Bolton fall out

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Orion1871 » 19 Feb 2026 22:04

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Snowflake Royal That would be a ludicrous edict and is never going to happen


Why is it ludicrous, in what world should someone’s boot ever be near someone’s face?


When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.


Probably because they are a bunch of pussies,who don't get around the ref enough. The reason we get so many decisions against us every week is because everyone else plays the ref better than us. Let's be honest Lewis Wing is not exactly Sergio Ramos or Roy Keane, Wing wouldn't say boo to a goose.

That ref was letting things go all night, right from kick off. He was never going to send the guy off, even for a stamp accidental or not, if you don't make a fuss about the situation and influence his decision then you don't get decisions in your favour.
Last edited by Orion1871 on 20 Feb 2026 11:27, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by leon » 20 Feb 2026 00:23

Orion1871
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Why is it ludicrous, in what world should someone’s boot ever be near someone’s face?


When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.


Probably because they are a bunch of pussies,who don't get around the ref enough. The reason we get so many decisions against us every week is because everyone else plays the ref better than us. Let's be honest Lewis Wing is not exactly Sergio Ramos or Roy Keane, he wouldn't say boo to a goose.

That ref was letting things go all night, right from kick off. He was never going to send the guy off, even for a stamp, if you don't make a fuss about the situation and influence his decision.


Interesting point. We suffer from a lack of leadership generally. Wing shouldn’t be captain. And we’re really not aggressive enough in anything we do on the pitch. Hence slow starts and weak mentally.

We’ve got better under Richardson but still need some bollocks.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Snowflake Royal » 20 Feb 2026 10:07

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Snowflake Royal That would be a ludicrous edict and is never going to happen


Why is it ludicrous, in what world should someone’s boot ever be near someone’s face?


When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.

Well quite. Come on Sutekh, you have a brain, disengage reactionary outrage for a second and use it.

Why just a foot? What about a knee, or elbow, or shoulder, or fist, or head? Do you want to ban all bicycle and over head kicks? All stooping or diving headers? Falling over?

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Snowflake Royal » 20 Feb 2026 10:10

stealthpapes Oh, and it’s massively wrong.

Have people been following a different club these last few years?

No. Football is a spectator sport about tribalism and passion, not logic or reason. And the media circus has turned it into instant gratification or rage.

They're just incapable of engaging reason. Just reacting on pure manipulated emotion where anything but easy wins with perfect performances is a personal insult to them.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by RoyalBlue » 20 Feb 2026 10:53

Watching the video back it appears to me that rather than trying to jump over O'Connor's body, Kenny cuts his stride in an attempt to play the ball and that is what led to him kicking O'Connor in the face. Accidental/non-intentional? In all probability. But in doing so he still commits a red card offence.


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Re: Bolton fall out

by Sutekh » 20 Feb 2026 10:57

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Why is it ludicrous, in what world should someone’s boot ever be near someone’s face?


When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.

Well quite. Come on Sutekh, you have a brain, disengage reactionary outrage for a second and use it.

Why just a foot? What about a knee, or elbow, or shoulder, or fist, or head? Do you want to ban all bicycle and over head kicks? All stooping or diving headers? Falling over?


There are already dangerous play laws. Perhaps those laws are already enough and it’s the officials who need a reminder on them. Anyway Leam has now apparently written to the PGMOL asking for some comment on events.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Greatwesternline » 20 Feb 2026 11:36

stealthpapes
We also waste time-word must have got round amongst referees as last night once again we had a big chunk of added time which ultimately led to dropping 2 points


Old Man Shouts At Cloud nonsense.

With the number of subs and the extended spell dealing with a particular injury, nine minutes was about right.


At Orient away there were 13 minutes of added time, no bad injuries, just Reading having 3 team talks while JP sat on the floor.

If you look at football score aps at 5pm Reading are consistently still playing when most other games have finished.

I was sat in the home end at Orient and despite being 3-1 up the home fans were muttering about how tedious it was watching a game that Reading repeatedly kept halting. I had to agree with them.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by MR. CYNICAL » 20 Feb 2026 11:38

Some nasty comments on X from Bolton fans about Paudie, obviously Richardson has stirred things up with his comments.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Orion1871 » 20 Feb 2026 11:55

Snowflake Royal
stealthpapes Oh, and it’s massively wrong.

Have people been following a different club these last few years?

No. Football is a spectator sport about tribalism and passion, not logic or reason. And the media circus has turned it into instant gratification or rage.

They're just incapable of engaging reason. Just reacting on pure manipulated emotion where anything but easy wins with perfect performances is a personal insult to them.


No one expects "easy wins with perfect performances," I doubt even the twatter mob are that deluded (probably).

What is expected when you are AT HOME is to not be camped on the edge of your own 18 yard box for 45-75 minutes, allowing 15+ shots and 30+ crosses to come into your box. You are always going to come under pressure in any game, but not to the extent that we are allowing the opposition.

Obviously anyone calling for him to be sacked is an idiot. However, as I said in a previous post, even if it has to wait until the summer he needs to come up with a proper plan with how we want to play with the ball.


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Re: Bolton fall out

by Orion1871 » 20 Feb 2026 12:03

Greatwesternline
stealthpapes
We also waste time-word must have got round amongst referees as last night once again we had a big chunk of added time which ultimately led to dropping 2 points


Old Man Shouts At Cloud nonsense.

With the number of subs and the extended spell dealing with a particular injury, nine minutes was about right.


At Orient away there were 13 minutes of added time, no bad injuries, just Reading having 3 team talks while JP sat on the floor.

If you look at football score aps at 5pm Reading are consistently still playing when most other games have finished.

I was sat in the home end at Orient and despite being 3-1 up the home fans were muttering about how tedious it was watching a game that Reading repeatedly kept halting. I had to agree with them.


There was a corner the other night where Savage took an age to go over and take it. The corner eventually came over and the ref immediately whistled for a foul. I don't think there was a foul warranting a free kick in there. My theory is that he wanted to speed the game up, so he invented a foul, like they do when there is a corner they are unsure about giving.
Last edited by Orion1871 on 20 Feb 2026 12:57, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by blythspartan » 20 Feb 2026 12:11

Completely off topic although that’s not unusual on here, but is anyone else noticing harbinger of doom messages appearing on x? It’s the usual ambiguous crap, but I have seen several posts suggesting our style of football should be the least of our concerns. Just wondering if EPK or anyone else has heard anything?

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Re: Bolton fall out

by tidus_mi2 » 20 Feb 2026 12:13

Speaking of wasting time, I think Tuesday was the first time I'd seen the 8 second rule applied, not that I watch much football outside of Reading.

Also getting pretty sick of JP faking an injury so we can have a team talk and the current goal kick routine that doesn't seem to do much of anything except force a couple defenders deeper and wastes a bit of time, when in reality JP is just kicking the bloody ball like a standard goal kick.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Snowflake Royal » 20 Feb 2026 12:27

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When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.

Well quite. Come on Sutekh, you have a brain, disengage reactionary outrage for a second and use it.

Why just a foot? What about a knee, or elbow, or shoulder, or fist, or head? Do you want to ban all bicycle and over head kicks? All stooping or diving headers? Falling over?


There are already dangerous play laws. Perhaps those laws are already enough and it’s the officials who need a reminder on them. Anyway Leam has now apparently written to the PGMOL asking for some comment on events.

How is accidentally kicking someone in the head who falls at your feet dangerous play? What needs reviewing?


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Re: Bolton fall out

by Greatwesternline » 20 Feb 2026 12:32

Orion1871
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stealthpapes
Old Man Shouts At Cloud nonsense.

With the number of subs and the extended spell dealing with a particular injury, nine minutes was about right.


At Orient away there were 13 minutes of added time, no bad injuries, just Reading having 3 team talks while JP sat on the floor.

If you look at football score aps at 5pm Reading are consistently still playing when most other games have finished.

I was sat in the home end at Orient and despite being 3-1 up the home fans were muttering about how tedious it was watching a game that Reading repeatedly kept halting. I had to agree with them.


There was a corner the other night where Savage took an age to go over and take it. The corner eventually over and the ref immediately whistled for a foul. I don't think there was a foul warranting a free kick in there. My theory is that he wanted to speed the game up, so he invented one, like they do when there is a corner they are unsure about giving.


I thought exactly the same thing. We took AN AGE to take the corner, and before the ball had even landed in the box the ref had blown for a foul, none of the players had grappled with each other yet.

It reeked of the ref punishing us for time wasting. Which to be honest, I don't blame him for.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by West F » 20 Feb 2026 13:59

Orion1871
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stealthpapes Oh, and it’s massively wrong.

Have people been following a different club these last few years?

No. Football is a spectator sport about tribalism and passion, not logic or reason. And the media circus has turned it into instant gratification or rage.

They're just incapable of engaging reason. Just reacting on pure manipulated emotion where anything but easy wins with perfect performances is a personal insult to them.


No one expects "easy wins with perfect performances," I doubt even the twatter mob are that deluded (probably).

What is expected when you are AT HOME is to not be camped on the edge of your own 18 yard box for 45-75 minutes, allowing 15+ shots and 30+ crosses to come into your box. You are always going to come under pressure in any game, but not to the extent that we are allowing the opposition.

Obviously anyone calling for him to be sacked is an idiot. However, as I said in a previous post, even if it has to wait until the summer he needs to come up with a proper plan with how we want to play with the ball.


This is what Leam Richardson does. It is his style of play being imposed on the team. They are doing exactly what he wants them to do. He said that he was a ‘Direct play’ manager. This has brought him success in the past and he has not altered his management style at all.
Tactically setting up to not have the ball is central to his ethos. You cannot be caught in transition if you don’t have the ball. Essentially, he wants to sit deep and defend to then go long as quickly as possible to Marriot. Our players are quite capable of playing through the thirds and retain possession in the process. It does come with risk that turnovers and counter attacks can happen more frequently. The reason why we do not play with width, is to increase the amount of bodies centrally, creating a congested midfield.
Richardson wants to invite teams on, solely to hit them long on the counter. It is one of the reasons why our away form has picked up recently. Many fans do not want to see us with our backs to the wall at home, playing like we are fighting a desperate rear guard in a cup tie against Arsenal in a league one match. I don’t blame them. But, as long as it gats results, then it will not change.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by South Coast Royal » 20 Feb 2026 14:31

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Why is it ludicrous, in what world should someone’s boot ever be near someone’s face?


When that face belongs to someone lying on the ground who has fallen after a close tussle with an opponent.

I haven't seen it on TV, but judged by the reactions of the Bolton and Reading players -none of who reacted as if they thought it was anything other than an accident.


Probably because they are a bunch of pussies,who don't get around the ref enough. The reason we get so many decisions against us every week is because everyone else plays the ref better than us. Let's be honest Lewis Wing is not exactly Sergio Ramos or Roy Keane, Wing wouldn't say boo to a goose.

That ref was letting things go all night, right from kick off. He was never going to send the guy off, even for a stamp accidental or not, if you don't make a fuss about the situation and influence his decision then you don't get decisions in your favour.


I don't know if you have noticed but this season, particularly in the Premier League, referees are booking players who directly argue with them about decisions.

As for us being "too nice" I think that has gone under Richardson and we are now quite a dirty, time-wasting bunch.
Is that the price that is paid for getting better results?
Is our strategy now to kick our way to promotion?

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Royal Rother » 20 Feb 2026 15:03

Richardson has certainly got SOMETHING going and we should be happy about that after everything that has gone before.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

As I said in post-match comments, not one player appears confident receiving the ball or in possession, except Marriott when he is steaming towards goal. Yes we manage to fashion some decent goals but rarely does a player "see" a pass. rarely does anyone try to take a player on and if they do it invariably ends up with possession feebly conceded. If we are in front with 15 minutes to go we will always drop deep and invite pressure. We're actually pretty good at holding on I think but it's not exactly a positive look. At every opportunity we waste time if we are not losing. Goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks, throw-ins, it's all the same. And yes, then there's JP's fake injuries for a team talk.

It's just horrible to watch and for me, leaves a rather bad taste in the mouth.

If some fans get enough out of a positive result or maybe just the thrill of watching their club play a game of football enough to give up half a day or more for it, fair play. I'd suggest those numbers are going to reduce more and more if Saturday and Tuesday is an example of what we can expect to see moving forward.

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Hound » 20 Feb 2026 16:12

I don’t disagree we’re a pretty grim watch at the moment. I don’t think LR disagrees either; as he keeps referring to doing the best with what he has at his disposal

I don’t we time waste any worse or better than any other team either - though I do remember comments about how we weren’t street smart under Hunt and I think that was the case. It’s a bit shit but it’s got us into play off contention

I like that he is very practical and does seem to have a clear plan

I’m wondering a little if completely against my original thoughts that the way we play is a gameplan for Marriott, even though half the time it looks the opposite. Despite the fact he rarely wins the first ball he is very sharp at picking up a second pass played in behind the defence and is getting a fair bit of success with it

Defences and even keepers aren’t great at this level, maybe LR has picked a strategy that seems to get us a couple of very good chances each game ugly as it can be

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Re: Bolton fall out

by SouthDownsRoyal » 21 Feb 2026 09:32

blythspartan Completely off topic although that’s not unusual on here, but is anyone else noticing harbinger of doom messages appearing on x? It’s the usual ambiguous crap, but I have seen several posts suggesting our style of football should be the least of our concerns. Just wondering if EPK or anyone else has heard anything?


No

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Re: Bolton fall out

by Millsy » 21 Feb 2026 17:17

Millsy Let's face it, what was disappointing here was....simply our attitude in the second half and the final result.

For me this was Southgate/Italy all over again. Was that coming from Leam instructing the team to shut up shop? From the players who were getting nervous? Leam did put two strikers on so that suggests to me he wanted to get a second, but the way we played suggested we just wanted to hold on, which is confusing.

Nothing to see here, nothing major needs changing other than Leam giving the team a good telling off and teaching them never to forget that feeling. A 1-0 lead is never enough , until perhaps the final 5-10mins. Because mistakes happen, especially under pressure. Hopefully they'll learn from this.


Copy and paste for today's game, literally hours later when this should all be burning a hole in their minds. The very next game ffs.

What is wrong with the players' heads?

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