Lee Chung-Yong
Bolton Wanderers 2011 – The Year of the Un-Coyled
Sunday, January 1st, 2012 | BWFC Goals, BWFC People, Lee Chung-Yong, Nat Lofthouse, Phil Gartside | 3 Comments
And so 2011 ends. A year in which Bolton started in sixth position in the Premier League, and finished in bottom place, needing close to a miracle to avoid relegation.
Mark Davies gets to grips with his defensive duties.
The last game, a home draw against fellow strugglers Wolves has aroused much anger, but there were signs of things on which to build. Owen Coyle’s side moved the ball around well at times and in recent outings Mark Davies has at last started to fulfil his potential as a creative midfielder, as well as improving his tracking back and tackling.
But the same defensive frailties remain and there is a lack of fire power up front, to which David N’Gog isn’t the answer, despite his other qualities. Even if the Wanderers put a consistent run of results together, there may simply be too much to do.
Off the field, things have been at least as bad. Burnden Leisure PLC, the parent company of Bolton Wanderers announced losses of £26 million bringing the total debt to £110 million. Some parties did well out of it. Moonshift Investments, a company controlled by club owner Eddie Davies which provides loan facilities, took £5 million in interest payments and is owed a £2.8 million ‘player success fee’. › Continue reading
Revealed : The Thuggery that Ended Lee Chung-Yong’s Season
Sunday, July 31st, 2011 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Lee Chung-Yong | 6 Comments
By now all Bolton fans will know that Lee Chung-Yong is out for the season, after sustaining a double-fracture of his lower right leg in a pre-season warm up at Newport County.
So far, Owen Coyle has shown admirable restraint in response to the incident, while there hasn’t been a peep out of Tom Miller, whose horror tackle did the damage, or Anthony Hudson, the Newport manager, who ultimately bears responsibility for forgetting to tell his player that this was supposed to be a friendly game. › Continue reading
What a difference a year makes….?
Monday, December 27th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Bruce Rioch, Football Association, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Premier League, Premiership referees | 1 Comment
I didn’t get round to replying to Josh’s thread about what a difference a year makes, so I’ll stick my thoughts here.
(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. › Continue reading
Champagne on ice
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Lee Chung-Yong, Owen Coyle | 6 Comments
Harry Redknapp stated prior to the Arsenal game that, if Spurs were victorious in the North London derby, his Tottenham side could win the Premier League. His statement was widely ridiculed, though not quite as widely as it should have been, not due to the idea that Spurs could win their first league title in 50 years, but because Spurs hadn’t won such a fixture since 1993. Thirty minutes in and ‘Arry’s pre-match boast was looking even more ridiculous as the distance between the pretenders and the elite could not have been more stark. However, 60 minutes later and, following a miraculous turnaround, Spurs fans were toasting their first win at their rival’s home in seventeen years. Once the three o’clock fixtures finished, Redknapp was considered almost clairvoyant. Chelsea’s defeat at St. Andrews meant that Spurs were now just six points away from the league leaders. Title challengers indeed.
eh up... Harry's going on about the title again, better make an appearance just to keep things real...!
However, whilst journalists were marvelling at Redknapp’s Nostradamous like predictions, few noticed a fatal flaw in his plan. Whilst Arsenal were slipping up at home, that was their third home defeat of the season and fourth in total, Chelsea had suffered back to back defeats for the first time in years, City were struggling to play more than one attack minded player in any given team and Man United, while unbeaten, cannot win away, few had noticed that another team in white were above Spurs, and their form was not faltering. › Continue reading
The Spuds are Mashed at the Reebok
Sunday, November 7th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Fabrice Muamba, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Martin Petrov, Matt Taylor, Stuart Holden | 2 Comments
Sometimes it’s easy being a Bolton fan. Not often mind, and such moments are usually interspersed with ones of exasperation and even despair. But that just makes the good times sweeter when they arrive.
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. › Continue reading
Europe, here we come !
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Football Association, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Premier League | 2 Comments
Just how high can Bolton finish this season? While I’m not trying to get carried away by our lofty (the Lion) league position – 7th at the time of writing – and I’m sure they’ll be many more twists and turns, wins and losses, highs and lows before the season’s out, but what can we realistically expect with regards to league position come the final day?
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. › Continue reading
That’s More Like it, Owen Coyle!
Sunday, September 19th, 2010 | Adam Bogdan, BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Sam Ricketts | 3 Comments
The omens were not good, prior to Bolton’s visit to Aston Villa on Saturday. Three successive heavy defeats at Villa Park and a side that lacked attacking ideas and defensive organisation did not bode well. Twenty minutes in and things were as expected, with Owen Coyle’s side already one behind after Ashley Young’s superlative free kick.
Ashley Young at leisure. Things can get a bit rough in the West Midlands.
In the Ginger Era that would have been it, but Coyle’s Bolton are starting to have belief in themselves. Luck played a part too, with Sam Ricketts replacing the injured Andy O’Brien, giving the visitors a more solid looking centre back pairing. Why Ricketts didn’t start is something of a mystery, as he performed well in the middle of defence last season when called upon.
From there on in, the Whites got themselves back in contention, and the equaliser was deserved. Stuart Holden was the architect, carrying the ball from near the half-way line. The American’s right wing cross, after exchanging passes with Lee Chung-Yong, was over hit, but Martin Petrov was on hand to divert the ball to Kevin Davies, who had time to take a touch, before lashing a left-foot shot into the roof of the net. › Continue reading
Oh Goody. Yet Another Bolton Pre-Season Preview
Friday, August 13th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Mark Davies, Matt Taylor, Owen Coyle, Phil Gartside, Premier League, Ricardo Gardner, Sam Allardyce | 1 Comment
Things couldn’t be more different. This time last year there was a collective gloom amongst Bolton fans. The previous season had ended with one win in eleven games, the summer signings were uninspiring and Gary Megson was still in charge.
There was an inevitability about the opening day defeat to Sunderland, which was far worse than the 1-0 score line suggested. That Steve Bruce’s men won only once more on their travels said it all.
St Owen of Lostock Acknowledges the Throng
This time round there’s a quiet optimism and it’s all due to one man. Owen Coyle arrived in January on a tidal wave of approval that’s yet to subside. Where Megson was dull and uninspiring, Coyle has the energetic enthusiasm of a new puppy. So much so, that you want to slap him sometimes. Putting so much faith in a manager with precisely one year’s top flight experience might not be the wisest thing, but what the hell, football supporters need hope.
Not many clubs have splashed money about in the transfer window. Bolton certainly haven’t. That’s because they haven’t got any. The much desired prolific goal scorer hasn’t arrived, but then only Nicolas Anelka and a pre-blubber Michael Ricketts, qualified for that description in the last decade, so it was always a forlorn hope.
Instead, there’s Robbie Blake, late of the unwashed hordes in Burnley. Blake’s a capable operator. It’s just a pity he’s older than God. But he may be a useful player to have on the bench, providing he doesn’t succumb to arthritis or senile dementia. Or have his zimmer frame nicked when the scallies from Liverpool come to visit.
Concessions have already been made to combat the advancing years. Drinks bottles for the other players contain Lucozade, laced with electrolytes. Robbie has Sanatogen in his. › Continue reading
Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Everton: Video highlights
Sunday, October 25th, 2009 | BWFC Goals, Gary Cahill, Lee Chung-Yong | 6 Comments
For those who don’t want to wait for Match of the Day
Lee Chung-Yong’s goal from the Wanderers 3-2 victory over Everton at the Reebok Stadium today. More to follow…
Birmingham City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers: Video highlights
Saturday, September 26th, 2009 | BWFC Goals, BWFC People, Lee Chung-Yong, Tamir Cohen | 3 Comments
For those who don’t want to wait for until the last five minutes of Match of the Day
All the goals from Bolton’s 2-1 win at Birmingham today…
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