Ian Evatt brands call for striker an 'absolute nonsense'

Ian Evatt has rubbished suggestion that Saturday’s blank at Cambridge United highlighted the need to sign a striker before the close of the transfer window.

Wanderers had 13 attempts at goal at the Abbey Stadium but put just one on target – nevertheless, only MK Dons have scored more goals from their first four games in League One.

Front man Eoin Doyle has scored twice in his first four league starts, yet concern exists among supporters that the Irishman does not have adequate cover.

Evatt says his recruitment in the next 24 hours will not be shaped by the Cambridge result.

Asked what he made of the clamour to sign a new front man, the Bolton boss said: “It is nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

“It’s not about having a striker. We go from scoring three in the first two games and conceding three and needing a centre half to then when we don’t score one game, we need a striker.

“You can’t be emotional like that about football and you can’t make rash decisions based on one off games.

“We’re creating more than enough chances. I’m seeing we’re at the top of the division in most of the forward stats, so from my perspective, it’s not about that.

“It’s about how we get to those critical opportunities and critical chances and Saturday, we didn’t create enough of them for the amount of possession we had.

“But in those types of games, the first goal is always vital. We conceded a really poor one and then gave them something to hang on to. We had opportunities to score. We had one big opportunity second half to score through Dapo and if that goes in, the game’s very, very different. But when teams camp in like that, you don’t create chance after chance after chance.

“But the critical ones you do create, you need to take them and we didn’t.”

According to stats from The92.com, Wanderers have the highest shot-to-goal ratio in the league at 0.53 per game, which puts them marginally ahead of Wycombe (0.44) and Wigan (0.43).

Evatt believes the attacking problems which emerged at Cambridge were not simply down to his front three.

“We need to be better in the final third,” he said. “We have to unlock doors better, have more quality, more movement, more desire. We didn’t show that enough on Saturday and it isn’t just the forward players.

“It is the midfield players, the full-backs’ crossing positions and the crosses they were putting in weren’t good enough on Saturday, so we have to be better, simple as that.”

Source

I don't understand this?

Am I mistaken or didn't Evatt say after Amaechi broke his foot that he needed another striker and signed Kachunga, so if Amaechi is still out and now Bakayoko as well - both for at least a month, then why now is he suddenly ok for strikers???

He's been stalking that young United striker and I would have thought he, or someone similar, would be what he was looking for on loan until January?

Due to him being young it wouldn't effect the squad places and we got Afolayan on loan last season when we were under embargo, so no doubt we could find some youngster to join us on loan for not much money?

Maybe Evatt is trying to mislead everyone and that he is linked to the United lad or similar and doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag perhaps?

No doubt we will all find out on way or another tomorrow.

Sluffy wrote:I don't understand this?

Am I mistaken or didn't Evatt said after Amaechi broke his foot that he needed another striker and signed Kachunga, so if Amaechi and now Bakayoko are out for at least a month, then why now is he suddenly ok for strikers???

He's been stalking that young United striker and I would have thought he, or someone similar, would be what he was looking for on loan until January?

Due to him being young it wouldn't effect the squad places and we got Afolayan on loan last season when we were under embargo, so no doubt we could find some youngster to join us on loan for not much money?

Maybe Evatt is trying to mislead everyone and that he is linked to the United lad or similar and doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag perhaps?

No doubt we will all find out on way or another tomorrow.

Perhaps it is a smokescreen, but I think he's making the same point I made in the other thread or he's simply giving Doyler et al the vote of confidence.
Against Cambridge we lost the midfield battle, Dapo was in Tracey, the Spurs loanee's pocket and we created very little for Doyler to latch on to.

Cambridge by their own manager's admission "did a job on us" and now that the formula is in the public domain, so will other teams unless we find a way to get better service to our main striker - who will score given the chances.
Plus Bakayoko and Amaechi will be back in October.
We'll see if he blinks within the next 23 hours.

PS: Who is the Manure striker? I thought the Manure player he was interested in was Hamilton?

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:I don't understand this?

Am I mistaken or didn't Evatt said after Amaechi broke his foot that he needed another striker and signed Kachunga, so if Amaechi and now Bakayoko are out for at least a month, then why now is he suddenly ok for strikers???

He's been stalking that young United striker and I would have thought he, or someone similar, would be what he was looking for on loan until January?

Due to him being young it wouldn't effect the squad places and we got Afolayan on loan last season when we were under embargo, so no doubt we could find some youngster to join us on loan for not much money?

Maybe Evatt is trying to mislead everyone and that he is linked to the United lad or similar and doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag perhaps?

No doubt we will all find out on way or another tomorrow.

Perhaps it is a smokescreen, but I think he's making the same point I made in the other thread or he's simply giving Doyler et al the vote of confidence.
Against Cambridge we lost the midfield battle, Dapo was in Tracey, the Spurs loanee's pocket and we created very little for Doyler to latch on to.

Cambridge by their own manager's admission "did a job on us" and now that the formula is in the public domain, so will other teams unless we find a way to get better service to our main striker - who will score given the chances.
Plus Bakayoko and Amaechi will be back in October.
We'll see if he blinks within the next 23 hours.

PS: Who is the Manure striker? I thought the Manure player he was interested in was Hamilton?

Whoosh - you've missed my point.

At the start of the season Evatt lost a striker (Amaechi) to injury and said he needed to replace him - which he did by bringing in Kachunga.

Well Amaechi is still out and he's lost another striker (Bakayoko) now - both being out for at least a month apparently.

So how come when he lost one striker he said the team was a striker short in the squad and immediately went out and replaced him yet now when he's lost a second striker the teams just fine as it is?

According to that logic he either didn't need to brining in a striker after the first injury or needs one now following the second injury.

United youngster - Anthony Elanga

This may be terminology but...

Elanga is a winger, Amaechi is a winger, Bakayoko, Delfuoneso and Doyler are all strikers and I'm still trying to work out what Kachunga is but theoretically he's also a striker.
So we have 4 strikers (1 injured) plus an injured winger who is currently being covered admirably by Isgrove and if he also gets injured, we have Darcy etc or Jones can play there with Aimson/Brockbank slotting in at RB. Politic would have been my 3rd choice right wing but we've loaned him to Vale.

If Elanga has better quality than what we've got then fine, go ahead and sign him because one of our two weaknesses is quality of service to the striker(s) - and the other is conceding daft goals.
But I don't think we need another out and out striker and neither does Evatt.