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ANOTHER defeat, another inquest, another day to forget in the recent history of Bolton Wanderers.
It is becoming tiresome to describe performances like the one at Leyton Orient as a new low, for the only consistent thing about this team right now is that they will find a way to surpass themselves.
Comparisons have been drawn between this deserved and embarrassing beating and the one Phil Neal’s side took against Neil Warnock’s Scarborough 33 years ago. The difference being that Wanderers won promotion back then, and this team doesn’t look close to treading in their footsteps to make an immediate return to League One.
Ian Evatt had described the defeat by Oldham a few weeks ago as gutless but, like the rest of us, the Whites boss must be scrambling for an adequate for what he saw in East London, particularly during the first half.
The tendency is to try and isolate one factor of Bolton’s underperformance, to find something or someone to blame. And if that can be altered or removed, everything will be okay once more.
But the sad reality is that the club’s current situation, two wins from their first 10 games, is born from a web of gambles – some of which can most certainly be questioned - and plan old misfortune.
It was a risk placing the club’s recruitment in the relatively inexperienced hands of head of football operations, Tobias Phoenix, back in January. And given results and performances so far this season have rarely come close to the standard this club requires and its fans deserve, he will shoulder a portion of the responsibility.
Depending on the division of labour on recruitment, it could even be argued that Phoenix is more culpable than Evatt for the players currently out on the pitch, if not the way they are prepared, tactically and physically. And on that front, the head coach is not spared, either.
Evatt ticked every box when Phoenix brought him aboard in the summer. He radiated professionalism, his communication was positive, his style of football promised much. But evidence supplied thus far suggests there was something of the emperor’s new clothes about his appointment.
The theory of bringing in players using top secret data, of Moneyball and expansive football looked magnificent on paper but one must question whether it has translated into real life, and in particular places like Leyton Orient, who care not about Premier League history, FA Cup wins or founder membership.
It is entirely fair to underline that we are 10 games into a 46-game season. And also to be concerned that there are no guarantees it will be completed to its entirety in this unpredictable world.
But for this experiment to be regarded a success, this team is going to have to give us a lot more than a few goals at Barrow and 45 swaggering minutes against Bradford City.
Wanderers’ fanbase is so desperate to see their club moving back in the right direction they jumped gladly aboard the bandwagon in the summer. A couple of months later, they were willing to believe again after a few improved performances suggested a corner had been turned. How many more times can they be let down and realistically be expected to bounce back?
It is clear that injuries have bitten hard, especially in the attacking positions. And with Eoin Doyle already missing the last thing Evatt wanted to see was Nathan Delfouneso succumb to a hamstring injury barely 20 minutes in at Brisbane Road.
Allowances simply must be made for the way this squad was pieced together, free transfers and loans which have arrived in vastly different physical shapes and form. As time goes on, however, that excuse begins to run dry and you have to look inward for the answer to what is really causing this horribly inconsistent form.
The players themselves have – when prompted – held their hand up for a share of accountability. In an oft-used phrase at Bolton Wanderers these last few years, ‘talk is cheap,’ and this was a real step backward for those who had shown some progression in the last few games.
‘Big club’ is a throwaway phrase and not one that necessarily helps Bolton in their current predicament but it is correct to say few in Evatt’s dressing room will have sampled such scrutiny – either by fans, social media or the press – as they are right now.
Delfouneso and Baptiste are the only ones with any Premier League experience to write home about, with Doyle, Lloyd Isgrove and Gethin Jones boasting a reasonable number of Championship games. Doyle and Ali Crawford also have also played in the Scottish Premier League.
Dig a little deeper and those who have played 50-or-more League One games only add the names of Antoni Sarcevic, Andy Tutte, Ryan Delaney, Shaun Miller and Ricardo Santos.
Why then, you might ask, should this Bolton team have been billed as the bookmakers’ favourites for promotion? And why were such grandiose statements of intent coming from every corner of the dressing room? I fear the answer might just be that it is what Wanderers fans needed to hear at the time.
Grim reality brings a possibility that Wanderers may have to call this a longer-term project. It is not one that necessarily precludes Evatt, Phoenix nor indeed many of the players soundly beaten at Leyton Orient, but perhaps some fresh statement of intent is needed at this point in time?
Evatt said a couple of weeks ago that players who were not performing would not be protected by contracts and would be moved on. He did a similar remodelling job at Barrow over the course of two seasons and that should not be forgotten in the outcry for a change in management among some supporters. And if this season is not a promotion-at-all-costs exercise, someone needs to come out and say so.
Wanderers set the tone after 20 seconds at Orient as Baptiste’s back-pass got caught in the mud, and when Danny Johnson nipped in, he was caught by Billy Crellin for a penalty.
Just as he had against Bradford, Crellin guessed the right way and pushed the ball to safety. The young Fleetwood loanee clearly has such excellent work in his locker, which is why basic errors in his game are made all the more frustrating.
Johnson did not have to wait long to score, however, as Crawford’s poor clearance allowed James Brophy to skip to the touchline and pull a cross back for the opener.
Bolton should have equalised. Harry Brockbank headed into the side netting and Arthur Gnahoua – effectively the only fit Bolton striker in the stadium after 20 minutes – also went close.
Orient’s passing was crisper, their attitude was better and they fully deserved to extend their lead before the break when Jobi McAnuff curled a sublime free kick into the top corner.
Moments later Bolton old boy Connor Wilkinson did the same, only this time into the bottom right, which raised major questions of Crellin’s positioning.
Evatt threw on his last two subs at the break, instructing his players to “win the second half” – alas another unfulfilled target.
Wanderers were better. Ronan Darcy’s energy in midfield set him out above the rest but the home side always looked more incisive. Their fourth arrived on 58 minutes when Brophy cut down the left and Craig Clay produced an excellent finish from the edge of the box.
Bolton ended the day with 17 shots on goal but none on target. Yet this never felt like a game from which they were taking anything.
Will the same be said of Wanderers’ season? The cast of characters listed above have all got to come up with answers.
But after serving up this Halloween horror then learning the country will be put on lockdown once more, there can have been few more depressing days for those of a Bolton Wanderers persuasion.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18838306.leyton-orient-4-bolton-wanderers-0---marc-iless-big-match-verdict/
It is becoming tiresome to describe performances like the one at Leyton Orient as a new low, for the only consistent thing about this team right now is that they will find a way to surpass themselves.
Comparisons have been drawn between this deserved and embarrassing beating and the one Phil Neal’s side took against Neil Warnock’s Scarborough 33 years ago. The difference being that Wanderers won promotion back then, and this team doesn’t look close to treading in their footsteps to make an immediate return to League One.
Ian Evatt had described the defeat by Oldham a few weeks ago as gutless but, like the rest of us, the Whites boss must be scrambling for an adequate for what he saw in East London, particularly during the first half.
The tendency is to try and isolate one factor of Bolton’s underperformance, to find something or someone to blame. And if that can be altered or removed, everything will be okay once more.
But the sad reality is that the club’s current situation, two wins from their first 10 games, is born from a web of gambles – some of which can most certainly be questioned - and plan old misfortune.
It was a risk placing the club’s recruitment in the relatively inexperienced hands of head of football operations, Tobias Phoenix, back in January. And given results and performances so far this season have rarely come close to the standard this club requires and its fans deserve, he will shoulder a portion of the responsibility.
Depending on the division of labour on recruitment, it could even be argued that Phoenix is more culpable than Evatt for the players currently out on the pitch, if not the way they are prepared, tactically and physically. And on that front, the head coach is not spared, either.
Evatt ticked every box when Phoenix brought him aboard in the summer. He radiated professionalism, his communication was positive, his style of football promised much. But evidence supplied thus far suggests there was something of the emperor’s new clothes about his appointment.
The theory of bringing in players using top secret data, of Moneyball and expansive football looked magnificent on paper but one must question whether it has translated into real life, and in particular places like Leyton Orient, who care not about Premier League history, FA Cup wins or founder membership.
It is entirely fair to underline that we are 10 games into a 46-game season. And also to be concerned that there are no guarantees it will be completed to its entirety in this unpredictable world.
But for this experiment to be regarded a success, this team is going to have to give us a lot more than a few goals at Barrow and 45 swaggering minutes against Bradford City.
Wanderers’ fanbase is so desperate to see their club moving back in the right direction they jumped gladly aboard the bandwagon in the summer. A couple of months later, they were willing to believe again after a few improved performances suggested a corner had been turned. How many more times can they be let down and realistically be expected to bounce back?
It is clear that injuries have bitten hard, especially in the attacking positions. And with Eoin Doyle already missing the last thing Evatt wanted to see was Nathan Delfouneso succumb to a hamstring injury barely 20 minutes in at Brisbane Road.
Allowances simply must be made for the way this squad was pieced together, free transfers and loans which have arrived in vastly different physical shapes and form. As time goes on, however, that excuse begins to run dry and you have to look inward for the answer to what is really causing this horribly inconsistent form.
The players themselves have – when prompted – held their hand up for a share of accountability. In an oft-used phrase at Bolton Wanderers these last few years, ‘talk is cheap,’ and this was a real step backward for those who had shown some progression in the last few games.
‘Big club’ is a throwaway phrase and not one that necessarily helps Bolton in their current predicament but it is correct to say few in Evatt’s dressing room will have sampled such scrutiny – either by fans, social media or the press – as they are right now.
Delfouneso and Baptiste are the only ones with any Premier League experience to write home about, with Doyle, Lloyd Isgrove and Gethin Jones boasting a reasonable number of Championship games. Doyle and Ali Crawford also have also played in the Scottish Premier League.
Dig a little deeper and those who have played 50-or-more League One games only add the names of Antoni Sarcevic, Andy Tutte, Ryan Delaney, Shaun Miller and Ricardo Santos.
Why then, you might ask, should this Bolton team have been billed as the bookmakers’ favourites for promotion? And why were such grandiose statements of intent coming from every corner of the dressing room? I fear the answer might just be that it is what Wanderers fans needed to hear at the time.
Grim reality brings a possibility that Wanderers may have to call this a longer-term project. It is not one that necessarily precludes Evatt, Phoenix nor indeed many of the players soundly beaten at Leyton Orient, but perhaps some fresh statement of intent is needed at this point in time?
Evatt said a couple of weeks ago that players who were not performing would not be protected by contracts and would be moved on. He did a similar remodelling job at Barrow over the course of two seasons and that should not be forgotten in the outcry for a change in management among some supporters. And if this season is not a promotion-at-all-costs exercise, someone needs to come out and say so.
Wanderers set the tone after 20 seconds at Orient as Baptiste’s back-pass got caught in the mud, and when Danny Johnson nipped in, he was caught by Billy Crellin for a penalty.
Just as he had against Bradford, Crellin guessed the right way and pushed the ball to safety. The young Fleetwood loanee clearly has such excellent work in his locker, which is why basic errors in his game are made all the more frustrating.
Johnson did not have to wait long to score, however, as Crawford’s poor clearance allowed James Brophy to skip to the touchline and pull a cross back for the opener.
Bolton should have equalised. Harry Brockbank headed into the side netting and Arthur Gnahoua – effectively the only fit Bolton striker in the stadium after 20 minutes – also went close.
Orient’s passing was crisper, their attitude was better and they fully deserved to extend their lead before the break when Jobi McAnuff curled a sublime free kick into the top corner.
Moments later Bolton old boy Connor Wilkinson did the same, only this time into the bottom right, which raised major questions of Crellin’s positioning.
Evatt threw on his last two subs at the break, instructing his players to “win the second half” – alas another unfulfilled target.
Wanderers were better. Ronan Darcy’s energy in midfield set him out above the rest but the home side always looked more incisive. Their fourth arrived on 58 minutes when Brophy cut down the left and Craig Clay produced an excellent finish from the edge of the box.
Bolton ended the day with 17 shots on goal but none on target. Yet this never felt like a game from which they were taking anything.
Will the same be said of Wanderers’ season? The cast of characters listed above have all got to come up with answers.
But after serving up this Halloween horror then learning the country will be put on lockdown once more, there can have been few more depressing days for those of a Bolton Wanderers persuasion.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18838306.leyton-orient-4-bolton-wanderers-0---marc-iless-big-match-verdict/