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Bolton 1-2 Everton. 26th Jan @ 15.00.

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deathbyropeandglass said:
Thats all fair enough mate and i don't disagree, it wasn't a megative or positve chancge as such, it simply a change, a "try something else which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't" kind of change.

If Fellaini had scored, or more certainly if his presence up there meant us creating chances that we weren't before which we scored from it would have been a good tactical sub.

The fact the sub scored a rare nay freak goal doesn't make it any better sub than it was.

It was still a striker off for a defender in midfield away to a Championship team in game we were supposedly going all out to try and win.

He could have subbed Mucha for Howard and Mucha scored from a goal kick, still wouldn't have been a good sub to make in a game we should have been trying to win rather than hoping to win.
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No it wasnt a striker off for a defender. Heitinga didn't take up a defensive position, he took up Fellaini's holding midfield role while Fellaini then took up Jelavic's striking role. The formation didn't change, just the personnel to try and get something to work for us that hadn't been working up to the point of the substituion.

Upsets happen, and people can say "it's only a championship team", but Bolton away in a cup tie is a tricky fixture. What if Moyes had thrown on Vellios for Osman, (striker for a midfield player), and gone 4-3-3 to chase the winner, we got overrun in midfield and conceded a late goal trying to chase the winner? Would that then have been seen as a good substitution or a bad substitution on here?

I think we both know the answer to that one!
 
Yeah, the sub from Moyes was genius, he clearly knew that a centre half being played in midfield who hardly ever scores would get a goal.

The win is hiding the fact that we ran out of ideas against an average Championship side.
 

Brennan91 said:
Yeah, the sub from Moyes was genius, he clearly knew that a centre half being played in midfield who hardly ever scores would get a goal.

The win is hiding the fact that we ran out of ideas against an average Championship side.
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After about 17 minutes
 
Brennan91 said:
Yeah, the sub from Moyes was genius, he clearly knew that a centre half being played in midfield who hardly ever scores would get a goal.

The win is hiding the fact that we ran out of ideas against an average Championship side.
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Of course he wasn't expecting Heitinga to slot one in! But i suspect the idea was that maybe Fellaini could make something happen up top (Like he has on several occasions this season) that Jelavic didn't look like making.
 
The_Street_End said:
How many went ? Did we outnumber them at home? Please be true... Heard about a bit of handbags in the home stand..
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Lots of Blues in the home stands. Quite a few got ejected by overzealous stewards. Daft thing is,even ignoring the two half stands Bolton didn't even open, there were plenty of empty seats in our end from no-shows which they could have been moved to.

P*ss poor organisation really.
 
CardinalSin said:
Of course he wasn't expecting Heitinga to slot one in! But i suspect the idea was that maybe Fellaini could make something happen up top (Like he has on several occasions this season) that Jelavic didn't look like making.
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Again you're right mate, that was obviously the thinking behind the sub.

It just doesn't make him a genius or change the fact our only tactic to change things up away to Bolton was the 50/50 chance of fellaini making something happen.
 

deathbyropeandglass said:
Again you're right mate, that was obviously the thinking behind the sub.

It just doesn't make him a genius or change the fact our only tactic to change things up away to Bolton was the 50/50 chance of fellaini making something happen.
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I think it was more to use him as a battering ram than to make something happen from delightful football. we pretty much startde hoofing after our first goal. Anichebe and jelavic were living on scraps and coming second with our tactical hoofing bombardment.
 
We were gash. So many players are out of form or obviously carrying an injury at the moment.

BUT .. we won and move on to the fifth round. Thank Christ we don't need a replay.
 
CardinalSin said:
The trouble is people just see Heitinga (a centre back by trade) coming on for Jelavic (a striker) and just assume it's a negative substitution taking off a striker and throwing on an extra defender.

The reality though is quite different isn't it? Fellaini was playing today as a holding midfield player with both Anichebe and Jelavic up top in a 4-4-2. Jelavic was once again totally ineffective today so a change was made.

Heitinga didn't come on and join Jags and Distin at the back to shut up shop, he slotted in to Fellaini's holding midfield role where let's be honest, Fellaini didn't excell today. Heitinga CAN play a holding midfield role and you'd trust him more there at the moment than centre half!

Fellaini was then pushed up in to a role hes been excellent in this season, to join Anichebe and hopefully prove to be more effective than Jelavic who might as well have stayed at home today.

But no, in the eyes of some people who don't understand football, the ginger **** just took off a striker and replaced him with a centre back!!
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Agree with this, infact i was thinking that he should make that change about 10 minutes before he did.

All the criticism was ludicrous - i didnt see everyone praising him in the very last game when he replaced a defender for a striker. Sometimes subs work, sometimes they dont.

What is worrying is that we are looking jaded lately, not playing neraly as well as earlier in the season. We are desperate for a new face or two. We were struggling last season before Donavon, Gibson, Pienaar and Jelavic transformed our season in January - this year is actually far more important as a similar upturn in results/performances will see us in the Champions League.
 
Consider that Arsenal only just beat Brighton, Wigan scraped through against Macclesfield Town, Norwich and Aston Villa lost to very low level sides.
We made it through to the next round and quite a few Premier league sides haven't or had unconvincing wins.
 

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