Tippy Tappy Football

It seems OC has been reading the Wakey Wanderer blog.  Last time we mentioned that if Bolton are to achieve promotion, T'Reebok would have to become a fortress again.  In a recent press conference OC said:

"Home form is absolutely paramount in the Championship, there's no doubt about that... We want to get back to the Reebok being a fortress again. We've shown that can be the case against the best sides in the country in the Premier League, so we have to make sure we're ready to do that in the Championship. If we do that, then of course those valuable home points will go a long way to pushing you up towards the top end of the league which is where everyone wants to be."

It also seems as if CYL has been reading my twitter feed.  At half time against Derby I tweed my thoughts on the first half display: "Oh look, another long ball to SKD."  Then on Thursday CYL said:

“Both sides were playing a lot of long ball,” he said. “I think that we need to try and pass the ball on the floor more.  If we can pass a lot we have the quality to easily win games like this. We have some very good players who can pass the ball on the floor very well." From The Bolton News 

The first half of the Derby game was dire, I've never seen the ball in the air so much.  There was a period when the two goal keepers were just punting it back and forth.

Do Bolton have the ability to play tippy tappy football?  I hope so, personally I can't stand the long ball approach.  However with SKD up front and Knight at the back (along with a nervous Mills), the long ball will always be part of our game.

Our lineup for tonight's game? I think it'll be the same that started against Derby, meaning another 4-4-2 and lack of options in the middle.  One thing I would consider is a change of full backs.  It's Mears I'm not sure about (to be fair, both Mears and Ricketts were quite pour against Derby).  Maybe Ricketts could start on the right with Alonso on the left as some have suggested.

Mills has stated he knows exactly what to expect from tonight's opponents.  Meaning Forest will play entirely as unexpected, we'll no doubt play a shocker and Mills will be left with his foot in his mouth.

Forest have a good defense, having conceded only one in three.  So don't expect tonight's game to be a goal fest.  Although if Mills is as nervous as he was on Tuesday and the full back don't improve, the score line could go Forest's way.

But Eagle's determined not to let that happen.

Welcome to the Championship

No one said it was going to be easy.  

Indeed being ex-Premiership I think teams will try and up their game and put one over on us, a la Burnley.  We need to step up and hopefully home games are the way to do that.  If we can turn the Reebok into a fortress as we did the season before last, it will have a major role in our promotion push.

We also need to up our reputation as a team that won't be easily pushed aside.  Meaning the players are going to have to turn up to every match.  This is something the Bolton players really need to improve on, especially some of the key players who think they're too big to be dropped (and OC can't be afraid to drop them).

Bolton need to learn how to press more, instead of the constant stand off, stand off approach.  Burnley had complete control of the game as they simply pressed Bolton constantly.  They seemed to have too much control in the middle, Mavies was a stranger the whole game, proof he does do better when supported by another two in midfield.  It was a surprise then that Eagles replaced Petrov on the left, when surely he should have been played in the middle, and Wylde could have been on the left.

Ream simply wasn't good enough and Mills should start ahead of him on Tuesday.  Knight had a slightly better game, coming close to scoring, however, when Burnley played the ball on the ground Knight simply couldn't cope, something he needs to improve.

Clearly Adam Bogdan was our man of the match, keeping the scoreline at two.

Here's the Wakey Wanderer team then for Tuesday night:

I've kept Mears and Ricketts purely because I don't think Riley or Alonso are good enough (yet), although the latter are certainly more attack minded so could be an option for later games if we are struggling to create chances/score goals.

I'd play five in midfield in almost a loose 4-3-3, although make CYL and Petrov aware that they need to get back and help out their full backs.

Yes Pratley is included as Mavies is my preferred CM (over Eagles), however, if Mavies' form doesn't improve soon, we could see Eagles at CM supported by either Andrews/Mavies or Andrews/Pratley.

My one message for Bolton and OC would be: PRESS MORE! We need to put pressure on our opponents, stop letting them walk all over us.

Burnley Preview

At last the football season is upon us!  Are we really for what could be our toughest challenge?  Has OC decided on his starting 11 and formation?

Our first game as you all know is against Burnley, where no doubt we'll receive a very frosty welcome.  Expect a very heated, proper derby game, as both teams try to gain momentum for the long season ahead.

Bolton are going to have to tighten up their defense if they are to do well this year.  We can't afford to leak the amount of goals we did last season and hope to be promoted.

Here's the Wakey Wanderer starting 11 for tomorrow:

So what do you think, would you choose different?

Key Man:

Petrov.  Easily one of the better players during pre-season, providing nearly all of Bolton's chances against Barcelona B.  Hopefully Petrov will be making his signature runs and providing plenty of crosses to threaten the Burnley goal.

Score Prediction.

Burnley 2 - Bolton 3

First game of the season and it's going to be a feisty one.  Bolton are going to try and recreate last years season opener, the four-nil thrashing of QPR.  I can't see Bolton keeping a clean sheet, however, with Burnley out to put one over on us and our defensive record.

Ask Chungy Twitter Interview

Thursday saw the return of the #Ask twitter interview, with Bolton's CYL taking over the @OfficialBWFC twitter account and answering a series of questions posted by the fans.

Did your question get asked?

As promised here's the full set of collected questions:

CYL: "Hello Bolton fans. Just finished training and I'm ready for the start of the season. Now we answer some questions."

@ManUParkJi: What is your favorite K-league team?

CYL: "FC Seoul is my best team because I used to play for them. I hope they are champions this season."

@freshhapple: Korean Olympic football team won the bronze medal . What do you think about this result? And how do you feel?

CYL: "I'm very proud and happy for my friends and country. I would like to thank every player because I'm happy watching the Olympics."

@tom_rhys: apart from the Reebok, what stadium have you enjoyed playing at?

CYL: "I like the Reebok very much - I feel comfortable when I'm there. I also like the Emirates Stadium as the pitch is always perfect."

@Luv_u_Blue: What do u do in your free time ? What is the most thing? Game? Sleeping? or reading a Book ? Other One?

CYL: "In my spare time I sleep and cook a lot and watch Korean TV."

@teehatz: You are stranded on a desert island. Which two team mates do you have with you for company?

CYL: "I would take Kevin Davies because I trust him very much and he's very strong. Also, Mark Davies, as he makes me laugh a lot."

@harryleek_: Is everyone in the club very confident we can get straight back up this year?

CYL: "Everyone is confident - it's not going to be easy but I believe we can do it."

@sammy_chadwick: What's your favorite goal scored for Bolton?

CYL: "My favorite Bolton goal is the header against Birmingham in the FA Cup. I felt like I was flying. I was very happy."

CYL: "Now I must go for my suit fitting. I want to answer more questions. Maybe in the future I can do more here. Thank you very much."

I've left out the questions asked and answered in Korean, but all questions are on the OfficialBWFC twitter feed and it's very clear that CYL has a big Korean fan base.

Lets just remind ourselves of CYL favorite goal (5:24 into the video).

Ask Chungy

This Thursday sees the return of the #Ask series on Twitter, with our favorite South Korean CYL taking the first set of questions.

 What will you ask?

All you have to do is tweet @OfficialBWFC your question and include #AskChungy in your message.  With a unique item of memorabilia up for grabs for the best question, what will you ask?

At the end of the event I'll try to collect all answered questions and post them here in a kind of unofficial interview.

Also with the new season right around the corner, I'll be looking to get some of your opinions on our performances and and pictures from the games.  So please feel free to get in touch and spread the word about the Wakey Wanderers blog.

Obi Wan Afobe

Welcome back Marvin Sordell.  You remember him, right?  Here's an extremely rare picture of Sordell in a Bolton kit:

So few images of Sordell in the BWFC kit, 

they could be considered collectors pieces.

You kind of have to feel sorry for Sordell.  Picked for Team GB, plays well, Sturridge steals the spotlight, people tweet, "Who is this Sordell character?"  Arrives back at Bolton to start his first preseason game, is substituted after 45 minutes for Afobe, who goes on to steal the limelight by scoring a hat trick in around 30 minutes.  What must Sordell do to prove his worth in the starting 11?

Yet there may still be hope for Sordell.  Bolton reverted to playing with two strikers, with no one able to play the lone striker role successfully, meaning OC could try both Sordell and Afobe up front.  Imagine the partnership they could potentially form.  However, it is more likely one or the other would start along side the more experienced SKD.

Bolton's pursuit of Carlos "The Rock" Sanchez is officially off, the player asking for a ridiculously large sum of money, leaving OC frustrated and in need of a holding midfielder.  Which makes talk of selling Mark Davies come of some surprise.  Apparently we've been offered around £4 million from Swansea, who see him as a replacement for Joe Allen.

Many Questions, Few Answers

My face when I saw the starting line up for yesterday's match:

Just look at it

 Bogdan

Mears, Mills, Knight, Ricketts, 

Chung-Yong, Andrews, M Davies, Petrov, 

Eagles, 

Ngog

With the exception of Knight, this is pretty much the team I've been expecting to see for a while and indeed what I expect will be pretty much our starting 11 for the new season.  On paper this team looks the bee's knees, we should be bossing the league with players like this....or so I thought.

Imagine my surprise then, when I open up the live updates at around half time to see us two nil down and N'Gog has been subbed.

I think this is going to sum up my feelings for the coming season.

I know we shouldn't pay to much attention to preseason results, some of our best seasons have come off the back of a awful preseason.  What bothers me is that we still seem to be leaking goals and converting what few chances we make.

How was it that a club with only seven players in its squad, who's morale must have seen better days, was able to control, score three and be the better team for huge periods of the match?

"When you come onto the pitch wearing a Bolton Wanderers shirt you have to be ready. We didn't do ourselves justice."  Owen Coyle

Sound familiar?  It's not the first time the players have failed to step up (Stoke at Wembley).  It was a frequent occurrence last season, one that I hoped we had put behind us.  One that we need to put behind us to have any hope of promotion.

I thought the idea of preseason was to iron out any niggles within the team...but this preseason is just leaving us with more and more questions.  And we're running out of time to find the answers.