Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

If DF doesn't start the next game with a duo that has produced 3 goals in 2 games, then he has to have a bloody good reason, and I'm sure we'd all like to hear it

Kevin Davies should never ever start a game again, totally passed it by a Country mile.

Starting with SKD up front on his own and Sordell and Cavies on the bench with Ngog until the game is virtually over! Is anyone but Dougie surprised we didn't win?

I think it should be clear by now that Dougie likes to keep it tight, and play defensive away from home.

Something i seem to remember there being a yearning for when we used to go "gung ho" 4-4-2 with Coyle.

Quote from phil brown today: "There's a resilience about Bolton, a 'we won't be beaten' which wasn't there at the start of the season."

I don't know if this resillience is a good thing to be honest, we don't win enough!

Boggersbelief wrote:Quote from phil brown today: "There's a resilience about Bolton, a 'we won't be beaten' which wasn't there at the start of the season."

I don't know if this resillience is a good thing to be honest, we don't win enough!

Well it's an improvement on where we were so I think it's fair comment. But we all want more.

Nothing wrong with a 10 man team managing to get a point today.

If Dougie's subs are scoring goals then let him keep doing it like he is. Some players are just better off the bench. Look at Ngogs number of goals. He played about a zillion matches and scored one after starting. He has now scored what, four or five off the bench? Let Doug continue the job.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:I think it should be clear by now that Dougie likes to keep it tight, and play defensive away from home.

Something i seem to remember there being a yearning for when we used to go "gung ho" 4-4-2 with Coyle.

You keep saying this like people should be pleased that we've gone from one extreme to the other.

Incidentally, I believe this to be Gartside's logic also. That the remedy for everything is it's polar opposite. Sammy Lee was too attacking, we were way too open, so we needed Gary Megson, because he's ultra-defensive. Coyle was gung ho, we were way too open, so dull as ditch water defensive Dougie is the man we want.

Balance is needed.

I don't agree that dougie is ultra defensive tbh.

Last time out we had De Ridder, Chungy, Eagles and Sordell starting, I'd say fairly attacking.

away from home this week we've gone less attacking with Davo up top but kept De Ridder and chungy on the wings.

to me it just seems he likes to be a bit more open at home and away, a lot less. But i might be wrong.

I think he should stop trying to second-guess the oppositions tactics, and play to his own team's strengths. If we need to change during a game, then so be it.

I think it's fair to say he still doesn't know his "strongest team" yet.

Dougie strikes me as a youmg gary megson...

Containment was his thing too.

All this defend defend defend shit and 'trying not to lose instead of win' is grating on me.

We looked better with 2 strikers on attacking, so why not start like that?

I want to see us set up to win matches, not to 'not lose' them!

Thats true, especially as he won't bloody well play them. I have this sinking feeling that by the time he's tried all the combinations throughout the team, the season will be over, and we may not even have gained mid table mediocrity.. To my mind, this season is written off as one for building.

RR, agree with you there. Megson was the only manager I knew who would start with defending a 0 - 0

TBF sorting out our leaky defence was DFs first priority on arrival. He's achieved that to some extent but as was mentioned at the time, he'd have to do so at the expense of our attacking options - which is exactly what's happened.
Whilst we're still only 4 points above the relegation zone you can understand his reticence to sacrifice a midfielder from the off. At some point he might have the confidence to change the system but with games running out I'd like him to gamble a bit now and see what we can do. If we get stuffed then he can always revert to containment followed by late subs if required. I just think it would be shame if we end the season mid-table wondering what might have happened if we'd been a bit more adventurous.
At least he's shown willing to throw on attackers towards the end - Megson wouldn't have done that. It's a start and maybe it'll convince him to have a go with 442 at home at least. Sadly, next home game is Hull so I'm not sure he will for that one.

I've never understood the idea of sorting a team out, unit by unit. After Coyle went, I knew a lot of people that wanted a McCarthy type in because "they can't defend, and he'd sort that out!"

So what happens when the defence is "sorted"? Do we simply become a defensively tighter version of what we were?

Is there a process involved for "sorting out" each individual area of a team out or is there a way of playing that best strikes a balance between defence and attack?

I could only follow our game today via the android Fotmob app. From the starting XI, it looks like we played for a draw and just about got it.

Got back from the game about an hour ago. IMO we we're lucky to come away with anything today, especially the first half which was ever worse than the burnley performance.

Our midfield was woeful for the most part, Pratley the only one to have a good game, De Ridder and Lee might aswell have been sat in the stands. To be fair our defenders put their bodies on the line when it mattered and I am not too sure who was at fault for their goal.

DF got it as wrong as he could have done by selecting SKD, not SKD's fault to be fair because he had 2 6foot defenders in his back so stood little chance of ever winning the ball when it got hoofed up to him. CD looked good again when he came on though, made some good runs and worked well with Pratley.