I felt we were fairly comfortable until the last 10 minutes against Peterborough, a bit like the first leg. That last 10 minutes (particularly the throw-in that went across the face of goal in the last seconds) took a few years off my life expectancy. Difficult to argue against saying Peterborough are a better team than us, attacking wise they have a lot of talent, but also over the two legs you could argue we held our own and it wasn't an injustice that we won.
Generally we weren't great in either game though, lacked composure on the ball too often, fingers crossed there's an attacking performance left for the final at Wembley.
I'm planning on going, the 4:15 kick-off gives me some problems getting back to Scotland as the last flight is 20:55, so extra time and penalties would cut it extremely close. I'm already pushing my luck domestically, as I (back when the play-offs seemed unlikely) arranged for a (non-football loving) member of my family to visit over the weekend. But Wembley appearances don't come round often and you never know when, for whatever reason, it might be your last opportunity, so I'm cashing in any credit I've built up and having a day out.
Wem-Ber-Lee!
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Kairdiff Exile
- Mid-life Crisis
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Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
Didn't expect us to overcome Peterborough, delighted we did.
I shall be at Wembley - but like you, the cost and logistics of it all are galling. Personally, I can't stand Wembley games. It's everything I dislike about modern football: vast, impersonal, lots of being herded around and subject to rules about what you can/can't do, price-gouging on every part of the day so you feel like a walking wallet open to exploitation, plus you have even less control about the people with whom you're sitting than at a home game. It's an experience to be endured rather than enjoyed, but if you win then you forget a lot of the shit parts.
In the unlikely event that anyone from this board is travelling from South Wales and wants to lift-share, drop me a message.
I shall be at Wembley - but like you, the cost and logistics of it all are galling. Personally, I can't stand Wembley games. It's everything I dislike about modern football: vast, impersonal, lots of being herded around and subject to rules about what you can/can't do, price-gouging on every part of the day so you feel like a walking wallet open to exploitation, plus you have even less control about the people with whom you're sitting than at a home game. It's an experience to be endured rather than enjoyed, but if you win then you forget a lot of the shit parts.
In the unlikely event that anyone from this board is travelling from South Wales and wants to lift-share, drop me a message.
Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
according to match stats (my picks)
possession 70:30
corners 14:5
the others looked a bit even (fouls etc).
But second half I must have looked over to the scoreboard every two minutes and disappointed to not see the time to go diminishing by five minutes.
Anyway, Charters was great as ever, and even had an outside bar and more seating / picnic tables this time. I missed the last away game in December. Didn't appear to be any issue with home and away fans mixing though the local plod were keeping watch.
As for the match, I think we were lucky second half with us set up to defend rather than sneak a second goal to put the tie in our way. Great clearances and saves from Long and Cumming at the end. If I was a Posh fan I'd have been screaming for the goalie to go up once in the last minute. No idea why he didn't. Their only chance of play-offs was to score another, and if they lose 2-1 rather than draw 1-1 it's still us in the play-offs.
possession 70:30
corners 14:5
the others looked a bit even (fouls etc).
But second half I must have looked over to the scoreboard every two minutes and disappointed to not see the time to go diminishing by five minutes.
Anyway, Charters was great as ever, and even had an outside bar and more seating / picnic tables this time. I missed the last away game in December. Didn't appear to be any issue with home and away fans mixing though the local plod were keeping watch.
As for the match, I think we were lucky second half with us set up to defend rather than sneak a second goal to put the tie in our way. Great clearances and saves from Long and Cumming at the end. If I was a Posh fan I'd have been screaming for the goalie to go up once in the last minute. No idea why he didn't. Their only chance of play-offs was to score another, and if they lose 2-1 rather than draw 1-1 it's still us in the play-offs.
Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
The winners curse?
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... p-demands/
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... p-demands/
Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
Really? 36 hours and no posting? Listening to some of the Bolton fans on the tube heading towards Wembley, I just kept thinking about one thing - that we were above Bolton in the 4-game, 6, 8, and 10 game form tables at the end of the season. Then I heard the stats about how few goals we had conceded since that night. And remembering that our only defeat came from a penalty that was not a foul. But isn't it the hope that kills you?
I have supported this team for too long to be too confident, but it was obvious - contrary to what so many pundits were saying, let alone what the bookies were offering - that we were the form team. And how often has that been crucial to success in the pay-offs.
Of course a PotM had to be chosen, but every single player did what they had to do, individually and collectively (even Cumming, who must have had one of the easiest games any keeper has ever had in a final). Yesterday I heard on Radio 5 Mark Chapman (I think it was) describe our performance as a Tactical Masterclass. That really sums it up. As someone on a Bolton thread said, we out-thought and out-fought them.
Of course they are focusing on "not turning up", but tactically Des and the players made sure their efforts to "turn up" were continually negated. I refused to video the West End fans singing "we are going up" until I myself finally believed, somewhere around 98 minutes, but Bolton fans were departing well before then. It only occurred to me later that they clearly could see something about their team that I could not. As they got more desperate and hoofed the ball longer and longer, it was just meat and drink to our incredible back line.
And that is the thing about the Des turnaround. We are not only looking dangerous going forwards, we have stopped shipping goals. Against Peterborough it was that defensive effort that won us the game. If you can sort out scoring and not conceding you have to be onto a good thing.
I think it says a lot about the club that even the likes of Mills and Beadle were there. Everybody had played a part during the season and had helped to get us to where we were and are now heading. This really is a very special club.
I have supported this team for too long to be too confident, but it was obvious - contrary to what so many pundits were saying, let alone what the bookies were offering - that we were the form team. And how often has that been crucial to success in the pay-offs.
Of course a PotM had to be chosen, but every single player did what they had to do, individually and collectively (even Cumming, who must have had one of the easiest games any keeper has ever had in a final). Yesterday I heard on Radio 5 Mark Chapman (I think it was) describe our performance as a Tactical Masterclass. That really sums it up. As someone on a Bolton thread said, we out-thought and out-fought them.
Of course they are focusing on "not turning up", but tactically Des and the players made sure their efforts to "turn up" were continually negated. I refused to video the West End fans singing "we are going up" until I myself finally believed, somewhere around 98 minutes, but Bolton fans were departing well before then. It only occurred to me later that they clearly could see something about their team that I could not. As they got more desperate and hoofed the ball longer and longer, it was just meat and drink to our incredible back line.
And that is the thing about the Des turnaround. We are not only looking dangerous going forwards, we have stopped shipping goals. Against Peterborough it was that defensive effort that won us the game. If you can sort out scoring and not conceding you have to be onto a good thing.
I think it says a lot about the club that even the likes of Mills and Beadle were there. Everybody had played a part during the season and had helped to get us to where we were and are now heading. This really is a very special club.
Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
If I'm being greedy I would have liked a 3rd goal, all our chances fell to our best player, Murphy and on another day he might have scored 5 or 6. I was at the Gillingham v Man City play-off game in 98 when Gillingham scored 2 in the last 10 minutes but then Man City got 2 in injury time and I was very aware of that but really, apart from a couple of headers that went over the bar, we were never in any danger.
I got the train down from Glasgow to Euston and a lot of Bolton fans got on at Preston, they didn't seem overly confident to me unlike the pre-match media/odds. Their team froze a little bit I thought. They couldn't cope with us just letting their central defenders have the ball and then we just smothered them in midfield - it was very impressive, both tactically and how the team applied the tactics.
The turnaround from the 5-0 at Bolton has been incredible, we were probably another couple of results away from things becoming very difficult or impossible for Buckingham but to his eternal credit he made changes and more importantly got everyone to buy into it. The biggest one for me being getting Goodrham in the midfield, rather than as a winger and he has given us more energy and positivity in the middle of the pitch.
Will be interesting to see how much the club "goes for it" in an attempt to stay in the Championship, I expect it will be a struggle at times, but I sense that they will have a go, rather than going for the yo-yo approach (like Rotherham).
Also, I have a recollection that somewhere it was said that Kassam had to allow us a 4th stand if we ever got into the Championship. Does anyone know? Obviously it'll be temporary stand, but I hope we manage something as for a lot of the games next season I think we could sell more than the 11500 (or whatever our capacity is) quite a few times.
I got the train down from Glasgow to Euston and a lot of Bolton fans got on at Preston, they didn't seem overly confident to me unlike the pre-match media/odds. Their team froze a little bit I thought. They couldn't cope with us just letting their central defenders have the ball and then we just smothered them in midfield - it was very impressive, both tactically and how the team applied the tactics.
The turnaround from the 5-0 at Bolton has been incredible, we were probably another couple of results away from things becoming very difficult or impossible for Buckingham but to his eternal credit he made changes and more importantly got everyone to buy into it. The biggest one for me being getting Goodrham in the midfield, rather than as a winger and he has given us more energy and positivity in the middle of the pitch.
Will be interesting to see how much the club "goes for it" in an attempt to stay in the Championship, I expect it will be a struggle at times, but I sense that they will have a go, rather than going for the yo-yo approach (like Rotherham).
Also, I have a recollection that somewhere it was said that Kassam had to allow us a 4th stand if we ever got into the Championship. Does anyone know? Obviously it'll be temporary stand, but I hope we manage something as for a lot of the games next season I think we could sell more than the 11500 (or whatever our capacity is) quite a few times.
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Kairdiff Exile
- Mid-life Crisis
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- Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:59 pm
Re: Wem-Ber-Lee!
Well I've thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's reports and listening to all the various podcasts since Saturday, and feeling the sense of sheer joy (and surprise) at the victory. It felt... too easy, almost? But as others have said, part of the reason Bolton didn't play well is that we didn't let them.
I also feel duty-bound to eat a hefty portion of humble pie. I was very unconvinced by Buckingham after I witnessed pretty insipid losses against Bristol Rovers and Orient. But he was right and I was wrong - there was a plan, and he delivered it expertly. As they said on The Dub, it can be harder in some ways for managers who come in at a club who are doing well, because the temptation is there to not change too much. Buckingham certainly got us playing well at the right time, and got the results when it mattered.
Can't wait to see us play in the Second Division again - not least because after 23 years of living in Cardiff, I'll finally get to see Oxford play a ruddy game here! If any Rage Onliners come to it, you're welcome to join me and a few other exiles on an extremely good and non-obvious pub crawl beforehand.
I also feel duty-bound to eat a hefty portion of humble pie. I was very unconvinced by Buckingham after I witnessed pretty insipid losses against Bristol Rovers and Orient. But he was right and I was wrong - there was a plan, and he delivered it expertly. As they said on The Dub, it can be harder in some ways for managers who come in at a club who are doing well, because the temptation is there to not change too much. Buckingham certainly got us playing well at the right time, and got the results when it mattered.
Can't wait to see us play in the Second Division again - not least because after 23 years of living in Cardiff, I'll finally get to see Oxford play a ruddy game here! If any Rage Onliners come to it, you're welcome to join me and a few other exiles on an extremely good and non-obvious pub crawl beforehand.