Bolton 5-0 Oxford

**This game is live on Sky Sports**

After our 2-2 draw away at Exeter and Barnsley the game before that, Will Evatt make some changes and change his game plan?

What are your predictions?

One wonders what sort of shape Matt Gilks is in... 

I was at the reverse fixture at Oxford and it was a tedious affair in which neither side was pro-active enough. We had the best chance to score, but it was squandered.

Oxford looked very average, but quite hard to break down defensively. If they score first on Tuesday, we may struggle.

karlypants wrote:**This game is live on Sky Sports**

After our 2-2 draw away at Exeter and Barnsley the game before that, Will Evatt make some changes and change his game plan?

What are your predictions?

My prediction is that Evatt won't make changes to the personnel or system - at least not big changes.

As for the game, we've been shit for the last ten or more games now - borderline relegation scrap form - so thank God we went into this period in a commanding position - a position we've frittered away so we're on dog's leg now as regards the automatics.

Frankly speaking, if we don't regain our early season form immediately, even the playoffs are under threat. Evatt must see that and so must the players, so hopefully there will be a change in mindset.

I'm guessing he'll start with Collins and JDB with Jerome to come off the bench and save us at some point.

I've seen loads of people on twitter saying we should play Hutchinson in goals tomorrow and drop Coleman. I know Coleman has been erratic but throwing a young kid in now would be ridiculous!

Same idiots slagging off Dacres Cogley and rejoicing in Jones playing RWB, worked well that one eh? 

I would go with

Coleman

Forrester Rico Toal

JDC  Dempsey Thomason Maghoma Williams

Collins JDB

I suggest Evatt needs to become creative for this game in his team selection as his usual MO is to play two strikers and replace them around the hour mark with two off the bench - and as he's only got three fit strikers he can't do that for this game.

Either he's going to have to play with one of the two up front not running around like a headless chicken - so he can last the 90 minutes, which I would suspect be Bodvarsson (although I would prefer it to be Collins) with Collins doing the running around and Cameron replacing him off the bench, or use someone (Maghoma?) as a striker and bring on Bodvarsson and Jerome from the bench.

Again it highlights to me at least why we even bother with a development squad as clearly none of them are anywhere close to be able to step up to the first team when at times like this they are needed.

Yup. It's a shame Conor Carty is injured as he'd be an excellent back up striking option for this situation. OK he's only 22 but he has plenty of experience having played in the European Conference League, won the Irish FA Cup with St Pat's and played for Ireland at every level up to U21's. Typical of BWFC, he did his ACL at the start of his loan spell at Donny.
Don't think any of the other Academy/B team strikers would hack it at this level yet although there are a few in other positions that could step up if required. Assume Hutch will be on the bench for example.

wanderlust wrote:Yup. It's a shame Conor Carty is injured as he'd be an excellent back up striking option for this situation. OK he's only 22 but he has plenty of experience having played in the European Conference League, won the Irish FA Cup with St Pat's and played for Ireland at every level up to U21's. Typical of BWFC, he did his ACL at the start of his loan spell at Donny.
Don't think any of the other Academy/B team strikers would hack it at this level yet although there are a few in other positions that could step up if required. Assume Hutch will be on the bench for example.

Fwiw, Carty is 21 not 22.

Played 41 games for St Pat's but only scored 6 goals (ratio 1 goal every 7 games)

Played 18 games for Ireland youth teams but only scored 2 goals (ratio 1 goal in every 8 games)

Played 3 games for League 2 Doncaster and did not score

Combined he's played 62 games, and scored 8 goals (ratio 1 goal every 8.5 games).

(He did however score one for us in the Micky Mouse Cup!).

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I'm not knocking the lad and hope he has a brilliant future to come - I'm merely showing that people have (and always had) unrealistic expectations of Bolton youth players. Connor Hall for example...

Bolton will be 2-0 up at half time.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:Oxford will be 2-0 up at half time.

Good to See you back Nat 🤪

I wish I was as good looking a rich as Nat  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It's another must win game. ( stating the obvious I know)

If we  lose this then it's looking like the playoffs again and we all know what that means.

Come on you whites!!!

Sluffy wrote:

Fwiw, Carty is 21 not 22.

Played 41 games for St Pat's but only scored 6 goals (ratio 1 goal every 7 games)

Played 18 games for Ireland youth teams but only scored 2 goals (ratio 1 goal in every 8 games)

Played 3 games for League 2 Doncaster and did not score

Combined he's played 62 games, and scored 8 goals (ratio 1 goal every 8.5 games).

(He did however score one for us in the Micky Mouse Cup!).

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


I'm not knocking the lad and hope he has a brilliant future to come - I'm merely showing that people have (and always had) unrealistic expectations of Bolton youth players.  Connor Hall for example...

Thanks for correcting me. Carty's 22nd birthday is the week after next.

1-0! ogbeta!

So good!
Ogbeta nails it.

I’ve got him down as first goal scorer in the comps thread as well!