AstonVilla
Bolton, Aston Villa and a bit of Naughtiness
Friday, December 9th, 2011 | BWFC People | 8 Comments
This week’s visitors to the Reebok Stadium are Aston Villa, a club that has contributed significantly to the downfall of Bolton Wanderers. Not necessarily through results, but by off loading their less gifted players in a north westerly direction.
The words ‘Zat Knight’ and ‘four and a half million’ should never appear in the same sentence (apart from this one) unless you’re counting reasons to dislike the lumbering oaf. But that’s how much Gary Megson paid for him. Those still wondering about the real reason Martin O’Neill left Villa now have their answer. He couldn’t stop laughing and had to take time off to recuperate.
This season’s abject West Midlands reject is Nigel Reo-Coker, who generally arrives at the scene a second after the ball has departed and kicks whoever remains there instead. His was a free transfer. It wasn’t value for money.
A ginger worshipper of Phil Gartside leads the Megson Out campaign
Going back a little there was Gavin McCann. To be fair to the badger, he had some good days, but as regular readers to this site know, his move had the stench of corruption about it. One court case resolved, another pending. Read Phil Gartside: “A Cheat, a Liar and a Fraudster” for more details.
Jlloyd Samuel arrived at the same time. Another disappointing acquisition. Another court case. This time involving the larger than life (and larger than everyone else) figure of Mark Curtis. Read The Ginger Harry Secombe Who Runs Bolton Wanderers for the facts.
Villa fans have a problem familiar to their counterparts at the ‘Bok. Their team is managed by an uninspiring ginger wazzock, who wasn’t wanted and still isn’t. A definition on the Urban Dictionary had the term ‘Ginger People’ nailed.
‘The hair colour that all thieves have in common. If you see a ginger, the chances are he already has many of your possessions.’
It’s been removed now. Shame that. Of course there may be ginger people who are honourable, talented, intelligent or just nice. It’s just that nobody has met one.
At least Saturday’s visitors have a striker in Darren Bent, who knows where the goal is. Bolton’s front men don’t appear to know where the stadium is of late, although according to the Daily Mail, Ivan Klasnic has been scoring in a different fashion. Now his wife is filing for divorce.
Add in a non functioning midfield and Keystone Cops defending and it’s easy to see why Bolton are joint bottom of the table. Of course Owen Coyle has had injuries to contend with and some astoundingly bad luck. But even with those mitigations he is doing less well than he should be.
A draw may be likely in this game. If only because it’s 24 league games since the Whites had one. Villa on the other hand have shared the points in five of their seven fixtures away from home.
However that result wouldn’t be much use to the Whites. A win is essential. Sadly, with the club is such disarray, it is difficult to see that happening.
- Richard McCormick
Relegation fodder …
Monday, June 20th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Premier League | 3 Comments
Would you buy a second hand car off these boys?
Aspirations have changed at Bolton since the dark days of Gary Megson. The arrival of Owen Coyle followed by our impressive start to the season had the more optimistic of us counting air miles and dusting off our Bulgarian phrase-books. Even when European qualification had passed us by – embarrassingly so in the cup – a top half finish was still on the cards right up to the end of the season.
Never mind. Coyle’s inherited Megson’s bunch of cloggers. Once he’s had the summer to make serious changes, we’ll be back to chasing Europe again. Surely relegation battles are a thing of the past? Aren’t they?
Maybe not. Our form after Christmas was relegation-standard, and the end of the season – five defeats on the bounce – was abysmal. It wouldn’t be the first time poor form at the end of one season has carried over to the next. Add to that our tough start to the season and it wouldn’t be a great surprise to see us rock-bottom after the first seven games. We’ll have easier runs to follow, but everything looks that bit tougher if you’re sat at the bottom and confidence may have taken a bit of a battering. › Continue reading
Owen Coyle to Aston Villa. Definitely. Well Maybe. Or Not at All.
Saturday, June 11th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 10 Comments
Bolton manager and former Burnley boss Owen Coyle has been linked with the vacant job at Aston Villa. The hunch-backed, toothless, many fingered hordes who congregate at Turf Moor have spent all night hunched over their transistor radios, desperately waiting for news of the situation, such is their bitterness at Coyle’s step up to manage the Whites eighteen months ago.
Coyle Salutes Visiting Burnley Fans
Sadly for them, the speculation is based on the clumsy imagination of a few keyboard monkeys in the media.
‘The same applies to Coyle, the Bolton manager whose representatives are believed to have indicated to the Midlands club that he would be interested in discussing the post,’ wrote work experience trainee Rory Smith in the Telegraph.
The phrase ‘are believed’ is the important one. It betrays a total absence of any facts to back up the supposition. Who believes it Rory? Ah, you do. Righto.
The situation at Villa has now descended into farce. Chairman Randy Lerner is reluctant to consider Mark Hughes after the manner in which he left Fulham, whilst the club’s stock has fallen in managerial circles due to the decision to cancel Steve McClaren’s interview after fans, quite rightly, registered disapproval.
Their counterparts at the Reebok know only too well, the perils of appointing a miserably untalented, balding, ginger wazzock. Some claim that the objections came because of second choice Steve’s woeful spell as England boss, but those with longer memories recall that Middlesbrough spent much of the season he was appointed to the national job hovering just above the relegation zone, and that after having a considerable transfer budget to spend during his time at the Riverside.
The Wally with the Brolly. Not wanted at Villa. Sensible that.
There was also the delicious moment when a Boro fan ran onto the pitch to throw his season ticket at the manager, during the midst of a 4-0 home defeat (to Aston Villa ironically). Magnanimously, the club offered it back. The fan didn’t want it.
Rafael Benítez, Carlo Ancelotti and David Moyes have ruled themselves out of the running for the position at Villa Park, whilst Roberto Martinez, whose Wigan side only extricated themselves from the relegation places on the last day of the season, has chosen to stay at the Dave Whelan Stadium. Maybe Coyle will get the offer. He appears to be the only candidate left.
Meanwhile, although chairman Phil Gartside has denied it via Twitter, the Wanderers are said to have placed a £5 million bid for Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome. Cameron Diaz would be preferable. She looks better and would score just as many goals in the Premier League.
- Richard McCormick
Follow @RMc2407
Aston Villa’s Ashley Young to Quit Football
Monday, March 7th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 10 Comments
In a move that has shocked the football world, at least the bit of it near the M6, Ashley Young has announced his intention to retire from football at the end of the season. After a virtuoso display of launching himself into the air during Saturday’s game against Bolton, the Aston Villa forward has been approached by the Great Britain springboard diving team who feel that he has a great chance of securing a medal in the 2012 Olympics.
Young in deep concentration as he prepares for a back 3½ somersault pike
Young was aided in his efforts at the weekend by referee Kevin Fiend (no, there shouldn’t be an ‘r’ in there) who blew for a free kick every time the England international was touched, looked at in a funny way or blown over by the wind. Fiend’s assistants faired no better. One of them was unable to flag offside against the visitors as his arm had been super glued to his side by Gerald Houlier, in a devilishly cunning move that only a Frenchman could have devised. The other had already been to Specsavers only to be turned away as the high street chain don’t sell white sticks or supply guide dogs.
Darren Bent, Stewart Downing and the soon to be waterborne Young, also needed assistance in the vision department as all three missed chances that could have put Villa out of sight before Bolton grabbed not just the equaliser, but the winning goal too. Owen Coyle thought the situation tremendous.
‘Jussi has made a tremendous save and we have drove ourselves forward,’ he told the official site. ‘We have a tremendous record at the Reebok – the fans know that and again they played their part.’
Houlier had another explanation for the result. He blamed Martin O’Neill for selling two goal hero Gary Cahill which has an appealing if slightly skewed logic to it. It would have been no surprise if he’d criticised his predecessor for failing to sign Ivan Klasnic, scorer of the winner, or Jussi Jaaskelainen who kept out a penalty awarded after Blind Pew had failed to spot the ball going three feet out of play in the build up.
Thank You For the Music. Not.
A couple of seasons ago Bolton Wanderers conducted a survey asking fans how the match day experience could be improved. As a result, the two fat blokes waving flags who used to run up and down the touchline when the team scored were dispensed with. As was the pre-match firework display that left the Reebok Stadium shrouded in mist for the first ten minutes of each game.
Best of all, the cheesy music, played after a home goal also bit the dust. It seems unlikely that soul legend James Brown was thinking of a small football club in North West England when he wrote I Feel Good. And no, this isn’t the way to Amarillo – head up the M61 and turn left at the coast.
So it’s something of a disappointment that the music is back, this time accompanied by a sentimental montage of moving images on the scoreboard screen, reflecting past glories. It hasn’t been revealed who thought of this wheeze, but whoever it was should be slapped into a deep state of unconsciousness.
It’s Like Watching Paint Dry
Gary Megson. Oh, how we laughed.
All right thinking Bolton fans will have been keeping an eye on the fortunes of Gary Megson after his appointment as manager of League One duffers Sheffield Wednesday. We like to see our old boys do well, right? Er, no. It’s because we want the bastard to fail. That way he might just belt up about how he was so mistreated whilst at the Reebok.
Wednesday’s 4-2 home defeat to fellow strugglers Plymouth was most pleasing (nice one, Peter Reid) not least because of the Ginger One’s post match comments.
‘It was like watching paint dry,’ he opined.
Now you know how we felt Gaz.
- Richard McCormick
Is Owen Coyle Any Better than Gary Megson?
Thursday, October 14th, 2010 | Abdoulaye Faye, BWFC News, BWFC People, Kevin Davies, Owen Coyle | 1 Comment
With Saturday’s game against Stoke City coming up, the mood amongst Bolton supporters is relaxed right now. Performances against Aston Villa and Manchester United were good and self belief has found its way to Owen Coyle’s men.
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
This is How to Play the Game Mr Wenger
Monday, September 20th, 2010 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Kevin Davies, Premier League | 20 Comments
Things are looking a bit brighter at Planet Reebok, after last week’s defeat at Arsenal, a battling performance at Aston Villa, a match in which Bolton could have taken all three points, having lifted spirits. A report on the game has already appeared here, but one incident which wasn’t included should be remarked upon.
Early in the second half, Kevin Davies clattered into Carlos Cuellar. The challenge was late and badly timed, but without malice. Imagine this happened at the Emirates Stadium:
The fouled player rolls around on the turf for ten minutes, clutching what he feels is the appropriate part of his anatomy, encouraged by the bitter sobs of hysterical outrage from fifty-odd thousand tearful home fans. › 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
Bolton v Birmingham – Part Two: Post War Years
Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Football Association, Premier League | No Comments
BWFCforum’s resident anorak Wakey continues the decade-by-decade review of the league history of Bolton and Sunday’s visitors Birmingham, covering the period 1940 to 1989.
Trevor Francis lines up for his league debut
1940-1949
The resumption of the league programme saw only three completed seasons in the 1940’s. Bolton struggled in the bottom half in all three, and were 19th best overall, whilst Birmingham – relegated in 1939 – missed out on promotion in 1947 before winning the Second Division the next year and finishing 17th in 1949, leaving them with the 22nd best average league position for the period.
Manchester United were top dogs, finishing 2nd in each of the three seasons, with Villa 6th, with league finishes of 8th, 6th, and 10th.
1950-59
The 1950’s were another successful period for Bolton, spending the entire decade in the top flight, enjoying five top ten finishes and two FA Cup Finals, including the 1958 win over the post-Munich Busby Babes. Over the decade, Bolton were the seventh best league side, although this was to precede four decades that were to see Bolton drop down the leagues and back up again twice.
Bolton v Birmingham – Closer than you might think …Part One
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 | Alan Gowling, BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Football Association, Gary Megson, Premier League | 2 Comments
Another instalment from bwfc forum’s resident Stat man – Wakey – who over the next 3 days leading up to our final premier league game this season, gives us a very interesting insight into previous encounters and shows the history and rivalry of the two clubs are closer than you would think….
On face value, Bolton and Birmingham don’t have a great deal in common. Bolton have always struggled to compete against local big-city clubs, whereas Birmingham are based in England’s second city. Birmingham have enjoyed several high-profile- and sometimes controversial – owners, whilst Bolton have been quietly run by the local bakers for much
Wakey in manny road stand watching Wanderers v Birmingham 1922
of their history.
Scratch the surface (and clutch a few straws) and you can find the odd similarity. Both were formed within a year or so of each other, initially as church sides. Both have lived largely in the shadow of more successful local rivals. Both would see their rightful place as mid-table (ish) in the Premier League, although there are probably at least twenty other clubs with similar aspirations.
Scratch even deeper, and there’s a much closer similarity between the two.
Bolton fans would probably claim that the Trotters are the more successful of the two clubs. Founder members of the Football League, they have four FA Cup wins plus three losing final appearances to Birmingham’s two losing finals. They have completed – or will have by Sunday evening – 71 seasons in the top flight to Birmingham’s 56. Of the 107 seasons both teams have been league clubs, including this season, Bolton have finished higher than Birmingham 69 times. Bolton even edge the meetings between the two, with 46 wins to Birmingham’s 39. › Continue reading
Are the vultures circling for Gary Megson already?
Monday, August 17th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Phil Gartside | 15 Comments
Manny Road gets ready for battle (Pic: Gidzy, some rights reserved)
Manny Road gets ready for battle (Pic: Gidzy, some rights reserved)
The media are looking for a victim and the Bolton Wanderers boss might not get such an easy ride this season
Disclaimer: Before we get started, it’s worth pointing out that in preparation for writing this post Manny Road has kitted up in full body armour in anticipation of the backlash likely to come my way. Manny Road is well aware that it’s a marathon not a sprint, that it was only one game, and that but for the legs of Marton Fulop we might well have got a point against Sunderland on Saturday.
So what’s my point? Why is Manny Road stoking the fires of negativity after just one game?
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