Comings and Goings

The summer transfer market was slow, with attempts to offload Gary Cahill for a handsome fee meeting with failure. The desire to get rid couldn’t have been more obvious if a small ad had been placed in the classifieds.

‘For Sale : Top class international defender. Two careful owners. All offers considered.’

For sale to a good home. Or any home, in exchange of a big sack of cash.

The bid from Arsenal was derisory and caused tension between the two clubs, while ‘Arry Redknapp, true to character, made enquiries a few minutes before the end of the window. The behaviour of the interested clubs was disrespectful to Bolton and to Cahill, who it should be noted, has behaved impeccably. He will move to Chelsea later this month with the best wishes of Whites fans.

Ali Al-Habsi was sold to Wigan, Matt Taylor to West Ham and Danny Ward to Huddersfield to give Coyle some working capital. Eight new players were brought in, some on loan. None of them can be considered an unqualified success. Note the polite phrasing of that last sentence.

Pre-season was overshadowed by the broken leg sustained by Lee Chung-Yong in a friendly at Newport County. When top flight sides play such fixtures against non league opposition there’s a tacit agreement that it won’t be an eyeballs out affair. A shame that no one told Tom Miller. Or maybe they did and he’s a psychopath.

The First False Dawn

Whatever confidence there was evaporated when the fixture list for 2011-12 was published. Five of the leading clubs were to be faced early on. QPR imploded in the first game of the season giving the Wanderers an easy 4-0 triumph and a creditable loss against Manchester City took place a week after.

Then it was downhill accelerating, with feeble performances against Liverpool, Manchester United, Norwich, Arsenal and Chelsea. The worst fears had been realised.

In the middle of October something incredible happened. The Wanderers faced a side even worse at defending than them as they travelled to the primitive badlands of Wigan. A 3-1 win resulted. The season had started at last!

Oh No It Hadn’t

Steve Bruce. Job safe. But not for long.

The optimism was good for seven days. Under Steve Bruce, Sunderland were a wretched outfit and he arrived with his job on the line. Kevin Davies & Co did their best to keep Fat Head in employment with a second half display of wearying ineptitude. Things hadn’t improved.

As the month drew to an end, Manny Road published the first in a series of articles discussing potential wrong doing in at least one transfer deal involving Bolton Wanderers. Phil Gartside had cut one agent out of a deal, paid another well over the odds and lied about it.

If the word of the excluded agent had been the only evidence it would have been easier to discount, but sworn statements by BWFC employees and a document obtained from the FA gave the allegations substance.

Gartside was a jibbering wreck as he addressed a meeting of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Association, a gathering he normally has to be dragged kicking and screaming to. But by then the Bolton Chairman was on a publicity drive, no doubt under the orders of self styled ‘Director of Communications’, Mark Alderton, a man who has watched too many episodes of the West Wing.

Perhaps at some point Alderton will realise that he’s a gopher at a small town northern football club, rather than an aide at the White House. Until then, the chances of information emerging from the Reebok that hasn’t been carefully spun first remain slim.

The questions posed by this site and Whites supporters remain unanswered. They will be asked again by other parties as the year progresses.

November

Things started brightly with a walloping of Stoke City. It didn’t make up for the hurt at Wembley. Only a return visit and a different result will do that. But it did provide some kind of closure. Pointing and laughing at those Potters fans who’d arrived wearing ‘5-0’ tee-shirts added to the fun.

What happened on the pitch seemed irrelevant at the end of the month as the news of Gary Speed’s suicide broke. The motivation behind his actions is a mystery and to protect his family from further hurt it should remain so. RIP Gary, and thanks for all you did as a Bolton player.

False Dawn II

Bald Gary Megson. You're just a bald Gary Megson.

December started with another three defeats, but a fighting win at Blackburn Rovers lightened the mood. The players looked different. They’d grown balls and a backbone. There was a neat role reversal as travelling fans enjoyed the home abuse of Rovers manager Steve Kean. It made the treatment of Gary Megson seem like playful banter

The relief this time lasted less than a week as a moderate Newcastle side were treated to three gift-wrapped points at home on Boxing Day. It felt more like Groundhog Day.

Onward and…er, Upward

It’s been a sobering year for Bolton fans. The optimism prompted by the arrival of Owen Coyle has long gone and the overriding opinion is that he and his coaching staff are out their depth. Fortress Reebok is now a ruined sandcastle.

Despite that, the Wanderers manager has been given an easy ride by match goers. Perhaps that’s because he’s still regarded with affection. Or it may be that the point of anger has passed and that only apathy remains.

According to reports, Coyle will get the cash generated by the sale of Cahill and the rest of January to get his act together. Whoever is in charge of the team will face a tough task. To reach the magical forty points at season end, a further 27 will be needed from nineteen games. That includes those against the top teams, for whom Bolton are a fleeting inconvenience these days.

Injuries have played their part in the Whites decline, as have the departures of Johann Elmander and Daniel Sturridge and the ageing of Kevin Davies and Jussi Jaaskelainen. No one expected the season to be easy. No one fooled themselves that the squad was anything more than average. Relegation, if it happens, may be forgiven. But not if that cherished place in the top flight is meekly surrendered.

- Richard McCormick

TweetFollow @RMc2407

The Year of the Un-Coyled Part One

Over the phone lines and online, there has been an uncontrolled outpouring of anguish, due to opposition striker Kevin Davies launching an evil, vicious, pre-meditated, bone-crunching, career-ending, murderous attack on Red Devils midfielder Tom Cleverley.   Or as more normal observers described it, the Bolton captain committed a minor foul and conceded a free kick.

Kevin Davies. A menace to society. Apparently.

United boss Alex Ferguson kicked off the grief-fest just after the final whistle. “He may have a broken foot, it was unfortunate,” he advised, failing to explain why he ordered his player to ponce around the stadium in a ski-boot rather than send him to hospital.

Cleverley was more measured.   “Don’t worry about it, I’ve seen it back, it was just an unfortunate coming together,” he told Davies in response to the latter’s phone call.

The unfettered torrent of woe that followed appeared to start in Malaysia, but supporters in United’s UK heartland in the home counties soon joined in.  On Twitter, worshippers of the sourest manager in football bravely attacked Kevin Davies’s wife, Emma, whilst the ‘Kevin Davies is a Thug’ Facebook group quickly picked up members, although it is still somewhat smaller than the ‘I support Manchester United but don’t have a clue where Old Trafford is’ page.

Quick to react to the tragedy, United have applied for planning permission to build a shrine outside the Stretford End, so that the tiny minority of fans who live close by can place flowers, cards and other objects in tribute to Cleverley’s foot.  Meanwhile, it is rumoured Ferguson has been granted an audience with the Queen where he will request a national day of mourning.

A routine scan has revealed that Tom Cleverley’s bones remain intact.  He will return to action in around three weeks.

Stuart Holden. Joint and bone damage. Twenty-six stitches. Surgery. Out for six months. Courtesy of Jonny Evans. Any thoughts Fergie?

- Richard McCormick

TweetFollow @RMc2407

The words came from Emma Davies, wife of Bolton captain Kevin, as she tweeted on the day of the recent public sector strikes. It was an inane comment to make, perhaps revealing long held prejudices, as the cause of the dispute was not the amount of time spent in class, but the erosion of pension rights.

Unsurprisingly, given that the man who supports her works short days, has long holidays and gets paid more in a week than most teachers earn in a year, there was some disagreement. Big Em did not take kindly to it.

‘People will know it’s me anyway by all the knives in my back,’ she advised later in the week after being seen in the local coffee shop. That, and her claims that she’d been abused, were melodramatic distortions of the truth. Granted, some of the replies were a little testy, but they only sought to highlight the crass nature of what she’d written.

If the matter had ended at that point, it wouldn’t be worthy of comment, but from there on in, Mrs SKD’s behaviour degenerated. She wasn’t so much a WAG, as a WUM. A Wind Up Merchant – someone who posts maliciously on an internet forum with the sole intention of provoking a reaction. Check out the message board attached to this site, or one of the others such as Wanderers Ways, The-Wanderer, Bolton Banter, Wanderers Mad or the Bolton News Forum, and such individuals are easy to pick out, once you’ve seen a few examples of their ‘work’.

Kev and Em on the lash

To sum up the Davo position, it’s ok to sneer at teachers because footballers work Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and bank holidays, pay high taxes and will be forced to retire at 35 whilst most of the population have the privilege of earning a crust for another thirty years or so.

‘But we are not complaining,’ added Emma, bravely.

On the latter point, Kevin Davies is taking his coaching badges, so he won’t be on the scrap heap after hitting his mid thirties. Perhaps he should tell the wife. Even if he wasn’t, it doesn’t take a mathematical whizz-kid to work out that after copping for a slice of Bolton’s multi-million pound wage bill over the past eight years, he won’t have to do anything bar tend to his donkeys.

Perhaps she’s just naïve or a bit dim? Er, nope. This is a woman who is desperate for us to know that she had a career before getting hitched. One that involved PR of all things.

So, what was the motivation for last week’s outbursts, one of which involved inviting a persistent detractor to pop round for coffee and a punch up? Perhaps Mrs Davies is still miffed at the abuse directed at her husband after the FA cup semi-final, which wasn’t justified, even if the rage and shame Bolton fans felt after their team’s miserable performance at Wembley was very real.

Maybe she wants her friends in the glitzy world she used to inhabit to know that she’s still alive. Or it could be that she’s joining  in with the all too familiar fan-bashing that comes from those directly connected to BWFC.

Chairman Phil Gartside once scolded the supporters for failing to attend an FA cup tie with Fulham and had to apologise. The season after, Sam Allardyce referred to the Reebok faithful as ‘ignorant and naïve’ for expressing disappointment at an end of term slump. Then were was Gary Megson, who thought the fans were ‘pathetic’ although his remarks were clarified the day after. He was only meant the ones attending Ewood Park who’d called him a wanker. Too late Gaz, offence already taken.

Once into his stride, the Ginger One couldn’t stop slagging off those who paid his wages, either by coming through the turnstiles or with their TV subscriptions. The damage he caused is still to be fully repaired. Therein lies the danger.

Twitter can be fun, informative even. It can also be mind-numbingly dull, as anyone following Rio Ferdinand will attest. But there are pitfalls. It’s unwise to judge someone based on internet posts, especially ones which are limited to 140 characters. But the truth is that people do just that.

Kevin Davies is a hero at Bolton, and deservedly so, after his commitment on the pitch over several years. It would be unfortunate if that reputation suffered because his other half can’t keep her ego in check when she’s within touching distance of a keyboard.

- Richard McCormick

Tweet

Eboue flys, without assistance from an airline

Matt Law, in an ‘exclusive’ for the Daily Express, figures that Arsenal will offer Henri Lansbury, Carlos Vela, Armand Traore and Emmanuel Eboue as part of a deal for Bolton’s star centre back.

This will be unwelcome news for Eboue, who was involved in a spat with Kevin Davies at the Reebok in 2006 and has never quite recovered.  The Ivorian international has already catered for this eventuality, obtaining a Belgian passport to make his detection more difficult.  He was last seen on the M25, heading for Heathrow, with final destination unknown.

Across town at Spurs,  Harry Redknapp is prepared to trade Sebastien Bassong, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton according to the Daily Mail.   This motley crew is worth £17 million apparently, matching Cahill’s asking price.  However, if Jenas is excluded, the value of the players offered rises to £20 million.

If it’s ok with Messrs Wenger and Redknapp, we’d rather have the money, thanks.

- Richard McCormick
Follow @RMc2407

Elmander was always just a figure of fun..

It’s a matter of record that our hapless former Swede ended the season as top scorer with 10 premier league goals followed by Big Kev and the wonderkid loanee with 8 apiece. Our underused Croatian chipped in with 4, or to put it another way, the same number as KD if you ignore penalties.

Fans of Big Kev will be quick to point out that his game is about much more than scoring goals. They’ll point out that he created a whopping 86 chances, double the next highest, that only Robbo managed more than his 915 successful passes, and that only Elmander and Chungy had more than his 5 assists.

Fans of Elmander, meanwhile, should be publicly castrated on the town hall steps, but we’ll leave that one for another day.

It’s easy enough to look down our premier league stats and pick out the ‘top performers’, but does it give a fair reflection comparing someone who started every game, like Big Kev, with someone who rarely gets a look in, like Klasnic?

In the spirit of having bugger all else to do on a Sunday afternoon in the close season, I decided to compare stats per time played. The comparison is for premier league appearances only, and for the sake of simplicity (rather than accuracy) in calculating minutes played for each player all matches are assumed to last 90 minutes.

Digressing slightly, and probably rubbing people up the wrong way at the same time, it’s a conviction of mine that football fans are sheep-like in the way that we happily go along with prevailing myths. There are plenty to chose from, but as examples I’d suggest “you can’t play decent football unless you have quality players” and counter that with “Blackpool”, or “you can’t play decent football with KD up front” and counter that with “Newcastle at home”. Similary, I’d counter “Fabrice Muamba is a decent defensive midfielder” with “b*ll*cks!”.

Baaa..I'm just not having this about Elmander...!

On of the more irritating prevailing myths is that Klasnic can’t last 90 minutes (how would anyone know?) or that he doesn’t get involved much apart from the goals.

It is these Klasnic myths I will now attempt to counter with the contention that he is our most effective forward when he gets the opportunity. Which sadly has been far too rarely, and generally only when we’re chasing the game.

Effectiveness – goals and assists

Total Goals and assists

Overall, our former hapless Swede romps it with 10 goals and 6 assists followed by KD. A total contribution of 16 goals to the cause – not a bad return (finally) from our record signing.

Convert this into goals and assists per “match” (i.e. per every 90 minutes played) and you get a different picture:

Now our underused Croatian is the star performer on both counts – averaging over a goal a game and an assist every three and a bit – followed by the Boy Wonder.

Goals and assists per 90 minutes:

Whilst Klasnic’s contribution, including assists, is almost a goal and a half per game, Elmander’s is less than a third of that. Big Kev brings up the rear with around a third of a goal per game.

Round one to Klasnic.

Attempts and attempts on target
Another somewhat brainless criticism of Klasnic is that “all he does is score…” – this is a genuine comment I have heard on many occasions. Seriously.

Notwithstanding the utter daftness of this, again it’s not borne out by the stats.

Elmander again tops the overall chart with 79 attempts (33 on target) followed by Sturridge with 54 and 21 respectively. Converting this per 90 minutes …

Attempts over 90mins..

Danny Sturridge leads the way with almost 5 attempts per ‘game’, with Klasnic a whisker behind, but Klasnic has more attempts on target. Not bad for a bloke who doesn’t do much.
Elmander is way behind on both counts with Big Kev once again in last place.

I am the man..and you know it..!

Chances created and passing
Poor old Kev’s not had a good time of it so far, so it’s time to get onto one of his strengths … creating chances for other players.

I’ve already mentioned that KD’s well ahead of anyone else with 86 chances created. Of the forwards, Elmander is next with 33. Kev also has more successful passes (915) than any other forward, followed by Elmander with 633. Converted per ‘game’ this gives us:

chances created and passes per 90 minutes.

KD clearly tops the list for chances created, but now he’s followed by Klasnic and Sturridge with Elmander well behind.

Davies also made the most passes, but presumably because a high proportion of these bounce aimlessly off his head, has the worst pass success and by far the highest number of failed passes.

Ivan doesn’t-do-much Klasnic has the second highest number of passes and the highest number of successful passes, whilst “workhorse” Elmander made far less passes than either and had the least number of successful passes. Only Sturridge attempted less passes than Elmander, presumably because he’s a greedy git.

Workrate – tackles and fouls
I know … it’s a bit like being back at school, but don’t worry; this is the last bit.

They may not be key indicators for the effectiveness of our forwards, but tackles and fouls should give us an indication of how much they get stuck in. Remember – Klasnic does nowt bar score goals…

Tackles and fouls per 90 minutes:

Probably the one we all expected Big Kev to win hands down (tackles, that is – fouls was obvious) so a bit of a surprise to see our work-shy Croatian and the big girls’ blouse Swede beat him into third place for tackles won. Also notable that Klasnic attempted the most tackles, not just that he won them all, and that Wonder Boy simply doesn’t do tackles. Although he did win the only one he attempted, so maybe he’s just trying to maintain his perfect record.

Not surprisingly, KD is involved in the highest number of fouls – over 5 per ‘game’ – but unfortunately the majority of them are fouls committed. Sturridge is the next most ‘active’, primarily because he’s too quick for the opposition who just end up chopping him down. Or giving him an excuse to dive. Elmander and Klasnic’s stats are closer, but again Klasnic both wins and concedes more free-kicks than the Swede.

Summary
One man clearly stands out above even the boy wonder from Chelsea as our star performer this season. Proportionate to time spent on the pitch, he has the most goals, the most assists, the most attempts on target, the most successful passes, and the most successful tackles, and is second only to KD on chances created.

But he does nowt but score goals. Apparently.

-Wakey-

(incidentally, when fans discuss the golden era of Bolton Wanderers, for me our second greatest period – after the 1920′s – is 30 Dec 2009 to 8 Jan 2010)

I’ll start by saying I’m a huge fan of Owen Coyle. In my opinion, this is the best managerial appointment we have ever made. Whether we go on to have the success to justify that statement remains to be seen and depends on a whole range of factors, but for me there has never previously been an available candidate more perfect for the job. I’ve stated my reasons for this in great depth many times in the past on the old official board and others, so I won’t go over old ground.

we're all a happy bunch here...

All that said, my take on the first year under OC is that if anything the “Coyle revolution” has gone slightly slower than I expected / would have liked.

To evaluate the changes, it seems reasonable to summarise based on some key areas: our league position, the style of football, spirit / morale within the club, and mood / enthusiasm of the supporters.

League position:
A massive “pass” for OC thus far. Taking over in the bottom three and guiding us comfortably to safety last season was a solid start, but it’s our lofty heights this season that really catches the eye. It’s pretty safe to say that we would be nowhere near 6th at this stage of the season under the previous manager. I’d also say it would be unlikely that we would be anywhere near this position now if BSA had never left (or worse – returned).

However, we shouldn’t get too carried away yet. We have put ourselves in an excellent position to give us a chance of a top 8 finish, but there’s a long way to go yet. Other teams have games in hand, and our position could look a bit different after the next couple of games.

We’ve also benefited from a season where some of the fancied sides have started poorly. Nobody would have predicted at the start of the season that Liverpool, Everton AND Villa would all be outside the top 8 at this stage of the season.

What our position does give us is the confidence that we can beat anyone on our day. We have thus far bounced back from our defeats and have yet to face a losing run, so while there is obviously the risk that we may drop down the table in the second half, our position at this point is outstanding.

Style of football:
I suspect I’m in the minority in that I saw changes (or thought I did …) in our style more or less straight away, albeit they were not major and were more indications of our attempt to play better football than any great transformation.

However, thus far I think this is the area where OC has had the least success, although admittedly this may be judging things against my optimistic expectations.
Undoubtedly, things have progressed signifcantly since the dark, ginger days. We are undoubtedly trying to play positive attractive football. When it comes together, we look great. When it doesn’t – and it often hasn’t – we don’t look massively different from the Megson era.

What is different – and massively – is that even when we don’t look great, we know that we are trying to play positive football. Under Megson, it was patently obvious to everyone that things, style-wise, were never going to get any better. On the odd occasion the ginger one hinted we might develop our style over time – usually around the time we were trying to flog season tickets – he very quickly went on to deny it.
We are clearly a much better side on MOTD, hence we are the new media darlings, but the hype over our transformation has been hugely exaggerated.

The reason that we haven’t made the level of progress style-wise that I expected (and I believe Coyle wanted) is simple: we haven’t been able to change the personnel much. Because most of the squad were under contract and we haven’t been able to sell many, Coyle has only been able to bring in two significant signings (Allonso is “one for the future”, to quote BSA). Holden has been inspirational, and sums up the type of player Coyle wants – a “proper” footballer, always comfortable in possession. Petrov has yet to set the world on fire, but on paper was a great signing, and demonstrates Coyle’s passion for exciting wingers.

Match attack superstar...

Other than that, he’s been stuck with mostly Megson’s signings. There are clearly different opinions on the quality of the ginger ones transfer activity. For (further) clarification (Don), with one or two exceptions, I believe he wasted £40m+ on largely mediocre players, but even if you think Megson bought well, I suspect you’d probably accept that they were bought to play Megson football. By and large – LCY and Mavies excepted – they are not comfortable on the ball.

Whilst Coyle has worked wonders with the squad he has, and we have seen clear and demonstrable progress in areas such as possession and pass completion, we still struggle at times to keep hold of the ball and control games. Incidentally, our average possession per game has gone from sub-40% under Megson to 50% plus under Coyle. Admittedly, I’m guessing about the 50% plus, but it’s a fairly confident guess that I’ll confirm at some point when I can be bothered.

My overall verdict on style of football: another “pass” (pardon the pun), but by nowhere near as much as the media and others would have you believe (although as Coyle himself says, we are very much a work in progress).

Spirit / morale within the club:
I tend to be a bit sceptical of the propaganda that comes out of football clubs. Interviews these days are carefully managed by the press office, so the odd snippet claiming everyone is happy and the manager is a nice bloke prove nowt.
At a push, the volume of positive “news” could be used as an indication, or you could claim to interpret the “tone” of the stuff that comes out (“he said he liked Megson, but you can tell that he really likes Coyle), but in reality it’s all fluff.

So how do we judge the improved morale and spirit within the club?

Ok, the volume and consistency of the “good news” since OC came in does seem relatively convincing, and the less processed stuff, e.g. remarks in live interviews, twitter etc, all support the party line that Coyle is an inspirational / positive / infectious manager.

It’s also been commented on elsewhere that everyone around the club, ticket office, club shop, etc etc, seem much brighter than they did a year or so ago, i.e. everything “feels” better, much like it did in Rioch’s tenure.

But the proof in the pudding is what we actually see on the pitch.

The players have demonstrated a spirit that was invisible under the ginger one.
Maybe this can be attributed to Coyle’s acclaimed man-management versus Megson’s petulent shout/bully/sulk approach. At least now we can believe that if a player’s out of the team it’s because the manager thinks someone else will do a better job, rather than because the manager’s fell out with him.

Under Megson, if we went behind we gave up the ghost. Under Coyle, we’ve come back from two down against Blackpool and – with ten men – Birmingham.
Under Megson, we couldn’t hold on to a two goal lead. Under Coyle this season, we’ve gone on to score a third goal on four occasions and – despite scares against Spurs and Wolves – have gone on to win when we take a two goal lead.
We’ve seen it consistently throughout the season so far. I’m sure everyone can pick their own examples, but I’d also point to beating Blackburn with ten men, or the disappointment etched all over the faces of the players when we’ve only managed draws away at Villa and Everton and at home to Man Utd.

This, again is a massive “pass” for OC.

Mood / enthusiasm of the supporters:
Is it fair to judge a manager’s performance on the mood of the fans? Probably not, in all fairness. It’s been commented elsewhere that we have some bloody miserable fans at the best of times, and you don’t have to do too much research to realise that there are plenty who couldn’t manage an independent thought, let alone a football club.

However, whilst I’d accept that we’re probably not the best qualified to judge a manager’s performance, at the end of the day it’s OUR CLUB in a way that, sadly, it is rarely if ever the manager’s club.

It also matters because a disgruntled fan-base rarely goes hand in hand with success on the pitch.

It’s pretty obvious that the mood has improved massively over the last year. A surprisingly healthy league position has had a massive impact, but it was also the easiest area for Coyle to succeed in.

In a nutshell, Megson alienated the vast majority of the fans over his time in charge. By the end, he was roundly disliked (“hated” by many).

Owen Coyle is everything that Megson isn’t. It’s pretty much as simple as that.

Where Megson was ultra-negative, Coyle is positive. Where Megson was surly, Coyle is charming. Where Megson had a pop at the supporters, Coyle praises and thanks us. The list is pretty much endless.

It’s worth noting that Coyle wasn’t universally worshipped from day one. There have still been plenty – let’s call them miserable wankers, for want of something better – who couldn’t help spouting off that the football wasn’t much better, the crowds weren’t coming back, we had the same number of points under Megson etc etc etc.

Let’s also not kid ourselves that they’ve all been won round. They’re simply keeping quiet until they think of something else to moan about. But whilst they tend to be vocal on internet forums, and there are always a few to be heard in the ground, the miserable wankers really don’t count. They will never ever be happy, so fcuk ‘em.

The mood of “the fans” generally is – quite obviously – another massive pass for OC.

Summary …
OC’s had a huge impact on the spirit within the club and the mood of the fans. Our current league position is exceptional against anybody’s pre-season expectations. The league position obviously helps with the feel-good factor. Massive success in these areas.

Performance and style-wise, for me it’s been more a mixed bag. Fantastic at times, but I think there is much, much better to come, particularly once OC has chance to change the personnel at the club.

So here’s to 2011 and another year of progress under OC.

Happy New Year everyone.

Guest Bogger -Wakey-

Last week Owen Coyle’s men lost to the poorest Liverpool team in decades.  That seemed a long time ago as they demolished a Spurs side who had ripped Inter Milan a new nether orifice in mid-week.

Yet in the first half, that outcome seemed unlikely.  There was no lack of effort or belief against Gerrard & Co, but there was an absence of guile that proved costly.  The same seemed to apply in the opening period against Tottenham.

All that changed, in a pivotal moment, just after the half-hour mark and it was down to defensive ineptitude, inadequate goal-keeping and a linesman who should have gone to Specsavers.

Fabrice Muamba, robbed a dawdling Sandro and found Matt Taylor, who fed the ball to Kevin Davies.  The Wanderers captain was in an offside position, and he didn’t strike the ball that cleanly, but Heurelho Gomes, in the Tottenham net, got down to it with all the speed of someone with an arthritic hip.  The home side were one up, and the complexion of the game changed for good.

'Arry's Not 'Appy

Had the visitors gone in level, Harry Redknapp would probably have stayed with his starting eleven.  Instead he brought on Roman Pavlyuchenko for Wilson Palacios in an attempt to open the game up.  It worked, but not in the way that ‘Arry had envisioned.

‘After we went one down, we went 4-4-2 and were as open as a barn door,’ said the man with the saggiest jowls in football, post-match.  It was an accurate assessment, although he missed the words ‘and it was all my fault’ off the end of the sentence.

Ten minutes into the second half and Bolton extended their lead with the best passing movement of the game so far.  Lee to Taylor to Elmander to Gretar Steinsson, who finished with the touch of a striker.

Steinsson had been expected to be busy at the other end of the pitch with Planet of the Apes extra, Gareth Bale.  The Spurs winger had a quiet game, as befits a man who had been hyped into outer space by a fawning media, but he did show moments of quality in the first half.

One was a teasing cross between goalkeeper and the last defender that someone should have got on the end of. Another was a free-kick that hit the outside of the post after Paul Robinson had brought down Sandro. Robinson protested his innocence in the usual way, ie loudly, but like Sandro, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. If the tackle had been any later, it would have occurred in next Wednesday’s game against Everton.

Fifteen minutes from the end, things got even better for the Whites.  Matt Taylor found Lee Chung-Yong in the penalty area and he was bundled to the floor by Assou-Ekotto.  Davies put the resulting spot-kick away in a crisp fashion.  Game over.

Well, not quite.  There was no doubt about the quality of Alan Hutton’s curling left-foot strike that gave the visitors a life-line three minutes later, but he was afforded space by a defence that had gone into cruise mode.  The same could be said about Pavlyuchenko’s volley from an acute angle that made it 3-2.  A great finish, but only a misunderstanding between Steinsson and Jussi Jaaskelainen led to the ball being in that area.

It was here perhaps, that Bolton were at their most impressive.  It would have been easy to panic, but in the remainder of normal time, and the almost six additional minutes added, they showed a surprising ability to keep possession, that denied Tottenham further chances, and at the death, came the best moment.

Stuart Holden ended William Gallas’s solo run with a sliding tackle, and the ball fell to Gary Cahill.  His inch perfect pass was headed on by Davies to Martin Petrov.  The Bulgarian sprinted away from his pursuers and poked the ball under Gomes to give the result a more emphatic look and one that reflected the balance of play.

That Spurs were under strength and still giddy after their European adventures, should be acknowledged, but not over emphasised.  It’s also worth remembering that when the Londoners last won a league game at Bolton, the Reebok Stadium didn’t exist.

The plan was to put a picture of Peter Crouch here. Google image search turned up a better suggestion.

But there was much to cheer the home support here.  Fabrice Muamba had his best game of the season.  Lee Chung-Yong was industrious and inventive. Johan Elmander ran himself into the ground and Gary Cahill signs the deeds on his ownership of Peter Crouch tomorrow.

In addition, Matt Taylor had a hand in three of the goals and Stuart Holden again showed why he’s made himself indispensable.  Man of the Match though, was Kevin Davies, who produced a display that might even get the doughnut repository that is Martin Samuel to belt up for five minutes.

The only major downside was the attendance.  A sparse 20,255 due to a silly kick off time and TV coverage.  But if the quality of the second half performance can be replicated the missing fans will surely return.

- Richard McCormick

According to Lee Chung Yong, who notched his first goal of the season against Stoke, we may have reason to check the exchange rate, get ourselves some travellers’ cheques, purchase some sun block (or thermals going off our previous visits to Belgrade and Plodiv etc) and prepare for a European tour once again.

"Ivan.... sort the sunbeds out son"

When I firsy read lee’s quotes, I thought that 20+ months of constant football had finally taken its toll on the youngster and he’d gone insane. European finish? Madness surely? Still, I suppose it was no more insane than England International (had to mention that) Kevin Davies proclaiming that a top ten finish was an achievable aim under Gary Megson’s leadership!

However, the more I read Lee’s quotes, admittedly aided by our last gasp win this weekend, the more I tend to agree with him. Ok, Europe may be too much, too soon this season, but a top ten finish should be a legitimate aim – Davies, please feel free to use this as your cue to trot out last season’s quotes to an unsuspecting journalist.

So what is the reason for this change of heart, aside from the obvious? Well, upon looking at the league table this morning, ignoring the top 5 which I think will remain the same, albeit maybe in a different order, there isn’t a lot to choose from between the remaining 15 teams. Unlike last year when Pompey looked doomed already with their off the filed problems, not to mention the small issue of losing their first seven matches, there are no teams who you can write off as relegation certainties just yet (or as close as you can get to a certainty in October). Similarly, there aren’t any teams who you think have had such a good start, they’ll be playing European football next season, unless you think that both West Brom and Bolton will be England’s representatives in the Europa League next season.

The key is consistency or, in this case, the lack of it; no team outside the top five has any, and even the top teams are struggling for form with United especially dropping unexpected points. The only consistency the bottom half can speak of recently is consistently average (Sunderland with five draws) or consistently awful (Wolves with four defeats).

Due to many games this season ending all square (this must be a record surely? One for Martin Tyler perhaps), if a team can get a winning run together they can easily move up the table. Take Stoke for example: they lost their first three games, were rooted in the relegation zone adrift in 19th and looked like a team in trouble. Fast forward five weeks and a four match unbeaten run which included three wins and they were in 7th and harbouring their own dreams of Europe. That was until they visited the ‘Fortress Reebok’ obviously!

Things can change that quickly. With the heavyweight challengers for the remaining European places either starting slowly (Everton), having several managerial changes (Villa) or not starting at all (Liverpool), the race for Europe / the top ten is wide open.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Bolton can make a return to the heady days of sixth placed finishes but, if we can get some consistency and turn some of these draws into wins, we should be closer than anyone imagined at the start of the season. However, that could be said for a lot of teams.

Owen Coyle has made us hard to beat this season with our sole defeat coming away at The Emirates (no shame there). This is always vital to any successful season. We’ve also managed to get points after falling behind, something we struggled to do last season. Again, more signs of progress. Last week’s victory was vital in terms of points first and foremost, but also potential and belief. While we had made a decent start, especially considering the fixtures and performances, and we could have easily had another 2-4 points to our name had we been a bit more clinical, there was always a worry, in my mind anyway, that if we continued to draw matches or, worse still, lose a couple, all the good work in the previous marches would have been undone.

However, now we have picked up a much needed three points against a good Stoke side, extended our unbeaten run, ended our winless run, those points we picked up against Villa, Man Utd and West Brom start to look even better. We have to ensure this is not a false dawn though. We can do that by following up last week win with another against Wigan. Back to back wins will give us a little distance from the chasing pack, even at this stage, and especially away from the relegaton places. We can then start to look up the table opposed to down and that’s when we can start focusing on a top half finish.

No teams have looked unbeatable this year. We now have a manager who puts the belief in the players that we can pick up points in every game. True to his word, we have picked up points in every game, with the exception of the Arsenal match. If we can turn the draws into wins, which we are more than capable of doing going off the performances, then a top half finish is not out of the question. If you look around the league, there are not many teams who I would say are much better than Bolton at the moment, and that includes the likes of Liverpool and Villa etc. We have proved that we are hard to beat this season and we can take points off the best teams in the league. We just need to take all three points more often! I think with us getting the win against Stoke, and breaking the cycle of draws, we have the opportunity to put a run of wins together, hopefully including points at Wigan and at home to Liverpool.

If we can pick up some wins between now and Christmas, and do so on a consistent basis, then 2011 could be a very happy new year for us Wanderers fans.

-dh1985

Should Stoke have had a penalty? Was the sending off of Ivan Klasnic harsh?

Should the Neanderthal Stoke fans who terrorised women and children be inhumanly euthanized? Should they be joined by the Bolton chavs who mouthed off and then ran off leaving others to deal with the consequences of their actions?

Some things can be agreed on though.  Kevin Davies, Johan Elmander and Gary Cahill play for Bolton, while Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Shawcross and Kenwyne Jones are in the employ of Stoke City.

Not according to the News of the World.

The quotes in italics are produced word for word from Adrian Milledge’s deliciously confused match report.

Rupert Murdoch. Worth billions. Employs numpties.

‘The 33-year old, set up by Pennant’s outswinging corner, should have doubled Bolton’s lead in first-half stoppage time but headed wide.’

That 33-year old was Kevin Davies, who was presumably trying to score from inside his own penalty area.  Neat if you can manage it.

‘Cahill completely snuffed out any threat from Davies and his strike partner, the in-form Johan Elmander.’

No wonder Davo had a lean day.  Johan too.

‘And with Shawcross keeping a firm hand on striker Kenwyne Jones, the goal came from a winger.’

This marking players from your own side lark seems to be catching on.

Ready for the best bit?  Here you go.

‘…aside from Delap’s long throws and some teasing corners sent in by Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant, Stoke played the ball on the floor.’

Maybe Mr Milledge watched the game whilst upside down.  That would account for his mental disintegration.

This time last season, Whites fans were looking forward to the inevitable sacking of Gary Megson, and as Johan Elmander’s recent comments show, the players were sick of the Ginger One’s if-it-moves- shout-at-it routine.

Mystery solved. It was Martin Samuel who ate all the pies. And probably the mash too.

The mood has also been lifted by the belated England cap awarded to Kevin Davies, which has had the added bonus of upsetting the morbidly obese West Ham supporting monkey that is the Daily Mail’s Martin Samuel.

So the question posed in the title to this article might seem a bit odd.  A look at the league table shows it isn’t.  Bolton sit in twelfth place with eight points and a goal difference of minus one.  Or to put it another way, exactly the same position as last term after seven games. Now Coyle has the chance to move ahead on that front.

Last season’s fixture against the Potters marked a low point in terms of what happened on the pitch.  Disaffected football fans have been known to voice their disapproval, but they usually wait until the half or full time whistle.  The match was only 25 minutes old when the Reebok faithful started to boo.

Megson’s comments after the game demonstrated that he was beyond redemption. An interviewer asked if the second half performance been enough to send the fans home happy.

‘I don’t know, I’m not bothered,’ came the reply.  When your manager morphs into Catherine Tate it’s time to go.

Games against Stoke aren’t easy.  ‘Physical’, ‘dirty’ and ‘long ball’ are labels used by lazy football writers and resentful opposition fans.  In truth, Tony Pulis has assembled a squad, who work hard and for each other, containing several individuals of genuine quality – former Bolton favourites Abdoulaye Faye and Eidur Gudjohnsen amongst them.

But a victory should be the aim here.  Gradual improvement is the realistic objective for Owen Coyle’s Bolton.  Supplanting Stoke who finished in comfortable mid-table last time round will be a valuable first step.

- Richard McCormick