Kevin Keegan's Black and White Army 0-0 Bolton - 19/1/08 - Reaction from Page 18

[oldtype]

We tried to play Keegan-style football without the required organization, and that obviously wasn't going to go very well. Bolton played very well organized anti-football. First half, they nearly played us off the pitch.

 

Thankfully, 10-behind-the-ball tactics have their weakness in that it's very, very difficult to concentrate with that plan for 90 minutes, and it showed as Bolton started breaking down at the sixty minute mark. Unfortunately, we lacked the quality up front to take advantage of their collapse.

 

Ultimately, this just goes to show that if we want Keegan-style football we're going to have to buy some Keegan-style players, and more importantly, get some organization going. Like Keegan said, every player on the ball should have three options for passes, and we won't get that until the players have a good understanding.

 

<Ratings>

Given - 7 Not much to do. Thank God for the wondersave. Again.

 

Enrique - 7 Improving rapidly. Solid on the defense, strong going forward. A bit worried about his man marking in set pieces though.

 

Carr - 6 Not much defensive action but very decent going forward. Seems to be regaining his old form, a couple of years too late though.

 

Cacapa - 7 Used his class to overcome Davies' bullying and put him in his back pocket.

 

Taylor - 7 Fullbacks were pushing up a lot, so Taylor had a lot to do stopping Bolton's advance on the wings. Positive effort.

 

Rozhenal - 7 Very active, started out shaky but was dominant in the last thirty minutes. Somehow turns out to be our best passer.

 

Duff - 6 Started out bright but tired quickly. Seems to be regaining a lot of his old form, hope he gets there quickly.

 

Milner - 5 Erased off the pitch by Gardner in the first half, was very active in our second half surge but all his crosses/shots somehow magnetically attatched to Bolton defenders. Not his best game.

 

N'Zogbia - 6 Has the potential to be a good central midfielder but has to learn how to play there first. Dallies too much on the ball and tries to do it all himself instead of distributing it.

 

Ameobi - 7 Eight years into his senior career he's finally learned how to hold up the ball. Impressive link up play against a physical Bolton side, hope he can keep it up. Honestly think he did better than Viduka would have.

 

Owen - 5 Not there. Part of it has to with the service but I'm beginning to question whether Owen can survive without his pace. Yes, he was decent without blinding pace at Real, and his first season with us, but post World Cup injury he's gotten even slower and it seems to have been one blow too much. If he doesn't have the pace to create his own chances and doesn't have the instinct to be a good poacher, I'm not sure what exactly he's supposed to be doing.

 

LuaLua - 6 decent cameo. Wish we had actual impact subs though.

 

[Yorkie]

Lay off Ameobi, please, guys. At least he got himself involved. His striking partner was a non-event.

 

 

He was crap man. Same old Shola - fouling a player whenever he tries to receive a pass. He won't change.

[Ericz]

and dare i say it thought Carr had a very good game. Zog looks rejuvinated and is set to be a massive player for us did well even though heavily marked.

 

My sentiments are the same.

 

I thought Carr had a pretty good game too. Also, he was at alot of position at the right time when we are attacking.

 

Yup, Zog was brilliant.

 

 

 

Regards,

Ericz

[Karjala]

Thought Duff, Ameobi and Owen were total shite, rest of them had decent games.

 

Fuck we need a creative midfielder.

[Numbers]

Lay off Ameobi, please, guys. At least he got himself involved. His striking partner was a non-event.

 

 

He was crap man. Same old Shola - fouling a player whenever he tries to receive a pass. He won't change.

 

Tbh he wasnt that bad like,find another whipping boy..

 

 

 

[Guest Brendan_Rice]

I think this match revealed our overall lack of passing ability. We dominated the 2nd half, but our corners and set pieces were absolutely horrible.

 

I thought Rozenhal looks much better as the holding midfielder than he does as a central defender. Cacapa, no the other hand, defended well, but distributed horribly. Would also have liked to see Milner & Zoggy switch wings more often to confuse the Bolton defenders.

 

Bottom line is that we simply don't have the passing ability to break down a team that put ten men behind the ball. We really need a good playmaker to run the midfield.

 

Doesn't surprise me given Sam's tactics.  Keegan has to undo that, keep the faith.

[Teasy]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

[JH]

Boring as hell.

 

But considering he's only been in the job 3 full days, it was a decent result. We played with a CD in CM and Ameobi upfront, with that said I'm suprised we even had chances! Once he gets some in and settles in more, we'll improve.

 

Some of the passing movement was lovely to watch, others weren't.

[M4]

N'Zogbia - 6

 

Ameobi - 7

 

Ugh...

[Power NUFC]

Cant believe the knives are out for some already, Rome wasn't built in a day.

[Newcastle Fan]

Lay off Ameobi, please, guys. At least he got himself involved. His striking partner was a non-event.

 

 

He was crap man. Same old Shola - fouling a player whenever he tries to receive a pass. He won't change.

 

Tbh he wasnt that bad like,find another whipping boy..

 

 

 

 

He was bad, hardley a threat to Bolton and struggled to win a header..should've been sent off twice.

[Yorkie]

I'm optimistic with that, regardless. Boro are for the taking.

 

KEEGAN!!!!!!!!!!

[NJS]

Ameobi was shit. He has always been shit. He will always be shit.

 

I'm pig sick of people defending him and talking about potential - how many years will we do that? - should be no more  - get rid now.

 

 

[oldtype]

N'Zogbia - 6

 

Ameobi - 7

 

Ugh...

 

This is honestly the best you're ever going to see Ameobi play. Ever.

 

Deserves a 7

[gazza ladra]

Given - 7

Carr- 6

Taylor - 7

Cacapa - 6

Enrique - 6

Duff - 5

Rozehnal - 5

NZogbia - 6

Milner - 6

Ameobi - 5

Owen - 5

 

Nothing especially bad. Just not good enough.

I think that with the right players (Emre, Barton, Beye, Faye) we would've destroyed them.

[toon25]

I'm disappointed with the result but, in all honesty, it was no nightmare.

We were down to the bare bones today and there was a lot of pressure on the players. Combine that with a f***ing awful, anti-football Bolton side and this was probably all we could expect.

 

I'm sure that now this match is over the dust will settle, KK can have a few days working with the squad, sorting out the backroom staff and hopefully look at bringing in a couple of new faces because we sure need a bit of flair and creativity in the centre.

[NJS]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

 

Carroll. Or a wandering stray dog.

 

 

 

[JH]

I'm optimistic with that, regardless. Boro are for the taking.

 

KEEGAN!!!!!!!!!!

 

What about the Arsenal cup and league games that are before?

[Rob]

Lay off Ameobi, please, guys. At least he got himself involved. His striking partner was a non-event.

 

 

He was crap man. Same old Shola - fouling a player whenever he tries to receive a pass. He won't change.

 

Tbh he wasnt that bad like,find another whipping boy..

 

 

 

 

to be fair the service wasnt good, and it's not my intention to look for some one to blame... but he lacks quality, alot of it: his decision making is poor, he cant hold the line without drifitng off side, when the ball gets played into him he generally gives away a free kick.. Hi s first touch is awful, he has a shin for a foot.  He doesnt have virtually any positives... aye he hasnt had a lot of games you could say, but there's a reason for that.

[fredbob]

If allardyces team produced that would you be happy?

 

Im not happy, very dissappoint to be honest, no reflection on Keegan or anything, theres nothing more frustrating than having a team come and get 10 men behind the ball. Fair play to Bolton they stuck to a game plan and were successful, they had no intention of winning the game.

 

Second half was good to be honest, thought both roz was very good, also thought Zog had his moments, Duff was running out of ideas, didnt have the space he needed, i still believe that Zog ould make it in the centre, his direct running is very dangerous, it will open up spaces against teams who look to play football.

 

Milner is not good enough for the first team in my opinion, wasted alot of posession which came his way, his crossing isnt good enough and and times he can slow up play by cutting inside.

 

Owen was invisible today.

 

Shola is another one who isnt good enough, like a poor version of crouch in my opinion, rarely see him without a marker, he doesnt seem to be capable of shaking off him man. Link up play is ok but shouldnt get in the side once Viduka is back.

 

Defence was quite good today, Cacapa i thought was pretty good, seemed assured and surprisingly strong, didnt get dominated in the slightest today against arguable one of the most physical strikersin the league. Enrique was very good in my opinion, no one got past him, made some excellent runs as well, maybe a bit more of his attacking side that could be improved.

 

Taylor didnt have much to do, and Carr wasnt gbad to be fair, he supported Milner well, wasted a bit of possession in key areas defensively no real trouble.

 

 

[Teasy]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

 

Carroll. Or a wandering stray dog.

 

 

 

 

Because Carroll has been brilliant when he's played?  The lads no better then Ameobi at the moment.

[Numbers]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

Anyone who is looking to blame ameobi need a fucking lead earring..."OMG keegans been here 3 days and we only drew!!! WTF!",shut the fucking door on your way out tbh.

 

 

[Guest Brendan_Rice]

Zog man of the match, Given shut up the doubters.  Considering how many first team players we actually had available for this game, that isn't a terrible result.

 

I thought Owen would have stepped up as captain but I think there are a lot fo positives can be taken from the game.  Zog was immense we tried to pass it about well although we just couldn't do it in the final third where it really matters.  Shola battled well and doen alright for his first game back one of the few players that challenged Bolton in the air.  I think the wingers were so ineffective because of the way Sam has been playing and training them. 

 

Most importantly WE DIDN'T PLAY NEGATIVE FOOTBALL AND TRIED TO HAVE A GO.

 

I can see Keegan bringing in a couple of flair players that have the quality to improve our attacking options.  I would love to see Sean Wright Phillips if we could get him.  He would have been just what we needed today, him and Zog would link up well.

 

He is fast and we could do with the pace. Our wingers today didn't seem to be able to get past their man and knock it in.  I think he would do alright for us and he is the type of player Keegan would go for I reckon.

 

Who would you like to see come in?

 

Fast but nowt else. Not what we need in my opinion.

[NJS]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

 

Carroll. Or a wandering stray dog.

 

 

 

 

Because Carroll has been brilliant when he's played?  The lads no better then Ameobi at the moment.

 

I haven't seen much of Carroll therefore will give him a chance before I decide whether he's good. I don't need to see Ameobi play one second more to know he is nowhere near good enough.

 

 

[NJS]

keegan makes the same first error sam made. he played ameobi. andy o'brien marked him out the game. and dont give me any of that "he needs games" stuff, he was s**** before his injury and he's s**** after it.

 

bolton were considerably nearer to scoring than we were. did we even have a decent shot on target?

 

What??  There was no one else to play up front, who else should he have played? 

Anyone who is looking to blame ameobi need a f****** lead earring..."OMG keegans been here 3 days and we only drew!!! WTF!",shut the f****** door on your way out tbh.

 

 

 

I'm not blaming him for not winning - just stating that he isn't good enough.