Perfect Storm

Wu Flu strikes the Wunderers !!!
It was just a matter of time, in fact I'm surprised they kept it at bay as long as they did...
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18997378.two-bolton-wanderers-players-test-positive-covid-19-efl-tests/
Looks like the parasites have got wind of it, the boards have just been {as good as} wiped clean...
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/exeter-v-bolton/winner
Other that that, I had to take a second look at the 5/2 being offered against Southend at home to Barrow !!! Have Barrow signed Messi without mentioning to anyone other than Bald Fred & Co.
Barrow must have one of the longest journeys in L2, it's a LONG way from Barrow to anywhere, most so in weather and road conditions up here and probably all along their route.
It's not like Barrow in 20th spot in L2 are in form, in their last match they needed a Penalty to draw 1-1 against Tranmere.
Prior to that they won 2-0 at Port Vale, played at home to Cheltenham winning 3-0, so far so good, but they got beat 2-1 away to Sc.unt.thorpe and lost 4-2 at Crawley, before that losing 1-0 at home to Salford and by the same score away to Morecambe.
Barrow have won 2 of the last 13 games they've played since Nov 1st !!!  https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/southend-v-barrow/winner
I'll nip round to Bet365 and take 4/6 Southend +1 should be a safe bet.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/southend-v-barrow/handicaps
That's my missive for the day...
 

Add me to the list then...
Thanks.
 

Anyone interested in a Forum for Bitcoin or other Crypto currencies ?
I don't see them as an "investment" particularly, more a Gamble to me, thankfully I got in while the horse was still being saddled.
 
 

Villa to score went out to 5/1 once the strong Liverpool line up was announced. I was similarly inclined and luckily waited till I pulled the trigger. Earlier on Villa goal minutes were 31 to buy (would’ve yielded a 10 point profit for their 41st minute goal) but plummeted to 12 for a 29 point gain.

You've made my day, I hadn't even noticed that Mansfield had played last night, what a brilliant result, no way would I have fancied them beating Salford, even though Salford have put some poor results in against poor side including getting beat 2-0 by the Wunderers.
I bet "The Class of 92" are STEAMING, I would be if I'd put the money in that they've "invested" in the Club, I would have expected them to be automatically promoted this year, just shows how tough ownership is.
GLAD to see Mansfield find a bit of form, they are at home to the Wunderers on the 26th. January could be iceberg month for the Wunderers, fingers crossed then hey, if they draw the blank domino this month they could be rock bottom of L2 by February.
February is definitely the sink or swim month for the Wunderers as they replay all the teams they scalped one after another in November including Salford, Stevenage, Southend and Sc.unt.horpe, I expect that these teams will be looking to return the favour, one after another, and if the Wunderers have been knocked senseless in January they may well be panic struck. I wonder who may have jumped ship by then and who's Dad or Lad will be lacing up for the Wunderers.
As for who owns what at the Reebok {as most still prefer to call it round here}, it's a mystery to me, but you've shed a bit more light on it. I reckon it was a shell game from day one, Punch & Judy let everyone know THEY were the owners, but there wasn't any mention of what they own, who owns them, or how many hyaena's make a pack if "The Lion of Vienna" falls...
The deeper you look into it the more it looks typical of how Football Club Ownership has gone in the last 20 years or so, a sorry state of affairs. But when cows are lining up in their tens of thousands outside a ground someone will turn up to milk them.
Makes me wonder if anyone is in the game, for the game, these days, or if it's nothing other than the money that attracts / motivates them. I often wonder what women see in footballers, then again, like cars, you can always look to trade up...
Thank gawd Rugby hasn't gone down the same track, yet...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Not sure about the Accounts stuff, when they are due etc take your word for it. Can’t see how a Club like Bolton are not bleeding money though especially with a Hotel in tow.
Bolton were 80/1 a month ago now from what I can see 25/1 or 22/1 with the only firms betting on the market.
So bottom up Southend much improved over last month, ok lost last one to Orient but that’s no disgrace, probably will lose to Newport but they are not the ones where they need to get points. Home to Barrow next well winnable.
Grimsby I would be worried about them, no form to speak of, new manager, big January needed.
Stevenage seem to be going the right way, no game until 16th Jan?
Barrow, mini turn around having changed manager, still work to do but opportunities will come along I’m sure.
Scnuthorpe can’t work them out win ones you don’t expect lose ones you think they would win.
Mansfield seem to be on upward trend now with Clough in charge turn a few draws into wins think they will be ok.
Bradford see above comment re upward trend after change of Management.
Port Vale well what can you say one win in last 10, yes 6 - 3 against Bolton I would be worried for them.
Harrogate struggling in first season in league but well run club and would expect them to battle there way to survival.
Above Bolton 4 teams with negative goal difference but not form wise likely to drop like a stone to the foot of the table. So who are likely relegation candidates? All things being equal might want Grimsby on side, be worried for Scnuthorpe think Southend and Stevenage will both survive funnily enough. Port Vale and Bolton are just games away from being in difficult positions, with limited resources to get out of trouble.
 
 

That's a first for me, the Wunderers helped me burn £360 but the smell of the smoke was sweet enough to compensate for the loss of the £ notes. That's the 3rd Home defeat on the trot for the Trotters, the way they are going the club might not need to go into Admin.
Other than that, a couple of decent results from our Allies fighting a rear guard action against relegation. Mansfield beating Port Vale 4-0 where did that result come from and Stevenage beating S.cun.thorpe 3-1 that puts Stevenage just 6 points behind Bolton with a game in hand of them.
Every team down from Bolton in 15th slot looks vulnerable to say the least for relegation.
As for the fans feeling the cold, it's quite the opposite, they are FLAMING one another. Some of them known locally as "The Teachers Pets" will swallow anything Evatt says, others are white hot raging against the FV Punch and Judy no show. No wonder when someone is stoking the flames revealing how Ms Brittan loaned the Club £20 Million at 4% try getting 4% from Barclays.
The more you look at it the more it starts to look like a shell game.
I think the way to buy a Club is, you form a company, with yourself as the majority shareholder, say 60% then you personally loan the company £20 Million at 4% that's from £20 Million you borrow, if you can't find it at the bottom of yer handbag.
If you don't find the money in yer handbag you borrow £20 Million from Barclays, or the like, at say 2% to 3% and re-loan it at 4% pocketing the difference, say around £8,000 a week for your troubles, 8 grand a week might not sound a lot, but it adds up over the years.
The company that you set up, the one you own 60% of, buys a stadium and all that comes with it, then starts paying you off from the gate money, so far so good, as long as there is gate money...
Normally there wouldn't be much risk, because the money you loaned is secured against the value of the property that your company purchases.
But it ain't Normal times is it, if the turnstiles aren't clicking how does the Club you own pay you the interest on the money you borrowed to lend to the Club you own 60% or so of !!!
What should have been a very lucrative roll of the dice starts to come up with all the wrong numbers when you finish up with a goalkeeper who would struggle to catch a cold, a team made up of Lads & Dad's recruited by an ex-train driver who fancies himself as Head of Football Operations. Throw in a Manager who thinks he's in charge of Barcelona and it has all the hallmarks of a disaster of Titanic proportions, and that's before you throw Wu Flu into the mix.
A strategy cleverly thought out for normal times, but right now it starts to look like a house of cards. The Club has little / if any income so how does it pay the £20 Million loan off, if the loan can't be serviced someone somewhere along the debt chain will pull the plug.
The problem being, the assets that secured the loan may have dropped like a stone. The Club could go bust, if it does the assets pass to the loaner, they finish up with the assets, but the assets now don't cover the debt.
Seems to me that someone in the middle will feel the pinch, to say the least, but it looked like a clever move before the dice were rolled, must have looked like a way to print money at the time...
It's 10 out of 10 if you can follow the above, it took an Accountant half an hour to explain it to me how shell games like this are played...
 
                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yeah, sorry, not sure my sarcasm translated very well in that post!

Merry Christmas, @Perfect Storm! Here's to 2021 with the optimistic hope that Bolton can somehow turn their fortunes around and once again rise up the leagues! Looking forward to more of your posts after Christmas! 

What can I say, I'll have to get some of that demister spray for my crystal ball.
I just couldn't see Tranmere winning, not after shipping 5 goals in against Exeter, just goes to show {again} why Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses, my contribution to them today was 200 quid on Bolton -1 and 40 quid on the Shrimpers at 9/2, I thought they would win once they went 1 up, only to see Mansfield draw another game, FFS.
The Shrimpers goal was scored by that Arsenal loanee Olayinka, he could be the key to Southend's survival this season. Having said that, Southend's defence did well enough, not to mention a couple of great saves by Oxley. Mansfield had 61% of the possession, Southend soaked up 17 shots, 6 of them on target. That's 4 game unbeaten run for them now, they aren't 1/12 now for relegation.
Speaking of relegation, there wasn't a game than went against us today including the 4-2 win that Oldham put in against Newport, how the hell did they put that result together, what was I saying about where Bookmakers live when they aren't residing "Offshore." 
The shop is closed now until Boxing Day when Carlisle are at home to Bolton, let's hope that after their 1-0 loss today to Forest Green that their Manager has the team closer to the fire than roasting chestnuts.
That's me signing off until Boxing Day, so with that in mind I'll wish everyone a Merry and Safe Christmas, let's look forward to an eventful and profitable New Year.
From me, to all of you...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

No doubt the Super Whites have some big lads in the team, Scott Davies @ 6ft isn't a midget, nor are is anyone in the back line for Tranmere, but that didn't help much in the drubbing they took at Exeter, add to that, far as I can see Scott Davies has failed to keep a clean sheet this season. As for the Keith Hill connection, on another day that might have got a few more Wunderers supporters out of bed and on their way to the Unibol, but not today.
"Bullish on Bolton" ? aye, well, that's a fair comment, but there's an art to betting, gawd help you is yer a Club Fan, you are sure they'll win every game, they are stood way too near the trees to see what they are looking at, maybe that explains why few fans actually bet on the games, they aren't as stupid as they look, chances are they learned the hard way. But the opposite is valid too, if there's a club you (seeing it's almost Christmas, I'll put this politely), if there's a club you aren't all that keen on (that often down to your perception of their fans) you like to see them get beat, and betting on whoever they play. That holds the same pitfalls, a bad strategy to bet with, so being a fan doesn't help, nor does (putting it politely again) not being a fan of a club.
The best ground to stand on is the middle ground, that's almost impossible to find because we all have our preferences, persuasions and prejudice, betting based on emotion rather than cold, clear, calculation is a reliable way to the workhouse. The more analytical we are, the better our chance of winning, we SHOULD know that, most of us don't, BUT, the Parasites do, they spend MILLIONS "weighing up" the odds, to the point where they now have what just a few years ago would have been called Super Computers running Algorithms hell bent on relieving us of our money.
S cun t horpe v Grimsby hey, who would have thought that except for Wu Flu doing the rounds that people would pay good money to watch them two play each other. I wouldn't like to pick the winner there, so I wish you good luck with it, I'll keep my eye on it for you.
As for Mansfield v Southend, I'm going against ALL that I've preached above, I have a soft spot for Southend, but today's bet on them is down to them grabbing 7 of the last 9 points they've contested, I'd like to see them grab 3 more this afternoon, partly because that would keep the pressure on the Wunderers for our relegation bet which by the way not one of the Parasites that I have accounts with will take another shilling off me on that bet, they keep listing the relegation odds, but won't lay me any more bets.
Back to the Wunderers, what's the difference between the Unibol Stadium and a cactus plant ????
On a Cactus plant the pricks are on the outside ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cheltenham 0 Bolton 1
                 In the 91st minute !!!
              Even the dog dint believe it...
 

I've a soft spot for Southend, not sure why, sympathy for the underdog maybe, that and remembering the only time I've ever been there in the days of Mod's & Rockers. It took me 2 days to get from Wigan to Southend on my Vespa VS5, capable of doing 50 mph if yer ears could stand it, but at 35-40 mph you could actually hear other traffic.
Took me a day to get to Peterborough, no Motorways to speak of then, no GPS either, just AA maps, thank gawd for me Boy Scout days or I'd never have got there. I arrived on a Saturday afternoon to see hundreds of Mod's & Rockers fighting like **** I left them to it. I was almost too  knackered to stand up let alone fight anyone. That's my connection with Southend, the 60's hey, them were the days...
Looks like brighter times are on their way for the Shrimpers, they've sold their ground and if they build a team to match their proposed new stadium they'll do well.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-52152238
As for Bolton's reaction, well, from what I could see on ifollow (a shyte service if ever there was one), Bolton soaked up a lot of pressure in the first 10 minutes, their goal on 13 minutes was well against the run of play, Walsall had put everything into attack and were caught by the counterattack. That put Walsall on the back foot but they worked their way back into the game, all in all it wasn't a bad game, it could have gone either way, typical of what you might expect in the middle of what used to be called the 4th Division.
The link below shows the highlights, including a brilliant double save by Gilks, except for him we'd be drawing our money now...
 
As you say, the Wunderers next game is away to Cheltenham, Bolton do have some firepower up front, their midfield is mediocre and their defence is woeful, Gilks being the exception, so all things being equal Cheltenham should dismantle the Wunderers.
Having said that Cheltenham haven't scored in their last 2 games, mind you one of those games was a 3-0 defeat by in form / high scoring Division 1 promotion contenders Portsmouth, the other game was away to Salford who with least goals against have the best defence in L2. Excepting for those two tough games in their previous 5 home games Cheltenham have netted 12 goals.
The almost Evens on offer for Tuesdays game from Bald Fred and the Parasites seems a bit generous, I'd rate Cheltenham as 4/7 but if I had to lay them you'd get no better than 2/5 off me and I'd have to be in a generous mood to offer you 2/5.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/cheltenham-v-bolton/winner
I can't see the Wunderers regrouping by Tuesday, the beauty of this game is if it goes to plan Tranmere Rovers will be fancying their chance for Saturdays game.
As for the departure of the ex train driver, Tobias Phoenix, with a name like that you must have a career in porno waiting for you, but his head on a plate won't silence the baying wolves, nor the braying of the donkeys (the supporters). Word has it that Evatt  isn't best liked, well, better liked than Chris Wilder and we can see how that's going. There's too many factions in the Wunderers camp, they blow one way one day and the opposite the next day.
As you might have read, some of the donkeys are braying for the return of Sam Allardyce, obviously yearning for a return to former times, some chance, they have no idea about the clubs finances, if only they knew...
Don't forget that the reason for our relegation bet is the millstones on the clubs back, the £7.4 Million that FV paid for the Whites Hotel, the hotel is still open, but most days there's more staff than guests. Add to that the £5 Million or so of inherited debt they have to pay off completely by August next year, how do you put £700,000 a month away in a tin to pay that off ? where does that money come from ? it puts that £250,000 from the EFL into context.
I see BetVictor are still "offering" 80/1 against the Wunderers being relegated, I tried to get a fiver on at 80/1, the bet was declined, tried again for a quid, same thing, looks like they've noticed I'm a new account and the only bets I have with them are Bolton to be Relegated.
Let me know if you can get any money on, I reckon there should be some sort of Law that if they offer a price they are obliged to lay it, to at least a tenner...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Other than the above, I just couldn't resist that 80/1 that Bet Victor were offering so I put £50 into my account on there and rather than try to get 80/1 to £50 and finish up with the door shut in my face I nibbled away with a fiver a time, £400 to £5 is a nice little bet. 
I left 5 minutes or so between bets, that went well until I'd just a tenner left, so I thought "b*gger it" I'll see if it'll take a tenner, more fool me, it must have rang a bell in Gibraltar, this is what came back...
Bolton Wanderers Bottom 2 Finish - Outright League Two Bottom 2 Finish 2020/21 £ @ 80/1 Limit Exceeded. Max stake for this event has been adjusted. Payout limits apply to all betting transactions. They offered me 80/1 to £1.38 !!!
How the hell do they come up with a ridiculous figure like that ??? £1.38 !!!
I  should have stayed with £5 a time, that got me in 8x under the wire, £3,200 to £40.
There's NOTHING "Sporting" about Bookmakers these days, they aren't Turf Accountants the "Turf" has GONE, it's been laid on top of the Bookies of Old, the ones who weren't adverse to risk. We are left with nothing other than "Accountants" if that's not bad enough they employ Algorithms to weed out and close down the accounts of the Punters who win.
It's a RUTHLESS game these days, one where you have to be very cagey, nothing spooks Bald Fred et-al than to suspect that we might know something they don't know. I wonder if Bet Victor will still have 80/1 on offer, or if they will drop the odds ? they might just have turned the tap off for me ? I wish the other Bookies were still offering odds...
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation
 
 
 

Hello Alley Cat,
I don't know what to make of the 6-3 drubbing the Wunderers had yesterday, none of their fans know what to make of it either, no doubt it will be causing panic in the ranks of the fans and the Management. Many of them are now reflecting on the 4 previous back to back wins they had in November, wundering what went wrong yesterday.
Those 4 games saw Bolton pick up more points than the other 12 games they'd played this season, figure that one out. As mentioned before though it's because of results like this that "Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses".
One of the Wunderers supporters told me Port Vale haven't scored 6 goals anywhere since '87 I was thinking he meant 1887 I was a bit surprised when he said 1987 !!! it's one for the record books that's for sure.
Port Vale had 14 shots, 11 on target !!! that's got to tell you how far off the ball Bolton's defenders were, of those 11 shots on target 6 were goals, of the other 5 it was down to a couple of brilliant saves by Gilks or it would have at least 2 that any other day would have gone in. It wasn't one of those games where the goalie was having a bad day, Gilks did what he could, the defenders were atrocious and mid fielders should be in the dole queue this morning, let alone doing a Sunday morning stint.
I'm not on my own to say I've never seen a teams fortunes turn around as dramatically as this game went, a memorable event, in more ways than one.
As you say the December games don't look gift wrapped for the Wunderers, maybe their cookie has crumbled, time will tell, but...
As for the relegation bet, BetVictor have gone 80/1 against Bolton, I'm tempted to throw a few more quid in at that price, they obviously haven't factored in that the club may well go back into Administration, that's what the bet is all about.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation
My bets were placed before a game was played this season, so the results so far if anything are a bonus, thankfully they aren't topping the league with the 33 points that Newport have bagged so far. Don't forget that ALL the Bookies had Bolton at 5/1 Fav's to win L2, so most folks would have expected them to be on 30 points or so right now.
Of the 22 points Bolton have, 12 of them almost miraculous, take 17 points off that and they are still 1 point behind Southend, and 14 points adrift of Stevenage, Bradford and Barrow, would you lay me 80/1 that the Wunderers would pull 14 points back from ANY of the above ? They'd need 5 wins to do that, while the other relegation candidates bag none, I really can't see that happening.
So the bet actually looks better now than it was before the season started, they haven't bagged enough points to avoid relegation IF they go bust, and I'll take 80/1 against that happening any day of the week.
I'll be looking for a copy of Football Ventures 12 month financial statement, that's due to be filed within a week or so, that will tell us if the bilge pumps are keeping the ship afloat.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18912637.wanderers-appoint-cowgills-auditors-new-financial-accounts-draw-closer/
If that reads as I expect I'll be taking as much of the 80/1 as I can get off Gibraltar Victor. I'd let you know "soon after" ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When are the accounts due, doesn’t say in the article, assume they have had their year end to tie in with the football season, unless they are going for 31st December. Also depends on payments for the hotel complex and furlough. Tier 3 still up there in Lancashire can’t see that changing even with the likely vaccine, think we will see another spike over/after Xmas. That will probably see us through to end of Feb early March. How long can the cash last, the Premier League money will probably cover 1 or 2 months. Bit surprised haven’t already seen a problem with clubs having wage issues, or could that explain Saturday?

Hello Alley Cat,
I don't know what to make of the 6-3 drubbing the Wunderers had yesterday, none of their fans know what to make of it either, no doubt it will be causing panic in the ranks of the fans and the Management. Many of them are now reflecting on the 4 previous back to back wins they had in November, wundering what went wrong yesterday.
Those 4 games saw Bolton pick up more points than the other 12 games they'd played this season, figure that one out. As mentioned before though it's because of results like this that "Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses".
One of the Wunderers supporters told me Port Vale haven't scored 6 goals anywhere since '87 I was thinking he meant 1887 I was a bit surprised when he said 1987 !!! it's one for the record books that's for sure.
Port Vale had 14 shots, 11 on target !!! that's got to tell you how far off the ball Bolton's defenders were, of those 11 shots on target 6 were goals, of the other 5 it was down to a couple of brilliant saves by Gilks or it would have at least 2 that any other day would have gone in. It wasn't one of those games where the goalie was having a bad day, Gilks did what he could, the defenders were atrocious and mid fielders should be in the dole queue this morning, let alone doing a Sunday morning stint.
I'm not on my own to say I've never seen a teams fortunes turn around as dramatically as this game went, a memorable event, in more ways than one.
As you say the December games don't look gift wrapped for the Wunderers, maybe their cookie has crumbled, time will tell, but...
As for the relegation bet, BetVictor have gone 80/1 against Bolton, I'm tempted to throw a few more quid in at that price, they obviously haven't factored in that the club may well go back into Administration, that's what the bet is all about.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation
My bets were placed before a game was played this season, so the results so far if anything are a bonus, thankfully they aren't topping the league with the 33 points that Newport have bagged so far. Don't forget that ALL the Bookies had Bolton at 5/1 Fav's to win L2, so most folks would have expected them to be on 30 points or so right now.
Of the 22 points Bolton have, 12 of them almost miraculous, take 17 points off that and they are still 1 point behind Southend, and 14 points adrift of Stevenage, Bradford and Barrow, would you lay me 80/1 that the Wunderers would pull 14 points back from ANY of the above ? They'd need 5 wins to do that, while the other relegation candidates bag none, I really can't see that happening.
So the bet actually looks better now than it was before the season started, they haven't bagged enough points to avoid relegation IF they go bust, and I'll take 80/1 against that happening any day of the week.
I'll be looking for a copy of Football Ventures 12 month financial statement, that's due to be filed within a week or so, that will tell us if the bilge pumps are keeping the ship afloat.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18912637.wanderers-appoint-cowgills-auditors-new-financial-accounts-draw-closer/
If that reads as I expect I'll be taking as much of the 80/1 as I can get off Gibraltar Victor. I'd let you know "soon after" ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wunderers 3 Sarfend 0
What a day, even Nebuchadnezzar could read the writing on today's wall. I'd a grand on at 7/4 giving a goal away and 200 quid at 9/2 giving giving 2 goals away. I damned near went for the 3-0 correct score too, but sometimes it's best to rein yourself in, I've played Donkey Kong, I know when to quit.
A nice win though, 2,650 quid out of the satchels of Paddy Power & Billy Hill, the 7/4 was a knocking bet and the 9/2 was way ore the odds.
Have to say that with 40 minutes on the clock after seeing the Wunderers have 2 goals disallowed, one of them looked fine to me, but you can't tell on iFollow {a shyte service if ever there was one}, but seeing the ball in the net twice, both being disallowed and a 0-0 HT looming I was beginning to wunder about the Wunderers.
Just as I was reaching for my HT cuppa when in the dying seconds of 45+ Baptiste put a perfect cross into the box onto the head of Delfouneso, "bottom right corner". Nice goal, pressure off the Wunderers and pressure on the Shrimpers, at least that goal put the show on the road...
I was hoping that Southend would come out heads down, they didn't, they had their share of play, in fact they'd more shots on goal than the Wunderers, Gilks in goal played a blinder to keep a clean sheet.
Just when I was beginning to wunder, again, in the 65th minute Doyle was brought down in the box, penalty given. Doyle sent the goalie the wrong way right footing the ball into the bottom left corner, 2-0.
I'm thinking the flood gate has to open now, but I was wary of Southend getting one back, that would have buggered my bets up. It was a nervy time until Doyle left footed one into the net in the 81st minute, that put paid to Southend, no coming back from 3-0 down with 10 minutes or so left on the clock.
All I needed was a clean sheet for the Wunderers to win both bets. I had to sweat for that too, except for a brilliant block by one of the defenders Elvis Bwomono WOULD have made it 3-1 add to that a brilliant save by Gilks in the 88th kept it to 3-0. Was I glad to hear the Ref blow the whistle...
I doubt the Bookies enjoyed the game as much as I did !!!
                

What can I say about tomorrow's game, the Wunderers at home to Sarfend.
You might recall that I'm no fan of the Wunderrs but if ever a game had the hallmarks of a massacre this has to be it.
Hard to believe the "Anyone can beat anyone in this League" little  more than verbal insurance policies handed out "just in case" FFS.
If ever there was 3 points in the bag this game is it, could the Wunderers possibly be playing a weaker team, Sarfend have scored 6 goals so far and conceded 26 !!!
A -20 goal difference, the Bookies have the Wunderers at 3-5 the way I see it they should be 1-5 if not 1-10, 3 nowt by HT wouldn't surprise me, Southend are poor.
If you don't like laying odds on, I can't believe that...
Bolton -1 is 7/4
Bolton -2 is 9/2
Bolton -3 is 14/1 !!!
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/bolton-v-southend/handicaps
I can't see Southend scoring against Gilks in goal for the Wunderers in the form he's in, so it's just a matter of how MANY Bolton put past Southend, 5-0 or MORE  wouldn't surprise me.
 

That's my colours nailed to the mast, I'll be taking that 7/4 to a good amount, might have a bite at that 9/2 as well.
 

Wunderers 3 Sarfend 0
What a day, even Nebuchadnezzar could read the writing on today's wall. I'd a grand on at 7/4 giving a goal away and 200 quid at 9/2 giving giving 2 goals away. I damned near went for the 3-0 correct score too, but sometimes it's best to rein yourself in, I've played Donkey Kong, I know when to quit.
A nice win though, 2,650 quid out of the satchels of Paddy Power & Billy Hill, the 7/4 was a knocking bet and the 9/2 was way ore the odds.
Have to say that with 40 minutes on the clock after seeing the Wunderers have 2 goals disallowed, one of them looked fine to me, but you can't tell on iFollow {a shyte service if ever there was one}, but seeing the ball in the net twice, both being disallowed and a 0-0 HT looming I was beginning to wunder about the Wunderers.
Just as I was reaching for my HT cuppa when in the dying seconds of 45+ Baptiste put a perfect cross into the box onto the head of Delfouneso, "bottom right corner". Nice goal, pressure off the Wunderers and pressure on the Shrimpers, at least that goal put the show on the road...
I was hoping that Southend would come out heads down, they didn't, they had their share of play, in fact they'd more shots on goal than the Wunderers, Gilks in goal played a blinder to keep a clean sheet.
Just when I was beginning to wunder, again, in the 65th minute Doyle was brought down in the box, penalty given. Doyle sent the goalie the wrong way right footing the ball into the bottom left corner, 2-0.
I'm thinking the flood gate has to open now, but I was wary of Southend getting one back, that would have buggered my bets up. It was a nervy time until Doyle left footed one into the net in the 81st minute, that put paid to Southend, no coming back from 3-0 down with 10 minutes or so left on the clock.
All I needed was a clean sheet for the Wunderers to win both bets. I had to sweat for that too, except for a brilliant block by one of the defenders Elvis Bwomono WOULD have made it 3-1 add to that a brilliant save by Gilks in the 88th kept it to 3-0. Was I glad to hear the Ref blow the whistle...
I doubt the Bookies enjoyed the game as much as I did !!!
                

Wunderers 3 Sarfend 0
What a day, even Nebuchadnezzar could read the writing on today's wall. I'd a grand on at 7/4 giving a goal away and 200 quid at 9/2 giving giving 2 goals away. I damned near went for the 3-0 correct score too, but sometimes it's best to rein yourself in, I've played Donkey Kong, I know when to quit.
A nice win though, 2,650 quid out of the satchels of Paddy Power & Billy Hill, the 7/4 was a knocking bet and the 9/2 was way ore the odds.
Have to say that with 40 minutes on the clock after seeing the Wunderers have 2 goals disallowed, one of them looked fine to me, but you can't tell on iFollow {a shyte service if ever there was one}, but seeing the ball in the net twice, both being disallowed and a 0-0 HT looming I was beginning to wunder about the Wunderers.
Just as I was reaching for my HT cuppa when in the dying seconds of 45+ Baptiste put a perfect cross into the box onto the head of Delfouneso, "bottom right corner". Nice goal, pressure off the Wunderers and pressure on the Shrimpers, at least that goal put the show on the road...
I was hoping that Southend would come out heads down, they didn't, they had their share of play, in fact they'd more shots on goal than the Wunderers, Gilks in goal played a blinder to keep a clean sheet.
Just when I was beginning to wunder, again, in the 65th minute Doyle was brought down in the box, penalty given. Doyle sent the goalie the wrong way right footing the ball into the bottom left corner, 2-0.
I'm thinking the flood gate has to open now, but I was wary of Southend getting one back, that would have buggered my bets up. It was a nervy time until Doyle left footed one into the net in the 81st minute, that put paid to Southend, no coming back from 3-0 down with 10 minutes or so left on the clock.
All I needed was a clean sheet for the Wunderers to win both bets. I had to sweat for that too, except for a brilliant block by one of the defenders Elvis Bwomono WOULD have made it 3-1 add to that a brilliant save by Gilks in the 88th kept it to 3-0. Was I glad to hear the Ref blow the whistle...
I doubt the Bookies enjoyed the game as much as I did !!!
                

Hard to believe how results have changed for the Wunderers since they dropped Crellin and put their goalkeeping coach between the sticks, they'd not lost a game since Gilks was put between the sticks, grabbing 10 points from their last 4 games ☹️
I was going to leave the game alone, but I couldn't resist the 9/2 on the HT/FT result, just to £20, thankfully I didn't wade in any deeper than that.
As for tonight's game, it was poor performance from both sides, having said that Scnuthorpe were "uninspiring", yea, I'll stay with that, rather than call it like it was. Except for the GK who played well and made a couple of decent saves, I've seen Blackpool donkeys motivated more than the rest of the team.
Ah well, we march on to Saturday now, I think I'll read the result in the Sunday paper, I don't fancy ruining my Saturday night.
 
 
 
 

It's a "do or die" game tonight between Scnuthorpe and the Wunderers, another relegation battle, I doubt I'll be trying to pick the winner, too many games like this end in a draw, but I'll be shouting for Scun.thorpe and I'll have the wife's Rosary beads warmed up prior to the kick off, 2-0 to the Iron Men by HT would be nice.
Bald Fred et-al have the Wunderers as 5/4 favourites, that's not how I see it, MAYBE if they were playing at home. The Iron Men look to be priced way over the odds at 11/5, I'm tempted at that price, the 9/2 against Scun.thorpe doing the HT/FT thing looks over the odds too, the more I think about that the more likely I'll be taking 90 to 20.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/scnuthorpe-v-bolton/winner
I reckon the Iron Men will go for it from the first kick to put the Wunderers under pressure and to rock their {fragile} confidence, a goal in the first 10 to 15 would be nice, a lot depends on how Bolton's goalie plays tonight, he's good, no doubt about that, but he's 38 too, add to that, he's had a great return to the pitch from his coaching career, but, every tide turns, hopefully that happens around 19:03 tonight.
Other than the above, I just heard it looks like Salford have snatched that Free Agent goalkeeper from under the noses of the Wunderers management, gawd knows why they didn't grab him when they could have done, so look out for an announcement on that from Salford soon...
 
 
 

5... 4... 3... 2-1 Looks like Bolton have "Lift Off" ?                               
I can't take anything away from Bolton or Stevenage, both teams went toe to toe to win the game. It was a good game, with a couple of brilliant goals, both teams desperate for the points.
Since Bolton ditched their goalkeeper they've played like a different team, a much better team, at least against teams at the bottom of the league. Have to say the Wunderers were lucky to go 1 up in the 14th minute, Sarcevic's shot was saved by Cummings {yea, now we know where he's gone,} Cummings played a blinder throughout the game, but on this occasion Eoin Doyle buried the rebound with an brilliant scissor kick, bad luck for Cummings, worse luck for Stevenage as Doyle was clearly offside.
Bolton were dominating the game, but Stevenage made it end to end stuff with some exciting counter attacks, the game was a lot more exciting than many FA Cup Finals that I've seen. Bolton's pressure paid off in the 36th minute when Bolton broke to counter attack, Doyle got the ball ran half the length of the pitch, passed to Jones who made an inch perfect pass to Crawford who shot low and into the corner to beat Cummings, not a flashy or top shelf goal but they all count. You'd have expected Stevenage to drop their heads at this point, close to HT and 2-0 down, but they didn't, and they got one back in the 44th minute, that shook the Wunderers, they thought they had the game wrapped up.
The second half was equally as entertaining, end to end stuff again, Bolton's 38 year old goalkeeper / coach played a blinder too, saving more than one shot, how he kept a shot from going on the top right corner gawd only knows how he tipped it over, that should have been a well deserved 2-2 for Stevenage, some would argue fairly 2-1 to Stevenage if Doyle's offside goal had been disallowed.
I felt more sorry for Stevenage than for my relegation bet, but if they commit to every game they play for the rest of the season they'll avoid the drop. It's good for the game when little clubs in little towns can make their presence felt. You can't get much smaller than Stevenage, at the end of their games their kit goes to a local Launderette, it's clubs like that the FA / EFL should be helping before they help themselves.
Anyway, that was how I saw the game, gutted to see the Wunderers take the 3, but we're just a 1/4 way through the season yet, lots of banana skins to slip on. I'm hoping that Scnuthorpe will turn the tide on Tuesday night, but right now Evatt & Co are flying high, let's hope for a hard landing.
                          

Looks like Scun.thorpe are climbing out of the basement, they beat Port Vale 1-0 tonight, that gets their ankles out of the mire. It would be nice to see Stevenage to beat Bolton on Saturday that would really mix things at the bottom of League 2, it's definitely a relegation 6 pointer.
Here's what Bald Fred and the parasites think of it...
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/stevenage-v-bolton/winner
The Wunderers played tonight, at home to Newcastle's U21 team, Crellin was back in goal, and back in form as he faced a team who had only scored 2 goals in the last 450 minutes they'd played, it took them less the 45 minutes to put 2 goals past Crellin !!!     
The poor lad must have killed a Priest in another life, but, we all go through bad patches.
Thankfully for the Wunderers {B Team} they got one back moments before HT to make it 2-1. Here's how the game went.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18878739.bolton-wanderers-3-2-newcastle-united-u21s---big-match-verdict/
There's not a lot that can be drawn from the game, it won't be the same team turning out against Stevenage on Saturday, hopefully 38 year old Gilks will miss the coach and we might just see more of Crellin's Clangers, wouldn't that be nice.