Bolton 0-0 Barnsley

When did we last score from a corner or  a free-kick?

Rubbish. Was ordered to stay at home due to relatives visiting.
Three wives arrived minus husbands, who'd all gone to the match!!
Hope they had a grand time. I didn't, watching on iFollow.
Three games, no goals. It's just not good enough.

It's grim.

It's not the end of the world. If we don't score in our next match then its a proble, but only a small one.

The good news, if it can be called that, is that we could have (as in we are capable of) won all three of the games where we have failed to score recently. What I mean is, even at our worst, we are not really being well beaten by teams. Which means it's fixable, and fixed it shall be.

We were better with Bradley, without a doubt. He was very good again. And possibly just as good, young Thomasson. Great awareness and reading of the game. At many points his football brain was outpacing the older heads who hadn't properly read his movements or his diversion runs.

Corner kicks were all exactly the same (I think apart from one this one which we took short) and they were garbage, didn't even reach the six yard box. Any of them. It was by design though, it's something we worked on in training and had had good results from but after the sixth failed attempt we needed to just get it on someone's bonce.

Apology owed to Nat, she said we were no better than mid table and I thought she was talking nonsense. We lost recently 1-0 at Cheltenham, today Cheltenham were 4-0 down at half time to crappy Bristol Rovers. We are averaging just 1 goal a game this season, no one has scored fewer goals away from home than Bolton. 
Why is Everitt playing such tight defensive football at this level? It’s league 1 for God’s sake, Bolton should be steam rollering over these teams.

Odd team selection.A 5 man defence protected by 2 defensive midfielders is the sort of team that might be needed against a club with a much larger budget, not Barnsley  who had come with a negative outlook themselves, content to scrap for a 0-0 draw.

These defensive tactics produced wins in the  3 home games previously but should be changed after the dismal return of 1 point from 9 against Cheltenham, Forest Green and Barnsley.

But don't be silly and go the other  way and select zero defensive midfielders in front of a back four.

Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Barnsley - Ian Evatt's side frustrated by stubborn Tykes

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Wanderers' scoring problems continued after a prickly Roses draw against promotion rivals Barnsley.

Ian Evatt’s side had chances, particularly in a one-sided first half, but were eventually knocked out of their rhythm by a visiting side determined to waste every possible second to secure a point.

Wanderers had drawn a blank at Cheltenham and Forest Green, and with much being made about their front line struggling for goals, it was indeed a nervous looking first half.

Dapo Afolayan was restored to the starting line-up for the first time since August 20 and was arguably the pick of Bolton’s players in the early stages.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, also back in the side again, also produced some neat link-ups with Jack Iredale on the left, an area which proved particularly fertile throughout.

The first chance of note fell to Dion Charles, who tested Brad Collins with what was to be Bolton’s only shot on target of the half. He would suffer more than most – seeing a deflected effort from George Thomason drop just out of his reach and then as the Barnsley keeper got something on a fine cross from Iredale, leaving him wrong-footed six yards out.

Barnsley attempted to hit on the break but were also lacking quality once they got near to the penalty box. Devante Cole’s raiding run was as close as they got, ended by a well-timed challenge from Conor Bradley.

The game became quite tetchy. Ziyad Larkeche may have been fortunate to only receive a yellow card when he dragged Bradley down on the edge of the box – Afolayan driving the resulting free kick just over the bar.

Bolton old boy Luca Connell clattered into a challenge with Thomason, and several Whites players were left incensed by a challenge from Liam Kitching on Charles, with some claiming there had been a stamp.

Just before the break Bodvarsson poked a shot just wide of goal, his disappointed reaction saying it all as the two teams walked back down the tunnel.

Wanderers continued on a similar vein. Thomason slashed at a shot from the edge of the area, Charles’s bad luck continued as Gethin Jones’s deflected cross bounced off him and dribbled wide of the post.

Barnsley began to show some signs of life. Connell attempted an audacious chip from halfway, and James Trafford made a brave stop at the feet of Jack Aitchison whilst his defenders appeared frozen as they waited for an offside flag that never arrived.

With the game going flat, Ian Evatt tried to freshen things up by introducing Kyle Dempsey, Amadou Bakayoko and Kieran Sadlier – the latter slotting into the number 10 role.

MJ Williams drove a shot over the bar but the Whites struggled to step up a gear and with five minutes to go, Evatt played his final cards, throwing on Aaron Morley and Elias Kachunga.

Barnsley had effectively declared at 0-0, slowing the game down at every opportunity. Connell hardly endeared himself to fans of his old club, dragging his heels after being substituted and sparking a pushing match in the centre circle to a chorus of jeers.

James Norwood so nearly supplied the ultimate sucker punch, heading just over the bar after Bolton had surrendered possession cheaply, allowing Nicky Cadden to swing a cross into the box.

Cadden also tested Trafford with a late free kick before Barnsley’s continued timewasting tactics brought the home crowd to its feet in disgust during the final stages.

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What a load of absolute bobbins.

Another Saturday afternoon wasted. Evans seems to have decided on a 10-0-0 formation and lumping it forward to the opposing defenders.

We've played 13 games and our leading scorer, full-back Bradley, has 2 goals. Let that sink in. Our leading scorer has 2 goals after 13 games. That statistic alone should bring an end to the Evans era.

Of course the happy clappers are pointing out we've been here before and Evans will sort it out in the January transfer window - but here's a mad thought, why not get it right in Summer so you don't have to replace all the shite in January?

5 defenders and 2 defensive midfielders at home to fooking Barnsley? It was clear after 5 minutes they'd come for a draw so why not change to an attacking formation? But this is Evans, and we're doing it his way - and it's fooking dreadful to watch. Every bit as bad as anything Parky served up.

Shazza needs to be brave and get rid now, this manager is taking us nowhere but sideways and backwards.

Glad i went to Wagamama's and ten pin bowling now! Sounds like i didn't miss much.

Norpig wrote:Glad i went to Wagamama's and ten pin bowling now! Sounds like i didn't miss much.

Shit fan.

Dear me, we're going to have to endure another Barnsley borefest in the FA Cup 1st round.

I may go to Wagamama instead.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Dear me, we're going to have to endure another Barnsley borefest in the FA Cup 1st round.

I may go to Wagamama instead.

Come and join me, it was the first time i've been and was pleasantly surprised. Very healthy too which is good for a fat bloke like me 

Well since nobody can be bothered to start a new thread I thought I’d just resurrect the old one from a few weeks ago!! Like the look of the team today and especially Sadlier getting a start. I’m not sure whether he’s up top and Dapo’s ar LWB or the reverse but either way I’m glad to see them start so let’s just hope we get at them early and bag one before we usually do?

2 hours wasted.

I have a rule when it comes to BWFC. No friendlies and no cup matches. They're shite and a complete waste of money.

So there I was about to paint my nails and settle in to watch Jeff Stelling and co when my Dad rings up saying he's going to the game and he's got me a ticket. Why oh why didn't I tell him 'no chance' and put the phone down on him? Rookie error.

So I went to the match. It was rubbish. Lots of passing about for very little attacking threat, we truly are dreadful in the final third. But it was the cup and I really don't care. I've told my father in no uncertain terms that I will not go to another cup match unless we get to the Champions League final.

Evans out.

Whitesince63 wrote:Well since nobody can be bothered to start a new thread I thought I’d just resurrect the old one from a few weeks ago!!

Definitely a new low for Nuts. I bet this is the only football forum in the country that didn't have a match day thread.

The mods need to sort themselves out.

I presume wanderlust has been banned permanently seeing as he's now posting bollocks on another Bolton forum.

What does the future hold? When a site can't even muster a match day thread you know it's on its arse. I'd like to hear a plan from the mods about how they're going to stop the site folding.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Whitesince63 wrote:Well since nobody can be bothered to start a new thread I thought I’d just resurrect the old one from a few weeks ago!!

Definitely a new low for Nuts. I bet this is the only football forum in the country that didn't have a match day thread.

The mods need to sort themselves out.

I presume wanderlust has been banned permanently seeing as he's now posting bollocks on another Bolton forum.

What does the future hold? When a site can't even muster a match day thread you know it's on its arse. I'd like to hear a plan from the mods about how they're going to stop the site folding. 

Sluffy banned Wanderlust so I gave up.

karlypants wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Whitesince63 wrote:Well since nobody can be bothered to start a new thread I thought I’d just resurrect the old one from a few weeks ago!!

Definitely a new low for Nuts. I bet this is the only football forum in the country that didn't have a match day thread.

The mods need to sort themselves out.

I presume wanderlust has been banned permanently seeing as he's now posting bollocks on another Bolton forum.

What does the future hold? When a site can't even muster a match day thread you know it's on its arse. I'd like to hear a plan from the mods about how they're going to stop the site folding. 

Sluffy banned Wanderlust so I gave up.

I banned him because YOU wanted the thing between me and him to end and clearly he wasn't going to stop his constant diatribe (of mostly fake social media news combined with his pathological hatred of all things Tory), and I wasn't going to stop calling him out over it - the only solution then was that one or both of us had to leave.

YOU told me it was ruining the site and driving people away from here - it was obvious to all that Wanderlust would never stop his obsessiveness and move on with his life and I wasn't going to allow him to post his fake news and endless bitterness which he wallows in, without pointing out how factually wrong it was and how bizarre many of his claims were - so how else did you expect this thing to end???

I'm sure that Wanderlust will now no doubt be much happier on another site that will tolerate his obsessiveness and bitterness and I thought to be fair I too would take a break from the site to allow it to settle and people to become accustomed to the end of the Wanderlust/Sluffy show and allow a long overdue time to find the sites humour and comradery once again.

In other words I've acted to reset the forum without Wanderlust and I being the dominating centre of everything.

If you and others want to give up and the forum, then that's entirely up to yourselves.

Seems a shame though after the very thing that you believed had been killing the forum had just been removed in its entirety.




Whilst I'm on a quick message to Bob.

Bob, if you look at the two-page Resolution of adoption of Articles of Association filed on the 20th October, you will note that BMLL is clearly a shareholder in FV (or at least was on that date) and their shares are controlled by Luckock.

I think this is the first official acknowledgement of that fact.



Anyway I'm off for now and I'll leave you all to enjoy the forum free of Wanderlust and myself and hopefully it can once again find its mojo and be fun again, like it once used to be.

I never thought cancel culture would end up on here, thought we were all too intelligent and long enough in the tooth to accept others views, however much we disagree with them and boy have I disagreed with many of Lustys, but I’d never ban him for holding them. Personally when I see a Sluffy v Wanderlust contest I just scroll through the posts because most of it is my dick is bigger that yours stuff. Surely we can be grown up about things and allow everybody to post their thoughts, however daft we personally believe they are, because that’s what makes the site interesting. So come on Sluffy, reinstate Lusty and get back on here yourself, we can’t afford to lose two of the most consistent members.