Don’t start me on Bowler.

I knew it would come at some point! 🤣.

His performance yesterday was laughable, at the very best. I’m not sure what it is with him, maybe he is better as an impact sub?
 
Josh has talent, but needs to be more consistent, particularly with his end product. In the formation we play, he’s not an out and out winger, so his poor work rate out of possession is making him stand out, in a very hard working unit. It is noticeable that others, Mitchell and last night CJ, give significantly more defensive support. Josh often ambles back, letting opposition players run past him. If he can be quick going forward, he could and should do likewise going back. Last night and not for the first time, he pulled out of challenges. At any club these things will be picked up.
 
I said a while back that he creates nothing and got pelters for it. Runs at defenders but his final ball and decision making is non-existent. I’ve seen nothing from him since to change my mind.

Still hopeful that Critch can bring this out of him and to be fair to him his tracking back and defensive work was much more noticeable last night.
 
One postive is that he has improved the quality of his free kicks into the box. Unfortunately, other than that his end product is virtually nil and he offers little in terms of pressing and tracking
 
You will be saying that Everton were glad to get rid of a player they paid around £5mil for for nothing next. They knew there was a player in there but didn't have the time to wait for him to bloom. Critch has no such worries and will release the full beast in time 👍
In the long time he was at Everton (4 years) they did try to develop him, on the very same areas. Despite the very best coaching it is not always possible to achieve that, as some players are what they are. I’d add, that no professional player should need to be coached to put in a shift. At Pool, fans forgive poor games if they can see a player giving it everything.

He’s scored 2 in 46 competitive appearances, which is not good in his position.
 
He was poor last night but the o/p doesn’t half spout some shite… why would you pick on one of our own young players… I find it baffling… to be fair it was the same with keogh until people actually gave him a chance. Josh was top of the dribbling stats in all four divisions last time I looked so he can’t be that bad can he?
 
He was poor last night but the o/p doesn’t half spout some shite… why would you pick on one of our own young players… I find it baffling… to be fair it was the same with keogh until people actually gave him a chance. Josh was top of the dribbling stats in all four divisions last time I looked so he can’t be that bad can he?
The trouble is that he dribbles into nowhere when a defence splitting pass is on. I don’t think there’s any point denying that the lad can run with the ball at his feet, but he’s definitely not going to progress unless he gains some intelligence about when to run at defenders and particularly when to release the ball.

As has been said before, maybe that’s why he’s here and not in the Prem, because if he did get his end product right, then he’d likely be outbid our league….

On the plus side, he has got youth on his side and Critch is a great coach… personally I think people will be saying exactly the same things about Josh in 5 years time…

You just have to accept him for what he is and what he brings to the team, despite all the frustrations that go with him…
 
The trouble is that he dribbles into nowhere when a defence splitting pass is on. I don’t think there’s any point denying that the lad can run with the ball at his feet, but he’s definitely not going to progress unless he gains some intelligence about when to run at defenders and particularly when to release the ball.

As has been said before, maybe that’s why he’s here and not in the Prem, because if he did get his end product right, then he’d likely be outbid our league….

On the plus side, he has got youth on his side and Critch is a great coach… personally I think people will be saying exactly the same things about Josh in 5 years time…

You just have to accept him for what he is and what he brings to the team, despite all the frustrations that go with him…
He’s so frustrating because we’ve all seen how good he can be. Let’s not forget he was up against a very strong, physical, and well organised side last night.

He actually beat the wing back quite frequently, but the difference was whenever he came inside they either had a centre back or centre midfielder covering. I thought Mowatt was really good from a defensive point of view last night.

Josh, admittedly was poor, but I don’t understand the eagerness on this thread to write him off when we saw more than enough in his first 3 games that clearly showed what a talent he is
 
He’s scored one goal and got one assist since joining, not exactly setting it on fire, it’s all well and good dribbling but there’s got to be more contribution.
 
He’s so frustrating because we’ve all seen how good he can be. Let’s not forget he was up against a very strong, physical, and well organised side last night.

He actually beat the wing back quite frequently, but the difference was whenever he came inside they either had a centre back or centre midfielder covering. I thought Mowatt was really good from a defensive point of view last night.

Josh, admittedly was poor, but I don’t understand the eagerness on this thread to write him off when we saw more than enough in his first 3 games that clearly showed what a talent he is
That's where I kind of disagree though... I don't think he's ever been that good at doing anything other than backing off defenders and running at them....The frustrations have always been there and I just think they are highlighted more a) When he starts a game and b) When he's up against better quality defenders, who simply suss him out.

It's not that he doesn't have a positive effect on the game though, it's just that a lot of the time we might just have to accept he'll achieve nothing other than to tie up a couple of opposition players and enable us to free up opportunities in other areas of the pitch. In terms of his direct contribution (goals and assists), his impact is probably not what it should be.
 
Madine squares the ball to him instead of turning and shooting then Bowler potentially a goal scoring hero.
Spot on.. and imagine if the roles were reversed.. we would never hear the end of how shit he is … some of our fans are very very fickle..Marvin and husband appear to be fighting it out for man of the match before a ball is even kicked according to some… both have shocking distribution but are excellent in other areas to compensate… that doesn’t equate to motm every week… this is a great young squad who are competing at a level much higher than I expected… let’s just enjoy it and support all of our players… it’s great to have a football club back and I for one am loving every minute
 
The big problem with Bowler is that at the moment he is too predictable. He goes on his runs and always cuts inside, usually into an area where there are too many opposition players, and loses the ball. He needs to mix it up more and play an early cross into the box or go on the outside and whip in a cross with his right foot. Keep the defenders guessing.
 
The trouble is that he dribbles into nowhere when a defence splitting pass is on. I don’t think there’s any point denying that the lad can run with the ball at his feet, but he’s definitely not going to progress unless he gains some intelligence about when to run at defenders and particularly when to release the ball.

As has been said before, maybe that’s why he’s here and not in the Prem, because if he did get his end product right, then he’d likely be outbid our league….

On the plus side, he has got youth on his side and Critch is a great coach… personally I think people will be saying exactly the same things about Josh in 5 years time…

You just have to accept him for what he is and what he brings to the team, despite all the frustrations that go with him…
....and on the opposite side of the coin, players give the ball to Bowler so he can run at their defence when often having more than one player close to him but none of our players seem to get anywhere near to him so he can make a pass to them. It's down to our players to help him out but more often than not they don't. And that's a point I've made before. It's a team game and Bowler does need more help from his team mates on occasions.
 
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I can smell a “revisit” thread here…

Just like those joyous Critch ones and even Jerry Yates, where weeks down the line, we have a little revisit and smugly show the poster(s) know shit
Then we have those said posters making excuses of saying how sad that the thread was bumped….

I want to put myself forward to be fully scorned if Bowler doesn’t have a storming game in next few weeks and destroys the opposition.

I await fervently with true smugness and even potentially a bit of sneering thrown in 😁
 
All this Bowler talk on here and other threads has developed into classic AVFTT chite.

It would appear that it is not possible that Bowler could be a young, exciting, inexperienced player AND had a chitter last night.

Next week he puts in a match winning performance and is the new Stanley Matthews, the week after he has a chitter and all those who said he played well the week before were somehow wrong.
 
Bowler clearly has talent at running with the ball but so far often threatens danger but rarely produces an end product and recently his form has declined. So the question is can NC develop his ability to link up better with his teammates and thus produce goals or assists at the end of his runs which is ultimately what counts.

For those of us who go back a long way I recall Tommy Hutchison being rather similar when he first joined us.
 
I can smell a “revisit” thread here…

Just like those joyous Critch ones and even Jerry Yates, where weeks down the line, we have a little revisit and smugly show the poster(s) know shit
Then we have those said posters making excuses of saying how sad that the thread was bumped….

I want to put myself forward to be fully scorned if Bowler doesn’t have a storming game in next few weeks and destroys the opposition.

I await fervently with true smugness and even potentially a bit of sneering thrown in 😁


Chunky

I wish I'd read this before I went to the bother of typing my chite.

Maybe it's just football is fickle and people have to make judgements based on the last 20 minutes rather than the last 20 games ?
 
He’s so frustrating because we’ve all seen how good he can be. Let’s not forget he was up against a very strong, physical, and well organised side last night.

He actually beat the wing back quite frequently, but the difference was whenever he came inside they either had a centre back or centre midfielder covering. I thought Mowatt was really good from a defensive point of view last night.

Josh, admittedly was poor, but I don’t understand the eagerness on this thread to write him off when we saw more than enough in his first 3 games that clearly showed what a talent he is

Shiggy

Good points.

I don't want to go on but I'm not sure that those who are saying Bowler had a chitter last night are not also of the opinion that he is an exciting young player with bags of potential.

I haven't commented on his performance last night before now but I did think he had a chitter.

All that just means is that I thought he had a chitter last night.
 
It was his imperious flicked header that precipitated that "how the fuck did that stay out?" double save from their keeper.
He'll have better games and he definitely has more impact when brought on after 65 mins or so, but the opposition clearly rate his threat so a few on here should Maybe go a bit easier on the lad.
 
We all want Josh to do well, all our players. Let’s hope Critch can develop him where needed.

He’s a player that excites fans, and despite my criticism, I’m always on the edge of my seat when he gets the ball. I’ve not got a problem with him trying and it not coming off.

It’s his out of possession contribution that concerns me, particularly when he loses possession, and the pressure it creates for the full back / defence. He can’t amble back, watch the full-back overloaded or let players sprint past him into the box. His performance last night was a carbon copy of Sheffield United, where defensively, Mitchell made a huge difference when he came on.

Josh can make a more fuller contribution and that is something he really doesn’t need coaching. At times we’ll need to dig in as a unit and grind out a result. He’ll stand out if that doesn’t happen.
 
We all want Josh to do well, all our players. Let’s hope Critch can develop him where needed.

He’s a player that excites fans, and despite my criticism, I’m always on the edge of my seat when he gets the ball. I’ve not got a problem with him trying and it not coming off.

It’s his out of possession contribution that concerns me, particularly when he loses possession, and the pressure it creates for the full back / defence. He can’t amble back, watch the full-back overloaded or let players sprint past him into the box. His performance last night was a carbon copy of Sheffield United, where defensively, Mitchell made a huge difference when he came on.

Josh can make a more fuller contribution and that is something he really doesn’t need coaching. At times we’ll need to dig in as a unit and grind out a result. He’ll stand out if that doesn’t happen.

Timperley

Congratulations, you've just won this thread.

To be honest, I never like giving the winner to somebody I agree with but it will be interesting to see if anybody disagrees with what you say here ?
 
All I can say is that Critch must have seen something in Bowler.
Something that he (Critch) thinks is worth developing.
I think Critch is a better judge of a players potential than anyone on here.
Let's just wait and see.

Dave

My last post on the topic, I promise you and everybody else lads.


"Something that he (Critch) thinks is worth developing"

Nobody suggested that Bowler is not worth developing ?


"Let's just wait and see"

I don't want to be overly critical Dave but I detect - I could be wrong and apologise if so - that you are suggesting some posters actually want Bowler to fail ?
 
Shiggy

Good points.

I don't want to go on but I'm not sure that those who are saying Bowler had a chitter last night are not also of the opinion that he is an exciting young player with bags of potential.
I refer you to the o/p.
 
Whereas, if Madine plays a simple sideways pass to Bowler, we win the game and this thread doesn't exist.

Sliding Doors moment.
If my Aunty had bollocks etc…

Every match has if, but and maybe moments and you can’t judge a player on what might have been if X, Y & Z had happened, otherwise we’d all be Ronaldo.

If he’s going to take the next step then he’s got to learn to release the ball, improve his end product and his decision making. That’s not an issue from last night, it’s always there (highlighted more in games like last night vs better quality, more intelligent players).

If we can coach those improvements into him then he’s going to be a very, very good player.

That’s not intended to be a criticism, it’s is what it is and it’s honest and true.
 
Put him out on the left wing for a bit, as he's left footed and has probably spent more time in his past on that side too, and could give him some more confidence and belief.
Im not sure why teams are constantly putting left footers on the right wing. Maybe its ok if your as good as Messi / Salah, but in general it appears to me to regularly slow down passages of play, when it has momentum.
I remember the odd time when T'ince was on the left, he was brilliant (although he was damn good on the right too)
 
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I've already exceeded my posting limit on this thread but the opening post could mean whatever people want it to mean.

I thought Bowler had a chitter LAST NIGHT.
I know exactly what the o/p meant. No interpretation needed.
And I've said more than once that Bowler had a shocker last night. See Bergens ratings thread where he gave him a 6 and I said he was no more than a 4.
 
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