[Archived] Bolton Game 0-1

[joey_big_nose]

Does anyone know Diouf's address? I know some people that know some people that could hurt him. And I'm in that sort of mood. PM me if you do.

I would watch want you put down on this board, I would hazrad most of us do not want that kind of bile on here.

It does not impress anybody and could land you in hotwater with the police.

As for Diouf, surely he must get a ban?

Edited January 25, 2005 by joey_big_nose

[MCMC1875]

Full marks to Mr Todd for staying on his feet after fending off Diouf's elbow. Many cheats would have gone down like a sack of spuds. Just glad I'm not a Bolton fan.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Personally, regardless of the mis forgivings of spit the diver, I think people need to wake up and smell the coffee and take a look at how poor we really are.

We lack any creativity and have no style in the way we play - talk about disorganised!! and nobody has any idea what to do with the ball in the last third of the pitch. How anybody can say Emerton had a good game is beyond me when he is never in the place where he should be, always cutting in and getting in the way of the rest of the midfielders and his cover /working relationship with Neil is non existent.

Yet again another home game and another shocker of a performance which yet again highlighted the enormous problems of our side , and people wonder why the numbers are dwindling.

I said along with many others on here months ago that it was imperative that another striker was acquired if JANSEN was not considered upto the task - think last night finally put the cherry on the cake. We have certainly got major worries if Dickov is our 'only hope' and doubt he would have scored or played well if he had played as we have the fluency of playing with a boulder in quicksand and the service is non existent from midfield.

What has happened to GALLAGHER? Thought he would sparkle this season, but seems to have got the curse of 'Blackburn Forwards 'again and has just totally forgot how to play football. Bothroyd? looked half decent when he first came but now I think we have seen enough to know why he hasn't progressed. Stead - still a must in my book to start - give him a few games from the beginning and get the 'spoon feeder' if that's what is needed (Ferguson?) to get the ball too him in the box - he will do the rest.

Thompson as I have said before - is not the hero of CM that alot seem to think he is. Are we/Will we miss Ferguson I don't know as I haven't been impressed with him thus far - but what was glaringly obvious about last night was the lack of having a player who can put his foot on the ball in the middle.

Matteo is not a Premiership player and I think it swept over people's heads what the Brum fan said on here earlier - however last night I thought he played well to a certain point but then did other things that are just not acceptable.

Neill's distribution is absolutely woeful.

Pedersen appears to be getting better every game, but again has no support from a decent full back.

Moekwena - played better than against Cardiff but stll giving the ball away far too much (hot potato?)

Todd - again head and shoulders above the rest

Funny (or maybe not) how people saw the two footed challenge of Nolan but missed the one of Savage's early doors and are looking at the Diouf dive as the major reason we got beat - all I can say is we have seen it far too many times where we know we are always going to concede when chances are not taken ( why do we make it look so hard to score?)

All in all, both teams where abaolute rubbish last night with neither team deserving a win, never mind a draw.

I think most of the players out there last night should be charged with cheating .... cheating the fans by saying they are Premiership players

'PREMIER LEAGUE.. YOU'RE AVING A LAFF!!'

[Tony Diamond Inc]

Yes Capt., the Diver is the only reason we lost, it was the only sniff of a chance they had.

We never looked like winning, nor did we deserve to, but we sure as hell didn't deserve to lose!

[CAPT KAYOS]

Yes Capt., the Diver is the only reason we lost, it was the only sniff of a chance they had.

We never looked like winning, nor did we deserve to, but we sure as hell didn't deserve to lose!

Never said we did TDI

What was sure enough is we certainly didn't deserve to win and nor did Notlob, but regardless of Spit the Diouf, there where other reasons why we lost this game as well.

Call that Football ... No didn't think so

For arguments sake, from the Blackburn end it looked like a penalty so can't comment on the Ref, as from memory he was behind the game but where the feck was the linesman if it was so obvious? Only just seen a replay of the incident and its not as if it was another Utd/Spurs secnario.

Not denying that what Diouf did should be accepted, in fact I think he should be punished as this is the only way this will be taken out of the game - but regardless of that we have much more to worry about than dwelling on what the ref/linesman should have seen.

In fact you could well be right about Fergie

[Jim J]

Agree with most of your post Kayos, except the Stead comment.

I think he's had enough opportunities to prove himself this season. We need to buy a proven goal scorer before the end of Jan, but I dont think we will.

Get ready for a roller-coaster ride till May.

[bubblerrovers]

Why is everyone going on about the spitting diver!!! WE WERE TERRIBLE!!!

Even if didn't get that penalty neil's handball was obvious. We honestly have the least creativity in the league and prob the 2nd worst forward line behind Norwich, but even they scored 4. They only way we pull out results is Through Hard work and effort, but please can we have someone special to make these things easier

What are the odds on Rovers ever scoring 4 goals haha

[Bazzathegreat]

Today my friend pointed out that Brad surely didn't touch Diouf with his hands, but it's his leg which clips Diouf's calf. That would explain fumbly falling by Diouf. I've viewed the incident couple of times now and I think my mate might be right.

Wrong. Look at it again.

There is no contact between Friedel and Diouf. What Diouf does, after he has gone past Friedel, is very cleverly put his right foot behind his left calf, causing him to trip up.

A nice piece of skill and one that he has obviously worked at in training.

Thats a very old trick, i think Klinsman first invented it, Its used widespred thesedays it just makes the dive look more real. What an Idiot Big Sam has become aswell, cant wait till next sesaons derby game now ill be right up for it

[mrsjansen]

Why is everyone going on about the spitting diver!!! WE WERE TERRIBLE!!!

Even if didn't get that penalty neil's handball was obvious. We honestly have the least creativity in the league and prob the 2nd worst forward line behind Norwich, but even they scored 4. They only way we pull out results is Through Hard work and effort, but please can we have someone special to make these things easier

What are the odds on Rovers ever scoring 4 goals haha

It wasn't handball, it hit him the stomach and bounced up from his stomach to his hands. It was never a penalty.

[philipl]

It is very disappointing and worrisome but I think there are several OTT reactions.

The Sky Sports stats for the First Half were:

Shots on Target- Rovers 2 Bolton 0

Shots off Target- Rovers 3 Bolton 0

Bolton did not have an attempt on goal of any sort until the 59th minute!!!

For all the impotence of the front two, the lack of cohesion in the middle of the park and the occasional Mokoena and Matteo collywobbles, the Rovers were very tight defensively again.

Is the FA going to charge Diouf?

By my count, there were two premeditated elbows on Todd, an attempted decapitation of MGP, one cynical dive and only one yellow card. The slomo of the elbow on Todd for which he got booked was sickening- it showed Diouf's face contorted with hatred looking at Todd as he ran at him clearly shaping up to elbow him in the neck from two or three paces away.

Plenty of unpunished offences to warrant a trip to Soho Square.

[MCMC1875]

It is very disappointing and worrisome but I think there are several OTT reactions.

The Sky Sports stats for the First Half were:

Shots on Target- Rovers 2 Bolton 0

Shots off Target- Rovers 3 Bolton 0

Bolton did not have an attempt on goal of any sort until the 59th minute!!!

For all the impotence of the front two, the lack of cohesion in the middle of the park and the occasional Mokoena and Matteo collywobbles, the Rovers were very tight defensively again.

Is the FA going to charge Diouf?

By my count, there were two premeditated elbows on Todd, an attempted decapitation of MGP, one cynical dive and only one yellow card. The slomo of the elbow on Todd for which he got booked was sickening- it showed Diouf's face contorted with hatred looking at Todd as he ran at him clearly shaping up to elbow him in the neck from two or three paces away.

Plenty of unpunished offences to warrant a trip to Soho Square.

Off with his head or if that's too much for the PC brigade, transportation!

[trawdenblue]

Bolton - 2 shots on target in the whole game - the penalty and the rebound.

Says it all really.

[Ozz]

Worst episode ever!....

[joey_big_nose]

For what it is worth I thought we played okay. Allerdyce did his homework and knew we had better players than him so he packed the midfield and soaked up the pressure, hoping he could hurt us on the break. It worked, through some shameful cheating, and they won.

We had most of the posession but lacked quality in the final third. None of our strikers could hold up the ball so we found it difficult to create openings. Expect to see the Ferguson money be used to bring in a Forward.

It is not all doom and gloom. We looked the better side against a decent team, we have won a few gamess recently and have quite a few good players on our books.

Some difficult games coming up, it will really test the mettle of our side.

[USABlue]

Scrappy crappy game, got a little better late on. A lot has to do with the way Bolton play, better teams than us have struggled to get any sort of rythym going against them. We needed to keep the ball down at the feet, too many poor passes led to balls bouncing at players and against Bolton you just are not allowed time to get the ball under control.

Diouf is a disgrace as was the penalty decision. The commentator said it was a penalty at first, I disagreed immediately, I knew it was a dive because he fell too late. The ref could not judge that from where he was, behind the play. Too bad Brads save bounced right back to him. A stinker of a way to lose. We are right back in it now. I think criticism of Neill is unfair. We lack creativity and punch up front, never thought I would say thi but MGP looked our biggest threat but can he actually take on a man. Passes to Emerton were so poor he was always facing the wrong way when he got the ball. Not too downhearted with the loss just the way it hapened.

I'd give Johnson and Stead a run against Colchester, young Jemal has some pace.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Passes to Emerton were so poor he was always facing the wrong way when he got the ball.

Mostly because he is never where he should be - if he stayed out wide a bit more he might find more decent passes finding their way to him with him finding himself facing forwards and in space, instead of coming inside all the time and getting in the way of the other midfielders.

Alot of the time I think this ithe main problem because the others can't keep up with Emerton and haven't got a clue where he is going with the ball, thus leaving him with nobody to pass to and ultimately facing the wrong way or being tackled and out of position.

[speeeeeeedie]

I'll go with the majority on this game and say that we were very mediocre in a very scrappy game where no-one could get it down and play. It was a draw all the way until the penalty. We are not the best team to watch from an entertainment standpoint but for budding coaches among us the shape dedication and discliplined way we play is very good to look at and learn from. However that is lost on most; hence the low crowds.

We desperately need a goalscorer. There was a topic on here a month or so ago about which position we needed most, I plumbed for a centre half as we were leaking goals like mad, well Hughes has sorted that out, our organisation is very good now, we won't concede many, but unless we can score a couple we'll have more draws and losses instead of wins.

Dickov is our best asset and that is saying something. I've no idea what has happened to Stead, I think he's a good player but it's not working for him. Bothroyd shows great flashes but I don't think he has it, what does Perugia want for him? For all the hype about Gallagher, he reminds me of Franny Jeffers; bags of potential but never seems to come through. The fans' allegiance to him will be much stronger as he is a local lad but he either needs to gain a yard of pace or bulk up a bit to make him stronger on the ball. Johnson looked lively, but needs a big man alongside him. Many of us have asked what if, in regards to letting Cole go. Could it still hurt us?

Kayos made the point about Emerton being too narrow; that is a product of the system we play, Hughes has our wingers defending the spaces making it hard to get around the back of us.

Forgot my point about the penalty. It came as no surprise to me that when Diouf turned his man, that man happened to be Matteo. What was he doing in the middle? But more to the point, why is he playing?

Edited January 25, 2005 by speeeeeeedie

[Poita]

Neill has been utter garbage for about 2 seasons. All he does is foul, get booked, give free kicks away then hoof it down the line either a.) out of play or b.) give it to an opposing player.

LOL, you absolute moron.

i think from now on there should be a IQ prerequisite of above 50 to enter this forum.

that would put you sh*t out of luck

[stuwilky]

HEs spot on,

Lucas has been rubbish for some time, I was hoping that Nelsen would play last night, perhaps give Lucas a bit of a shock by being dropped.

[Robertson]

I was to angry last night to post, I might have said something which i may have had to rely on in court

For the record I did come back and hurled my mates wallace and gromit cup of the floor, being the nearest thing I could grab, and it smashed into smithereens!!! Pity it wasn't Diouff's skull but there you go.

Think everyone has summed him up, cheat, idiot etc and Nolan and Allardyce can go to hell as well. Or Bolton for that matter, what a scabby team.

I was even more upset by our own inept performance, our forwards in particular were awful. Bothroyd is crap fullstop. Bag of tricks???? He has lost the bag then!!!!!

Stead gets worse by the second though at least he has the talent and Gally was non existent.

Our defence was solid enough though Bolton were hardly the attack minded team. Midfield as a whole were average.

We must have the worst set pieces in the league!!!! Good idea piling everyone in the goal for the corners though a bit of variation would have been nice. Could someone not have pulled out of there into the penalty spot position and the ball be aimed there, Sheringham style along the floor or whatever. ANYTHING!!!!!

As long as we play Matteo we deserve nothing from any game.

'Go on Dom, whip it in, last chance, place it in the mixer, go on Dom, go on Dom, GO ON D.............ah damn it'

[USABlue]

Passes to Emerton were so poor he was always facing the wrong way when he got the ball.

Mostly because he is never where he should be - if he stayed out wide a bit more he might find more decent passes finding their way to him with him finding himself facing forwards and in space, instead of coming inside all the time and getting in the way of the other midfielders.

Alot of the time I think this ithe main problem because the others can't keep up with Emerton and haven't got a clue where he is going with the ball, thus leaving him with nobody to pass to and ultimately facing the wrong way or being tackled and out of position.

I have to disagree somewhat Mr Kayos. The passes to him were poor and two or three yards behind him. Surely we pass to players as a physical presence not to a space where a player is supposed to be, for the most part.

[LDRover]

As long as we play Matteo we deserve nothing from any game.

'Go on Dom, whip it in, last chance, place it in the mixer, go on Dom, go on Dom, GO ON D.............ah damn it'

Great point.

If a man can't understand it when 20,000 people are screaming 'Man On' then God help him.

[RevidgeBlue]

On the way back through the car park last night there were a number of Bentleys on display which highlighted the stark disparity between the wage level and talent of the "average" Premiership player.

A dire game with neither side deserving to win, the sour taste in the mouth being left by Bolton who were even worse than us, coming away with all 3 points.

Despite the understandable concern over Diouf's antics I'm far more worried about our own shortcomings.

Defensively Todd was impressive yet again and Mokoena was much improved on his Cardiff display. At full back though I fail to understand why Matteo is constantly preferred to either Gray or McEveley and if Nelsen doesn't turn out to be a better performer than Lucas Neill it will be very disappointing.

In midfield Thompson showed once again how much we need Ferguson and not £6 million quid and Savage looked off the pace after an enforced break from first team action. He can and will play better.

Emerton was just Emerton, desperately disappointing, as is the case more often than not. Pedersen was the best of our offensive players.

Yet the problems were worst up front. Bothroyd didn't look in the least bit interested, Gallagher has gone completely off the boil, Stead desperately needs a goal and Johnson isn't yet strong enough for the Premiership.

Whither Jansen? On last night's sorry evidence Dickov who I still maintain isn't good enough at this level is unfortunately "the pick" of our strikers.

A bit of transfer magic is required from Hughesey in the remainder of the transfer window or the remainder of the season could be unnecessarily stressful for all concerned.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Passes to Emerton were so poor he was always facing the wrong way when he got the ball.

Mostly because he is never where he should be - if he stayed out wide a bit more he might find more decent passes finding their way to him with him finding himself facing forwards and in space, instead of coming inside all the time and getting in the way of the other midfielders.

Alot of the time I think this ithe main problem because the others can't keep up with Emerton and haven't got a clue where he is going with the ball, thus leaving him with nobody to pass to and ultimately facing the wrong way or being tackled and out of position.

I have to disagree somewhat Mr Kayos. The passes to him were poor and two or three yards behind him. Surely we pass to players as a physical presence not to a space where a player is supposed to be, for the most part.

But thats what I'm trying to say USA (maybe not so clear)

Because of his annoying habit of not being where as a player you would probably expect him to /should be. The rest are having to pass to him in a more difficult area or are rushed into making it and there have been so many times since last season where we have been stringing some flowing passes together (when ) acrosss the pitch or counter attacking and this breaks down because Ferguson/Tugay etc look up to the right/left and the Barbie Prawn muncher is not there.

Not saying it is entirely his fault but he doesn't help the cause by cutting inside 90% of the time and spriting off on a diagonal crossing the path of other players or breaking their stride thus cocking up the momentum of the move

Just watch how many times he has to track back with his passing/runs.

[Ozz]

Where was Nissa?