Bolton Preview

[Flopsy]

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Great win

8th position now thanks to Sunderland beating Pompey.

3 pts and 20 goals from 4th place.

says it all really, even though we've been playing worse than me, we're still only 3 points from 4th.

I think some people need to calm the hell down and wonder whats going to happen when some of our players find their form again.

However, midfield looks light weight still.

[revolutionrock!]

Lets get some quality in the midfield and go from there.

Sidwell anyone?

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

About time Big Jase got his chance, I wanted him to stay before the match and even more so now.

[Lurid Coat]

God, that felt good. Thank you, Jason, for making this evening considerably more pleasant! Fully deserved three points, I think!

[Rover Down Under]

Judging by the players reaction to Roberts genius goal this is the turn around we have been looking for, the mass team huddle was amazing, I even joined in by hugging the tele!

Positives: We played OK, then better, then very well instead of poor, ###### poor then poo

Negatives: Benni Mac should be fined for making the WORST PASS EVER in the history of football - did you see it, my God what the hell was he thinking?

[Hasta]

A faily dross first half performance followed by a very good second. Bolton were poor all game but in the end we exposed that. Thought Morten played quite well. Midfield pairing were a bit disappointing but they didnt get forward as much as they could. I'm now fairly convinced the midfield two are told to hold rather than press on.

[Presty On Tour]

i really hope we can turn this around, 3 points at stake here and a victory would see us only 3 points behind 4th place.

c'mon rovers!!!

[modes98]

A very even first half, which we were quite poor.

Second half we dominated but gave them a few chances to get themselves back in it.

All credit to Roberts he has shown what an influence he can have on a game. Thats the Roberts that i would like to see playing for us and not against us. MGP was slow and reluctant to cross. The defence looked ok until they fell asleep on a couple of occasions.

I thought Benni was superb today, not everything worked for him but he put a hell of alot of effort into winning the ball and trying to put players through. The main chance he got he unluckily stood on the ball and had to pass it to MGP.

All round a good enough performance yet again and 3 points in the bag. Up to 8th and only 3 behind 4th now, hopefully the bad spell has ended.

[tony gale's mic]

i really hope we can turn this around, 3 points at stake here and a victory would see us only 3 points behind 4th place.

c'mon rovers!!!

[Presty On Tour]

the above post was sent at half time????

[philipl]

Apart from Nolan's super strike (we'd had forewarning about leaving that far side alone and hadn't heeded it), Rovers were comfortably the better side throughout that game.

Roberts' physicality made the difference today- I know I've been critical of the lad but he had the control to go with his presence and make all the difference.

No bad performances anywhere from any Rover and it was good to see Nelsen looking better than he has done for a while and whilst neither Dunn nor Reid could not find a decent pass to Roque or Benni between them, they held their own despite being out numbered by a physical Bolton midfield. Bolton were troubled a great deal by Bentley but MGP's lack of goals was highlighted by his hesitancy in front of goal.

Ref and officials were excellent today.

Very welcome three points- up one place and four points away from CL dreamland.

[Rovermatt]

What a performance second half. While we only threatened Jaaskelainen directly twice (and scored twice), we simply smothered them and the gulf in class was embarrassing. Credit must go to Roberts who produced the goods when called upon once again.

The conclusion to the first half was unbelievably depressing, but whatever Sparky said to the team at half time worked in exactly the manner it should have done.

[andrew92]

i really hope we can turn this around, 3 points at stake here and a victory would see us only 3 points behind 4th place.

c'mon rovers!!!

christ presty is still watching it! its over weve won! lol

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Judging by the players reaction to Roberts genius goal this is the turn around we have been looking for, the mass team huddle was amazing, I even joined in by hugging the tele!

Possibly the most important result of the season. We go into the 2nd half of the season within 3pts of the top 4. That result has told the teams around us that we are still there, we have had our minor blip and despite dodgy freak results, we are back on track and we aren't afraid to fight out a result against teams who are fighting for their survival. In previous seasons we would have struggled against teams fighting for their lives. We've shown that we are an improved team and we will use the fact that we are out of cup competitions to provide valuable rest to our players and be 100% committed to the FA Premier League with Mark Hughes leading the way.

[1864roverite]

Lets see the doom merchants papering the cracks etc.

That was a good 3 points to win. Lets face it, the game was never going to be high octane entertainment as we were playing Bolton.

Plenty of positives none too bigger than Jason Roberts. Gotta see that reaction at the end as the whole team were celebrating TOGETHER, that says to me the team spirit is back and well and truly alive.

I suppose the only negative is the lack of a decent midfield general. Both Dunny and Reidy did well, especially after injuries. MGP is an enigma, he just cannot buy a goal. I am certain that when he does score he will go an a decent goalscoring run.

The defence did okay IMO. Both Nelsen and Samba coped well with Davies, who I might add gives ANY defender a hard game when the ball is in the air.

We were a lot more compact in the second half and once we can get over giving too much ball away in the middle of the pitch Rovers will dominate more games than not.

So today leaves us in a good position. 3 points off 4th place, set in 8th spot and a positive goal difference.

Just listening to Roberts now on SSn, he is unsure as to where his future lies. All he wants to do is play football.

[tonygreenbank]

I hope the halftime posters are suitably embarrassed! Rovers style is to coast the first half and then with their superior fitness overrun the opposition in the second. I knew we would win this in the second half as we were so much better than them. Well done lads.

[1864roverite]

Oh, on a final note, I forgot to add that currently we are 10 points, yes thats TEN POINTS ahead of barcode united

[Plastic Head]

Gave this one a miss after last weeks debacle.

A draw was the minimum we should have had from a a poor and depleted Notlob, with what I consider is out best available team at present.

Hughes needs to give his half-time talk before the game. Not great today but certainly better, despite the poor opposition.

Friedel. Only one save to make apart from the goal.

Ooijer. Surely a better option than Emerton. Good game.

Warnock. Got forward more then recently and solid.

Samba. Again solid, scruffy but crucial goal.

Nelsen. Gave away needless free-kicks as usual and lost Davies a couple of times. Still think Zuarab's a better option at present.

Pedersen. Probably his best game of the season (not much to beat) but still wants too much time on the ball.

Dunn. Did OK. At least he's not Mokoena.

Reid. MOTM for me. Still a bit short but not far away now. Needs to keep fit and will be a massive boost for us.

Bentley. Not really his day but worked hard and unlucky with his 2 free-kicks.

Santa. Did his usual stuff. Poor servive to him today (not for the first time)

McCarthy. Kept trying. Went deep looking for the ball but that's not where he's best (it's up to the midfield to get the ball forward, not him)

Roberts. Physical presence caused Notlob probs from the minute he came on. Great persistance for the winner.

Zurab. Delivered a fantastic cross and wasn't up against Petrov today.

Derbs. Brought on to waste time but it didn't work.

Results much better than performances at the moment but signs of better things to come,

[Hasta]

I thought Benni was superb today, not everything worked for him but he put a hell of alot of effort into winning the ball and trying to put players through. The main chance he got he unluckily stood on the ball and had to pass it to MGP.

Your pulling my chain surely?

[modes98]

Ref and officials were excellent today.

Only 1 or 2 complaints. The lack of a yellow for Cohan in the 3rd minute, if he doesn't book him there then i don't see how he can book Samba later on. Both stonewall yellows but the time on the clock shouldn't matter one bit. Also he failed to spot the crafty Davies backing into Ryan everytime.

[andrew92]

ffs we won and u still moan about benni, give him a break, he did play ok, but hes a class player so he will get better

[doctorryan]

And that's what happens when you use Jason Roberts in one of the two situations his talents are best suited for in the Premier League: Coming on at the 60 minutes+ mark when we're behind or even and the other team's back 4 has been chasing the Mort-Benni-Rocky-Bents tandem for an hour and then have to try and deal with his pace and strength. Voilà! Goal

OR

Coming on at the 60 minutes+ mark when we're AHEAD and the other team's back 4 has been chasing the Mort-Benni-Rocky-Bents tandem for an hour and then have to try and move the ball forward while being annoyed by his pace and strength.

By the way, his price just went to £6m.

[Presty On Tour]

absolutely bouncing after that win, amazing celebrations everywhere when roberts scored.

if we could play 2 second half performances every game, we would be top of the league!

if hughes leaves now, i'll eat my hat

[1864roverite]

I am surprised tht noone has picked up on the spectacular crowd !

Just over 18000 !

Not bad for Bolton, we maon at our ground but there were 1100 Rovers fans there today making it just around 17000 home fans or so. Thats LOWER than our home games.

Its little wonder we had no visitors from Bolton on our site

[jim mk2]

Gave this one a miss after last weeks debacle.

A draw was the minimum we should have had from a a poor and depleted Notlob, with what I consider is out best available team at present.

Hughes needs to give his half-time talk before the game. Not great today but certainly better, despite the poor opposition.

Friedel. Only one save to make apart from the goal.

Ooijer. Surely a better option than Emerton. Good game.

Warnock. Got forward more then recently and solid.

Samba. Again solid, scruffy but crucial goal.

Nelsen. Gave away needless free-kicks as usual and lost Davies a couple of times. Still think Zuarab's a better option at present.

Pedersen. Probably his best game of the season (not much to beat) but still wants too much time on the ball.

Dunn. Did OK. At least he's not Mokoena.

Reid. MOTM for me. Still a bit short but not far away now. Needs to keep fit and will be a massive boost for us.

Bentley. Not really his day but worked hard and unlucky with his 2 free-kicks.

Santa. Did his usual stuff. Poor servive to him today (not for the first time)

McCarthy. Kept trying. Went deep looking for the ball but that's not where he's best (it's up to the midfield to get the ball forward, not him)

Roberts. Physical presence caused Notlob probs from the minute he came on. Great persistance for the winner.

Zurab. Delivered a fantastic cross and wasn't up against Petrov today.

Derbs. Brought on to waste time but it didn't work.

Results much better than performances at the moment but signs of better things to come,

Eh ?

Live in Darwen and give Rovers v Bolton game a miss ?

Pathetic