Gudni Bergsson
Spurs v Bolton – How the pendulum has swung…?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Gudni Bergsson, Jay-Jay Okocha, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce | 16 Comments
This weekend sees Bolton travel to White Hart Lane, and a clash between two famous old clubs that have 16 FA Cup
how times have changed
Finals (12 wins) and a combined total of 146 years of top-flight football between them, not to mention Spurs’ 4 League Cup wins, and 4 European trophies.
Recent history has been very different for the two clubs, with Spurs only spending one year out of the top flight since 1950, whilst Bolton have dropped through the leagues and back twice in the same period. However, looking further back in history paints a different picture of the two clubs.
Prior to 1950, Spurs had spent as much time in the Second Division as the First, and their only FA Cup win had come as a non-league club in 1901. Bolton had already won the cup three times, been runners-up twice, and spent the vast majority of their history in the top flight.
The abolition of the maximum wage in 1961 changed the football landscape at the time, and Bolton’s decline from this point onwards was dramatic and prolonged.
By the end of the 1959/60 season, Bolton were historically England’s 5th most successful club, based on average league position. At the same point, despite one league title success, Spurs were the 20th best team.
By the end of 2008, Spurs – by now winners of the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup four times, and four European trophies – had moved up to seventh in the table of overall average league positions, whilst Bolton had failed to add to trophy cabinet, had spent more time out of the top flight than in it, and slipped to 21st in the overall average league table.
In anticipation of the weekend’s clash, bwfcforum’s Statman takes a closer look at the history of the two clubs for Manny Road. › Continue reading
Recommended reading (21.10.08): Another ‘one of those days’ as non-paying fans are kept in the dark about Gudni Bergsson
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 | BWFC People, Gary Megson, Gudni Bergsson, Jlloyd Samuel, Joey O'Brien, Mustapha Riga, Phil Gartside, Ricardo Gardner | No Comments
What Manny Road was reading (and thinking) about Bolton Wanderers yesterday…
- Wondering why, when Gary Megson told them about his annoyance at the team’s lack of creativity, The Bolton News didn’t ask him to explain his thinking behind waiting until the 69th and 86th minutes respectively before introducing RIcardo Gardner and Mustapha Riga against Blackburn on Saturday… or why they didn’t point out to Megson the contradiction between his statement and the use of Joey O’Brien (a distinctly uncreative player) as a substitute in the same game.
- Reading Jlloyd Samuel on the official club website explaining the 0-0 draw with Blackburn as ‘one of those days’ and feeling a certain amount deja vu. Why? Because the game was also described as ‘one of those days’ in bwfc.co.uk’s match report a day earlier (how long before someone starts to take the blame for yet another ‘one of those days’?).
- Listening to this interview with Phil Gartside on BBC Radio Five Live in which he defended the fan zone and free beer idea (he did a pretty good job too aside from the stuttering hesitation when he was asked whether Megson’s style of play was to blame for fans staying away).
- Also from the official website… I was hoping to read this story about ‘the return of Gudni Bergsson’, only to find that I’d need to subscribe to Wanderers World (the club’s online subscription TV service) to find out more (can anyone enlighten me as to how and why Gudni has returned?).
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