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The answer to Wanderers’ woes is in black and white.
Dougie Freedman is planning to take a more simplified approach to tactics in an effort to change results.
The Scot’s on-going battle with the club’s fans is one he is unlikely to affect in the short term but with a game at Fulham looming tomorrow night he can ill-afford another defeat before returning to an uncertain atmosphere at the Macron Stadium at the weekend.
Freedman accepted his tactical shortcomings in the defeat to Derby, where his attempt to beat the Rams at their own high-tempo game failed miserably.
And that admission – the first of its kind in his two years as manager – has led to another.
The Whites boss is looking to simplify his tactics and develop a system that does not alter wildly from game to game.
“We’ve got to be more of a black and white team and play a certain way every week,” he told The Bolton News.
“I can’t assume that certain players can do certain things and I have to get around it somehow.
“The team we played against Chelsea had different personnel and maybe we need to look at that as a guideline.
“It might be a case of not giving players too much responsibility within a system because as we saw against Derby, it went horribly wrong.
“It’s something I need to analyse about my own performance because I wasn’t happy with that.”
Freedman offered an olive branch to fans last week but any chance he had of mending his relationship in the short term was blown by a wretched performance on Saturday.
Protests, pitch invasions and calls for both the manager and chairman Phil Gartside to leave made for the stormiest day at Bolton since the days of Gary Megson.
Freedman intends to take the criticism on the chin and fight on – but refrained to comment on whether his chairman should give his side of the story.
“It’s not my call. We don’t speak about this kind of stuff,” he said. “I’m the guy who stands in the little box and there are 20,000 people standing round me with different views. I’m the only one who gets to make those decisions and so I feel I should be taking responsibility.
“I have no issue with people voicing opinions. I have tried to be open and honest with you guys (the media) and I get it – it hasn’t been good enough. I agree.
“I hear the things being said and I agree with some of it. Running on the pitch I don’t agree with, I was trying to win a game of football but I get why people are frustrated.”
Some see Freedman’s position as untenable; the man himself would disagree and is intent on drawing on every bit of experience he has to get the club moving back in the right direction.
“When I first came into management at Palace I was in this exact position but I maybe didn’t have the know-how to handle it,” he said.
“I know what is needed now. I can fix it.
“All that experience will stand me in good stead. I know what to do in this exact moment.”
Source
Dougie Freedman is planning to take a more simplified approach to tactics in an effort to change results.
The Scot’s on-going battle with the club’s fans is one he is unlikely to affect in the short term but with a game at Fulham looming tomorrow night he can ill-afford another defeat before returning to an uncertain atmosphere at the Macron Stadium at the weekend.
Freedman accepted his tactical shortcomings in the defeat to Derby, where his attempt to beat the Rams at their own high-tempo game failed miserably.
And that admission – the first of its kind in his two years as manager – has led to another.
The Whites boss is looking to simplify his tactics and develop a system that does not alter wildly from game to game.
“We’ve got to be more of a black and white team and play a certain way every week,” he told The Bolton News.
“I can’t assume that certain players can do certain things and I have to get around it somehow.
“The team we played against Chelsea had different personnel and maybe we need to look at that as a guideline.
“It might be a case of not giving players too much responsibility within a system because as we saw against Derby, it went horribly wrong.
“It’s something I need to analyse about my own performance because I wasn’t happy with that.”
Freedman offered an olive branch to fans last week but any chance he had of mending his relationship in the short term was blown by a wretched performance on Saturday.
Protests, pitch invasions and calls for both the manager and chairman Phil Gartside to leave made for the stormiest day at Bolton since the days of Gary Megson.
Freedman intends to take the criticism on the chin and fight on – but refrained to comment on whether his chairman should give his side of the story.
“It’s not my call. We don’t speak about this kind of stuff,” he said. “I’m the guy who stands in the little box and there are 20,000 people standing round me with different views. I’m the only one who gets to make those decisions and so I feel I should be taking responsibility.
“I have no issue with people voicing opinions. I have tried to be open and honest with you guys (the media) and I get it – it hasn’t been good enough. I agree.
“I hear the things being said and I agree with some of it. Running on the pitch I don’t agree with, I was trying to win a game of football but I get why people are frustrated.”
Some see Freedman’s position as untenable; the man himself would disagree and is intent on drawing on every bit of experience he has to get the club moving back in the right direction.
“When I first came into management at Palace I was in this exact position but I maybe didn’t have the know-how to handle it,” he said.
“I know what is needed now. I can fix it.
“All that experience will stand me in good stead. I know what to do in this exact moment.”
Source
