Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt defends discplinary record

Averaging 13.2 fouls per game, Bolton have developed a surprisingly spiky edge this season and have also picked up 35 yellow and three red cards in all competitions.

George Thomason has already served a one-match ban after collecting eight cautions in his 12 appearances and Gethin Jones will miss today’s game against his former club Carlisle United whilst serving a three-game ban for his straight dismissal against Peterborough.

Wanderers have ground out wins in physical games against Port Vale and Stevenage over the past week, showing a grittier side to their game which has often been questioned.

Wanderers top the list in League One with 13.2 fouls per game (Image: camerasport)

Evatt maintains, however, that his side – and Thomason in particular – has been harshly treated at times this season by the officials, a view which has also been backed up in conversations with the refereeing authorities.

“We have to be mindful of picking up too many yellow cards and it is something we have spoken to George about but, to be fair to him, some of them have been absolutely crazy,” he said. “The one at Reading, for example.

“Some of the tackles the opposition put in on Tuesday night, I remember one in particular very well. Josh Sheehan received the ball on the halfway line, turns, and gets cleaned out, but there is no yellow card. Every tackle we seemed to make was a yellow card.

“We are speaking about it but there are some things that we cannot control, and some of the yellow card decisions we have had this season just haven’t been right or acceptable. And we have had confirmation of that from sources in charge of the referees.

“For us, it is about trying to keep our discipline as best as we can. I am actually very pleased with the way we handled things on Tuesday because it was a physical combative game, there was lots of contact, lots of duels, and we gave as good as we got, which is something that has not always been the case with us.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans claimed after a feisty encounter at the Toughsheet on Tuesday night that Bolton could have finished up with “nine, maybe eight” players on the pitch.

Evatt believes his opposite number was caught up in the emotion of the night, however, and would have had a different view the following day.

“Sometimes in the height of emotion you say crazy things – I have been guilty of that in the past – and once we have all watched the game back in a calm frame of mind, I don’t think any players should have exited the field on Tuesday. It was a physical game, a combative game, and they make it that way, but I was delighted that we managed to get three points.

“We are having to find a way to match up against these teams – and it is one of the hardest things to get right in football, standing up for yourself physically and then switching modes into being a calm, possession-based team, and it is something I’d like us to get better at, being honest, but I’m pleased that we are finding a way to win even though we have not quite been at our free-flowing, fluid best, other than the first half against Port Vale.”