Bolton 3-6 Port Vale

So next up we have another home game against Port Vale.

They have lost there last 5 games, we have won our last 4 and drawn the other.  Should be another 3 points and carry on our great run of results!

Head to Head results

Won: 24 (66.66%)
Lost: 10 (27.78%)
Drawn: 2 (5.56%)

We haven't lost to them since an FA Cup 2nd round match in the 1988-1989 season, where we lost 2-1.

The last time we played them was in the 2016-2017 season in League 1.  We won the game 2-0, with goals from David Wheater and Gary Madine.  Great to see fans at a match again , fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate the first.  The win kept us 2 points clear in 2nd place (automatic promotion spot) with a 2 point gap with 1 game to play...

Highlights below:

Should be a win and i think it will be, 2-1 to the Super Whites.

They started off the season really well but have faltered recently yet they were unlucky to lose by the odd goal in 5 against Orient at the weekend and they have a decent team. I reckon this will be tougher than our last few games so I'm thinking it may be a draw even though I'm hoping our lot will continue to improve and whup 'em.

Test time.

The last few games have seen a miraculous and steady change from nowhere. I am aware it can still go pear shaped. However I will push the boat out and say a comfortable win for Bolton today.

Thomason interesting change looking forward to seeing him take his chance.

Good luck to the youngster, hope he does very well.

Sluffy wrote:Good luck to the youngster, hope he does very well.

A young lad from the Trevor Sinclair academy, Pro:Direct.

I thought we'd sorted the defence out but it just goes to show what can happen when a couple of players have a bad day at the back. I only hope it's not because the players had started to believe their own hype.
I was expecting a draw and TBH if we hadn't gifted them a 2 goal lead and then spent the rest of the afternoon chasing the game it might well have turned out that way.
However there are lessons to be learned and I hope they are learned quickly as we have some very tough games coming up.

Don't tell me, we looked good in training all week !!

This may sound odd given the fact we lost 3-6at home but I'm actually quite heartened by the result. In the recent past going 2 down in ten minutes would have seen us fold up like wet blankets and resulted most likely in a five or six goal to nil drubbing. To pull three goals back suggests to me we never gave up and there is much more mental toughness in the lads than there has been in previous seasons (Reading springs immediately to mind when considering how bad it can get).

In truth we've been on a very good run in recent weeks but we all knew we still lack a certain amount of quality and experience despite the board and management's efforts. Today is a setback but unlike say two years ago I don't believe it's a fatal blow to the team's long term morale. In truth I think we're just beginning to gel as a squad and that we can and will continue to improve but there will always be the occasional bump in the road. So yes, very disappointed with the result and especially with the way the defence performed in the opening thirty minutes or so but I'm still hopeful about the longer term direction Ian and his coaches are taking us in.

The goals -

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He's not a happy bunny!

I'm not a happy bunny either.
Whilst it's true that a lot of players gave poor performances (although perhaps not quite as bad as Iles' player ratings and comments) and it may be that Evatt reckons they're believing their own hype but perhaps there's also an element of Vale doing their homework, working out that we push Baptiste and Delaney forward and targeting the space they vacate to set up two early sucker goals.

First thing is not to panic.....one of those games where everything went wrong. Just write it off as a learning experience.
Going forward we are in dire need of a good left winger and we need to move the ball faster through the middle which Ian has said himself. 
Move on to the next game.

My two cents on the debacle that was yesterday...[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

terenceanne wrote:First thing is not to panic.....one of those games where everything went wrong. Just write it off as a learning experience.
Going forward we are in dire need of a good left winger and we need to move the ball faster through the middle which Ian has said himself. 
Move on to the next game.

Someone else - Wessy I think - pointed out that we missed Tutte. If we are sticking with three CB's with a view to pushing the wide ones forward, we definitely need a solid screen in front of them to break up attacks and help create in possession. The lads that came in were OK but couldn't do the dirty work so I think we need an athletic defensive mid.

I hope Evatt had them in bright and early yesterday for extra training and made them watch the whole game again. The defending was terrible but the midfield didn't really give them much protection.

We missed Tutte massively as others have mentioned as he sits in front of the back 3 and breaks up play. Comley in theory should be perfect for that job but he is absolutely shite, so i think we could definitely do with a defensive midfielder in January if we can find one.