BWFC 0-0 Grimsby

karlypants wrote:We need Tower FM to do the commentary too as Bolton FM are frigging useless!!!

I  agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

karlypants wrote:We need Tower FM to do the commentary too as Bolton FM are frigging useless!!!

They started playing your record collection during the second half. Fergal sodding Sharkey. WTF was going on there?

Soul destroying football. We'd win trophies if the aim was to pass sideways.

I'm slowly falling out of love with football.

There is something wrong with the mid field IMO - can't quiet put my finger on it as I am still learning about the players we have.  We seem plodding and can't get the second ball. The keeping possession part of it is good provided you do something with it....but as we know  - no shots on target or hardly any chances created.....I dunno
Not slamming individual players as of yet but today I couldn't see what our captain contributed also Mascoll was poor......otherwise I suppose we are still gelling. 
5 games in and definately a bottom half team from what I can tell.

Report: Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Grimsby Town

Both sides played out a scoreless encounter as Grimsby Town held Bolton Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Despite controlling most of the contest Wanderers were unable to find a way past their opponents who seldom caused any issues for the hosts backline.
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​​Ian Evatt made just one change from the side that beat Harrogate Town last weekend with Jak Hickman replacing the injured Gethin Jones.
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​​Alex Baptiste returned from injury to be named among the substitutes where he was joined by youngster Regan Riley who impressed in the midweek EFL Trophy encounter against Shrewsbury Town.
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​​Wanderers looked slick with their passing game early on and Hickman put in two good balls from the right which narrowly evaded any of the host’s front men.
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​​Crellin made a vital block with his feet to deny Terry Taylor who had ghosted in from the right hand side.
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​​Wanderers won a free kick from 30 yards out when Delfouneso was felled as he looked to twist away from his man. Crawford took the free-kick well but it went narrowly wide of James McKeown’s right hand post.
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​​Hickman was proving to be a very useful threat on the right flank and another cross found Doyle whose layoff for Crawford culminated in the Scot’s powerful first time effort blocked.
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​​Wanderers earned another free-kick in a dangerous position when Sarcevic was scythed just out side the box on the right hand side. Again Crawford stepped up to take the kick, which was floated into the box but it evaded the head of Brockbank who was looking to nod towards goal.
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​​Another free kick came Wanderers’ way when Sarcevic was feled 20 yards out. Crawford’s free-kick left McKeown flat-footed but it went narrowly wide of the right hand post.
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​​Both teams were unchanged during the break, with Wanderers looking to turn their dominance into goals.
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​​The hosts were looking comfortable in possession during the early stages of the second period but hadn’t really troubled McKeown in the Mariners' goal.
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​​Grimsby had a rare foray into the Wanderers box which culminated in Luke Hendrie firing over from just out side the box.
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​​Delfouneso spurned a good chance when Tutte found him just outside the box. The striker could only the the ball over the Grimsby goal.
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​​Alex Baptiste came on for Hickman after 66 minutes as Evatt made his first change of the afternoon.
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​​The sub got on the end of a Crawford corner but, under pressure from a Town defender, could only guide his volley wide of goal.
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​​Evatt made a double subsitution with 15 minutes to go when Gordon and Comley came on for Mascoll and Tutte.
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​​Terry Taylor flashed wide from a good position after Wanderers lost possession deep in their own half.
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​​Despite six minutes being added on, Wanderers weren't able to break the deadlock.
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​​Wanderers: Crellin, Hickman (Baptiste 66), Mascoll (Gordon 75), Tutte (Comley, 75), Delaney, Almeida Santos, Brockbank, Sarcevic (c), Crawford, Doyle, Delfouneso
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​​Subs Not Used: Greenidge, Darcy, Gnahoua, Riley


Grimsby: McKeown, Hendrie, Pollock, Waterfall, Preston, Clifton, Rose, Taylor, Windsor (Scannell 76), Green (Gibson 64), Williams (Edwards 64).

Subs Not Used: Battersby, Idehen, Mohsni, Tilley.

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boltonbonce wrote:

karlypants wrote:We need Tower FM to do the commentary too as Bolton FM are frigging useless!!!

They started playing your record collection during the second half. Fergal sodding Sharkey. WTF was going on there?

A bit of a blessing in disguise to be fair I think Boncey.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but watching that match is probably the most positive I’ve felt so far this season.

Two reasons for that, firstly, the defence - Santos was brilliant in the middle of a back 3, calm on the ball, quick to sense danger and aggressive when he needed to be - overall he showed he can dominate at this level and it’s the most solid we’ve looked so far this season.

Up front, Doyle’s the best striker we’ve had in a long time - relative to the league he’s playing in at least, busy, clever and always demanding the ball. With better support it’s obvious why he’s a 20 goal a year striker in this league.

Obviously there are issues though, our midfield isn’t setup right. I like Crawford and Sarcevic but it felt as if they’re both trying to float between defence and midfield which left us with no shape and easy to pass through. Both are good players, but I’d push Sarcevic up alongside Doyle and bring in a midfielder.

I like Tutte, but he’s being asked to do two jobs at the moment in my opinion. He either needs to be a defensive midfielder or a number 8 who can transition the ball between defence and midfield, at the moment him doing both leaves us too open.

Also, I’m not sure Delfuenso is up to it. If we had someone who either dominated in the air or had pace  I think Doyle would find more space.

Second half was poor. Can only imagine Hickman was injured to have come off as he seemed the most likely to create something?

Anyway, encouraging to see us looking more solid at the back, if we can sort out midfield and offer some better support to Doyle I think we have a promotion challenging team.

T.R.O.Y. wrote:Might be an unpopular opinion, but watching that match is probably the most positive I’ve felt so far this season.

Two reasons for that, firstly, the defence - Santos was brilliant in the middle of a back 3, calm on the ball, quick to sense danger and aggressive when he needed to be - overall he showed he can dominate at this level and it’s the most solid we’ve looked so far this season.

Up front, Doyle’s the best striker we’ve had in a long time - relative to the league he’s playing in at least, busy, clever and always demanding the ball. With better support it’s obvious why he’s a 20 goal a year striker in this league.

Obviously there are issues though, our midfield isn’t setup right. I like Crawford and Sarcevic but it felt as if they’re both trying to float between defence and midfield which left us with no shape and easy to pass through. Both are good players, but I’d push Sarcevic up alongside Doyle and bring in a midfielder.

I like Tutte, but he’s being asked to do two jobs at the moment in my opinion. He either needs to be a defensive midfielder or a number 8 who can transition the ball between defence and midfield, at the moment him doing both leaves us too open.

Also, I’m not sure Delfuenso is up to it. If we had someone who either dominated in the air or had pace  I think Doyle would find more space.

Second half was poor. Can only imagine Hickman was injured to have come off as he seemed the most likely to create something?

Anyway, encouraging to see us looking more solid at the back, if we can sort out midfield and offer some better support to Doyle I think we have a promotion challenging team.

Funny how we all pick up on different aspects of the game and I can see what you mean but I think Doyle was forced too deep and kept running into defenders and losing possession whereas Delfuoneso held it up better - but neither hardly got into the box apart from set pieces. In possession the build up was too slow and ponderous with a lot of backward and sideways passing so they never got anything to run on to.
We seem to have gone from pushing on and shipping goals to holding back but losing the attacking threat. Somehow we have to bridge the gap between front and back and do it with purpose when we have the ball instead of just focusing on keeping it in unthreatening areas. We had tons of possession but not in the "red zone". Bottom line was zero shots on target, hence no goals.

Surely a good manager will adapt his approach to the players at his disposal.......rather than insist on his preferred system that the squad can't really manage, especially when his recruits have been mainly acquired from lowly teams where pass and move may not have been the norm.

Imo, the team is crying out for a forward who is good in the air, an SKD-type, who can get on the end of crosses and hold the ball up. At the moment midfielders are hesitant about how to get the ball forward successfully on the deck.

 That doesn't mean that we should then resort to constant hoof ball, but gives the option for the occasional launch from the back so that the ball doesn't immediately come straight back when we are under pressure.

I agree with TROY. There were a few positives that could be taken from the game. Overall, they seemed to be settling into their roles, and their joined-up play was definitely better, (it'll be good when they find the final link from midfield to attack). One thing they lacked from the game before was the speed of play, and this sideways and backwards passing drives me nuts. By all means play from the back, but not keep it at the back. We have the higher percentages for possession because of the tippy tappy football within the defence, not outfield play. I still think Crellin is suspect.
If we had played the same game at a much higher tempo, I think we could have got even more out of the game. They are gelling, and I believe they will be a good team, I just hope its sooner rather than later.

wanderlust wrote:
Funny how we all pick up on different aspects of the game and I can see what you mean but I think Doyle was forced too deep and kept running into defenders and losing possession whereas Delfuoneso held it up better - but neither hardly got into the box apart from set pieces. In possession the build up was too slow and ponderous with a lot of backward and sideways passing so they never got anything to run on to.
We seem to have gone from pushing on and shipping goals to holding back but losing the attacking threat. Somehow we have to bridge the gap between front and back and do it with purpose when we have the ball instead of just focusing on keeping it in unthreatening areas. We had tons of possession but not in the "red zone". Bottom line was zero shots on target, hence no goals.

Agree with you, not enough possession in dangerous areas and not good enough final balls. Doyle was having to drop too deep and I don’t think he’s getting enough space to play in - which is on Delfuenso, Sarcevic and Crawford to create for him.

That link between midfield and attack is what Evatt needs to solve now. Clear progress in my opinion though, albeit slowly.

We were playing bottom of the league, BOTTOM OF THE WHOLE FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

And they shaded it.

Natasha Whittam wrote:We were playing bottom of the league, BOTTOM OF THE WHOLE FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

And they shaded it.

Gives you an idea of where this team is at then. Don’t think Grimsby will be down there in a few weeks though, didn’t look bad to me.

Whats Darcy got to do to get a game? If we needed a goal, he’d more likely than Baptiste or Comley to deliver it. Should have got on yesterday IMO.

gloswhite wrote:I agree with TROY. There were a few positives that could be taken from the game. Overall, they seemed to be settling into their roles, and their joined-up play was definitely better, (it'll be good when they find the final link from midfield to attack). One thing they lacked from the game before was the speed of play, and this sideways and backwards passing drives me nuts. By all means play from the back, but not keep it at the back. We have the higher percentages for possession because of the tippy tappy football within the defence, not outfield play. I still think Crellin is suspect.
If we had played the same game at a much higher tempo, I think we could have got even more out of the game. They are gelling, and I believe they will be a good team, I just hope its sooner rather than later.

Agree with all that, progress but it is slow.

Quite like Crellin but he's definitely got a clanger in him i feel, what's the logic behind not putting a keeper on the bench? Statement to the board that we're lacking depth in that position maybe? High risk anyway, it's not good for my stress levels.

Sarcevic has not made any impact yet and tends to fall over quite a lot, hopefully he will improve.

Doyle looks very capable but will not score many goals if he is not supported by another forward.

It was good to see Santos play so well after a worrying start to the season.

I hope Evatty has the sense to mix our tactics  up when we need to.

This lot are not going to play  like Barcalona every week.  We need to get  our big defenders up as often as possble and use their heads to get the ball in the net or headed down to Doyles feet as in the Big Sam days.

Watched it in ifollow and that's 2 hours of my life i'll never get back! No shots on target and the final ball was terrible all day.

Santos did play well and has definitely improved but we looked toothless going forward.Nice to see a clean sheet but we need to be more creative which with Sarcevic and Crawford in there should be possible but as mentioned Sarcevic isn't playing well and doesn't look fully fit to me.

Sarcevic has been a disappointment. I'm sure, and hope, he's better than this, and will hopefully make a difference long term, but he needs to improve sooner rather than later.