I thought the tactics were good yesterday. There was a solid feel to the formation and the positioning of a holding player in front of the back four was a sensible move. There was also more intent upfront in my opinion. Unfortunately, the players picked were weak and unable to make the formation work as effectively as should have been the case. Dawson and Perkins are patently not good enough and do not create. Similarly, Kennedy in particular as a left back offers little. I reserve judgement on Steele today as apparently he wasnt fit but having said that his kicking, as usual was awful and he contributed to Bolton attacks on more than one occasion. The players at Wilson's disposal do not look good enough to me, particularly in midfield and he will have to do some serious chopping and changing for the next match..
Steele's the last one I'd have criticised - we could have conceded 4 goals in about 15 minutes early in the 2nd half if it wasn't for him.
I agree, Steele was brilliant today and full of confidence. We don't need to worry about trying to get Butland back if he's going to perform like that! I am a little concerned about the next few games all coming at once though. I guess it could give some players that weren't favoured by hillcroft a chance to shine so I'm still excited! Bring on Sunday!
Mellis is back, so that's a positive. But you can't drop JOB after today, can you? For me, Dawson and Perkins are showing their weaknesses and maybe will be dropped?
How many goals did Steele's kicking cost us? In fact how many goals has it ever cost us? I dont mind if he hits an opposing player on the halfway line every now and again, or kicks the ball into touch on the half way line as long as he keeps the ball out of the back of his net, which he can't really be blamed for yesterday either.
I saw him kick 2 into touch and one wide which was short of his target and went to one of their players otherwise they were on or in the vicinity of our strikers.
Steele was MOTM IMO. We have too many players who are limited at this level though, Kennedy, Dawson and Perkins in particular.
