vonwright

This reminds me of how I felt when Jeff Hendrick left. I thought he was a decent enough player - but I certainly didn't see what others seemed to see. Wasn't really bothered to see him go for the money we got. 
I was gutted when Will Hughes left for about a third of what I thought he was worth.
 

At the risk of opening up another debate on XG..........
I actually like XG as a stat and over a season is a pretty good indicator of the chances created.
We had the lowest XG against in the division.
I think JW is a very decent keeper and I'd keep him - but the team in front of him shielded him more than any other team shielded their keeper.

Bristol's a nice part of the world. They've got some good young players, including Knight and Roberts. They play decent football that will probably suit Bird. And we weren't guaranteed to go up when he signed. 
Hard to say but he might also feel it's just the right time to try something different. He grew up in a Derby system, and a cohort of young players, that has largely disappeared. I'm sure he loves this club and always will, but it might not feel like 'his' project in quite the same way. 
He'll be massively missed and I'm sure he'll miss us.

Bristol's a nice part of the world. They've got some good young players, including Knight and Roberts. They play decent football that will probably suit Bird. And we weren't guaranteed to go up when he signed. 
Hard to say but he might also feel it's just the right time to try something different. He grew up in a Derby system, and a cohort of young players, that has largely disappeared. I'm sure he loves this club and always will, but it might not feel like 'his' project in quite the same way. 
He'll be massively missed and I'm sure he'll miss us.

Bristol's a nice part of the world. They've got some good young players, including Knight and Roberts. They play decent football that will probably suit Bird. And we weren't guaranteed to go up when he signed. 
Hard to say but he might also feel it's just the right time to try something different. He grew up in a Derby system, and a cohort of young players, that has largely disappeared. I'm sure he loves this club and always will, but it might not feel like 'his' project in quite the same way. 
He'll be massively missed and I'm sure he'll miss us.

Next season's squad will certainly be interesting.
We're free of the league-agreed business plan, the level of obstruction and the impact it had on us in practical terms still very much debatable, but we'll still be working toward the aim of being sustainable and unlike in League One this past season we'll really have to make sure that we get value for money with our signings.
The starting lineup & bench come August 2024 will consist about 70-80% of players brought to the club by Warne, he won't be able to rely on the bulk of our minutes being played by those he inherited like he has this season, where his signings have contributed to an average of just 27% of our total minutes played, with 10 of his 15 signings contributing less than 30%.
Ultimately this season the means have justified the end, nearly all of the players have contributed at least something valuable to the cause, which speaks well of the preparedness of players even when they're dropping in and out, and we've achieved what we set out to achieve but I'd suggest it's rather unlikely we'll be able to get away such wastage next season.
Written down, it's difficult to argue that we were held back by the amount of money spent of pre-Warne signings or that they contribute a significantly higher sum to our wage bill than the players brought in this season.  In terms of VFM there's a clear distinction. That being said, you can say that it's to Warne's credit he got the most out of the players he inherited.
Hopefully there are more signings like Nelson & Adams to come, but we'll face far stronger competition for them without having the pull of being the biggest club in the division. News of us scouting abroad is encouraging, especially if it helps us find those players not on everybody else's radar.
We'll probably need to bring in a core of maybe 7-8 new players all capable of contributing to 60-80% of our minutes, if not higher IMO.
A big summer ahead, no doubt.

 

I remember him looking like the only player that knew what he was supposed to be doing against Bristol City away (in which he scored). Then just totally bombed out. Shame really as the Anya that played for Watford was fantastic. 

My main memory of Aina is being really disappointing with just how average he was. Thought he'd be a lot better, particularly going forward. 

Hi all,
I just wanted to pop on and say congrats on a successful season and well deserved promotion. I know there's been some ill feeling between fans, mostly on the toxic social media platforms (not helped by a large number of idiots of which we at Bolton have f****** loads). I've scanned through your forum and a few others to regularly to check in on the thoughts of some of our promotion rivals over the season and as forums go, this one is generally positive and full of good and honest opinions. We have another fan called Wanderlust who often peruses the various forums and I feel he is a good fan for honest opinions too. I hope we can join you, I'm sure there's plenty of you hoping we stumble and end up stuck in L1 for at least another year, mainly for the fans who've been making stupid excuses for us not winning points this season. Reality is, you and Pompey were the most consistent teams over the season and thoroughly deserve your promotion, so well done and good luck in the championship next year. With your stadium and fanbase and what your fans have been through (trust me, I know what it feels like too), you deserve some good times now!
 
All the best gents (and ladies)

Yeah love to know if he has any regrets right now

Wonder if Clowes and Pearce put an uno reverse clause in the deal 🤔 💔 

I'm sad to see Birdy go. Can't help thinking he's made a terrible decision to go to bloody Bristol City....

Yeah love to know if he has any regrets right now

Instead of belittling people who aren't fans of Warne or confident in him in the long term, why not try debating the points they make.
 

I find posts like this just weird. One of Sibley's many strengths is his ability to run with the ball at his feet, at speed, leaving midfielders of defenders in his wake. He's absolutely no slouch. We are a team whose instructions are to bypass central midfield and play the ball wide at the earliest possible opportunity. If we were prepared to vary our approach and played Sibbo in midfield, then we'd have the threat from the wings and also the threat from the centre.

Difficult for me to say C86. I have not watched many of our performances of late, other than highlights, but notwithstanding I wouldn’t hold Paul Warne to account for any specific game in isolation, whether it Wycombe (A), Northampton (A), or Charlton (H). All 3 of them poor performances recently, with vital points lost, when a win could have created real pressure on teams around us.
I think he had really limited options on Wednesday, but part of that I feel is because he ‘breaks’ players. How many players have we had on the treatment table this season with niggling injuries to soft tissue, hamstrings, calf pulls, etc.  He works players too hard in my opinion, prioritising stamina and athleticism over ball retention and passing finesse. Fortunately we have a good, deep squad funded by Clowes, because we need it to cover for the number of injuries that are being sustained. Didn’t I read that he was saying on Tuesday how the players didn’t look right, and how some were jaded on Wednesday evening. I wonder whether he ever thinks it’s because he wears them out with his demands.
I am not a fan of his ‘tactics’ either - conceding midfield and hitting the ball quickly to the wings to get crosses in is ok, if we had a really decent (old fashioned) centre forward to get his head on most of the crosses, and if it wasn’t our only actual tactic (other than loading up at free kicks and corners). Seems to me that when the tactic isn’t working that we just try to do more of the same, but more quickly, with our players treating the football like it’s a hot potato.
In answer to @G STAR RAMand @YorkshireRam being second, per se, is not the problem, and he may well get us up. If he does it would be churlish for me not to say well done, you did your job. The players too. However, he disappoints me as I think we have the best squad overall in the league, and that the league is at its lowest quality for years. When I say in spite of Warne, I mean that I think a decent coach could have got this squad promoted by now, keeping the players fit through better rotation and the use of a few younger lads near the end of games, and playing a better brand of football suiting better the skill set of a number of our players. Rather than having a nail biting finish, we could and should be well clear of the third place team in my opinion.
And that is all it is, my opinion. Not concerned a jot if someone, or everyone, doesn’t agree with it, or doesn’t understand it. Equally I don’t feel the need to strongly debate it either. As you say I have been pretty consistent with my opinion on him since he joined, and I haven’t seen much over the last 18 months that that changes my viewpoint. 
 
 

Might be because he's slow and unfit!

Too slow

Think he's still got a big part to play. There will be a lot of pressure in the games ahead, and he's played in a lot of big games. 

Think he's still got a big part to play. There will be a lot of pressure in the games ahead, and he's played in a lot of big games. 

Yes  It was the most consistent  season in our history ., ,,,

Think he's still got a big part to play. There will be a lot of pressure in the games ahead, and he's played in a lot of big games. 

Think he's still got a big part to play. There will be a lot of pressure in the games ahead, and he's played in a lot of big games. 

Think he's still got a big part to play. There will be a lot of pressure in the games ahead, and he's played in a lot of big games. 

I don’t want to get ahead of myself or allow myself to be excited, but.. I feel like something has finally clicked.
Best performance we’ve ever had under Warne, in my opinion. We’ve fell on to a workable system, the main reason was the recruitment staff doing their job and finding a gem in Ebou Adams and very recently I think it’s not in any small part to having to change the dynamic with Gayle upfront. I believe these two signings in particular have changed our fortunes, similarly to how Nyambe did earlier in the season.
Sibley and Ward are excelling. The defence are well balanced, the cohesion between the midfield and defence is significantly better, gaps aren’t as freely available for the other team and we are now working well going forward. I think we actually look like a team now, which for the majority of the season has definitely been missing something. The last two performances, the dynamic of the team, I’m finally hopeful.