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.

Other than that, there’s Kevin Davies, who may feature less, and the almost always disappointing Johan Elmander.  At least Ivan Klasnic has returned – the best in the box poacher since Stelios.  Some athletes use the phrase ‘staying healthy’ in relation to avoiding injuries.  With Klasnic, it has an altogether more basic meaning.

Phil Gartside's Flatulence is Still Causing Problems

In defence, things look a tad worrying.   Marcos Alonso is unlikely to start in early season, so that leaves Paul Robinson at left-back.  The Angry Dwarf wasn’t the disaster that everyone feared he’d be, but he lacks pace and still has a tendency to tackle with the whole of his body, thereby removing himself from play.

On the other side of the pitch there is little to choose between Sam Ricketts and Gretar Steinsson.  Both look good going forward, but not so good at defending (ie their primary job function.)

It is to be hoped that Gary Cahill has fully recovered from losing a part of his skeleton and that he returns from the England camp unscathed and without having acquired John Terry’s taste for shagging anything with a pulse.

Then there’s Zat Knight.  All together now:

‘Big Titus Bramble.  You’re just a big Titus Bramble.’

It’s in the middle of the park where things look interesting.  Bolton have more midfielders than you can blow a Vuvuzela at.  The Whites were a disorganised mess in that area in Megson’s latter days.  Coyle improved things in that respect, but the downside was that the Whites created very few chances from January onward.

Can Bolton’s new man forge a cohesive unit from Fabrice Muamba, Sean Davis, Mark Davies, Joey O’Brien, Stuart Holden, Matt Taylor, Tamir Cohen, Martin Petrov, Lee Chung-Yong and Ricardo Gardner?

Resist the temptation to say ‘only he plays them all at the same time’.

The visit of Fulham isn’t an enticing one.  The Cottagers (they really need to do something about that nickname) arrive with a new and competent manager, and with tails still up after a splendid European run.  Bolton scored three consecutive home wins against them under Sam Allarydce, but other than that there have been two defeats and four draws, all of them 0-0, including last season’s result when Mark Clattenburg took his vendetta against Kevin Davies to new and ridiculous heights by disallowing a legitimate goal.

But enough of the naysaying.  It’s a new start and we’re feeling chipper.  Well, at least until September.

Highlights from the Wanderers 2-2 draw with Spurs today…

Share your views on the game in the comment box below…

In the words of Tony Gubba, “Portsmouth have been flattened in less than three minutes here”. Early goals from Matt Taylor and Ricardo Gardner put Bolton in the driving seat and they held on despite Peter Crouch pulling one back for Portsmouth. Let’s hope for something similar today…

What are your predictions for Bolton’s trip to Portsmouth? Have your say in the comment box below…

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Have your say on Bolton Wanderers in the comment box below…

The Guardian says that Middlesbrough committed suicide before completely laying in to Gareth Southgate and his side for their woeful defending. It’s not until paragraph 10 that Bolton get any credit for Ricardo Gardner’s one “well-worked goal.” Even the Bolton fan who gave his verdict in the Observer thought that the result flattered the Wanderers.

There was also talk of suicide in the Times, who suggested Southgate might fall on his sword after his side “capitulated”. But at least they credited Bolton with making the most of their opponents’ woes.

In the Express the metaphor was sinking ships, with Southgate compared to the captain of the Titanic.

Bolton’s probable safety rather than Boro’s increasingly likely relegation was relatively high on the Telegraph’s agenda (something which left Gary Megson beaming, according to the Daily Mail), although their report also suggests most of the Wanderers’ goals came against the run of play. The Independent goes one step further, saying Middlesbrough could have won the game.

The Mirror seemed to think that Kevin Davies’ opening goal after eight minutes was the key moment of the match, so much so that they included it in a rather strange headline (did their reporter fall asleep after this?).

What did you think of the game? Have your say in the comment box below…

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Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers message boards made of the 4-1 thrashing of Middlesbrough on Saturday…

Positives
- “It was a great result and the relegation pressure should now be off for the rest of the season.”

- “Danny Shittu was probably our best player… he deserves to keep his place in the team.”

- “Gavin McCann had a good game and made loads of tackles. He made up for Fabrice Muamba’s lacklustre display” … “Muamba should be replaced by Chris Basham for a while.”

- “Ricardo Gardner was outstanding too” … “Gary Megson should take some credit for Gardner’s resurgence.”

- “The anti-Megson brigade has gone very quiet” … “Someone should make a Megson In banner.”

- “The matchday programme was an interesting read. It’s got much better since it no longer contains Kevin Nolan’s pre-match thoughts.”

Negatives
- “We were only good in patches and could have had problems if Middlesbrough weren’t completely useless.”

- “We created enough chances to win the game in the first half but then let them back in to it… and their defence was truly awful” … “On another day Middlesbrough could easily have won it.”

- “Johan Elmander had another poor game, he still doesn’t look like he’s fully fit yet” … “Ebi Smolarek should’ve played after he scored four goals for Poland” … OR “People should get off Elmander’s back, he’ll come good soon.”

- “When we were 3-1 up why didn’t Megson make use of his subs to rest players?”

Disagree? Have your say in the comment box below…

Sources: BBC 606, The Bolton News, The Wanderer, Rivals, Burnden Aces, Bolton Banter, Bolton Wanderers Mad

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Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers discussion forums made of the Whites’ 2-0 defeat at Stoke…

Positives
- “It was a bad performance but their keeper was briliant and we still won’t go down”  … “we only need seven more points for safety.”

- “We passed the ball well and looked like a better side than Stoke on the whole” … “we showed a lot of committment too.”

“Johan Elmander played well and showed some good touches.”

Negatives
- “What does Ricardo Gardner have to do to get a start?” … whilst “Andy O’Brien was again at fault but continues to get in the team.”

- “We’re only six points from the drop zone so relegation is still a possibility.”

- “If Megson had reservations about those three or four players then why did he pick them in the first place.”

- “Megson is a ginger fool who is tactically inept. Big Sam did a better job with fewer resources.”

“Jlloyd Samuel had an absolute stinker at left back. Everything he touched went wrong” … “and Ariza Makukula is like Mario Jardel all over again” … in fact “everyone except Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies should hang their heads in shame.”

- “We’re terrible at coming back once we go a goal down.”

- “Bolton fans were arguing and fighting amongst themselves at the game – what the hell is going on?” … “And there was more anti-Megson chanting too” … “the fans that left early did so because of the negativity of the fans, not the performance of the team.”

Disagree? Have your say in the comment box below…

Sources: BBC 606, The Bolton News, Burnden Aces, Bolton Banter, Rivals, Bolton Wanderers Mad.

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Cover of Lose Yourself

How the national press reported the Wanderers defeat to Stoke City last night

Bolton’s relatively safe mid-table position meant most of the press reports focused on Stoke as they lifted themselves out of the relegation zone.

The impact of James Beattie’s arrival at the Britannia Stadium and Stoke’s impressive home form were both common themes in all the reports.

From the Wanderers point of view, the Daily Mail said Bolton were the better side in the first-half before sloppy defending handed Stoke the advantage.

The Telegraph illustrated the same point by saying that Bolton’s back four had taken the Eminem song Lose Yourself, which played as the two teams entered the pitch, a little too literally.

In the Mirror, it was the Whites’ passing that came in for criticism. By the end, we were “well beaten” according to the Sun.

The Guardian suggests that Ricardo Gardner should have been given a starting place after his match-winning performance against Newcastle at the weekend.

The Times pointed out the similarities between the two sides and their managers:

Pulis and Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, are both carved from the same granite and there was something to be admired about this contest, a reminder of simpler times. Two honest teams with a strong work ethic going hammer and tongs at each other has been lost in the glamour of the Barclays Premier League, but this would have been manna from heaven for two managers firmly from the old school.

The Times also carried the most interesting of Megson’s post-match thoughts:

“It surprised me when I saw the betting for getting relegated — and we weren’t in it. We are in trouble, just not as deep as some others. If we were not to win any more games, we would struggle, so our own home form needs to stay strong.”

Despite the fact that Bolton lost, the Express still decided to have a dig at “Megson’s detractors”.

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Image via Wikipedia

Your guide to all the big match predictions and Mystic Meggery

Reasons to be cheerful…
1. Stoke’s Glenn Whelan thinks that getting battered 3-1 at the Reebok Stadium earlier this season was in some way good preparation for tonight’s game.

2. Stoke manager Tony Pulis appears to have been to the same school of how to kiss your opponents’ arses as Gary Megson. And we all know how well that has worked for us.

3. Rory Delap appears to have passed the course with flying colours too, saying that he is a “huge fan” of Kevin Davies, even if he does expect to get battered by him tonight.

4. Ricardo Gardner looks set to start after his match-winning heroics against Newcastle on Sunday.

5. Megson is preedicting a classic – of sorts. Others are less optimisitic.

Reasons to be fearful…
6. Stoke have the ‘Delapidator’ back after suspension (that’s long throw specialist Rory Delap to you and me), although Megson insists he isn’t bovvered.

7. Ricardo Gardner is bovvered by Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller.

8. Of more concern is the referee Mike Dean, according to Megson, who says he will face a “barrage of intimidation”.

What are your predictions for tonight’s game? Have your say in the comments section below…

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Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers message boards made of the 1-0 win over Newcastle United yesterday…

Positives
- “It was a seminal result. There’s no way we’re going down now” … “we only need seven more points from a possible 33″ … “in fact we might only need 37.”

- “Recent results against Spurs, West Ham and now Newcastle at home show that Gary Megson is doing a good job” …”he’s really ramming it back at his critics” … “it’s good to see the opposition manager getting it in the neck for a change.”

- “Mark Davies looks like a star in the making” … and “Ricardo Gardner was brilliant too” … “he’s been arguably our most important player this season.”

- “Gary Cahill was man of the match yet again.”

- “Ebi Smolarek looked sharp. Megson did the right thing bringing him on rather than Ariza Makukula.”

- “Kevin Nolan was in the stand and took the banter from the Bolton fans well.”

- “The fans got behind the team well” but…

Negatives
- “There are still a lot of empty seats” and… “the fans who seem to want the team to lose just so we can get rid of Megson are a disgrace” … as is “Phil Gartside, who threatened some fans with action from the stewards after they criticised team selection.”

- “Once again the midfield disappeared and we ended up getting pinned back in to our own half.”

- “Both teams were rubbish. Neither of them could pass a ball properly.”

- “The problem is we have players willing to run themselves in to the ground but no-one with the technical know-how to see out a game without the usual pant-shitting at the end.”

- “Johan Elmander worked hard but his finishing needs some work” … in fact “he’s a complete waste of money.”

Disagree? Have your say in the comments below…

Sources: BBC 606, The Bolton News, The Wanderer, Rivals, Bolton Wanderers Mad, Burnden Aces.

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