Burnley
Owen Coyle Needs to Wise Up and Fast – Part Two
Sunday, September 11th, 2011 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 12 Comments
Those cursed with following Bolton Wanderers have experienced heavy defeats before. Some of them against Manchester United. On an ugly day at Burnden Park in 1996, Alex Ferguson’s side triumphed 6-0. Ten years later there was a 4-0 home reverse, which was something of a let down as the White’s had gone into the game on a four match winning streak. Both of those results were devastating.
By contrast, Saturday’s feeble capitulation to Wayne Rooney and Co barely registered mild disappointment, at least with this fan – for it was fully expected.
Sod off back to Burnley
The gap between those at the very top of the Premier League and the rest should be acknowledged. As a competition it is now very similar to that which exists in Scotland. At the root of the issue is money, or the lack of it. The yearly interest repayments on Manchester United’s debt are more than Bolton’s entire turnover. A level playing field it isn’t.
However, those facts don’t excuse the pitiful lack of resistance offered by Owen Coyle’s men, even if they were facing opposition blessed with World class players in the most clinical of moods, and a manager who is arguably the best of the modern British era. For the second game in succession, Bolton were brushed aside without making the other side work.
Individually there are too many weak links, and depressingly, some of them have just arrived. Chris Eagles is so far out of his depth, that he is painful to watch. Nigel Reo-Coker is that rare thing – a defensive midfielder who can make you miss Fabrice Muamba. The man who Aston Villa were so pleased to offload usually arrives at the scene a second after he should have done, with the ball already several metres away. In the run up to United’s third goal he was outpaced by the lumbering Phil Jones. Not good. › Continue reading
Is Owen Coyle Trying to Get Bolton Relegated?
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 | BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 11 Comments
Those within hearing distance of the Reebok Stadium will have noticed an odd noise this morning. It was the sound of a barrel bottom being scraped. At last there is Bolton Wanderers transfer news. It’s not good news.
Late on Friday evening the Daily Mail broke the story of Owen Coyle’s attempts to sign Chris Eagles from his old club Burnley. At this stage, there is nothing official, but the Mail has a better record than most of getting its facts right in such matters, one that’s certainly better than that of Daily Mirror muppet in chief Alan Nixon.
Promoting pies in the Championship is the right level for Chris Eagles
It’s been a desperately dull window for Whites fans, with the only new player so far being a free transfer from the footballing colossus that is Swansea City. There were tears of joy at a story linking Birmingham City’s Cameron Jerome, but only when it was found not to be true.
At the other end of the silly scale, a rumour that Coyle was in for Thiago Alcantara raised spirits briefly, but a series of superior performances at the European under-21 championships put paid to that idea, with Barcelona offering a new contract.
Other players might be available, but don’t want to come. Last season’s, hit and miss loanee Rodrigo has pledged to fight for his place at Benfica, and Sean Wright Phillips won’t leave Manchester City while he still has a central part in the weekly dwarf throwing competitions that take place at Eastlands, or whatever they’re calling it these days.
All of which leaves a squad at the Reebok that’s seriously short of numbers with Ali Al-Habsi having departed for the not so verdant pastures of Wigan and Matt Taylor heading South to join Bolton Wanderers Old Boys, London Branch, or West Ham United as they’re otherwise known.
Coyle has trimmed the already small pool of players available to him still further over the summer. The move was sensible, as was the Bolton manager’s desire to replace those who had left with better.
“I’m not going to substitute quality for a quick fix,” he told the Bolton News earlier in the month.
That is at odds with his pursuit of Chris Eagles. The man with the alice band isn’t a Premier League footballer. He might look good in a two minute segment on TV, but his contribution over the course of a whole game does not meet with the required standard. Added to which he’s lightweight and has on over inflated idea of his own capabilities.
This is one Eagle that should not be allowed to land.
- Richard McCormick
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
Why Coyle shouldn’t make another ‘sideways’ move
Monday, January 10th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Bruce Rioch, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce, Sammy Lee | 5 Comments
Before we get started, I want to make one thing clear; to all the bitter Burnley fans who may read this, I fully expect Coyle to accept the Liverpool job if, and that’s a big if at the time of writing, it is offered to him. That is the nature of football. We saw it with Rioch and Allardyce; you saw it with Coyle and.. erm… Coyle
That said, while I don’t for one second think that Coyle would turn down Liverpool, they are after all a massive club with huge tradition and a great history, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think he wouldn’t regret it six months down the line.
I’m sure we wouldn’t stand in Coyle’s way if Liverpool does make an approach. It would be a fruitless endeavour anyway. Once a player / manager / assistant manager / coach / groundsmen / tea lady etc have made up their mind that they wish to leave, the best thing the club can do is try to get the maximum amount for them.
king Kenny in high spirites on his return to Anfield, with a ermmm his assistants
That is why, if Liverpool do come calling, we’ll be powerless to keep Owen. I’m not naive; Coyle is an ambitious manager and his career aims will mean that he’ll outgrow Bolton, just as he outgrew Burnley.
I don’t expect him to stay at Bolton for his entire career and I’ve always been prepared for the fact that, if a big club came in for him, he would leave. The consolation in that logic was that, in order for a big club to come calling, Coyle had to be a success at Bolton.
He has; 7th in the league going into the new year, despite a little, and probably understandable considering the squad, wobble in form and results of late.
I have just been informed by my Dad that Roy Hodgson has been sacked by Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish has been appointed until the end of the season › Continue reading
From Moses to the Messiah in Nine Short Months
Thursday, November 18th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 3 Comments
There were biblical references aplenty when Owen Coyle made his move from Burnley to the more salubrious surroundings of the Reebok Stadium.
...and now back to being a god, fatty
He was dubbed ‘Judas’ by the rabid hordes at Turf Moor, but Coyle saw himself as a more virtuous figure, the effect of which was spoiled when some smartarse pointed out that Moses led the Children of Israel into, and not out of, the wilderness.
‘It’s testament to the job I did there that they are so disappointed I left,’ commented the new Bolton manager. Testament indeed, you cheeky monkey. Old or New?
The media, never hesitant to jump on another anti-Bolton bandwagon, joined in the condemnation . Having had fun with dirty long ball tactics and nasty Wanderers fans being mean to poor Gary Megson, they had another target. Now the whole outfit was despicable for luring away affable Owen, from the cute furry neighbours up the road in bandit country.
A few months down the cinder track and things have changed. The poison pens have been laid down and Coyle’s team are the Arsenal of the North.
‘Bolton are a beautiful thing these days,’ blogged Barney Ronay in the Guardian, a paper noted for its endless bitchiness towards the club.
The Whites are fashionable. It’s really quite disturbing.
Not that the sentiment is misplaced. Over the last few games the Bolton boss has delivered on his promise of more enterprising football. The change didn’t come quickly. At the start of the season, the dearth of attacking ideas was as bad as under Gary Megson.
The turning point came at Aston Villa. Coming from a goal down, the Whites dominated the home side and only poor finishing prevented them taking all three points. The same could be said for the following game at home against Manchester United.
The Liverpool defeat was a disappointment, but redemption was at hand with the demolition of Spurs. Here, one of the most pleasing aspects of Coyle’s new deal was on show – the ability to play on the break. Even when flying high under Sam Allardyce, that weapon wasn’t in the armoury.
After Stuart Holden had dispossessed William Gallas, the ball went from Gary Cahill to Kevin Davies to Martin Petrov, to the back of the opposition net in eight seconds. As well as being a treat to watch, that facet of play helps defensively. Faced with a potent counter-attacking force, the other side will be less inclined to commit bodies forward.
At Wolves last weekend, much was made of Johan Elmander’s snake-hipped bamboozlement of four defenders, and rightly so. But it was a stroked Kevin Davies pass and a Stuart Holden surge into the penalty area that gave the Swede the chance to do his stuff.
The theme continued five minutes later with Holden getting on the score sheet after a move involving twelve passes. The retention of possession was easy on the eye, but injection of pace at just the right time was the killer. A team who can move the ball around quickly is hellishly difficult to play against.
Now the disclaimer. This may be a blip. It’s only a third of the way into the season. Moderate sides can seem accomplished when confidence is high, and good teams can look bad on a run of poor form. More cautious souls will keep the bunting in the box for now.
No, not that sort of bunting
Then again, you can relish the good times and let the future look after itself, for being a Bolton fan at present is more enjoyable than it’s been for years and amen to that.
- Richard McCormick
A Trip to the Land of Never Ending Bitterness
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 | BWFC News, Owen Coyle | 2 Comments
Bolton travel to Burnley this evening, with those in the East Lancashire town who are still employed, having taken the day off work in order to wallow in self-pity. This is the most important match in Burnley’s history, but to the Wanderers, it’s a chance to give some of the fringe players a run out against lower league opposition.
Bird Food
Owen Coyle is having something of an identity crisis as the number of life-sized models of him increase by the hour. Some are hung from lamp posts, others have been set on fire, whilst the remainder are having pitch forks stuck in them by seething mobs of savages. Even the pasty bust of Coyle, manufactured by Holland Pies to celebrate promotion to the Premier League has been broken up and fed to the birds.
For those who’ve been living in a time warp (no, we don’t mean Blackburn) Coyle left Turf Moor last January after giving the impression that he’d be there for some time. Burnley chairman Barry Kilby was so confident that his man could resist the charms of opposite number, Phil Gartside, that he allowed a meeting to take place, when he didn’t have to. On the face of it, this seemed reasonable. There are people on death row with more charm than Garty. › Continue reading
Burnley Football Club Just Keeps on Giving as Bolton Snatch a Point
Sunday, August 29th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies | 1 Comment
It remains to be seen whether former Burnley manager Owen Coyle will make a success of his time at the Reebok, but another recruit from the poor relations in East Lancashire made a more immediate impact, as Bolton snatched an unlikely point against Birmingham City.
Player, shirt, grin, with zimmer frame cunningly concealed
Robbie Blake had done nothing, apart from look old, after he replaced Johan Elmander, but his free kick that gave the Whites a share of the points was a peach. Ben Foster in the Birmingham goal couldn’t have been further from the ball if he’d been outside the stadium.
Five minutes into the second half things had looked grim for the home side, after Craig Gardner put Birmingham two up. By this stage, they were down to ten men, Jussi Jaaskelainen having been sent off for bitch slapping Roger Johnson. The incident will be a prime candidate for inclusion in a future instalment of Football’s Most Embarrassing Moments. That left Adam Bodan, wearing a shirt almost the exact colour of his hair to make a league debut under the most difficult of circumstances.
Johnson appeared to be at the centre of everything. Early on he put the visitors ahead from a James McFadden cross, but was at fault when bundling Kevin Davies to the floor with twenty minutes remaining. Davies coolly slotted the resulting penalty home.
Bolton huffed and puffed to little effect, a Johan Elmander effort being the closest thing to a chance, but they were rescued as referee Kevin Friend lived up to his name. A clash between Gary Cahill and Barry Ferguson appeared to be six of one and half-a-dozen of the other, but a free kick was given to the home side just outside the penalty area, and Blake curled it brilliantly over the wall to give his new side a share of the spoils.
Joy For Burnley Fans at the Sight of a Premier League Team
Saturday, August 28th, 2010 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 5 Comments
Bolton Wanderers have been drawn away to Championship relegation favourites Burnley in the third round of the Carling Cup.
Owen Coyle returns to the club he used as a stepping stone to much better things, but will take a team comprised of reserve and youth players as the competition is seen as distracting to a Premier League outfit. Brian Laws, his counterpart at Turf Moor is expected to field a full strength side.
Laws, who guided two different clubs to relegation last season, may see the tie as something of a swan song, as he isn’t expected to last in the job past Christmas. His team were crushed at Swansea this afternoon, leading to more pressure on the Clarets boss.
The tie will take place in the week commencing 20th September, and Burnley supporters are eagerly awaiting Coyle’s visit, as it gives them a chance to pay tribute to a man who took them to the only spell in top flight football they’re ever likely to see.
- Fans celebrate an unexpected chance to see a Premier League team
Dodd’s on For Burnley Hotseat
Sunday, March 21st, 2010 | BWFC News, Gary Megson, Owen Coyle | 1 Comment
Ken Dodd being Shown around Turf Moor By Mr Kilby and his Assistant
Inside Football By Warren Obb
(Another regular contributor on bwfcforum.co.uk)
Sources close to Burnley FC claim ageing comedian Ken Dodd is on the verge of replacing Brian Laws in the latest sensational twist to the Lancashire club’s managerial saga.
Tickling stick
Having lost manager Owen Coyle to local rivals Bolton in January, Burnley chairman Barry Kilby acted swiftly to appoint perennial loser Brian Laws. Kilby was reputedly impressed by Laws’ ability to collect a meagre points tally without spending any money at Sheffield Wednesday. › Continue reading
It’s limbo baby, limbo
Thursday, January 7th, 2010 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Owen Coyle | No Comments
Phil Gartside auditions for Gary Megson's replacement (via Dave Hogg)
Phil Gartside auditions for Gary Megson's replacement (via Dave Hogg)
In the first post by one of Manny Road’s new writers, Wanderers fan Bruce Garrow gives his view on the Gary Megson/Owen Coyle saga…
We’ve never had it so good. Barring a lengthy cup run or an ambitious voyage into the top half of the table, a managerial shake-up is as much excitement as Bolton fans can expect this year. Once again the media searchlight hovers our way as General Gartside cleans out a mess of his own making.
Owen Coyle and Gary Megson were both in the running to succeed Sammy Lee back in 2007, but our chairman recommended Coyle to Burnley and they took him at his word. In the meantime, Megson’s stewardship was thankfully consigned to history at the turn of the year. So now we’re afforded a rare chance to see how history can play out with Gartside’s other favourite, who is likely to return, pending compensation.
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