Well 6/6 and some results going for us ( noticeably Wendy slipping up at home to former enemy manager Warnock's Rotherham ) and there is a different spin on proceedings. What price a 1-0 Pringle for the third straight game? Been a very good addition has been. As has Foley. Some ridiculed his signing, thought it was more of the same etc but Mick saw something in him and has played him middle of the park to good success for the wins. Zero goals conceded with the Foley at CM last two. Many calling him star man vs Forest. So what can we expect from Bolton? They are on horrific form, 1 point in 5 and we'll be heavy favourites here. However, we always do things the hard way don't we. Brighton entertain Wendy so a good chance to jump the Owls and set up a crunch tie with Cardiff ( I will be there be great to meet people again if going ) I hope Mick keeps faith with people. Hope Murphy / Douglas / Skuse are back amongst the squad. Have a weird feeling, I don't know why that we'll draw this. I had a good feeling last two but for this I don't know I just think it's going to be a damn struggle. Defeat here and Bolton are realistically really running out of games but I feel there may be a little life in the dog yet. 1-1.
Two consecutive 1-0 victories (albeit one scrappy and one deserved) constitutes form and at least gives us the impression that we can 'do it' against the struggling sides in this division. I agree with Westy that both Ben Pringle and Kevin Foley have initially proved me, and several others, wrong with a couple of impressive performances. Hopefully they can maintain their form because they are, whether we like it or not, the reinforcements that our budget provided. It's amazing to think that McCarthy could secure us another play off place with little investment. On paper, Bolton should provide a routine victory and bring us closer into the play-off mix. We're only a point off sixth, with a game in hand, which underlines how quickly this division can change and how difficult it is achieve consistency. Having said that, our recent victories only serves to paper over the cracks at this football club, with some of the off-field recent developments filling me with a sense of nervousness and trepidation. Ipswich no longer strikes me as an ambitious, affordable, and entertaining day out. Having said that, 20,000 odd for Saturday's match. I guess good form will always be reflected in a spike in attendances. As for the game, I feel Westy may be on the money with a 1-1 draw. But I'm going to opt for a comfortable 2-0 win.
A hard fought 2-1 win, Pringle crunches his 3rd in 3! Glad Bru fit. I am getting just a bit excited again. I find it astonishing that the Ipswich circus of lightweights, freebies and a few suffolk punches can still be with a chance of Play-offs!
We've still got that chance Gaffer, but with Derby six points ahead in fifth and Brighton 10 points clear of us in fourth (albeit we have a game in hand), I think we can realistically target sixth place but not much higher. The problem is we're scrapping with Birmingham, Cardiff, and Wednesday for that remaining play-off slot, short of a Derby/Brighton implosion. Of our remaining fixtures, we play two of those aforementioned teams (Cardiff and Wednesday) away from home. Throw in two further away trips to Middlesbrough and Derby, who make up half of the top four, and it's clear that a play-off spot is going to be a massive ask this year.
I've never been overly impressed with Bru tbh......he gets more plaudits when he is not playing than when he is....
Bru had a poor first half in my opinion SD he hasn't looked right for the last few games let's hope it's a temporary dip and he gets his form back.
I think we'll struggle today. Bolton have only lost four at home, so will be hard to break down. That said, they HAVE to win, so hopefully could be an entertaining game (I know, you don't usually see us involved in entertaining games). I see there being plenty of goals in this one, and i'll go for a 4-3 win (we'll go 4-1 up, and they'll pull two late goals back). Two for Sears, one for Smith and one for Pitman.
Bru often strikes me as a 'luxury player', as the cliché goes. Undoubtedly comfortable on the ball and possesses an impressive range of passing, however he has the tendency to go missing in matches, particularly when he gets physically contained by opposition defenders. I can't believe I'm comparing the two, but something similar happened to Ozil last year. The difference is the Arsenal midfielder is technically superior, but also toughened himself up by hitting the gym and building muscle. Bru still looks physically lightweight.
If same 11, same prediction 2-1, perhaps Bru on bench. Agree he seems out of sorts, often these overseas players have a missing home, friends and culture patch, especially the younger ones. The force is with us.
