[Archived] Bolton (Home) Preview

[CrazyIvan]

One player who hasn't been mentioned so far is Salgado. He looked to me to have a solid game, seems to have adjusted to the PL now and certainly deserves to be in the team ahead of Chimbonda.

Definitely agree with that. He looks quality. His hair got wet today though...

[Presty On Tour]

BBC really are clueless.

The Owen Coyle interview video headlines Owen Coyle dwells on Burnley's missed chances!

My link

[Amo]

Think some of the Wanderers fans are growing disillusioned with Coyle already - playing at "Sammy Lee levels - a point every other game" and "at least Gary Megson knew the issues which need to be resolved" etc.

Ha, be careful what you wish for, eh? Coyle will need time to imprint his style on the team. Whether he is afforded that and at what cost remains to be seen. I thought they were lacklustre today, and playing in front of us allowed the midfield an easier time protecting the back four.

[MarkBRFC71]

Was the goal not dross having come from a cushioned header from Pedersen after a Hoilett long-ball? I agree that we need to play football.....but we ARE and we are mixing it up absolutely fine. It was good, hard, effective football and as good as some of Hughes' stuff too. If you expect us to be arsenal, then go and support the frenchies (altho to be fair, we have many french speakers in our squad haha).

I don't expect Arsenal, but then I don't expect us to play like John Beck's Cambridge from the old Division Two. The first goal was the ONE bright spot in the first half, in which only one team was trying to play football and it wasn't Rovers.

As I said in the second half we were much improved, and it was almost entirely down to the fact we switched to 2 up front, didn't rely on the long ball all the time, mixed up our play for the first time in ages, and allowed our players to, well, PLAY a bit. The first half type of football was ineffective and boring, the second half far more on the right lines. If we play the rest of the season like the first half, then we might pick up 1 or 2 points at best. If we play like the second half (crucially with TWO strikers because Niko looks far and away a better player when he has a partner) then we might break to top 10.

Hey, based on the second half, I'm cautiously optimistic - what more do you want?!

[sambo]

Bolton are awful, today they were hideous!

Kalinic, MGP, Ollsson, Givet were all fantastic.

Dingle, what's the score?!

[Eddie]

Agree with most, great result, good performance and some nice things to take away (MGP, Kalinic, Olsson and Hoilett in particular).

[Guest Kamy100]

Great result and a very important three points.

The Dubai break had the intended effect, particularly in the last 20 minutes as Bolton faded badly and we looked strong.

Sam got his tactics spot on, especially in the second half. Bolton were getting on top, so he decided to go 4-4-2, and it worked we took control and could have had 6 had it not been for their keeper. Special mention to Andrews, was very nervous seeing him at the back, but he did as well as can be expected from someone playing totally out of position.

We are most likely 3 points from safety, unless the teams at the bottom suddenly all have amazing winning runs, it would great if we can put up some sort of positive performances against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham.

Well done to all of the fans who made it to Ewood. It was fffffffreezing.

[thenodrog]

Spit and Andrews ...awsme...

Partly foot in mouth time Abbey. Diouff imo was 3rd in line behind Givet and Kalinic for MoM.

...... whilst I think we might have found the new Beckenbaur in Julie!

[LeChuck]

Think again, we only actually started playing anything resembling football today when we switched to 4-4-2. The first half was just, dire, boring, one-dimensional, percentage-based hoofball in its purest and ugliest form. The second half was much better, the players looked far more comfortable playing an orthodox 4-4-2, and Roberts took some of the pressure off Niko and allowed him to show there's more to his game than just chasing after aimless punts upfield.

First half, 2 out of 10 - second half 7 out of 10.

2 out of 10 for a first half that where we were leading and in control? I've read your posts on the subject of formations before, so luckily I expect that kind of post.

Bolton opened up more as the game went on, that's why we were able to carve out more chances as the game wore on. The second totally took the wind of their sails too, and allowed us to be more relaxed.

[brfcs5359]

Bolton are awful, today they were hideous!

Kalinic, MGP, Ollsson, Givet were all fantastic.

Dingle, what's the score?!

Totally agree. Poor Bolton team today. Tougher tests coming up following Stoke last week. Wasn't the team I would have picked but that's football. I'd like to see fewer changes. Andrews was poor at CH (right in front of us) but it's not his position.

Kalinic's best game so far. Dunn on as sub too.

[modes98]

Its because Sam wants to play hoof it forward percentage football!!

Hoofball? The first goal was a brilliant move and the other 2 were from set pieces. Whatever it is we are playing at home it is working and I am happy if it continues to work.

Also just remind me how Chelsea scored their 2 goals yesterday? That's right Petr Cech to the forwards and they did the rest. Every team plays "hoofball", apart from Arsenal.

[DE.]

Fantastic result today in terrible conditions. We're a force at Ewood, and no team will fancy coming here to face us.

Robbo was superb today, Kalinic was dangerous, EHD put in another good shift and nobody really had a bad game. Not too bothered about Nelsen's injury - I think Givet (who also had an excellent game today) and Samba are a better centre-back combination anyway. Keef played surprisingly well in defence, though that is no doubt in part due to Bolton's attack being so utterly toothless. Still, Keith's versatility has come in handy both this season and last season.

An overall good performance, but how bad are Bolton? Crap under Megson, somehow worse under Coyle. He's clearly trying to implement his style on a team that cannot or do not want to change. They looked confused and insipid out there, and Elmander is Grabbi-esque in terms of wasted money. How good does our Niko look in comparison? I think Coyle may regret going to Bolton soon enough, and would not be surprised now to see both Bolton and Burnley go down.

I think we've earned enough points now to stop worrying about relegation. If players like MGP & EHD continue their resurgence in form we may even start to take some points away from Ewood.

I hope we take this positivity forward now and get a result at Anfield

[Iceman]

(Please don't use that word again) the moaners, we won end of! Bring on the Europa league. Salgado was good again, Andrews did a bloody good job as a centre half and Givet was back to his old self. Up the Rovers!

[ROVERS]

its time we give Andrews some credit............ it is just like a touching movie script ( everybody hates him, but he continues to love everybody....... and on one fine day, he saves everybody, and everybody started cheering for him, and he shed a tear or two in front of everybody ) am just wondering if he would shed a tear or two in real life , if crowd at edwood started chanting his name and supporting him...........

besides those in the limelight, plese do not forget the contributions from the young lad N'Zonzi, his long range pass is actually rather impressive. Grella also had a good game.

Bring on Basturk, suddenly our central midfirld actually looks good... haha

[Balwer]

Good all round performance, poor old Keef started out a little shaky at CH but got better as the game wore on. I honestly would like to keep him as a permanent sub, just because he is quite versatile, but I really don't want him starting except when there's a fair few injuries.

[Rovermatt]

I sat all on my own at the back of the pub round the corner to watch today's game. I have to say I'm thrilled with the result, 3-0 in a local derby is a very respectable outcome.

As for the game itself I thought we acquitted ourselves very well in increasingly difficult conditions. From front to back we were excellent.

Robinson: Another outstanding performance. He had quite a bit to do in spite of the dreadful opposition but clearly breathed confidence into a patched-up defence. He made two brilliant saves from Taylor and Lee.

Salgado: A very classy performance from the decorated veteran - no nonsense, tough as old boots and a lot more up for up for a sturdy challenge than his storied heritage suggests. I was hugely impressed.

Nelsen: He was doing very well until injury took hold in the first half.

Givet: Mountainous performance from the Frenchman. I'd love to see him sneak into a relatively average national side in time for the World Cup. His goal capped a stellar afternoon.

Olsson: Another buccaneering turn from the young lad. He's developing into a very good player.

Pedersen: He worked hard and put himself about. He continues to perform far above the levels we have become used to. His long throws are consistently threatening and his low cross from a free kick in the second half was brilliantly executed. The header for Kalinic's opener was perfectly weighted.

N'Zonzi: Once again I found him to be the premier performer in our midfield. He's unspectacular but increasingly assured and confident in possession. It's nice to see a Rovers player committed to treating the ball with care and attention. Having said that he has no problem putting the boot into the opposition or clearing the ball out of the ground. In my opinion he's one of the finds of the season. I'm not sure the comparisons to Vieira are too wide of the mark.

Andrews: Games pass him by regularly and he's clearly playing above his capability but I have to commend him on a steady performance. My heart sank when I saw him being shifted to centre half but he did his job well enough to stop Bolton scoring. He'll be no loss when we eventually get rid but on today's showing I can have no complaints.

Diouf: A typically snarling performance from a guy who resembles a panto villain every time he turns out. In spite of all his histrionics, he doesn't actually do very much. Two moments stood out though. In the first half he executed a beautiful piece of control on the left wing before playing a screamingly simple pass too far in front of the galloping Olsson. In the second half his cross for Givet's goal was outstanding. He was pretty invisible aside from these instances though he is extremely adept at retaining the ball in close quarters.

Hoillet: He was lively in patches but remains raw. His pass in the build up to Kalinic's goal was brilliant and he was very unfortunate to have his spectacular header saved by Jaaskelainen after a delicious move. He needs work but is clearly a talent.

Kalinic: He looks more assured with every game. He's playing up front on his own yet he never complains, works his socks off and the ball sticks to him like glue when he receives it with his back to goal. Yes his goal was deflected but Lev Yashin in his pomp wouldn't have stopped the original shot.

Subs - Grella: Didn't really put a foot wrong and indeed got stuck in to protect his exposed defence. A far superior player to Andrews, it is a pity his fitness is so suspect.

Roberts: A real positive note in the game. His usual muscular play was rewarded with a much deserved goal from a brilliant finish.

Dunn: Nothing to say really.

I haven't really watched much of Bolton this season but I have to say I was shocked by how bad they were. They made our back four look like Milan of the mid 90s. Relegation beckons methinks. With any luck the Dingles will be joining them.

[den]

Partly foot in mouth time Abbey. Diouff imo was 3rd in line behind Givet and Kalinic for MoM.

...... whilst I think we might have found the new Beckenbaur in Julie!

Strange there aren't more posts about Diouf Gord . The last two home games he's been excellent. Gives us something non of the others do - the ability to keep posession when under pressure. Well done to the lad. Great after match interview as well.

A thoroughly professional performance today against a rally poor Bolton side. A reflection of how poor they were, was the lack of a cutting edge against a back four of Salgado, Givet, Andrews and Olssen. A better team would have given us more problems than Bolton could. Not the greatest game in terms of quality football, but there are reasons for that. Anyway, it all turned out easy enough, so all credit to Allardyce for somehow getting this squad as far as he has.

[Steve Moss]

I don't see many more coming this season. if we pick up more than 6 points now i'll be delighted. I'm very happy today but there will lots to worry about before the end of the season we really have a tuff run in.

Plenty of possible wins:

Liverpool (A)- weaker than they've been in a long time.

Tottenham (A)- an erratic squad and my first in person game.

Chelsea (H)- a great team, but we'll be at home and we've upset them at Ewood before.

Birmingham (H)- winnable.

Burnley (A)- very winnable.

Portsmouth (A)- very very winnable.

ManU (H)- if we can take it to Chelsea, we can take it to ManU.

Everton (H)- a good squad but they're on our home turf.

Wolves (A)- winnable.

Arsenal (H)- If we become bully boys we can get something.

Aston Villa (A)- How many times have we played them this season? Regardless I'm lookiing forward to the rematch. We should've won the last encounter.

I'm thinking at least 12 points from the above games, maybe more. The Rovers seem that they're finally coming into their own and I believe we can upset one or three of the big boys, especially at home.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Great result and a solid performance. The lads did the job today against a very poor Bolton side who are short on confidence and will be fighting for survival.

Kalinic was my man of the match. Tremendous work-rate from the youngster and a well deserved goal, some of his control and technique when he turned with his back towards goal was top class. A fair few supporters have been crying out in recent games for him to get some support from the midfield and to vary the balls to him instead of just going the hit and hope aerial route. Today the support and passing to him was a lot better and his performance reflected that.

Whilst today's win doesn't mathematically guarantee survival its going to take a freakish set of results for us to go down. Once survival is 100% guaranteed I hope we press on to see how high we can finish, considering our budget every place really does mean a lot.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Must be the only fan base in the world that has people complaining after a three nil win over a local rival.

Crazy isn't...this team cant do right for doing wrong in the eyes of some FFS!

Enjoy the win.

WELL DONE SAM AND THE BLUE 'N' WHITE BOYS!

[Bobby G]

Would the money we get over and above finishing 15th (our budgeted finish) be provided to Sam to spend?

We could be talking about 4-5 million pounds potentially.

[Ossydave]

Few sidenotes:

Awful policing in the Fernhurst after the game

If anyone saw my topless mate in N01 I can only apologise

[hollowsr]

Great result for us today and that is us now safe, I could see about 34pts being all that is needed this year and that's not to say I don't think we will get any more points.

I thought we would only draw today before kick off and that didn't change once I saw Diouf and Andrews were playing but I think Diouf played well and Andrews gave CB a good go today, he knew he wasn't going to win headers against Davies and co so waited for the second ball, though he did do his random running towards the opposition at times and then retreat

I called for Givet to get MoM as he was great today and definitely CB is his best position but still not sure if Olsson is ready for LB duty as he wasn't pushed at all really today in defensive duties.

I didn't think the 1st half was that bad to be honest unlike some on here and thought it was quite entertaining even though most of their chances came from mistakes or sloppy play. I know many people don't like the 4-5-1 but no one can say it isn't working, we tried 4-4-2 and that didn't work. I wonder when the last time we won our 4 home games on the run in the league was? EDIT: It was only earlier this season

Robinson did well in what he had to do making saves at crucial times and seemed to love the adoration by the Darwen End towards the end of the match and you could tell at the end of the game it meant a lot to him. Has to be in that 23 in my opinion.

Salgado had a good game and can see why he has dislodged Chimbonda, covered well and you can see why he was with Madrid for 11 years.

Kalinic is fast becoming a fans favourite and reminds me of a certain Mr Jansen in some ways. Very impressed with how he held the ball up at times today.

Think we were fortunate with the back 4 as it was that Bolton were poor going forward but they did what was needed and that is all you can ask. Also for those saying Chimbonda playing at CB, do you remember Arsenal earlier this season?

All in all I think we were wrong about Sam and do think it was a good thing he won that Fulham game but also believe it was partly down to no one good being about who could take over. I was one of the ones who did want him gone but he has turned it around well and so he deserves credit for that as well as credit for giving Niko time to develop and to make sure he was ready before putting him in.

Would the money we get over and above finishing 15th (our budgeted finish) be provided to Sam to spend?

We could be talking about 4-5 million pounds potentially.

I thought I'd read that we had budgeted for 13th place this year? Which ever it is Williams has implied that the higher up the league the more money is to spend.

[Iceman]

Forget that Bolton are a poor team, because we still had to finish them off. Bring on the scousers!

[Ossydave]

What happened to the fella all the SJA lads were round? Seemed a fuss about nothing.