Bolton 1-1 Forest

This is going to be a hard game for us and no doubt back to the usual with 1 striker starting!

I'm going for a loss again unfortunately, 1-3.

Let's hope I'm wrong!

Weststandupper wrote:What annoys me is man for man we have a better squad,

Where do you get that from WSU?

We're busy trying to offload a load of our players because they are so crap/prone to errors. Half of them can't pass straight and the defence is erratic at best.

Have you looked at the league table lately?

No doubt Dougie will struggle to resist the tide of huge bids from top European teams that will be pouring into the Reebok throughout January.

Weststandupper wrote:What annoys me is man for man we have a better squad, we're worrying about them, stick with medo and danns in the middle, let's go a bit more direct to ngog and beckford, let them worry about us.

This.

Dougie has a quandary...

BOTH his recognized strikers scored, he is fucked now as to what player to drop. he cant drop them both but we all know, players that score, get dropped the week after.

Maybe we will play a 6-4-0 formation... to 'contain' forest?

Il go for a 2-1 loss...

Nobody expected Dougie to go with the selection he did against Blackpool so he's not that predictable.

We'll get dicked by Forest, absolutely dicked. Our defence is a shambles and a scoreline of 4 or 5 nil in favour of the home side would not surprise me one bit.

Natasha Whittam wrote:We'll get dicked by Forest, absolutely dicked. Our defence is a shambles and a scoreline of 4 or 5 nil in favour of the home side would not surprise me one bit.

... we're at home.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:

... we're at home.

No one likes a clever clogs.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Hipster_Nebula wrote:

... we're at home.

No one likes a clever clogs.

Damn those stupid facts!

Forest tend to flood the midfield, so Dougie will never play two upfront in a million years.

They have nippy wingers (which isn't good for our carthorse FBs) and Reid spraying it around so they're a force on the break.

Perhaps this is one game where it night be worthwhile man-marking Reid with someone like Medo to get in his face all day long.
Negative I know but in true Sun Tzu style we'd be taking out their most influential player by sacrificing one of our least.

That would put the case for two holding mids though which wouldn't be very popular with many fans.

Forget what's popular with the fans. Pick the damned team that we started with against Blackpool and go after Forest from minute one to minute ninety-whatever-the-ref-added-on-for-injury-time and don't give them time to think much less play their own game.

If it ain't working at half time change it, that's what subs are for. Seriously, we're at home to an admittedly decent Nottingham Forest side but we're not playing Bayern or Barca here so let's stop worrying so much about what they can do and start letting our players play to their strengths and in the positions that work best for them. Sure we need to pay some attention to the opposition and adapt our approach to negate their strengths but not at the cost of cowering like frightened rabbits in a corner. Let's go after them for once, put the away team on the back foot and don't let them get on the front all afternoon. We can do it, I believe we have the players capable of doing just that but Dougie has GOT to wake up and realise that from now till the end of the season EVERY game is a cup final, a must win match. This defensive mindset he uses week in week out will NOT work against Forest, they'll love having the time and space to play the way they want and they'll kill us if we try to soak up pressure and hit on the break. 

So I have two score predictions based on team selection and formation. 

Same team and formation as Blackpool we win 2 -0

Same team and formation as usual we lose 1 - 4 

We have to go at them, we won't have a chance if we don't and they will absolutely spank us if we try the usual DF way.

Freedman out, LPP in, you seem to know more about tactics than that clown.

LPP may be right, but every Bolton fan knows it will be back to playing for a 0-0 draw.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:Forget what's popular with the fans. Pick the damned team that we started with against Blackpool and go after Forest from minute one to minute ninety-whatever-the-ref-added-on-for-injury-time and don't give them time to think much less play their own game.

If it ain't working at half time change it, that's what subs are for. Seriously, we're at home to an admittedly decent Nottingham Forest side but we're not playing Bayern or Barca here so let's stop worrying so much about what they can do and start letting our players play to their strengths and in the positions that work best for them. Sure we need to pay some attention to the opposition and adapt our approach to negate their strengths but not at the cost of cowering like frightened rabbits in a corner. Let's go after them for once, put the away team on the back foot and don't let them get on the front all afternoon. We can do it, I believe we have the players capable of doing just that but Dougie has GOT to wake up and realise that from now till the end of the season EVERY game is a cup final, a must win match. This defensive mindset he uses week in week out will NOT work against Forest, they'll love having the time and space to play the way they want and they'll kill us if we try to soak up pressure and hit on the break. 

So I have two score predictions based on team selection and formation. 

Same team and formation as Blackpool we win 2 -0

Same team and formation as usual we lose 1 - 4 

We have to go at them, we won't have a chance if we don't and they will absolutely spank us if we try the usual DF way.

agree 100% LPP  

Natasha Whittam wrote:LPP may be right, but every Bolton fan knows it will be back to playing for a 0-0 draw.

I fear you will be proven right Nat; I wish I had more confidence that the dug-ster would dig himself out of the foxhole he usually plays in and start seeing that this squad can't play his way, they're not that type of player and never will be. Not only that with our back four we HAVE to be more attacking, we almost know we'll concede at least one against the better teams in this division so we need to score goals for even one point let alone all three. 

I hope and pray he will look at the Blackpool match and think 'a-ha, so that's how to use these guys' and do it from now on but I fear he'll look at it and go 'oh no, we were far too forward and forest are really Barcelona in disguise so we'd better park a bus on our own six yard line this week' because the more time goes by the more I'm becoming convinced he's Gary Megson's secret love child with Basil Fawlty.

I'm not going to get my hopes up that we will not allow them any time on the ball what so ever from the start because if we let the likes of Yeovil pass it around for fun then it's not suddenly going to happen against a Forest side who IMO will play us off the park.

Andy Reid as usual against us in a Forest shirt will run the show and if the game goes how I think it will then we will be 2-0 at half time.

Ref watch: Naylor takes the whistle

Michael Naylor will officiate Wanderers’ clash with Nottingham Forest this weekend.

Now in his seventh season of professional refereeing, the Yorkshire based official has taken charge of 20 games so far this term across the Championship, League One, League Two and various cup competitions.

Having distributed 39 yellow cards and just a single red during the current campaign, Naylor last oversaw a Bolton game when the Whites secured a point in a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City back in April.

Barry Cropp and David Richardson will run the line, while Darren Bond will be the fourth official.

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Opposition watch: Nottingham Forest

A fixture which has yielded 31 wins apiece for either side since the first meeting back in 1882, Wanderers’ clashes with Nottingham Forest are rarely dour affairs.

A match-up which always produces excitement - just six of the 85 games between the teams have failed to produce a goal with Forest securing a 3-0 victory at the City Ground back in August - this weekend’s fixture looks set to be a cracker at the Reebok.

With both managers having seen their sides denied a play-off berth by Leicester City on the final day of last season, Dougie Freedman and his opposite number Billy Davies will certainly not be underestimating the threat which each team pose.

The Bolton boss in particular will undoubtedly be fully aware of the challenge which his side face come kick off this weekend however, with Davies’ Reds entering the clash on the back of an impressive 5-0 victory over Premier League outfit West Ham United in their FA Cup third round clash.

Having enjoyed a solid start to their domestic campaign – one which has left them residing in fifth position in the Sky Bet Championship league standings with 40 points accumulated from 24 games – the future looks promising for Forest as they bid to make a return to the top flight after a 15 year exile.

Just four league defeats suffered so far this term and ten wins secured including four on their travels have allowed the City Ground faithful to dream of Premier League football once more – one which has been within their grasp on no less than three occasions in the past five years.

After missing out on a top six finish in such dramatic fashion alongside Wanderers last term however, Forest moved to strengthen their squad with the likes of Jamie Mackie and Kelvin Wilson agreeing deals with the club alongside the loan acquisition of highly rated Chelsea youngster Nathaniel Chalobah.

Davies’ thriftiness in the transfer market appears to have reaped dividends thus far, with the Reds looking a force to be reckoned with during the current campaign.

The form of experienced midfielder Andy Reid has undoubtedly played a crucial part in Forest’s early season success, with the former Sunderland front man currently leading the line as the club’s top goal scorer with eight strikes in all competitions.

A player who has boasted a reputation as a reliable figure in the middle of the park throughout his career, Reid has surpassed expectations this term by taking on a more attacking role within the team – one which has recently secured the club’s captain a contract extension.

Despite their impressive early season form however, Forest make the trip to BL6 having failed to emerge victorious on Bolton soil since October 1991 – a statistic that Wanderers supporters will be hoping continues come kick off on Saturday afternoon.

Paul Taylor – Nottingham Forest reporter for the Nottingham Post

“Over the Christmas period, it is safe to say that Nottingham Forest’s season has sprung back into life.

“Following a slight stutter in form, when it came to securing wins at least, Billy Davies’ side have subsequently found their consistency, culminating in a morale boosting 5-0 win over Premier League West Ham in the FA Cup.

“Yes, Sam Allardyce’s side included five under-21 players and a couple of senior figures who were making their return from injury - it was something of a makeshift Hammers team.

“But you can only beat what is put in front of you and Forest certainly did that in emphatic fashion, with Jamie Paterson’s hat-trick the catalyst for victory amid an impressive team performance.

“Forest are now unbeaten in eight games, with victories secured over two of their promotion rivals, in QPR and Leeds in recent weeks and it feels as though things are starting to fall into place.

“A new striker remains at the top of Billy Davies’ shopping list, with a habit of missing chances the only obvious possible Achilles heel in the Forest squad currently.

“That cost them at Reading when, after carving out a host of good opportunities with some quality football, they failed to capitalise and saw the home side net a 94th minute equaliser, in a 1-1 draw.

“Tying Andy Reid to a new contract in the build-up to today’s game was a significant boost for the Reds, who will be hoping the midfielder continues his good record against Bolton – having netted in all of the last three meetings between the sides.

“As for what the score is likely to be this weekend, much may depend on whether Forest again make the most of their chances, as they so emphatically did against the Hammers.

“Forest are very hard to beat under Davies and do not concede many, so perhaps an avalanche of goals is unlikely, but it would not be a shock to see them secure a narrow win over Dougie Freedman’s side.”

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