likes of Eagles or Petrov both of whose defensive qualities are about of much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Call me old fashioned but defending posts at corners is basic. One only has to remember the number of goal line clearances at corners made by Simon Charlton in past years to illustrate the point.

Get the basics right is the way forward!

Barryjw wrote:Yet again we defended corners without front and/or back post markers? It's going to cost us!!

What a strange thing to do!!

Not totally impressive when you consider that Watford hit the bar and had one cleared off the line. Overall a bit of a relief to get the points in the end.

I don't know what the manager says in those half time team talks but whatever it is, it usually makes things worse. Maybe it's a language barrier thing - it's hard enough to make out what he's saying after the game when things have calmed down, never mind at half time when he's all worked up.

Thought Sordell would have come on against his former club and I'm sure he would have made more of an effort than Afobe to get into the box when Eagles was through on his own.

I'm surprised Eagles didn't just try and shoot from the corner flag anyway, he usually does. On a different occasion we could have gone 3 up if he'd just passed to the unmarked man in the box instead of going for glory. He could be a much better player if he made the right decisions at times.

Still not enough fight in midfield - Spearing seemed willing to get stuck in but Mark Davies was anonymous again.

Not convinced - wouldn't be surprised if we lost the next six.

I'm not sure I watched the same game as everyone else. 2-0 up at half-time and looking very comfortable. We took our foot off the pedal in the second half and Watford had more possession even though their goal was a bit of a fluke. At 2-1 things were looking a bit edgy but it's not as if Watford bombarded our goal in the second half.

I can't understand why some fane were booing at the end ? Unbeaten at home so far and yet still some folk are not happy! Watford will not be our sternest test at home but you can't expect us to keep putting four or five past the opposition at home just because we are in the Championship.

As for the players this is how I saw it:

SKD, I thought had a good game. He got his share of flick ons and was in the right place for our second goal. he was clearly flagging towards the end and should have been brought off with twenty minutes to go. We have a game on Tuesday and again next Saturday so why he was played the full ninety is puzzling.

Eagles, had one assist and again his work-rate was good.

Spearing, new to the team and starting to fit in. a similar player in style to NRC and Muamba but his passing is better and I think he will come on stronger as the season progresses.

Matt Mills, a marked improvement from his earlier games. It's clear he is getting match fit and his goal was the icing on the cake. Worked well with Knight so this could be our centre half pairing for the near future.

Tyrone Mears, I'm afraid the jury is still out. I would Like Sam Ricketts back in his rightful RB position.

Keith Andrews, biggest disappointment for me so far. Does a lot of running but his passing leaves a lot to be desired. So far he hasn't really added anything to our squad.

NGog, I thought did okay. He appeared to tweak his hamstring and I think it was genuine. Saved our bacon with a goal line clearance and you can't ask for more than that from a forward.

Knight, did okay. His usual self in clearing headers. worked well with Mills which is a bonus.

The substitutions were a bit odd. We had Petrov and Lee twiddling their thumbs on the bench with Ricketts. I'm not sure what Petrov has done wrong because his fresh legs would have destroyed Watford with twenty minutes to go. No place on the bench for Greg Wylde or Ream so it's going to be interesting to see our line-up against Birmingham.

As for Afobe or Sordell, I think they are both similar type players. If Ngog is not fit for Tuesday then one of them will probably partner SKD up front. Why not rest SKD on Tuesday and put them both on from the start with SKD on the bench?

The highlight of the game for me was the appearance of Watford Sub, Forestieri, their number 41. He looked like he had borrowed his shorts from our kit man. They were that big that they were round his knees and he could hardly run in them.

Reebok Trotter wrote:Keith Andrews, biggest disappointment for me so far. Does a lot of running but his passing leaves a lot to be desired. So far he hasn't really added anything to our squad.

From what I've seen of Andrews up to now, I think keeping Tamir Cohen wold have contributed more to the squad than him. The same applies to Pratley.

Not sure what Coyle has seen in Mears to make him think he would be good enough, his passing is terrible, he gets caught out of position more times than nicky hunt and I don't think i've seen him win a header yet.

Personally I would give Riley a go at right back.

aaron_bwfc wrote: Personally I would give Riley a go at right back.

Me too, from what I remember he did good in the Premier League matches he played in...

Mears often gets into good forward positions with possesion- but seems uttely incapable of crossing the ball. It can't be that difficult!!

rammywhite wrote:Mears often gets into good forward positions with possesion- but seems uttely incapable of crossing the ball. It can't be that difficult!!

How dare you suggest a professional footballer should be able to cross!

Sorry Nat- I'm badly out of order assuming that this was a possibility. Nicky Hunt could do it - but we don't talk about him

rammywhite wrote:Sorry Nat- I'm badly out of order assuming that this was a possibility. Nicky Hunt could do it - but we don't talk about him

I do. Usually to myself.