TRFC 0-1 Bolton

[Ian]

Well, is anyone that surprised that we are out?
Probably not..

The performance was better than Saturdays, but we just weren't strong enough to break them down.

First half was more enterprising than the second as Bolton pushed forward a bit more in the second, but I was a little disappointed with the little we created.

It seems like there was a lot of passing going on and not much getting forward. When we did have a chance to cross or get the ball into the box, there was no-one up front. Think we sat too deep.

Defensively, we were OK. Ash Taylor did well with Goodison in the middle and even Edds did OK.

However, some players need to step up and take responsibility instead of look for an easy pass. We managed a few efforts at the end of the game in the last minute of injury time!

If I'm honest, it wasn't a tough game for Bolton. They may have lacked a bit of confidence but they didn't have to do too much for the win. Jaaskelainen was hardly tested.

Definately need more power up front. Three game, no goals.. The arrival of Bain and the fitness of Ricketts could be the key.

Back to the league then.. :roll:

 

[TRFCJason]

There's always next year, was there a big crowd?

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Not surprised we went out of the cup, but disappointed with the way we played. I have to say I'm all for the passing football. But the players aren't doing it as well as I'm sure they can. They're just not playing well enough and thus confidence is down.

Taking too long on the ball, playing passes to a man under pressure who then loses the ball, or worse still giving the ball away unnecessarily. Players like Welsh and McLaren and Mahon are all experienced players and they do have quality imo and shouldn't be giving the ball away as much as they have been.

We didn't really put Notlob under any pressure which was disappointing. No real pressure on the ball when they had it. Least you should expect when playing higher quality opposition. We gave them too long on the ball, although they never really threatened us too often. Build up play was too slow, making an extra pass at times, and the final ball was terrible or we just never had anyone in the box to make anything of it.

Ricketts showed a few good touches when he came on, but have you seen the state of him. He's meant to be a professional footballer, but to say he's a bit immobile would be a great understatement. Fitness should be the main priority if you want to make it in the game and he looks incredibly unfit.

Special mention for Chris Shuker... DREADFUL. A winger who cannot cross, cannot take on his man and had a complete and utter stinker. Barnett would be a far better option for us imo.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

There's always next year, was there a big crowd?

Erm... in a word... NO! :lol: Not seen the figure but would say about an average gate or maybe bit less, around 5000 perhaps?

 

[DWaltz]

Attendance was 5,300.

On to my assessment of the game and I dont think we did that bad. We kept the ball but yeah maybe we did miss a spark going forward. Curran was awful yet again. Ricketts good touches but I cannot press Scoops opinion anymore, immobile is just not the world he looked like my dad trying to play 5-a-side. Gornell worked hard but that was about it.

I think saying we didnt test them much is a bit unfair because we are playing against their full strength defence. Cahill is one of best central defenders in country, Knight is experienced, Ricketts is good at right back and so is Samuel at left back. I mean what do you expect a 18 year old Gornell to do against that back four? There isnt a lot he can do.

I disagree about Welsh, hes been one of our better players. McLaren has been poor since coming back, last time he was here before Bradford he hardly gave the ball away think the move was awful for him he seems so down on confidence.

Shuker huffs and puffs but he is just too lightweight and has very little pace. Mahon looks quality at times when on the ball but we need to get him on the ball more, he needs to play central.

Ash did okay but I still think he is at least a season away from playing centre half. We desperately need a centre half. Eddsy did well at right back. Thought the game was fairly even tonight but they created more chances but come on, our squad out there was a combined price (including subs) of £0. Boltons squad including subs must have been at least £30million.

What do people think of this team below (as a suggestion):

Daniels

Edds Goodison Broomes Cresswell

Logan Welsh Mahon Barnett

Gornell/Moore/Bain (2 of 3)

Subs:
Collister
Taylor
Shuker
McLaren
Ricketts
Curran
Gornell/Moore/Bain (1 of 3)

Edds did well at right back so drop Shukes for Logan on right wing? Logan is class going forward and can get back. Barnett on left and move Mahon inside with Welsh holding. Then hopefully if Bain is half decent him with Moore or Gornell is a good partnership. Broomes and Goody can do well at centre back I feel and then with that team the subs bench has a bit more weight in it (not because of Ricketts haha) rather than people like Macauley who arent ready.

 

[TRFCJason]

What do people think of this team below (as a suggestion):

Daniels

Edds Goodison Broomes Cresswell

Logan Welsh Mahon Barnett

Gornell/Moore/Bain (2 of 3)

Subs:
Collister
Taylor
Shuker
McLaren
Ricketts
Curran
Gornell/Moore/Bain (1 of 3)

I think its worth a game or 2 have you emailed Mr Barns with your suggestion

 

[DWaltz]

Haha no, have u got his email? haha

 

[TRFCJason]

No, but i know where he lives

 

[SonkORLY?]

Curran was awful yet again.

What did he do wrong? Pretty hard up-front when you get no service whatsoever. Thought both strikers were quiet for this reason.

We were ok today. Bolton were incredibly poor with the ball but defended well, limiting us to a few half-chances at best. I thought we defended pretty well too, Daniels is amazing...Edds had one of his better games in a white shirt, Taylor and Goodison played well (apart from the godawful mixup for their goal - wtf?) and Cressa continues to impress on the left. Mclaren and Welsh have shown that they have the ability to pick out good passes, but need to do this a higher percentage of the time than they have done thus far. Despite showing flashes of quality, Mahon still seems to find it hard to really get involved whilst playing wide left. On the other flank, Shuker should be dropped and replaced by Barnett. Ricketts showed some nice touches when he came on, seems very good with the ball at his feet for a big bloke, a bit like Savage without the likeability and general fitness to match. Would probably score more goals than our Bas though.

I'll continue to cry for a flat 4-4-2 with either Welsh/Mclaren alongside a more attack-minded central midfielder...

 

[DIW]

I'd agree with most of what's been said. We did find it impossible to break them down, Curran and Gornell totally out of their depth against those defenders. Rickets showed a bit more quality when he came on but clearly cannot start a game at the moment as his fitness is non-existent. We missed Moore up there really as he has a little bit more intelligence and football brain.
Ash Taylor did well which was a plus, as did Cresswell and Edds. Shuker was awful again and must be on borrowed time in the starting lineup. The passing game was nice to watch at times but reminded me of Liverpool in the mid 90's (can't think why) pass and move, pass and move but never actually get anywhere.
Back to the league on Saturday - no goals in the last three games which is a concern.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Short of kidnapping Shuker it doesn't seem possible to keep him away from the starting XI. I never understood why Ronnie played him so much. His best spell came when he played in the middle, off the centre forward. He's a luxury we still can't afford.

 

[Boz]

I didn't go last night for various reasons, foremost of which being that I honestly didn't think we stood a chance of winning. In fact the result was better than I expected. Instead, I listened to the commentary on Radio 5, all the 1st half and about 10 minutes of the 2nd until they decided to go off somewhere more exciting.

The pundits highlighted the same point as SonkORLY? namely the lack of quality ball through to the front men, given the physical disadvantage our forwards had against the Bolton central defenders. I got the impression that Welsh and to a lesser extent Mahon did try giving the likes of Curran something to run on to. McLaren and Shuker seemed to be less proficient in this aspect last night.

Personally I expect more leeway to be given to the younger players than senior pros, and some of the latter have not been coming up with the goods. A starting line-up similar to the one that ended this game, apart from the seemingly gone to seed Ricketts, may be worth considering, though Logan merits a start if his toe is fixed.