Bolton dropped points yet again as they blew another lead to only draw with AFC Wimbledon. The performance was better than Tuesday, but then again, it would have been almost admirable if they had managed to play worse. In fact the first 10 to 15 minutes, it was a good performance, with more intelligent passing, some attacking intent, and the returning Gary Madine rose up to head Wanderers into the lead.
After that though, was a familiar story. Bolton sat back, thinking, hoping 1-0 was enough, and it proved not to be. Tom Elliott`s header was great, Ben Alnwick, back between the sticks, maybe could have done better, but it meant Wimbledon were back on level terms.
On another day we may have won that match. Chances were spurned, with a couple of real chances to win the game, Filipe Morais in particular missing a big one that somehow went over late on.
Talk after was what needs fixing. Was the wrong team picked? I`m not sure it was personnel, or at least the wrong starting lineup. Several players were unavailable, Madine and Le Fondre were paired together, and the last three standing central midfielders (if you class Derik as one) started the game, the defensive pairing of Derik and Thorpe allowing Vela some freedom, but in the end he couldn`t get in the game and there was the worry of him getting that 10th booking every time he tried to.
Can Parkinson`s approach be blamed? Yes, we`re good at going into the lead, not just yesterday, it happened on Tuesday. We often do come out of the blocks flying at the start of games. Earlier in the season we probably would be able to hold out for a 1-0 lead, but our defence is no longer the brick wall it was around October and November (two clean sheets in all competitions since Christmas). We need to stop this energy conserving, and keep trying to play the game that got us ahead in the first place. If we`re leading with 10 or 15 minutes to go, then fair enough, but at the moment they`re doing a job they`re incapable of doing.
Also, changes off the bench. Only one sub was made yesterday, as James Henry replaced Tom Thorpe. Viv Solomon-Otabor seemed unhappy on Twitter after the match, and nobody would have unhappy to see him being given a go.
If this reads like a turning on Phil Parkinson, it isn`t. I don`t know what people`s expectations were, but automatic promotion since the start of the season for me, would have been a bonus. We probably are roughly where I would expect us to be overall, and this is the first time in years I`m reasonably happy with the manager (maybe the first six months under Neil Lennon as well). But I`ve seen us play well, possibly twice since Christmas.
Then, we had a platform to have a real good stab at achieving something. Now, we could potentially even bottle a playoff place if something doesn`t change.
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