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Match day thread: Bolton

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  • Our fear of the loan market is shooting us in the foot. Our bench today looks pretty weak compared to last season. I agree that the only threat today has come from McCleary. Oh and TJay’s shoulders.

  • Not our fault Forino got injured (well, you'd hope so!), but that's 50% of our senior CBs gone in one hit

  • Maybe that's why we haven't signed him yet...

  • We have been poor at picking up runners from midfield leaving the centre of defence exposed and it’s cost us dearly

  • Surprise, surprise!! You don’t replace Stockdale, Stewart or the Beast before the season started which forces you to play a midfielder at right back and a right back at centre half , what did the management expect to happen. Got away with it last week because Burton were so bad. Was always going to be a risky strategy against better teams and quite clearly hasn’t paid off today. Interesting to see what happens next week.

  • Surprising how many professional footballers are unable to keep the ball down when they shoot.

  • We've got two wingers playing at full back, and a full back playing at centre half, in front of a goalkeeper playing his second senior fixture. It isn't a shock result, and we all know that we desperately need recruits in defence.

  • Freeman has had more nice touches in his cameo than most of the remaining players in the full 90.

  • Yes has always been a silky player. Shame he’s so slow. Bolton looked sharper and fitter today.

  • Looking for positives on a bad day, Freeman has looked excellent since coming on.

  • edited August 2022

    It's pretty criminal to go into a season with one fit first team centre back. We've been punished for that today.

  • Better team won. For all the doubts expressed about Dickinson he can’t be faulted for any of the goals and good save at the end.

  • So there you are @HCblue . Good to hear from you.

  • How did Tjay do? When I saw him on the bench I was surprised as he's only played one friendly in preseason due to his injury but they was straight back into the match day squad. Don't think he's match sharp yet.

  • edited August 2022

    Today was not a great day.

    However, it was good to see Nick Freeman get another run out, he was excellent in his cameo, as was Daryl Horgan when he came on; probably need to be thinking about starting one or both in the next league game.

    Tyla Dickinson looks to be a decent shot stopper, but as is to be expected from a youngster in only his second L1 start he is not yet dominating his box and needs to improve his communication with his defenders, but that will come as he gets more experience.

    Grimmer & Taffs did ok given how exposed they were all game.

    Up front we were ridiculously profligate and probably only McCleary came out of the game with any real credit, though the other forwards had flashes of quality.

    My biggest concern is how out of sorts Wing, Scowen & Gape looked, as well as how Wheeler & especially Obita seemed to forget they were meant to be defenders...

    Anyway, here's hoping Forino is back soon as seemed to be indicated on the match commentary & that we get some decent signings like Bolton have got with Conor Bradley (I know he is a loanee)

  • No one, outside of a few, knows. I’ve just started assuming any injured player is out for the rest of the season. that way I am pleasantly surprised if he’s playing again just after Christmas.

  • Tyla Dickinson decent shot stopper?! How have you arrived at that opinion?

  • That was very poor today. Players out of position and a lack of quality on the ball, especially in front of goal. I know that its early doors, but promotion seems a long way off if we continue to play like that

  • It's not just CB and goalkeeper we need to improve on. I think that twenty minutes is all we need to see De Barr is not League One standard and is a red-card liability at the moment. Mellor is, what? A winger? Unless al-Hamadi is League One ready (and why hasn't he featured on the bench yet?) we really need to sign or loan a striker as well.

    Their truly excellent goalkeeper today showed why we need to use the loan market. I get why the Gasroom Romantics want Dickinson to provide us with a Hollywood ending but it's time to get real. I get that he wasn't at fault for any of the goals and made a nice save at the end - but that - and the time he parried the ball to the onrushing attacker - were the only times he was actually tested. I didn't think he was fouled when he let the disallowed goal in at the stroke of halftime.

    I was watching 'overseas' so didn't see the problems with the formation that others did. But I will say I've always thought Wing overrated by those on here. Hopefully he'll be dropped for Freeman or Horgan next week.

  • Charged straight into the back of one of their players , argued with ref that it was shoulder to shoulder, wasn't, repeated same 2 mins later, think that about covers it.

  • Didn’t watch as I had a minor op whilst the game was going on, but that’s a reality check result.

    Quality reinforcements needed I think otherwise I think realistically it’s mid-table at best. Bolton are a good side but shame to see us get beaten so comprehensively.

    Can’t say any more as I haven’t watched it back yet, but maybe after that I won’t bother. Doubt it’ll be a fun viewing.

  • I'm not sure anyone on the gasroom romantic or no is not expecting us to sign an experienced keeper are they @aloysius ? The same way I am sure only the dimmest of our lightbulbs would assume 3 points from six in two games is relegation form already?

  • @Wendoverman I note Jamal Blackman kept a clean sheet today. But I suspect we're in the loan market for a keeper. Trafford was exceptional today, didn't put a foot wrong, was confident, dominant, distributed well. The Manchester City academy clearly knows what it's doing. If Bishop comes with a similar pedigree it will have been worth waiting two extra weeks for... but we can't wait until September.

  • If Ainsworth was being swayed by such romantics, should they exist, and didn't want a loan goalie he probably wouldn't have bid for one. Tyla got away with one on half time but otherwise was fine and this wasn't down to him. Hopefully reinforcements will arrive soon there are obviously teams with better squads in the division, this shouldn't surprise or alarm anyone, although from his comments it seems like they just tried to over attack and it didn't come off. Far too open today, difficult then to try out different options when they've got their backs up and nothing is going your way.

  • Looked good going forwards, if rather wasteful with our chances. Freeman was excellent when he came on.

    That's the positives. Defense was poor, we gave the ball away cheaply far too often and gave Bolton too much space. Interesting to see if we strengthen during the week.

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