North East we march!
Friday, 21 November 08, 07:38 PM
This weekend we are off to the Riverside to take on an inform Middlesbrough, one who could also be considered a 'boogey' side when you look at results over the last couple of seasons. At least we
will be there in numbers as the club has got out the free travel club transport for this one.
Middlesbrough, who have gone five games unbeaten now, Will be a real test for us this weekend and should give us an idea of where we stand in this league. Boro who are up in 8th are certainly not untouchable and if we can pull out another performance like we did in this fixture last season then we may come back with the points. We currently sit 13th in the league and this was a team i was expecting around us come the end of the season. Despite this the Teesider's will be full of confidence and certainly go into this one as favorites.
Midweek talk now and Gary Megson.. has had a rant about how we dont score enough goals. Well done Gary its taken you a couple of months to catch up to the fans thoughts on this matter but if he makes an effort to change the tactics we may get a result. Last week against Liverpool we did what i feared we shouldnt which was to sit back and try and hold. We are known for defending from the edge of our penalty box which is much to risky in this league.
If we push up the pitch and get stuck into Middlesbrough with the tackles like we did previously against Man City then we should at least make things a little easier on Jaaskelainen in goal who has been bombared recently.
Line up time now and i was hoping that Megson would finally see the light to give Gardner his starting place back but it looks as if he has picked up a knock in training and now faces a fitness test to play. Riga could then be another option if Ricki G is missing, a quick skillful winger that will give us another attacking option down the right. I would love to see us line up 4411 with Davies leading the line and Elmander just in behind because at the moment the Swede has gone a couple of matches all but unheard of. Taylor, Nolan, Mumaba and Riga being the midfielders in that order and the traditional defenders. After Megson's praise for McCann I imagine that we will start 451.
Prediction time and it really depends on which Bolton side turns up. We have already secured two early away wins at Hull and West Ham which is a good start compared to last season when we only won two away all season. Ive gone with a 1-1 draw for this one and would gladly accept that scoreline, Nolan to pull one out of the bag.
Middlesbrough, who have gone five games unbeaten now, Will be a real test for us this weekend and should give us an idea of where we stand in this league. Boro who are up in 8th are certainly not untouchable and if we can pull out another performance like we did in this fixture last season then we may come back with the points. We currently sit 13th in the league and this was a team i was expecting around us come the end of the season. Despite this the Teesider's will be full of confidence and certainly go into this one as favorites.
Midweek talk now and Gary Megson.. has had a rant about how we dont score enough goals. Well done Gary its taken you a couple of months to catch up to the fans thoughts on this matter but if he makes an effort to change the tactics we may get a result. Last week against Liverpool we did what i feared we shouldnt which was to sit back and try and hold. We are known for defending from the edge of our penalty box which is much to risky in this league.
If we push up the pitch and get stuck into Middlesbrough with the tackles like we did previously against Man City then we should at least make things a little easier on Jaaskelainen in goal who has been bombared recently.
Line up time now and i was hoping that Megson would finally see the light to give Gardner his starting place back but it looks as if he has picked up a knock in training and now faces a fitness test to play. Riga could then be another option if Ricki G is missing, a quick skillful winger that will give us another attacking option down the right. I would love to see us line up 4411 with Davies leading the line and Elmander just in behind because at the moment the Swede has gone a couple of matches all but unheard of. Taylor, Nolan, Mumaba and Riga being the midfielders in that order and the traditional defenders. After Megson's praise for McCann I imagine that we will start 451.
Prediction time and it really depends on which Bolton side turns up. We have already secured two early away wins at Hull and West Ham which is a good start compared to last season when we only won two away all season. Ive gone with a 1-1 draw for this one and would gladly accept that scoreline, Nolan to pull one out of the bag.
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Count the misses!
Monday, 17 November 08, 08:31 PM
Ok not much time so here is a quick round up of the performance on the weekend against Liverpool.
First off, we should start by looking at the misses and there were plenty. Both sides were guilty of missing a couple of sitters and i can see Gardners "run around Reina and slip" being stuck in those Youtube comedy videos people make, all you can do now is laugh...i guess?
We have to take the blame for the ones we did concede though. Liverpool managed to have the time to play the ball around the park unchallenged until Fabio Aurelio picked out Kuyt in the box to make it 1-0. The second is a case of not clearing the lines. Andy O'Brien the guilty one, not getting his header away first of all and then failing to clear again after tackling Torres who won it straight back and took his time to pick out Gerrard who finally got on the scoresheet after missing his own sitter.
Overall our first half performance was just so negative, especially for a home match. We didnt seem to be in it at all and held off on the challenges, we didnt run and cover enough of the pitch and Liverpool dominated. Maybe we should have gone to the brake equal though after Rob Styles had another one of those controversial moments when he blew up right when Cahill headed home for a foul on Reina, im pretty sure thats what he gave it for anyway im really unsure as Nolan just stood his ground infront of him.
The second half performance was a lot better, the first 25 minutes we had more possession and should have put away at least one. Gardner was guilty of two misses but i still think he should be a starter each week. When he came on at halftime he just lifted our game giving us another attacking threat and troubled Carragher at times.
Middlesbrough away up next and that will be a tough one. If im correct in saying this i think we have only won 1 in the last 10(?) against them in all competitions. That one win did come end of last season however so maybe its time to turn that poor run around and win at the Riverside for the second season running.
First off, we should start by looking at the misses and there were plenty. Both sides were guilty of missing a couple of sitters and i can see Gardners "run around Reina and slip" being stuck in those Youtube comedy videos people make, all you can do now is laugh...i guess?
We have to take the blame for the ones we did concede though. Liverpool managed to have the time to play the ball around the park unchallenged until Fabio Aurelio picked out Kuyt in the box to make it 1-0. The second is a case of not clearing the lines. Andy O'Brien the guilty one, not getting his header away first of all and then failing to clear again after tackling Torres who won it straight back and took his time to pick out Gerrard who finally got on the scoresheet after missing his own sitter.
Overall our first half performance was just so negative, especially for a home match. We didnt seem to be in it at all and held off on the challenges, we didnt run and cover enough of the pitch and Liverpool dominated. Maybe we should have gone to the brake equal though after Rob Styles had another one of those controversial moments when he blew up right when Cahill headed home for a foul on Reina, im pretty sure thats what he gave it for anyway im really unsure as Nolan just stood his ground infront of him.
The second half performance was a lot better, the first 25 minutes we had more possession and should have put away at least one. Gardner was guilty of two misses but i still think he should be a starter each week. When he came on at halftime he just lifted our game giving us another attacking threat and troubled Carragher at times.
Middlesbrough away up next and that will be a tough one. If im correct in saying this i think we have only won 1 in the last 10(?) against them in all competitions. That one win did come end of last season however so maybe its time to turn that poor run around and win at the Riverside for the second season running.
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The Jamaican Way
Sunday, 02 November 08, 12:20 PM
Bolton climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone after beating Manchester City 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium...
And boy didnt we deserve it!
A cracking performance all round from the team but a bit of the credit will have to be pointed in the direction of our Jamacian left mid, Ricardo Gardner.
Coming on in the 43rd Minute for the injured Riga, Gardner played his socks off scoring one goal and setting up the other that Richard Dunne kindly tapped home for us.
I was very impressed with our midfield and the way we managed to close down Manchester City across the field letting them get nothing started. Robinho was all but kept to a hush apart from a couple of shots and Wright-Phillips was mentioned even less.
It seemed like it was going to be another one of those games, 0-0 and fulltime creeping closer with us having the possesion but not the clinical edge infront on goal. It looked even more like one of those days when Mike Riley turned down Matty Taylors penalty appeals after he appeared to be tipped over my Richard Dunne but Bolton showed real character and didnt slow up, which finally paid off in the end when Taylor won the ball off Robinho in midfield and started a Wanderers counter attack. The chance looked to have slipped when Muamba fell but he squeezed the ball away to Nolan who fired out to Steinsson on the right flank. The Right backs cross was a sitter along the deck and Gardner slammed it home off the underside of the bar.
With 15 minutes remaining it was just a case of holding the lead and when City threw to many men forward it was a ball down the line from Muamba for Gardner to chase that lead to our second. The man of the moment picked up the ball and drove into the goal box sliding a ball past Hart for Davies to tap in, unfortunatly for Davo the Manchester Captain Richard Dunne was there to beat him to finishing it but im sure you wont Davies complaining.
A great result and one that was needed lifting us up to 17th on goal difference and hopefully the Villa win at St James on Monday to keep us there.
Im sure Gary Megson will sleep easier tonight knowing that and i have to say he set up the team and tactics very well, We were not just sitting back and in the second half nearly all our players (Besides Jussi in Goal) entered the Manchester half at one time. We were passing the ball on the ground and actually getting it to feet and although Megson only made one sub when needed through injury, i dont think its something the fans will complain about this week.
We cant afford to take our foot off the gas now, we have set a standard and need to stick with it to stay up this season, thats all from me for now, im off out for breakfast to celebrate!
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dave said:He went to a really bad team I say. He is not getting any passes when he is in ...
mogggg said:By the rules of the game Rob Styles got that call spot on. If the ball is not i...
On 3 Goals and 3 Points!