Town recorded their fifth successive home draw at the start of the season as Bolton Wanderers left Portman Road following a hard-fought 0-0 stalemate, despite having been a man down for 47 minutes. The Trotters lost Marc Wilson to a red card on 34 after he hauled down Kayden Jackson but the Blues only created one serious chance - a Luke Chambers header brilliantly saved by Ben Alnwick - having been reduced to 10 men themselves late on when Jon Walters suffered an injury with all three substitutions already having been made.

Toto Nsiala returned to the Town starting line-up following the completion of his three-game suspension for his red card at Sheffield Wednesday.

The former Shrewsbury man is started at the centre of the defence alongside skipper Luke Chambers with Matthew Pennington moving to right-back with Janoi Donacien dropping out.

The St Lucian was again the loanee to miss out on a place in the matchday squad - only five are permitted in the 18 - with former Jon Walters fit enough to take a place on the bench after his achilles injury.

Bolton made four changes to the team which lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough in midweek with Mark Beevers, David Wheater, Gary O'Neil and Josh Vela dropping out of the starting line-up in favour of Wilson, Erhun Oztumer, Will Buckley and Craig Noone.

Jason Lowe scraped a weak shot wide for Bolton after five minutes following a long throw in an opening 20 minutes of little penalty area action. Town had most of the ball but without creating an opportunity.

On 21 Wilson scuffed a volley wide at the far post from a Oztumer cross after a corner, but Town were in control of the game even if they’d not been able to test Bolton skipper and keeper Alnwick.

In the 29th minute Grant Ward was bundled over by Craig Noone just outside the area on the left and Gwion Edwards, who had already sent in a couple of potentially dangerous crosses from the right, hit a powerfully-struck freekick into Alnwick’s midriff.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 34th minute when Wilson was shown a straight red card for denying Jackson an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Ward did superbly on the left to bring the ball out of a tight area following a Bolton attack, then sent Jackson away with a superb pass. The pacy former Accrington man burst away beyond Wilson, who dragged him back as he broke towards the area with only Alnwick to beat.

Referee Stephen Martin immediately awarded a freekick - with Town making few protests that it was a penalty - then showed Wilson his red card to little complaint from the Trotters players.

As Ward prepared to take the freekick, which was deflected wide off the wall, Bolton boss Phil Parkinson swapped Oztumer for Wheater.

A minute before the break, Trevoh Chalobah was booked for a foul on Will Buckley with Town subsequently making heavy weather of clearing the danger from the freekick and subsequent corner.

Town had continued to enjoy a great deal of possession and had passed the ball around confidently, although largely in unthreatening areas but still without testing Alnwick.

Seconds before the whistle, Ward ended a long spell of Town passing by scraping a shot well wide.

It had been a first half of few incidents aside from Wilson’s red card, which looked the correct decision, the Ireland international had been caught out by Jackson’s blistering pace.

Neither keeper, however, had been forced to make a save in the entire 45 minutes in which Bolton perhaps had the better of the chances - or perhaps more accurately half-chances - with the Blues backline not always defending with confidence.

Chalobah was replaced by Tayo Edun ahead of the second half with the Blues starting on the front foot.

On 47 Pennington scuffed a shot wide from distance after an Edwards cross had been cleared, then Jon Nolan mishit a bouncing ball well wide from 25 yards out.

Town, with Edwards and Ward having swapped flanks, continued to dominate possession but struggled to find a way through the unsurprisingly deeply encamped 10 men of Bolton. In the 59th minute Nolan found some space to hit a shot but curled it well wide.

Five minutes later, Nolan crossed into the box after a corner had been cleared and Nsiala nodded over.

Despite having had all the ball in the second half the Blues were still to test Alnwick and on 71 manager Paul Hurst made a double change.

It was little surprise that Walters was added to the attack alongside Jackson with Jordan Graham joining him on the left of a four-man midfield with Ward and Cole Skuse making way.

Walters hadn’t had time to make any impact before he pulled up with what looked like a recurrence of the achilles injury which saw him miss Tuesday’s game against Brentford in the 81st minute as he chased a ball on the right of the area.

The clearly anguished Ireland international was treated on the pitch before eventually making his way around the peripherary to the tunnel alongside physio Matt Byard with the game now 10 versus 10.

Bolton suddenly saw the chance of what had looked an unlikely victory and the Blues found themselves under pressure for the first time. On 83 a loose ball fell to Wheater inside the Town box but Chambers slid in to block.

Three minutes later, the Blues went close as close as they would come to a goal. Graham’s freekick from the left was flicked on towards the top corner by Chambers but somehow Alnwick was able to get across to brilliantly paw it out for a corner.

Despite the numbers having been evened up the game had returned to the pattern from prior to Walters’s injury.

Edun was booked for a foul in injury time as Town kept pushing in the closing stages but without being able to find the goal which would bring them their first win of the season.

The final whistle was greeted by boos - brief but far louder than than those at half-time on Tuesday - and then muted applause as the players left the field.

Having played 47 minutes with an extra man Town missed a big opportunity to finally grab that elusive first win of the season.

The prodded and probed but only seriously threatened once when Alnwick superbly saved Chambers’s header.

In some ways Town might have been better off had Bolton not been reduced to 10 men, the Trotters having defended staunchly and in depth after the red card. A more open approach from the visitors with 11 players might have suited Town more.

The draw will up the already significant pressure on manager Hurst, despite the Blues having climbed a place off the bottom of the table on goal difference courtesy of Sheffield United’s 3-2 victory over Preston, former Blue David McGoldrick having scored the late winner.

Town have their next chance to finally end their winless run and reduce that pressure when they travel to Birmingham - who won 2-1 at Leeds today - next Saturday.

Town: Gerken, Pennington, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse (Graham 71), Chalobah (Edun 46), Edwards, Ward (Walters 71), Nolan, Jackson. Unused: Bialkowski, Harrison, Spence, Downes.

Bolton: Alnwick (c), Olkowski, Hobbs, Wilson, Grounds, Williams, Lowe, Buckley (Wildschut 87), Noone (Donaldson 90), Oztumer (Wheater 36), Magennis. Unused: Matthews, Vela, Doidge, O’Neil. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: 14,755.

Photo: TWTD

TimmyH added 18:32 - Sep 22 Yep Surco72 - that sums it up... I said before the season began Hurst had ' a lot of managing to do' and saw his transfer dealings as a 'gamble'...didn't think it would be quite this bad. Waghorn and Garner leaving both a mistake (not sure I believe they both wanted to go) - noticed they were both on the bench today!
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Surco72 added 18:37 - Sep 22 If Evans had wanted to sell them whether MM was here or not they would have gone
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SickParrot added 18:39 - Sep 22 So it is now 10 games without a win, 7 goals scored (only 1 away in the league), 1 clean sheet and today "the Blues only created one serious chance". This is with a man advantage for 47 minutes against a poor Bolton side. McCarthy had to go and I must admit that I was happy with the appointment of PH at the time, but I am now worried that it was a mistake. He has already made 4 very poor decisions: 1. Allowing all 4 of Webster, Mcgoldrick, Waghorn and Garner to go 2. Not signing any players with any significant championship experience 3. Bringing in too many players (12) in 1 window 4. Allowing promising players from the academy who have first team experience to go out on loan. I am not suggesting that he should be sacked so early in the season but we do need to see better results and better performances soon. If we are still bottom of the league and winless by mid October, I think he should go.

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christiand added 18:40 - Sep 22 Make no mistake, if things don't change and change quickly we are in BIG, BIG trouble this season!
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poldark added 18:41 - Sep 22 Disliked everything about McCarthy and wanted a change but I'm afraid Mr Hurst is out of his depth with team selections,tactics and substitutions . Bolton were poor as were Ipswich they went down to ten men we huffed and puffed and created nothing why oh why no Sears why oh why no Dozzell and leaving out Donacien . Ever since Evans took over we have gone further and further backwards leading eventually to Div 1 Sorry but this is unacceptable

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ITFCZombie added 18:44 - Sep 22 Rumours that the dressing room is unsettled and senior players and coaches questioning the mangement is worrying and there can't be smoke without a 🔥 Is it just a coincidence that since these rumours started that the performance on the pitch has got worse? To many changes to players in the starting eleven and to many changes in tactics has caused most of these problems in my opinion. Hurst has said more than once he believes in his plan, I'm not convinced as his game plan has changed from high pressing football playing the ball on the floor to hit it long to a chasing Jackson. This change isn't working as Jackson though is quick his touch, hold up play and general football brain is not at championship level. To many changes each game and not knowing his best 11, this is a manager out of his depth. I really like Paul Hurst but how many more games can we go without a decent points tally before it's to late

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inghamspur added 18:44 - Sep 22 That wasn't good at all today. If you can't beat or even score against the likes of Bolton, then nowhere to go but downwards sadly. All the excitement about all the new players coming in is long forgotten. Would agree with everything that has been said about the quality that has gone out & what it has been replaced with. We don't look capable of hurting anybody & will always concede. One of the worrying things today was at least 2 occasions where 2 players went for the same ball. Sunday morning stuff. The only thing to hang on to I guess is that Norwich dropped down into League One and then had back to back promotions so anything possible I suppose. My son was just happy that we weren't still bottom of the league!!

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DebsyAngel added 18:44 - Sep 22 Dreadful game, another changed team, just no idea where our first win will actually come from the longer this goes on. I really wanted this new manager and players to work - but just too many changes in the squad when a few would have done, is the problem I can see. To not beat a very poor 10 man Bolton is a disgrace. Could also have throttled the obviously drunk girl behind us - a whole group of us moved to get away from her endless yelling and screaming, but she just went and sat behind us. I am all for people cheering the team on, but this was past a joke. Think of the annoying girl in the Trio advert x a million decibels....

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blueboy1981 added 18:47 - Sep 22 The fact that we had so much possession today means not all is wrong, however, ten games without a win simply means this cannot continue much longer. We just do not look like scoring, even today against ten men it only remotely looked like being a possibility. It has to be acknowledged that Paul Hurst has made too many changes, literally blitzed the reasonable squad he took over, and thus he is arguably out of his depth now in terms of tactics. How long does he need to realise that one up front will not produce what is required to win matches ? I was not at all impressed with the amount of times we gave away the ball to the opposition against Brentford. I said before the game today hopefully they would have corrected that somewhat for todays game - no such thing - we were even worse at it today ..... !! At this rate we are certain relegation contenders, mainly because in all honesty, I cannot see where a win is going to come from. On the face of it, Bolton defended well today - but we made it so easy for them, never threatening a defence that just cleared their lines, time after time, after time - without looking like any kind of penetration. Paul Hurst - to survive at Portman Road you need to be humble enough to get some experienced help in - otherwise it's your sword you are in the process of falling on. Maybe sooner, rather than later .. !! This cannot, and must not continue.

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wychyblue added 18:48 - Sep 22 I doubt , after spending such a long time to appoint the ‘right'man, Evans will be happy to change so early as this would acknowledge a mistake but get Warburton in as soon as possible ( before he is appointed elsewhere )
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bluebudgie added 18:48 - Sep 22 I have supported Town since 1966 and im so sorry to say that this team is the worst I have seen in the time ive been alive am 60 years old and the Town has never been out of the top two divisions in that time, but next year alas we will be in the third tier,perhaps it will be a good thing or perhaps we will do a Coventry,unfortunately with the present owner in place I think we will be emulating Coventry and maybe even worse, its time to sell, up Marcus Evans for the good of the club.

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Pezzer added 18:49 - Sep 22 For me MM had to go and I think we would have continued to decline with him. PH has not delivered on his promises and if things don't improve over the next few games will have to take responsibility. Despite the early interviews PH gave at the moment we are not anywhere near having a seamless academy/first team as the academy players are being completely sidelined which for me is a huge mistake and suggests PH doesn't really appreciate how important it was to bring the fans and players together. This, together with the lone striker formation and basically lacklustre football has combined to produce a very poor situation. Personally I rate Wolfenden, Dozzell, Nydam, Downes, Kenlock, and even Sears if played as a striker. I also think Pennington, Chambers, Skuse, Chalobah (but not with Skuse in the same team), Edwards ,Jackson, Donacien and possibly Nolan look like decent players- so even with the lack of academy players I am wondering if PH is able to get the team playing as the players are not all terrible.

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blueboy1981 added 18:51 - Sep 22 DebsyAngel .......... should have pointed the problem out to a Steward - that's what they are there for, to deal with such issues.
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Gcon added 18:54 - Sep 22 "McCarthy had to go" They say. Well, only because you turned on him. Perish the thought, but you need to hold yourselves accountable. The culprit for the demise of this club was always the owner, not MM, as is now very evident. MM was effectively covering his sins by getting points on the board regardless of funds. MM made a £20m profit in player trading and still ME can not resist his greed and sells our top goal scorer the week before the season starts. Again. His recruitment of a new manager was based entirely on getting in somebody cheap and some body with a reputation for working miracles on no budget. We now have no quality on the pitch, no creativity, an ever diminishing support and a completely apathetic atmosphere. No point turning on this manager. That is just idiotic. What will it take for people to realise this and take a stand. If you really care about the future of this club you can not let Marcus Evans get away with ruining this club, forever.

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EssexTractor added 18:55 - Sep 22 We are very much a loyal band of supporters and do try not to judge too prematurely and some say it is work in progress and if we simply finish just out of the relegation zone then all will be good. Sadly after 9 matches that seems like wishful thinking. I can understand that Paul Hurst wants to be his " own man" and wants to bring his ideas but as I commented on in previous weeks posts, did he not have a more experienced "'helper" to guide him through his signing on adventures. No newcomer either individually or as a team member has yet improved upon who he has replaced, and I cannot see the work in progress.Edwards.arguably the best signing has not improved since game one, Nolan is weak, weak in tackle, weak in thought, maybe inspirational at Shrewsbury, but playing in the centre of the field, he needs to muscle up and/ or have a quicker brain. Jackson not up to backing into big Championship defenders, blown over I am afraid..and so on and on.. Despite proud boasts about Sports Science etc why oh why did the manager have Jon Walters on the bench and then on the field..if the science told him he was fit he should have been there in the first minute...every substitute should be fit for action from minute one.. Walters might want to play but Hurst is the manager.... Walters who we would actually pay to watch, even at his age, but not when he is not fit So now between a rock and a hard place..some say Hurst out now...but can anyone make the players now available any better between now and the January transfer window... ?

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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 18:55 - Sep 22 That officially does it for Mr. Hurst! Partly "Wrong starting personnel",again again; Some of your obvious "personal favorites" getting reselected despite not exactly putting in POTM performances, let alone consistent acceptable performance for as long as they are in there; 1 man more today for about 60 min and not looking like scoring if we played until "Next Thursday"(2 shots 'on target')!!... that against a imo fairly crappy & unscary Bolton team in general that has conceded a lofty 9 in their last 4!! That so hope-giving 2nd half against Brentford now looking little more than an aberration or fluke by a visibly desperate man who went "All In" and simply finally got lucky on the day. That against a Brentford team which granted is a potentially great offensive unit but who in recent seasons is also known for & hampered by their recurring 'Jekyll Mr. Hyde' periods' & defensive meltdowns in games, especially in the 2nd half. And Keyden Jackson who was one of those (Ward another) who truly resurged in that aforementioned freakish 2nd half scored a goal and could/should have scored again at the end... well sadly apart from his inherent speediness looked like the Jackson of the first 6-7 games again today, and I personally believe that he, alongside Ward, the mind-boggling Chalobah and the occasionally Snooze Doggy Douglas pedestrian-like Nolan winded up as deserving the lowest ratings among both teams players used on the field! Alas while I'm usually not at all into "bandwagons" especially of a somewhat early or fickled nature , I'm making a rare exception by jumping on one now!.... Here just 9 league games (ohhh plus another humiliating early League Cup exit against much lower opposition!) in: As a person you are indeed a quote "likable" & respectful fella Paul, HOWEVER even though we are off the bottom somehow, way too many things related to the actual football being played & and those selected to playing it need to improve here PRONTO!!! And the bucket stops with you, yes you! who thus ADDITIONALLY are indeed also both a mixture of needlessly stubborn, outright naive, susceptible to being truly clueless at times and above all fundamentally just looking out of you freakin' depth at this level Mr. Hurst! The latter exactly like the overwhelmingly vast majority of *both* your ABUNDANCE of league 1 & 2 acquisitions and otherwordly bland loanees not named Walters! So poorly mismanaged (Not helped obviously be the well known over-eagerness of £ 700+ mill net worth owner Scrooge Evans to make a few extra bucks in the transfer windows) when *all* the team you took over truly needed, besides a new tactical approach of actually taking the field trying your best to win & PLAY football in the process, really was down to : 2-4 proven-at-this-level *permanent* signings blended with the gradual introduction / implementation of the best and most promising of our very own Youth players ... whom you, exactly like your ousted predecessor while also not at all being in accordance with the owner's glamorous cock & bull 5-Point Plan, SHAMEFULLY showed little faith in and subsequently either loaned 90% of them out, or seemingly just intend to put the others more or less in the proverbial 'freezer'! So new Harry Potter-esque MAGIC wand-wielding manager with championship or better experience of course! needed a.s.a.p.! Or else can't see us winning many if any games, even with Huws fully fit! and thereby somehow avoiding the very looming drop to league 1.

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Philpomr added 18:56 - Sep 22 I just don't understand how a manager at home plays one up front especially when the other team is rubbish and only ten players. Then in second half when the players are attacking and look like creating something makes changes it. It's a joke. It was also sad seeing fans after the game facing up to each other arguing about the game.
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blueboy1981 added 18:58 - Sep 22 Burley in as Director of Football ............ NOW. If both Burley and Butcher were appointed before the previous squad was dissected by Hurst - there would have been wins on the board by now - and some of our own playing for us - that have been moved out on loan.
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WoodfordTim added 18:59 - Sep 22 Where was the pressing, momentum & team play today? I could take no positives from the game at all. Mick Mills post match was spot on: listed the players we sold/let go and listed the not-good-enough players we brought in. Mick Mills suggested PH put all his new players in the team at once and see where it takes us. League One methinks. And our promising academy players that even Mick started to introduce are out on loan. Very worried

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ITFCZombie added 19:00 - Sep 22 Bluebudgie I agree but who is going to want to buy Ipswich Town in the state its currently in? I believe that Marcus Evans is to blame for the downfall of this club with his lack of proper investment over the last few seasons. and when we look back at the positive time when Mick was here if Evans had invested more it could have been a whole different game now. To stay competitive in this league you need to invest millions into the squad it's that simple. Evans purchased this football club and isn't the reason for the rich to buy clubs to spend there millions and get success. Unfortunately the days are long gone when a small club can make it big in a league with next to no investment it happens less and less

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blueboy1981 added 19:02 - Sep 22 ....... the idea of giving a young English Manager a chance is fine - but Hurst has come in like a steam train, changed everything - and look like filing in so doing. Burley and/or Butcher would have been such an asset to him in terms of learning, and ultimate success.
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chopra777 added 19:03 - Sep 22 Did Hurst miss the lecture about how to score goals on his coaching course. Even if we had 7 barn doors we could not hit one. Come on Evans sack this manager to give us chance of staying up. 10 games and no wins is dreadfully.
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DebsyAngel added 19:05 - Sep 22 BlueBoy81, I did at the end complain to a steward and he said he would have a word - but I do feel mixed over it. Yes she was supporting the team, but there is a limit when it's upsetting others so much (3 other men in my row and a few in the same row as her).
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44_not_out added 19:07 - Sep 22 Ok, so MM left us. Love or hate him, happened. Let's work on the assumption that McGoldrick wanted to go. So a new manager comes in and looks at what he has to work with. Without making any signings or selling anyone, he could've put out the following team. BART Emmanuel - Chambers - Webster - Knudsen Skuse. - Downs Waghorn - Dozzell. - Nydam Garner Subs - Gerkin - Spence - Wolfenden - Sears - Ward - Morris - Rowe Would that win the league? Unlikely, but it would not be bottom and would start to bring through these fantastic young players. Hurst has put this clubs back years! Go now!

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WaltonBlueNaze added 19:12 - Sep 22 I said weeks ago that we would be in a relegation battle and that I would settle for 4th from bottom! It's so clear that PH is totally out of his depth it's unbelievable, he's almost as stubborn as MM was. He has brought in far too many players that are just not up to championship football. Time to get rid and bring in Burley and Holland!
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