Ahead of our game against Nottingham Forest, I talked to Scott from Vital Forest.
Q: You kicked off the season well with a comfortable win against Blackpool- are you confident ahead of your visit to the Macron Stadium?
A: Blackpool only managed to name 15 players for the first game and had rapidly assembled a team in the previous fortnight.
Forest gave 7 debuts, so it will invariably take time for the team to settle (like it did Blackpool), especially as we still have an extensive injury list. Lansbury, Vaughan, Wilson, Blackstock, Lascelles – with Lichaj, Hobbs, Cohen slowly making their own recoveries.
Whilst Forest won against one of their bogey teams, the opening games (especially as it was a very hot day too) are quite often disjointed. Blackpool improved in the 2nd half as they clearly got to know each other, but the game was arguably won in the first half.
Q: There`s been a little bit of unrest at Nottingham Forest with young stars Karl Darlow and Jamal Lascelles reportedly being sold behind Stuart Pearce`s back. Do you think this will have a negative effect on the squad?
A: Nope – in the cold light of day it looks a great bit of business & was allegedly a ‘misunderstanding’ between Pearce & the owner. Both players have been loaned back (for free) for the season and the monies generated were invested into 2 more new players (Antonio & Assombalonga).
Q: Chris Burke scored a well-taken goal against Blackpool. He`s a player who many a Bolton fan wanted to see in a white shirt this season. How do you rate him as a player?
A: I was surprised that he (Burke) spent all of pre-season training on his own, having been released by Birmingham. He is clearly a seasoned professional, with real quality – but at present, he is not match fit – as he is another that has been at Forest for literally a fortnight. Very shrewd signing – an experienced goal scoring winger is definitely a welcome arrival great goal too!
Q: You broke your club record transfer fee by signing striker Britt Assombalonga, do you think he along with your other attacking players will pose a threat to Bolton`s leaky defence?
A: Some think it a gamble, certainly an expensive one – but, he is another that is very different to what we have been used to. Skillful, strong, very pacy but unselfish. Forest will pose problems for many teams – they do need to gel though.
Q: Which Bolton player/s (if any) do you think will cause problems for your defence?
A: Lots of good players at Bolton – we spent an age trying to sign both Danns & Pratley (unsuccessfully) – so, they will no doubt do well. Beckford & Trotter always seem to score against Forest.
Q: Finally, what do you predict the full time result will be?
A: Always happy to get a point away from home. 1-1.
Thanks very much to Scott for his time and may the best team win.
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