Post, bar, it's in!!!

I think that 7 home wins on the bounce is something to be applauded. Well done Wanderers! You have made the end of the season very interesting indeed and it has come as a really welcome surprise to us all!

But. I still have some concerns. Bear with me.

In the last 6 home games Bolton have conceded only one goal. A superb record. 5 games in a row without conceding at home. But to my knowledge every single team has hit the woodwork on one or more occoassions in each game.

Is our recent clean sheet record not telling the whole story? I know I have covered this before but has anyone considered it this way...

"If he takes a shot that is good enough to beat the defence and keeper, but it hits the woodwork you could say it was as close as flipping a coin as to whether it goes in or not. 50/50." - Fergusson after a certain striker failed to score for a period of time but regularly seemed to hit the post.

But, somehow, Bolton have won that flip of a coin on about 9 or 10 or perhaps more flips in a row. Every goal bound shot or clear cut chance for the other team has resulted in them hitting the bar or the post or their striker scuffing the ball wide in front of an open goal.

Surely our luck simply has to run out at some point. We can't continue to expect success whilst the opposition are creating so many chances and coming so close. Can we?

And if that is true, does Dougie need to realise this and alter his tactics, or should he continue in the same way because it's worked so far? (And by that I mean... his tendency to outplay the opposition until we score but then for some inexplicable reason thinks it's a good idea to then change to an ultra defensive, negative, out of possession approach where we sit deep and invite pressure and seem under the cosh for the rest of the game - why not just continue the tactic that worked for the first 35 mins?)

Will we come unstuck by keep going negative after taking the lead?

The fact the ball has hit the post has not beaten the defenders and keepers as they are defending what's inside of the posts and crossbar. I just reckon its great calculation

Hitting the post or the bar is just the same as smashing the ball into the stand.

I'm not sure you can argue with all the wins and all the clean sheets.

Though i suppose you've found a way.

Something needs to change away from home though clearly.

e of the first things you will read in a kids coaching manual is that, even after a win you need to recognise your mistakes and work on them.

Our woodwork has taken a battering and we've had the ball bouncing around our box far too often for comfort, but we were a little better against Wolves with Medo and Spearing in front of the back four, so maybe that's the way forward. Sure hope so.

If the opposition are regularly hitting the woodwork (ie in every game) then there is a failing in the defence.

Although hitting the woodwork counts for nothing for the other side, for us it should serve as a warning that things need to be fixed still.

It could also mean that visiting teams are not being given clear opportunities at our goal and have resorted to shots taken in desperation - the closest of which only manage to hit the post. This would make it less of a concern as such, and just an area that can be further improved.

How many times have we hit the woodwork in these games? Has that been taken into consideration also, I can't think of any off hand but they should be included.

I seem to remember Sordell hitting the post in recent weeks?

Aha.

So that's a good way of looking at it. If we dominated a game away from home and hit the post three times, had a shot cleared off the line, a penalty turned down etc etc but we lost 1-0 to a team who created 2 or 3 decent chances we would consider ourselves unlucky and go into the next game expecting that a similar amount of pressure and attempts will inevitably result in more goals and a win.

So if that is what we would think that way around then it stands to reason that we should think that sooner or later the sheer number of near misses from other teams will result in lost points. I don't know why so many of you can't see it.