Five Things: Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Sheffield United

We beat the biggest club ever to grace the surface of the earth yesterday, and now Chungy’s coming home in the third round. Here are my five things from our second round triumph.

1. The attendance was shit

7,027 fans squeezed into the Macron for our bumper clash against the Blades and that, to be quite honest, is fucking pathetic. Considering it was a clash between second and third in League One, and we got 10,000 more than that against the same team on the opening day, I’m very concerned that our fans aren’t willing to come out on a Sunday and watch the might Whites win. I don't understand how you can grumble at £13. If you didn't go because you couldn't be arsed, you're shit.

2. Gary Madine is my hero

What a game Big Gaz had. He was involved in all three goals and worked himself into the ground from start to finish. I’m delighted he managed to bag himself a goal and I really hope he can kick on and get a few more now. Oh, and I also won a pint thanks to his goal as my Uncle said he wouldn’t score this side of Christmas. How wrong he was.

3. Josh Vela had an off game

He received loads of praise on Twitter post-match, including winning the club’s MOTM award, but personally I thought it was an off game for Joshy V. I love him to bits and his movement off the ball is so, so good, but I think he needs to lead our attack a little more. He’s new to the No.10 role so we’ll let him off, especially since he scored.

4. If he’s fit, Derik should play every game

Don’t get me wrong, I love Tom Thorpe, but if Derik is fit he should play every single game. A stat from LOV’s very own Matt Wood speaks volumes:

BWFC goals conceded with/without Derik making an appearance (League One only):

With Derik - 1 goal every 7 games

Without Derik - 1 goal every 1.2 games

I rest my case.

5. Ben Alnwick is decent

I’ll be honest, I was very upset when Mark Howard got injured, but Alnwick has proven he can cut it in the first team for sure. His distribution needs some work but once that’s sorted, he’s perfect.

Palace at home in the next round? Piece of cake.