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It's good to talk, as a famous old advert once said – and Wanderers found out on Friday night that communication might well be the key to success.
The introduction of veteran Matt Gilks in goal not only provided some respite for the young on-loan Billy Crellin but also a soundtrack which echoed through the empty University of Bolton Stadium.
Gilks constant cajoling could be heard by the thousands watching on TV and, reasoned Ian Evatt, was a big factor in Wanderers producing their most composed and structured performance of the season to date.
Acoustics in lockdown football, particularly to the privileged few who are allowed into the stadium, leave little to the imagination. The current campaign has been scored by the frequently perplexed tones of Evatt and his assistant Peter Atherton but a change of tune might just be the stimulus Wanderers needed to get their season going at last.
“It’s great because Gillo doing all that talking saves mine and Peter’s voice because we’ve started to lose ours!” Evatt joked. “I think development-wise for our young players and our young goalkeepers, Matt Alexander and Billy Crellin, that should be an example to them.
“Just by using your voice and organising it helps you concentrate but it also helps everybody else concentrate and puts people in position and pulls people around and that was really pleasing.
“That was the biggest asset I thought that he bought to the team was his sheer voice and experience.”
At one stage this season, Wanderers piped noise into the UniBol to try and stimulate their players but the defeat to Oldham and numerous complaints from the listening audience on iFollow made it a short-lived experiment.
The din caused by thousands of supporters would normally drown out much of the on-field talking to the casual listener. Evatt believes the empty stadium experience has highlighted how vital it is, however, in achieving results.
“I agree it is a lost art,” he said. “But what I will say is I think if you listen and progress through the levels, the highest level if you watch Premier League football when there’s no crowds in and you turn the crowd noise off, the amount of communication that goes on in those games at the top level between the back four/three, the midfielder lines, the strikers, it’s constant because there’s that much interchanging and rotation with these top teams, you have to speak and organise and it is a lost art, but we have to make sure our young players are learning that trait and starting to talk more in our games.”
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The introduction of veteran Matt Gilks in goal not only provided some respite for the young on-loan Billy Crellin but also a soundtrack which echoed through the empty University of Bolton Stadium.
Gilks constant cajoling could be heard by the thousands watching on TV and, reasoned Ian Evatt, was a big factor in Wanderers producing their most composed and structured performance of the season to date.
Acoustics in lockdown football, particularly to the privileged few who are allowed into the stadium, leave little to the imagination. The current campaign has been scored by the frequently perplexed tones of Evatt and his assistant Peter Atherton but a change of tune might just be the stimulus Wanderers needed to get their season going at last.
“It’s great because Gillo doing all that talking saves mine and Peter’s voice because we’ve started to lose ours!” Evatt joked. “I think development-wise for our young players and our young goalkeepers, Matt Alexander and Billy Crellin, that should be an example to them.
“Just by using your voice and organising it helps you concentrate but it also helps everybody else concentrate and puts people in position and pulls people around and that was really pleasing.
“That was the biggest asset I thought that he bought to the team was his sheer voice and experience.”
At one stage this season, Wanderers piped noise into the UniBol to try and stimulate their players but the defeat to Oldham and numerous complaints from the listening audience on iFollow made it a short-lived experiment.
The din caused by thousands of supporters would normally drown out much of the on-field talking to the casual listener. Evatt believes the empty stadium experience has highlighted how vital it is, however, in achieving results.
“I agree it is a lost art,” he said. “But what I will say is I think if you listen and progress through the levels, the highest level if you watch Premier League football when there’s no crowds in and you turn the crowd noise off, the amount of communication that goes on in those games at the top level between the back four/three, the midfielder lines, the strikers, it’s constant because there’s that much interchanging and rotation with these top teams, you have to speak and organise and it is a lost art, but we have to make sure our young players are learning that trait and starting to talk more in our games.”
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