Bolton V Scum [R] Pre and Post match

[Prenn]

I'm looking forward to this one ;)

Not to get too carried away but a draw would be a great result. I'm hoping that a Veronless and Beckhamless United will need time to compensate, at which point we can take advantage.

Prediction: 1-1

[perctarit]

Originally posted by Prenn
Not to get too carried away but a draw would be a great result. I'm hoping that a Veronless and Beckhamless United will need time to compensate, at which point we can take advantage.



A draw would be a very, very good result indeed. Now is the time to catch the scum, before they become fully integrated, and Bolton, with its recent history at OT, is the team to do it. I have my doubts, though. I saw Man Utd in New York on their US tour, and was mightily impressed with their clockwork efficiency in a game in which Veron played little meaningful part.

A low score is vital for Bolton, and I concur in the prediction: 1-1.

perc

[Prenn]

Bolton have been good in pre-season too, I think it'll be a close match overall, it'll be interesting to see how United cope without Beckham and Veron. It's a shame that Barthez isn't in goal because he's always good for a blunder or three...

[Prenn]

4-0

For ************s sake

An extremely flattering scoreline, even Alex Ferguson admitted that. I can't begrudge them the win but ************ing hell 4??

And how their 3rd goal ever stood I'll never know. Van Nistelrooy was a clear 2 yards offside when the ball was played. You get ************ all at Old Trafford as it showed today.

On the plus side we were more than equal of Man Utd for an hour, we created a load of chances (mostly half chances) and nolan had a fine chip that Howard did well to save. Jardel will love it in this team! Nicky Hunt was superb at right back, the lad is not only a good tackler but he has a superb range of passing. Jussi's penalty save wasn't bad either.

On the down side we got done by 4 goals obviously; 1 moment of brilliance, 1 typical 'error' from the linesman and 2 stupid defensive mistakes. We're in desperate need of another centre back (sorry Bruno you're no good there!) and another left back. Gardner did okay but he's no defender, for United's fourth goal the entire backline moved up in unison and he was a mile offside... well he would have been if Gardner had gone with them instead of standing around scratching his arse.

Player ratings:

Jussi - 7 - Good game and a superb penalty save, he was not at fault for any of the goals
Hunt - 7 - Good debut
Laville - 7 - Solid as usual, got turned a couple of times but it is early in the season
Bruno - 6 - Went walkabouts for Uniteds third goal, other than that he had an alright game
Gardner - 6 - Same as above except his failure to understand what 'offside trap' means
Nolan - 7 - Looked good, had a great chip that was saved but also had another good opportunity to score and farted around with it. He looks to be a great player these days, lots of flair, creativity and technical ability... but no pace
Okocha - 6 - here, there, nowhere. Did a bit but not a lot, flattert to deceive and should really have done better with a free kick on the edge of the box
Campo - 8 - MOM, he ran the midfield until late in the second half when the combination of tiredness and Djemba-Djemba undid him.
Stelios - 6 - ptch
Pedersen - 6 - Not bad, not good. Ambled a lot
Davies - 5 - hmm...

Subs:
Facey - 6 - didn't have long but came closest to scoring with a header that hit the bar
Frandsen - 6 - Didn't do too much
Djorkaeff - 7 - too little too late but did well.

[bigtoga]

Thanks for the report. I haven't had a chance to watch the game but am considering buying Okocha in my fantast league. I'm wondering if he's worth it...

[Prenn]

Originally posted by bigtoga
Thanks for the report. I haven't had a chance to watch the game but am considering buying Okocha in my fantast league. I'm wondering if he's worth it...

Possibly, also consider Mario Jardel. We create loads of chances (17 shots at goal against Man Utd) he'll put a few away for sure!

[RuiJorge2002]

Campo played a great game, and I thought Okocha did well also. He created a lot of problems for ManU, in the first half especially.

I agree with Prenn, Jardel will flourish with this team. I still think he's a wanker, but he'll thrive will all those opportunities in front of goal. Jardel is without a doubt one of the world's top pure goalscorers.

[Prenn]

Originally posted by RuiJorge2002
Campo played a great game, and I thought Okocha did well also. He created a lot of problems for ManU, in the first half especially.

I agree with Prenn, Jardel will flourish with this team. I still think he's a wanker, but he'll thrive will all those opportunities in front of goal. Jardel is without a doubt one of the world's top pure goalscorers.

We sign players who fall out with their existing team and then come here with something to prove; Campo, Jardel, Okocha, Djorkaeff. It works a treat.

Jardel is a major signing, perhaps even bigger then Djorkaeff or Okocha.

[frightwig]

I just don't see in Campo whatever it is that Sam (and apparently the Bolton faithful) see in him. He rarely makes a pass that progresses the ball upfield, and most plays involving him in traffic, or when receiving a cross, end up with him missing and falling down with a big flop. He's hilarious comic relief, but I can't understand why he's back in the starting lineup.

This past weekend I thought he also cost his team the Giggs rebound goal. Watch the tape, and you'll notice him out of position and looking like a spectator, sort of ambling around instead of aggressively following the play and marking the open man in the middle.

So, aside from the great comedic value, what is it that Campo brings to the Bolton side? I don't mean to flame anybody. I'm really curious.

Well, the 4-0 score isn't reflective of how most of the game went. Bolton looked similar to the side I saw last year: controlled the ball well, but seemed to lack the skill up front to finish on a few good opportunities.

The Scholes goal obviously should have been disallowed. The Giggs rebound and Ruud's late goal are things that won't happen if Sam can tighten up the center defense. OTOH, Bolton's fortunate that Ruud was a bit off his game then, too.

Does Sam have the players onhand to improve the striker & center defense spots?

What can you say about Jardel?

[Prenn]

Emmerson Thome and Roque Junior are wanted to help shore up the defence. Footballunlimited.co.uk have scoffed at the idea of Roque Junior coming to Bolton, obviously they'd never heard of Djorkaeff, Okocha and Jardel before they played for us...

As for Campo he's a defensive midfielder and his job is to break up opposition attacks which he does brilliantly. It's not his job to set up attacks or play forward balls, although I take issue with your opinion that he doesn't. He was instrumental in our turn around of fortunes last season. He's a bit unfit now as he missed a lot of pre-season training during the period when he couldn't decide which club to play for. He seems to be tiring around the 70 minute mark, give him a few games and it'll be sorted.

As for his finishing, well that's another matter. It's crap.

Jardel is statistically the best striker in the world, he's only had one season as a pro footballer where he's not scored more goals than games he's played. That's a major signing right there!

But he's out of shape and won't be played for a month! :mad:

[USKiwi]

Jardel's not going to be playing for a month? Damn, I should get him out of my fantasy team then.

[Prenn]

Originally posted by USKiwi
Jardel's not going to be playing for a month? Damn, I should get him out of my fantasy team then.

I lied a little, he may get 15 minutes at the end of the upcoming matches.