irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jan 29, 2020 13:13:42 GMT
Haven't done one of these for a while.
Brief Summary - We didn't so much chuck 2 points away as gleefully set them alight and post their ashes to an address in Canada.....seriously how on earth didn't we win this bloody game?! Read on for gubbins.
Context - I've only been to the 'Reebok' (everyone round here still calls it that) once before and it wasn't to watch us play there. I was more impressed than the last time I visited. There is no doubt that it looks pretty fantastic from a distance on the drive up to the ground and considering it was barely a third full and they are certain for relegation at this point I thought the Bolton fans created a reasonable atmosphere - certainly a better effort than fans seem to muster up at most of these new build grounds. It helped that they clearly felt they were getting a raw deal from the ref all night. Not much generated from our end which is hardly surprising given an 8PM Tuesday night game. £20 was surpisingly reasonable these days but it is ludicrous that there was nowhere you could pay on card for the away end (not even the ticket office allowed it) when you could clearly do so for home tickets. It also didn't match up for trains to Manchester unless you risked leaving early or having to wait an hour for the next one (why do they kick off at 8PM?) and there are few car parking options so you get rinced by that. Also took so long to get out of it we might as well have been playing in Birmingham for the time it took me to get back to Manchester. Overall though it is probably the best example of a stadium built in that era - one of the first new builds. I think they generally built them to a higher quality back then. Bloody hell it was cold though - perishing. I thought these wrap around grounds were supposed to protect you from driving winds - this one definitely didn't.
First Half - Prior to missing the Fleetwood game I'd been to 5 on the spin which is unheard of and what a terrible 5 to pick! Having lived through that run it was nice to see a Rovers team on the front foot and really putting the opposition under pressure. Yes, they were clearly terrible. But you can't take away from the fact that we played really well throughout this game. I thought we were particularly good in the first half. The midfield was comfortably dominating posession in the middle of the park which meant the 2 forward players were actually receiving the ball in promising positions for once. Having Ogogo and Clarke back in midfield made a notable difference to our physical presence and having Davies in the back 3 also improved the balance of the side because our centre backs were playing about 5 yards further up the pitch than they had in previous games. Ginelly was a bit of a revelation - how nice to see a Rovers player posing such a constant threat throughout. Very unlucky not to score with a smart long range effort, consistently managed to work the ball in behind their full backs and drew a booking. I've been critical of 3 at the back during this period because it obviously wasn't working with the players we had. But with this balance of side you could see how it can work. The full backs are still weak links but with a stronger midfield and a bit of support for JCH it worked well. In the long run I still wonder if Garner will try and transition us to a flat back 4 though - his signings so far suggest he'd like us to play with more width and we did last night because Ginelly was comfortable roving the whole field. Overall it was a good performance but we should have been 2 up - JCH missed what looked like a sitter and there were a few other decent chances/efforts that would have found a way in on another day.
Secondly Half - Much the same really. Bolton offered a little bit more than they had in the first half but not much. We weren't on the front foot as much as we had been but on the other hand we still looked very comfortable on the ball and dangerous on the break. Eventually we got the breakthrough and at that point I was confident we'd go on to win the game. I do think perhaps Garner missed a trick with subs. I can underatand it because we were playing very well with lots of fluency so maybe he didn't want to risk breaking that up but it felt like we went too late to the subs. Their equaliser was one of only two clear cut chances they produced and for it to come from a basic set piece was dissapointing to say the least. Even then we came back hard at them but just lacked the final ball to carve out that match winning chance we deserved. It was very frustrating.
Ratings Blackman - 7. I think the word is presence. He didn't have much to do beyond pick the ball out the net but he has a calm and confident aura about the way he goes about things that inspires confidence in a way that Van Stappershoef just didn't. He'll do fine. Leahy - 6. I don't rate Leahy at all. Not strong enough, not fast enough, not composed enough, can't play the wing back position. Constantly looks overmatched. Might be better as an overlapping full back. Did just enough on a night when everyone else looked comfortable. Rodman - 7. He made the goal and reminded me that I'd far rather see him on the right wing than a wing-back role. It remains baffling that we play this formation with players who are not suited to being wingbacks. Bolton were nowhere near good enough to take advantage of this obvious flaw but most teams we have played recently have exploited this. Can we at least bring Holmes-Dennis back in at some point? Craig - 7. Very good as ever and bullied their centre forwards. But I'm taking 1 off each centre back for conceding the set-piece goal that cost us 2 points. Davies - 7. So important to have that bit of extra pace and mobility in the backline. It means we can commit men forward with much more confidence. Felt he was the pick of the defence tonight. Kilgour - 7. Is really turning into a solid citizen. Looked much more comfortable in this back 3 than he did with Menayase there. The acid test will be whether he can play in a back 4 consistently at some point. If he can then I think we'll have really unearthed a player. Ogogo - 8. Seeing him in the team made me realise how much we've missed him. Yes he offers little going forward on the ball but he breaks up the play and can get us on the ball in more promising position further up the pitch. Our midfield looked so much more steely with him in there. Clarke - 7. Tale of two halfs for Ollie. I thought he was really dynamic in the first half and faded quite a bit in the second. Maybe it's just fatigue from being out for a bit or maybe it was because of the daft booking he picked up. But it was good to have someone providing a bit of dynamism in the middle. Ginelly - 9. MOM. It felt like everything positive we did came through him. He was all over them - wound up the crowd something rotten because they were reduced to kicking him. A proper menace. I was seriously impressed. I hope it's not just because he was up against a poor side and that he'll be able to do this consistently. JCH - 7. Linked well with Ginelly (Must have been nice for him to have someone to properly link with for once), scored but also should have had another. He was also far too much for their defenders.
Overall - You'd like to say it was a big step forward in terms of the way we played but they were clearly a very poor team. So whether we'll be able to earn the space to knock it around as confidently as we did last night against other sides remains to be seen. But at least you could see a pattern of play developing and maybe Garner does want us to play it a bit more than we have been. There was more width out there then I've seen all season and Ginelly was a bit of a revelation. What I hope is that he's learnt the lesson that at this level you need to earn the space for your skillful players to operate in which is the value of Ogogo type players. My concern is that he's going to bring in an army of skilled diddy men who are going to get squashed. So something to build on but you have to win games like that - no excuses really. But onwards and upwards - I see some hope for the first time in quite a while.
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Post by Colyton Gas. on Jan 29, 2020 13:25:16 GMT
Always enjoy your reports young man.Was amused when my mate from Totterdown took his Croatian visitors to the Mem and they expressed surprise we had stands at our training ground.Reports like yours and quotes like that make being a Gashead unique.
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simonj
Archie Stevens
Joined: May 2014
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Post by simonj on Jan 29, 2020 13:33:24 GMT
Thanks Irish, I would like to hear your view on Upson, for me he I would sit out. Clarke & Ogogo for me. Said it all season, I feel he stunts us if im honest. Not saying he doesn't have some decent spells but not enough for me.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jan 29, 2020 14:10:26 GMT
Thanks Irish, I would like to hear your view on Upson, for me he I would sit out. Clarke & Ogogo for me. Said it all season, I feel he stunts us if im honest. Not saying he doesn't have some decent spells but not enough for me. Whoops!
Upson - 7. I thought the whole midfield had a decent game. They were the ones who put us on the front foot and Upson was part of that although having said that I think Bolton gave him a pretty easy night in the holding role.
Overall my view on Upson is that he's OK but nothing special. He's a workmanlike midfield player. He battles away reasonable well. He's not going to open up the game for us but he plays the percentages quite well. In an ideal world we could probably do better than Upson but I think we have bigger issues than him. However, I'm not at all convinced that he's a holding midfield player which is where he seems to be increasingly positioned. I think to play that role you need to be stronger in the tackle and more mobile than he is so you can cover across the width of the pitch if necessary and he just doesn't have the legs to do that. Without Ogogo alongside him throwing himself around I thought Upson looked a bit exposed in that role. If we're going to continue to play this formation than I think we should be signing a proper defensive midfield player. The midfield player who most consistently dissapoints me this season though is Sercombe - he's the player we need to be the main attacking midfield threat driving us forward but he hasn't looked the same dynamic threat he was before he picked up that injury last season.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
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Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Jan 29, 2020 14:14:31 GMT
Thanks for your take on the match last night.
I thought we played (as in the home game v Fleetwood) with a back four at Bolton, this time with Rodders advanced and Alfie Right Back/ Leahy Left Back! (Perhaps the heavy rain misted up my glasses)!
You're a bit hard on Leahy, in my opinion. I think he lacks some of the fundamental old-school full-back attributes, but he's good going forward and a reasonable percentage of the crosses he puts in are of decent quality.
I would have been very surprised if Tareiq Holmes-Dennis had started yesterday after playing a full 90+ minutes last Saturday, as I think they are trying to nurse him through his recent knee problem.
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Post by laughinggas on Jan 29, 2020 14:41:26 GMT
Thought we were playing 4 2 3 1
Not a back 3.
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eppinggas
Administrator
Ian Alexander
Don't care
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Post by eppinggas on Jan 29, 2020 17:54:35 GMT
Defo 4 at the back. Whether it was 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1... difficult to tell. I have a feeling BG wants to emulate Liverpool / Barca, but there is an argument that we might not have the players of the sort of quality required to do it justice.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 18:45:48 GMT
Fair play for giving players marks out of ten. But how many marks would you give the entire team for not being able to string 4 or 5 passes together. Then to panic and give the ball back to the opposition.
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harrybuckle
Always look on the bright side
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Posts: 5,515
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Post by harrybuckle on Jan 29, 2020 20:30:33 GMT
Fair play for giving players marks out of ten. But how many marks would you give the entire team for not being able to string 4 or 5 passes together. Then to panic and give the ball back to the opposition. Superb summary and dare I say better than SteveK! It is always good to get a comprehensive report well worth the read.Thanks
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Post by stevek192 on Jan 29, 2020 20:59:10 GMT
Great report irishrover but I am sure you will find we played a back four last night and Leahy was not playing as a wingback but pretty well as a full back. I don't seek to be the best at reporting or lower myself to continue to make ridiculous comments like Mr Knowitall Harry Buckle who may I say his record keeping might be good but his general comments on the club nowhere near the quality and I wonder sometimes if he actually attends away games from the comments he does make.Nothing like cheap comments eh Harry!
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 21:34:20 GMT
Fair play for giving players marks out of ten. But how many marks would you give the entire team for not being able to string 4 or 5 passes together. Then to panic and give the ball back to the opposition. Superb summary and dare I say better than SteveK! It is always good to get a comprehensive report well worth the read.Thanks It's always a treat to read a second match report and set of player ratings, especially one of irishrover's cracking write-ups. But why are you quoting your own alter ego, Degg/Buckle/McLean/Jay?
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jets4
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 110
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Post by jets4 on Jan 29, 2020 21:48:00 GMT
Great report irishrover but I am sure you will find we played a back four last night and Leahy was not playing as a wingback but pretty well as a full back. I don't seek to be the best at reporting or lower myself to continue to make ridiculous comments like Mr Knowitall Harry Buckle who may I say his record keeping might be good but his general comments on the club nowhere near the quality and I wonder sometimes if he actually attends away games from the comments he does make.Nothing like cheap comments eh Harry! stevek192 - Don't rise to Harry's bait. I always look forward to reading your reports and those posted by irishrover. Please keep up the good work, thank you.
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JeffNZ
Administrator
Jimmy Morgan
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Post by JeffNZ on Jan 29, 2020 21:51:20 GMT
especially one of JeffNZ 's cracking write-ups. I have plenty of time for write-ups on the plane journey after each game.
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Post by stevek192 on Jan 29, 2020 21:58:39 GMT
I like reading Irishrovers reports too. Its what football is all about- different views and contributed free and not for individual gain but just the love for the Gas.
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Deleted
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Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 22:23:03 GMT
I like reading Irishrovers reports too. Its what football is all about- different views and contributed free and not for individual gain but just the love for the Gas. It's good to read everyone's opinions. We all disagree, as we all see different things and appreciate different aspects. If people could stop being personal, that would be a result.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 22:25:30 GMT
especially one of JeffNZ 's cracking write-ups. I have plenty of time for write-ups on the plane journey after each game. Oh. Sorry, irishrover and JeffNZ. I am simultaneously mortified by my error, and laughing loudly at Jeff's response. How embarrassing. Woe is me.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 22:46:48 GMT
Great report irishrover but I am sure you will find we played a back four last night and Leahy was not playing as a wingback but pretty well as a full back. I don't seek to be the best at reporting or lower myself to continue to make ridiculous comments like Mr Knowitall Harry Buckle who may I say his record keeping might be good but his general comments on the club nowhere near the quality and I wonder sometimes if he actually attends away games from the comments he does make.Nothing like cheap comments eh Harry! I think there's some confusion here? Harry is Kegs, so we are told, Harry's barbed comment about match reports was, I think, ridiculing Keg's sarcastic comments. This is getting more complicated than watching a slightly rubbish football team ought to be.
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harrybuckle
Always look on the bright side
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Post by harrybuckle on Jan 30, 2020 10:06:12 GMT
Great report irishrover but I am sure you will find we played a back four last night and Leahy was not playing as a wingback but pretty well as a full back. I don't seek to be the best at reporting or lower myself to continue to make ridiculous comments like Mr Knowitall Harry Buckle who may I say his record keeping might be good but his general comments on the club nowhere near the quality and I wonder sometimes if he actually attends away games from the comments he does make.Nothing like cheap comments eh Harry! Young Steve I thought you were big and ugly enough nor a snowflake like Bambi to take a bit of criticism you will get over it within six weeks. So not going to every away games makes me a lesser fan I think not. Cost. Family commitment and lack of interest is often sited by me. Keyboard warriors who fail to attend home games is far worse in my humble opinion. Keep up the reports as they have value and generate other opinions, If we all agreed with each other this group would be frankly boring. UTG
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Post by stevek192 on Jan 30, 2020 12:03:30 GMT
Get it right Harry- OLD Steve lol. Six weeks no six hours! Agree totally with you over the keyboard warriors who don't attend even home games. Apologies, I got out of bed the wrong side as I am the first to say that football is about opinions. have a good day.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jan 30, 2020 14:20:53 GMT
Great report irishrover but I am sure you will find we played a back four last night and Leahy was not playing as a wingback but pretty well as a full back. I don't seek to be the best at reporting or lower myself to continue to make ridiculous comments like Mr Knowitall Harry Buckle who may I say his record keeping might be good but his general comments on the club nowhere near the quality and I wonder sometimes if he actually attends away games from the comments he does make.Nothing like cheap comments eh Harry! More than happy to be corrected on that.
In the end it's not a competition is it? I'm sure a football forum should be able to deal with more than 1 report on a game. Personally, I find your match reports invaluable Steve for the simple reason that you report on every game. As someone who only gets to 10-12 games a year it's really useful to be able to see how the team evolves throughout the season. Even if I disagree sometimes it's a really useful reference point for understanding how things are going.
I'm not trying to write a 'better report' than anyone else- just a different one. I wish more people wrote them really. Some people don't like my reports because they're too long - that's fair enough. Others like them because their detailed - that's fair enough. Others think I talk out of my arse and don't know what I'm on about - that's both fair enough and entirely accurate. It's just one opinion written from the point of view of one fans understanding - ie. quite clueless really. I actually like it when people disagree with what I've written - that's kind of the point of doing it, to see if people have a different view.
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