[Archived] Bolton (Home) Preview

[longsiders1882]

Hull and Burnley for me. Burnley's next 3 home games are their only realistically winnable games...

Hard to call. Portsmouth of course with a 9 point penalty. Then I guess it is between us, hull, wolves, bolton and wigan - though it is possible for Sunderland to get pulled in as well. Bolton were 3 points behind us when Coyle left with 3 games in hand - now they have the same points as us and have played 3 games more in the intervening weeks. Hull have had some great results recently and certainly look more capable of fighting for the points than we do. Wigan - just can't decide on them. Wolves, perhaps like us, lack a little additional quality. If we don't win those next 3 home games we have pretty much no chance and even then it still looks difficult. Still ever the optimist I'll assume we will work a miracle and plump for Hull and Bolton to go with Portsmouth.

[T4E]

Was it Santa away to Wigan when we lost 5-3?

[RovertheHill]

Hard to call. Portsmouth of course with a 9 point penalty. Then I guess it is between us, hull, wolves, bolton and wigan - though it is possible for Sunderland to get pulled in as well. Bolton were 3 points behind us when Coyle left with 3 games in hand - now they have the same points as us and have played 3 games more in the intervening weeks. Hull have had some great results recently and certainly look more capable of fighting for the points than we do. Wigan - just can't decide on them. Wolves, perhaps like us, lack a little additional quality. If we don't win those next 3 home games we have pretty much no chance and even then it still looks difficult. Still ever the optimist I'll assume we will work a miracle and plump for Hull and Bolton to go with Portsmouth.

If you win those next 3 home games and one more "unexpected" game (there's usually one) that will give you 35 points. I'd say you need another 3 on top of that from the other 8 games, maybe 4 because of your goal difference. Bolton have more winnable fixtures I think. However, it could be Pompey that decides your fate because I think all of the teams in the mix play them at one point.

[47er]

Not really, Dougie missed most of that season with injury and for us he was irreplaceable. Prior to that on our day we were a goal scoring machine. In 1963-64 Pickering and McEvoy scored EIGHT hat-tricks between them in league and cup. Any body like to tell me how long ago our last hat-trick was , I've forgotten.

Bentley?-v Manu? Still the only player to score a Premier League Hat-trick against them!

Yes-maybe it was Santa. Still good to remember the Bentley one though!

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Hard to call. Portsmouth of course with a 9 point penalty. Then I guess it is between us, hull, wolves, bolton and wigan - though it is possible for Sunderland to get pulled in as well. Bolton were 3 points behind us when Coyle left with 3 games in hand - now they have the same points as us and have played 3 games more in the intervening weeks. Hull have had some great results recently and certainly look more capable of fighting for the points than we do. Wigan - just can't decide on them. Wolves, perhaps like us, lack a little additional quality. If we don't win those next 3 home games we have pretty much no chance and even then it still looks difficult. Still ever the optimist I'll assume we will work a miracle and plump for Hull and Bolton to go with Portsmouth.

Its a tough one to call this season. IMO Burnley played well in patches against Villa - but lack a cutting edge and have a suicidal defence. To be honest that summed up Bolton for me. I wonder what the link is between the two teams ?

For me Bolton have enough battlers like Davies - who still know how to play "ugly" football to get them out of their current predicament. Funny thing is - I think there biggest problem could be OC - the squad has been brought up on a totally different brand of football - and these things take time to change. As Ince found out - the Premiership isn't always the best place to find your feet in top flight management. I think Burnley were in decline before OC left - so do wonder whether he is the new managerial messiah or just a naught boy (one of the funniest flags seen at a match in recent years).

To get out of it - Burnley need to start scoring spectacular goals - like at the start of the season (and end of last). To be honest - it may be a bridge too far - but there is enough poor teams in the Premiership for them to have hope.

[yoda]

So there doesn't look like there is a definition for ugly football,

just some paassing journo's label against a team that has just spanked his bum chum.

tabloid journo's come and go, BRFC are forever

[yoda]

So there doesn't look like there is a definition for ugly football,

just some paassing journo's label against a team that has just spanked his bum chum again!

tabloid journo's come and go, BRFC are forever

[roversmum]

Don't think Sam is too happy about it being called 'ugly' either.

[Fife Rover]

Hard to call. Portsmouth of course with a 9 point penalty. Then I guess it is between us, hull, wolves, bolton and wigan - though it is possible for Sunderland to get pulled in as well. Bolton were 3 points behind us when Coyle left with 3 games in hand - now they have the same points as us and have played 3 games more in the intervening weeks. Hull have had some great results recently and certainly look more capable of fighting for the points than we do. Wigan - just can't decide on them. Wolves, perhaps like us, lack a little additional quality. If we don't win those next 3 home games we have pretty much no chance and even then it still looks difficult. Still ever the optimist I'll assume we will work a miracle and plump for Hull and Bolton to go with Portsmouth.

Well I for one (probably the ONLY one) on here hope your lot do it Longsiders. I would much rather keep the Derby games going than see you go down. We Need the guaranteed 6 points!!

[thenodrog]

Don't think Sam is too happy about it being called 'ugly' either.

Sam in't Telegraph.....

“We don’t play the long ball. People need to concentrate on reality rather than perception. It is an easy thing for people to say about us but it isn’t correct.

“People just think Sam Allardyce and long ball but that is not fair on my players. We are playing some good stuff at times, perhaps they should get more credit.

“It is not my players fault, it is mine. Actually no, it is you guys who write about perception and not reality.”

Is there a notice board in't Walmesley?

Methinks old Nicko needs to do a quick grovelling retraction for the good of his career. We all know such a thing will certainly not come easy to him. And I don't think snooty advice to Sam to 'Read the entire article' will suffice in this instance.

[nicko]

OK, for the hard of hearing...I will repeat.

There is no mention of 'long balls' in the match report. The lady doth protest too much.

The report says that Rovers played for throw-ins and set-pieces as a way of pinning Bolton back for the start of the game and set the pattern. If you want to watch the game again you will see that tactic was used...and worked.

It was a similar tactic to the one used against Wigan and Hull. Push the opposition back, get it in their box.

In the Wigan game the keeper came for a free kick he should have left - you take the lead.

In the Hull game their defence found it hard to clear at any stage of the game.

It's an effective tactic.

On Sunday it was like watching Big Sam's Bolton when they did what they did best...exploit a weakness and see if it breaks.

The second and third goals, incidentally, came from set-plays that were not dealt with defensively.

So it worked.

[super_arran]

OK, for the hard of hearing...I will repeat.

There is no mention of 'long balls' in the match report. The lady doth protest too much.

The report says that Rovers played for throw-ins and set-pieces as a way of pinning Bolton back for the start of the game and set the pattern. If you want to watch the game again you will see that tactic was used...and worked.

It was a similar tactic to the one used against Wigan and Hull. Push the opposition back, get it in their box.

In the Wigan game the keeper came for a free kick he should have left - you take the lead.

In the Hull game their defence found it hard to clear at any stage of the game.

It's an effective tactic.

On Sunday it was like watching Big Sam's Bolton when they did what they did best...exploit a weakness and see if it breaks.

The second and third goals, incidentally, came from set-plays that were not dealt with defensively.

So it worked.

So the term "ugly" is kind of like saying we fight dirty and use clever tactics.

Eg. If you were fighting with someone and you knew they had a dicky knee, you'd go for the knee first then press on for the knock out?

[BigUts]

Keep digging Nicko!

[yoda]

OK, for the hard of hearing...I will repeat.

There is no mention of 'long balls' in the match report. The lady doth protest too much.

The report says that Rovers played for throw-ins and set-pieces as a way of pinning Bolton back for the start of the game and set the pattern. If you want to watch the game again you will see that tactic was used...and worked.

It was a similar tactic to the one used against Wigan and Hull. Push the opposition back, get it in their box.

In the Wigan game the keeper came for a free kick he should have left - you take the lead.

In the Hull game their defence found it hard to clear at any stage of the game.

It's an effective tactic.

On Sunday it was like watching Big Sam's Bolton when they did what they did best...exploit a weakness and see if it breaks.

The second and third goals, incidentally, came from set-plays that were not dealt with defensively.

So it worked.

Ever thought of going into politics nicko?

bury the sore point with a load of tripe to head em off at the pass and hope people forget what the original problem was

You called it UGLY just because your mate got spanked again by the boys in Blue and White

[nicko]

Ever thought of going into politics nicko?

bury the sore point with a load of tripe to head em off at the pass and hope people forget what the original problem was

You called it UGLY just because your mate got spanked again by the boys in Blue and White

It's funny how people get touchy about style.

Your fans have been moaning about it all season. That's a view that has to be resppected because they pay their money and go and watch.

Your manager doesn't like being called 'long ball' [when in fact that expression was not used].

Just accept it for what it is - and what the report said.

You play it well, it works, you have survived.

[LeChuck]

...

dig dig dig dig dig dig

...

There was only one team providing any sort of entertainment on Sunday, and that was Rovers. In fact, we probably produced more moments of excitement than Bolton, City and Liverpool combined that weekend.

I fail to see how that is ugly. Do you know Bolton had five more free kicks than ourselves? I can't find any stats on throw-ins or corners unfortunately. Personally I don't think we're getting more than other teams, we're just putting them to better use so ours stick in the memory more.

[yoda]

It's funny how people get touchy about style.

Your fans have been moaning about it all season. That's a view that has to be resppected because they pay their money and go and watch.

Your manager doesn't like being called 'long ball' [when in fact that expression was not used].

Just accept it for what it is - and what the report said.

You play it well, it works, you have survived.

who said style?

you wrote it was ugly, a derogotory term in the context that you wrote it,

1st rule when in a hole

throw the spade away

[thenodrog]

There is no mention of 'long balls' in the match report. The lady doth protest too much.

'Balls felt' might be the order of the day next time you are one on one with the big fella.

Alas poor Alan.

Personally your obvious intention to divert blame from Coyle to his players is rather tranparent imo. You need to employ more subtlety.

[longsiders1882]

However, it could be Pompey that decides your fate because I think all of the teams in the mix play them at one point.

True - and I have a horrible feeling they will beat us this weekend.

Its a tough one to call this season. IMO Burnley played well in patches against Villa - but lack a cutting edge and have a suicidal defence. To be honest that summed up Bolton for me. I wonder what the link is between the two teams ?

For me Bolton have enough battlers like Davies - who still know how to play "ugly" football to get them out of their current predicament. Funny thing is - I think there biggest problem could be OC - the squad has been brought up on a totally different brand of football - and these things take time to change. As Ince found out - the Premiership isn't always the best place to find your feet in top flight management. I think Burnley were in decline before OC left - so do wonder whether he is the new managerial messiah or just a naught boy (one of the funniest flags seen at a match in recent years).

To get out of it - Burnley need to start scoring spectacular goals - like at the start of the season (and end of last). To be honest - it may be a bridge too far - but there is enough poor teams in the Premiership for them to have hope.

We did well enough against Villa for 50 minutes - then our defence took over. We gifted them their first 3 goals and you can say whatever you want about the way Sams teams play but I cannot ever imagine one of his teams being so badly organised defensively. We had not won in 9 when Coyle left.

Well I for one (probably the ONLY one) on here hope your lot do it Longsiders. I would much rather keep the Derby games going than see you go down. We Need the guaranteed 6 points!!

Cheers Fife - like yourself I enjoy the derbies and the anticipation they generate. One more season in this division could make a huge difference to our future so I'll carry on hoping.

So there doesn't look like there is a definition for ugly football,

just some paassing journo's label against a team that has just spanked his bum chum.

tabloid journo's come and go, BRFC are forever

Ugly football for me is what Hughes played in that first half a season when he came in and saved you from the drop. It really wasn't pretty but it was needed. After that he I thought he created a good blend of football and aggresion, knew when to play it, when to rough it and when to go direct. I often wondered what is the difference between Paul Robinson kicking the ball all the way up the field and landing it right where the runner is going, referred to as 'long ball' and Beckham pinging a 60/70 yard ball into the same area, usually described as a 'brilliant crossfield pass'.

Frankly I'd take 12 games of what we used to call 'Cotterball' from now until the end of the season if it kept us up - trouble is I don't think we have the players to play that way.

[gumboots]

Well I for one (probably the ONLY one) on here hope your lot do it Longsiders. I would much rather keep the Derby games going than see you go down. We Need the guaranteed 6 points!!

Not the only one Fife. My daughter's very nice boyfriend has one major fault - he is a Burnley season ticket holder and so, for the fun we get out of watching him suffer, I'd like to see Burnley stay up.

[nicko]

Personally your obvious intention to divert blame from Coyle to his players is rather tranparent imo. You need to employ more subtlety.

You seem to have some problem with language and understanding. So I will speak slowly.

What part of these phrases do you not get?

taught a painful lesson in the art of survival football...woeful...powder-puff...far too effective for a side that looks painfully short of pace and power...lost that nasty edge...accepted their fate all too readily...made the Bolton back line disappear with just one clever intervention by Pedersen...need to remember how to scrap...

That's diverting blame, is it?

[yoda]

You seem to have some problem with language and understanding. So I will speak slowly.

What part of these phrases do you not get?

taught a painful lesson in the art of survival football...woeful...powder-puff...far too effective for a side that looks painfully short of pace and power...lost that nasty edge...accepted their fate all too readily...made the Bolton back line disappear with just one clever intervention by Pedersen...need to remember how to scrap...

That's diverting blame, is it?

Nicko,

We don't get the glaring ommision in that post,

You are in UGLY denial

get some therapy man

[JWUpper]

nelsen out for 6 weeks according to sky!

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11676_5977007,00.html

[tonyoz]

The more Lancashire teams in the Premier League the better surely?

Misty eyed nostalgia or what? We were far from being a joy to watch in 65/66. We got the lowest points total ever for the top division.

We had a good cup run though................my first 2 away matches ever were WHU and Norwich........both drawn and then won in the replay at home.

[tonyoz]

Was it Santa away to Wigan when we lost 5-3?

I reckon you're right..............and I was there, sigh!