Lincoln 0-1 Bolton

Trust you all had a great day yesterday and are looking forward to the tradition Boxing Day footy with us visiting Lincoln this afternoon, which as it happens is where my nephews eldest is currently at university.

I don't know if he may have split loyalties over the game but nothing less than a Bolton win will do for me.

Hope the 'lads' have not been indulging on too much eggnog and mince pies whilst watching the Kings Speech on the telly yesterday (personally I thought the film was far better) and able to deliver us all a belated Christmas gift of the full three points.

There's been a bit of scandalous gossip recently over one of our strikers 'scoring' away from home, which may or may not be true (looking likely it is though) but hopefully it won't effect his performance (on the pitch anyway!).

If we are really serious about automatic promotion then games like this we should be automatically winning.

Fingers crossed we will.

What do you all think?

Bolton win for me.

A Bolton win for me too Sluffy and boy do we need it. Our next run of games offers on paper a great opportunity to rack up points always in the knowledge that after that we have away games at Derby, Wigan, Barnsley and Posh so we need to ensure we have points in hand on all of them just in case. You must wonder if the off field activities of a certain person will have an effect but I’d trust Evatt to judge that one. Hopefully not and it didn’t really seem to against Orient. As for today, Lincoln are struggling with injuries at the moment especially up top and left defence so maybe we’re playing them at just the right time? I’m expecting a win, probably a narrow one, but 1-2 to the Wanderers.

I don't feel great optimism for this game after their last outing against Orient.

The lads need to come out and play to their strenth for the full 90 minutes and not just for the first half.

It really was a nail biter and the lads wern't far from screwing their win up.

Hopefully Evatt has drummed it into them that they should be focused for the full game and not switched off when sitting comfortably in the lead!

Although it was nail-biting at times, I think it’s not entirely fair to blame either the manager or the players for Orient’s resurgence on Saturday. 
Firstly, you have to give some credit to Richie Wellens for making some important changes to the way they were playing and also to some critical substitutions. 
Secondly, we were playing with a very strong wind in the first half and against it in the second. 
I’m looking for a comfortable win today.

BarrygoestoBolton wrote:Although it was nail-biting at times, I think it’s not entirely fair to blame either the manager or the players for Orient’s resurgence on Saturday. 
Firstly, you have to give some credit to Richie Wellens for making some important changes to the way they were playing and also to some critical substitutions. 
Secondly, we were playing with a very strong wind in the first half and against it in the second. 
I’m looking for a comfortable win today.

Sorry Barry but I’m not buying that about crediting Wellens with important changes. When the players had that break for the keeper injury we resumed a completely different team and just seemed to have lost all our vigour. We came out for the second half and we’re even worse, bad passes, panic passing we just looked a bag of nerves. I don’t know if it’s what Evatt says to the players at the break or if it’s just our psychology but it’s happening too often.

For me at the break and 3-0 up I’d be telling the players to go out and get another 3, these boys are there for the taking. Instead we come out seeming to want to just hang on to what we’ve got which surely is negative thinking supreme. We’re better than any other team in this league and we need to both believe it and show it whoever we’re playing.

We should also bear in mind how bloody awful Orient were in the first half. Six wouldn't have flattered us.
They gave us an early Christmas gift, but that's not happening every week.
Despite a decent season so far, there are a few worrying signs for me. However, a win today would  go a little way toward calming my somewhat frazzled New Year jitters.

Thank fuck for that!

Bolton 1 up!

FT: Lincoln 0-1 Bolton!

Yes, a good and much needed 3 points today but how hard we make things for ourselves. Dominated the whole game yet their keeper I don’t think had one save to make in the entire match. It’s not new players we need it’s more composure from the ones we’ve got!! 🤨

Whitesince63 wrote:Yes, a good and much needed 3 points today but how hard we make things for ourselves. Dominated the whole game yet their keeper I don’t think had one save to make in the entire match. It’s not new players we need it’s more composure from the ones we’ve got!! 🤨

I agree and with the single late goal it still makes me feel that the lads need to book their ideas up if we are going to get out of this league.

Luckily Portsmouth lost and Peterborough drew although Derby's win against Wigan have them hot on our tail.

Fully deserved - two halves of football played for a change. Of course, them going down to ten men helped in the end. But overall, we were far better. 
Is it my imagination or does Williams seem to give the ball away too easily for my liking.
COYWM

Here’s the top half of the table as it stands after today’s games…

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A number of our players didn’t have a good game today. Certainly Maghoma, who lost the ball too often and whose passes didn’t find anyone. Williams also looked a bit below par. 
On the other hand, Thomason was terrific and Sheehan made a real difference when he came on. 
I thought the short corner routine worked well once they were down to 10 men. 
Both our forwards & midfielders were pretty wayward in front of goal. Shooting practice required!

Highlights.

Fwiw if you look closely at the sending off, their player seems to make contact with Morley's left foot from a late diving tackle (and was probably correctly sent off) - but the thing is that if you watch Morley's overly dramatic reaction - he seems to be clutching the top of his shin...!

Hmmm.

Anyway he was fit enough to play the rest of the game and even was in the build up to our late goal.

Still a win is a win.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Sluffy wrote:Highlights.

Fwiw if you look closely at the sending off, their player seems to make contact with Morley's left foot from a late diving tackle (and was probably correctly sent off) - but the thing is that if you watch Morley's overly dramatic reaction - he seems to be clutching the top of his shin...!

Hmmm.

Anyway he was fit enough to play the rest of the game and even was in the build up to our late goal.

Still a win is a win.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I'll take any win. Deserved sending off, but overly dramatic.
Players really do push credibility sometimes. Have a look at the Leeds keeper today. Shouldn't raise your hands, but come on.
I'm always grateful to get back to some rugby league.

boltonbonce wrote:

Sluffy wrote:Highlights.

Fwiw if you look closely at the sending off, their player seems to make contact with Morley's left foot from a late diving tackle (and was probably correctly sent off) - but the thing is that if you watch Morley's overly dramatic reaction - he seems to be clutching the top of his shin...!

Hmmm.

Anyway he was fit enough to play the rest of the game and even was in the build up to our late goal.

Still a win is a win.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I'll take any win. Deserved sending off, but overly dramatic.
Players really do push credibility sometimes. Have a look at the Leeds keeper today. Shouldn't raise your hands, but come on.
I'm always grateful to get back to some rugby league.

Morley's reaction didn't effect the sending off or the match result, I was just pointing out that the nature of football (perhaps even general life itself these days?) is to lie and cheat.

It's always gone on of course, it just seems to me to becoming more and more in blatant and in your face so to speak.

Even division three games like ours have full video coverage and clearly any 'cheating' by any player will be caught on camera - makes you wonder (well me at least) why do it?

No doubt Morley will be seen within the club to have reacted smartly - the dark arts type of thing - and no doubt all clubs and players do the same but what values and standards do they set for the rest of society.

We get what we deserve as they say, so I guess we shouldn't complain when we get a dodgy goal scored against us or a player sent off who didn't deserve to be.

But of course everyone will be doing so of course.

Seems the rule is that it's fine to lie and cheat to others but not to be on the receiving end of being lied and cheated to ourselves...!

Sluffy wrote:

Morley's reaction didn't effect the sending off or the match result, I was just pointing out that the nature of football (perhaps even general life itself these days?) is to lie and cheat.

It's always gone on of course, it just seems to me to becoming more and more in blatant and in your face so to speak.

Even division three games like ours have full video coverage and clearly any 'cheating' by any player will be caught on camera - makes you wonder (well me at least) why do it?

No doubt Morley will be seen within the club to have reacted smartly - the dark arts type of thing - and no doubt all clubs and players do the same but what values and standards do they set for the rest of society.

We get what we deserve as they say, so I guess we shouldn't complain when we get a dodgy goal scored against us or a player sent off who didn't deserve to be.

But of course everyone will be doing so of course.

Seems the rule is that it's fine to lie and cheat to others but not to be on the receiving end of being lied and cheated to ourselves...!

I remember a mate of mine playing in an amateur game, getting sent off for putting his palm in the face of an opponent,
then going back to punch him in the head, feeling that if he was getting sent off it might as well be for something better than a face palm.
He was, I should add, a bit of a head case.

Relieved we finally scored, disappointed we didn't create more clear cut chances given the possession we had, delighted some of the immediate rivals dropped points, concerned that Derby and Barnsley have suddenly hit form and are now challenging us - especially as our game in hand is Barnsley away.
Still we're in the mix.