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-

The campaign has ended with a small black cloud hanging over the Reebok and a genuine fear amongst fans of what might happen next time around, after five defeats on the bounce and a disastrous last day that saw the club drop five places in the Premiership and lose over £4 million in bonuses.

Martin Petrov finishes off Spurs, eight seconds after the ball had been on the edge of Bolton's penalty area.

It seems a long time ago that the Whites were sweeping aside Spurs, Wolves and Newcastle in quick succession with the sort of pass and move football that supporters had been longing to see. The roar of anticipation as the side broke from defence hadn’t been heard since the promotion season of 1997.

There were special goals too, the result of both individual and collective brilliance. Johan Elmander’s triple turn on a sixpence at Wolves that left four defenders needing to have their internal organs unplaited;  Stuart Holden finishing off a move involving twelve passes in the same game; Mark Davies starting and finishing a move that saw a late equaliser against Blackpool;  Elmander skipping around Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul to complete a passing sequence that started on the half-way line;  Holden’s half volley at home to Blackburn that put a stop to Sam Allardyce’s victory jig on the touchline, and his managerial tenure at that club.

Lee heads the winner at Birmingham. It was going to be our year.

The FA Cup run was long overdue and much appreciated, even if it did end in disaster.  Beating three Premier League teams away from the Reebok is no mean feat, and victory at Birmingham City was the best away day Wanderers fans had had in years.

After beating Newcastle, there was a slump in form and another, more significant one, in the final games.  In both cases, Stuart Holden’s absence was the key factor.  The American’s astute reading of the game and his ability in recovering possession after his colleagues had lost it, covered up a major problem with Bolton’s midfield organisation.   There wasn’t any.

Failing to deprive the opposition of space in that vital area isn’t a luxury that any top flight side can afford, yet Owen Coyle didn’t come anywhere near to remedying the problem.  Coyle has a different idea of how football should be played than Sam Allardyce, but he could learn a thing or two in that respect, from the man who used to occupy his chair.

The manager’s persistence with Zat Knight at the expense of David Wheater was also a puzzle, as the new signing seemed to gel better with the rest of the defence.  One wondered if Knight had footage of the supposedly tee-total Scot doing unnatural things with the club mascot, whilst swigging from a bottle of Buckfast.

Oh no it wasn't.

After events of the last couple of months, the Bolton boss doesn’t quite have the God-like status he enjoyed before, with some wondering if he is too inflexible to be a truly great manager.  Time will tell no doubt, especially if he is afforded the funds to make the squad truly his own over the summer months.

The habit of gifting points to teams in desperate need of them was seriously irritating, the worst instance being the visit of Sunderland.  The Wearsiders hadn’t scored away from home since January when they arrived at the Reebok in May, and had no recognised strikers available.  So there was a grim inevitability about their 2-1 win, with Bolo Zenden running the show after stopping off for his pension on the way to the game.

Liverpool under Roy Hodgson were the worst they’d been for decades, yet secured two wins.  Chelsea were in dismal form on meeting the Whites but managed the same.  Relegation threatened Blackburn were grateful for the easy three points at Ewood Park after not winning for months, as were Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, although it wasn’t enough to save them.

Has there been progress overall?  It can be argued either way.  More points have been gained than last term, with fewer goals conceded and the highest number scored since Bolton returned to the Premier League in 2001.  Yet the finishing position is exactly the same as last year and one place lower than Gary Megson managed in his one full season.

There has been a glimpse of what Bolton Wanderers could be, tempered by harsh reality that comes from a squad lacking in depth.  The season may be over, but the next mission, one that involves building a side to compete at the top level for an eleventh straight year is already underway.

- Richard McCormick

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.

Following Bolton’s 5-1 demolition of Newcastle, they too were just six points off the league leaders, yet claims that we could claim the first league title in our club’s illustrious history were not forthcoming. While Bolton Wanderers have (whisper it) become fashionable of late, with numerous column inches devoted to the ‘total football’ Owen Coyle’s team is now playing, the common consensus is that the league title may be beyond us, despite a friend of mine signing up to bwfcforum.co.uk with of rather optimistic username of ‘Bolton for the Title’! Yet I have reason to believe that Kevin Davies may indeed be lifting some silverware come May.

The title race is one of the closest in years. Some commentators have said that this is evidence that the league is the best it’s ever been, despite the fact that Chelsea’s total of 28 points from 14 games is the lowest tally accumulated by a league leader since 1994. However, whatever the reason, the league is indeed close this year. Chelsea lead the way obviously, despite their recent loss of form, but they’re just three points ahead of fourth placed Manchester City and (as this is a Bolton blog and we’re flying high), just six points ahead of fifth placed Bolton Wanderers.

The run up to Christmas is vitally important. We have five games before the trip to Chelsea on December 28^th. My personal target is 8 points from those five games, but I’m sure you will have your own targets and aspirations too dear reader. I consider that to be a realistic target, especially considering three of the five games are at home against Blackpool, [Insert Corporate Name Here] Rovers and West Brom. We also have away trips to Eastlands to face Man City in a match to determine fourth place (provided we beat Blackpool this week) and a trip North to face Sunderland, a match to keep us in fourth place (provided we beat Blackpool, City and Blackburn).

If we can get the necessary wins to take us to that ‘magical’ 30 point target, it will leave us to get 10 points from the remaining 18 games to see us safe from relegation. I know that we’re not talking about the prospect of relegation at the moment, considering our form and league position, but the sooner we can make that mathematically certain, the better.

The reason I hope that we can get to 30 points by January is not to keep pace with the league leaders, or even the top 4 contenders, although that would be nice. The reason I want to put ourselves three quarters of the way to safety is so we can give the FA Cup a bloody good go this season.

For a club with such a fine FA Cup tradition, our recent attempts at cup success have been nothing short of pathetic. We haven’t got past the fifth round since 2004, and that includes third round exits in both attempts under Gary Megson. However, we now have a manager who remembers fondly the cup runs of the early 90s (ironically better than myself) when we had several, memorable giant killings of top flight teams while we were in the lower leagues, knocking out the cup holders (Liverpool in 1993 and Arsenal in 1994) in consecutive seasons, and at their own grounds too.

We’re now equipped with a manager who treats cup competitions with the respect they deserve (I’ll conveniently ignore our unfortunate exit to Burnley in the league cup earlier this season) and I firmly believe that we are well equipped for cup success. Before anyone says anything, yes this belief is largely motivated by our hammering of Newcastle and other impressive performance of late. However, with the race for the title being so close this season, their priorities may not include the FA Cup. It is well document that Abramovich wants the Champions League, a cup which six managers and £500m have yet to obtain for him; Man United want that nineteenth title to surpass Liverpool; Arsenal just want to win anything although, for some bizarre reason, that doesn’t seem to include the FA Cup; Man City are focused on finishing fourth, ditto Spurs, and both may harbour distant dreams of winning the league (with it being so close, they may never have a better chance). Of course, in isolation, the above teams having other, perhaps more pressing, priorities is hardly a guarantee of cup success. Chelsea have managed to win the FA Cup in successive seasons whilst maintaining a strong domestic title challenge.

However, we have impressive form ourselves and have done more than enough to prove that we’re a good team with some fine players. Two defeats in fourteen Premiership games shows that we’re no longer a soft touch, determined to turn up at games with the sole, and ultimately unsuccessful, aim of trying to escape with a draw.

For the first time in years, we take the game to opposition. For the first time in over a decade, once ahead we keep attacking, which has produced the most goals per game we have ever scored in a Premier League season. Owen Coyle has instilled a belief in the players that we can take points in every game, and with good reason as, bar defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, we have taken points in every game.

We have a settled team and, with that, we have created some strong partnerships; in Elmander and Davies, we have one of the best striking duos in the Premiership on current form. They have scored 14 goals and have numerous assists between them Davies’ excellent pass to set up Elmander’s first goal against Newcastle being a prime example. His deft touch to set up his strike partner against West Brom is another.

In Holden and Muamba, we have a midfield duo who can rival most teams in the league. No-one covers more ground, and they boast the record of the most tackles this season. However, it is Holden’s attacking prowess that has caught the eye. He is easily one of the star performers of the season, turning in first class performances in each and every match.

With our current form, and the bit of luck you need in cup competitions, I believe that we could do very well in this season’s FA Cup. Coyle has a strong cup record for each of the clubs he has managed; he took St Johnstone to the semi finals of both domestic cup competitions in Scotland, knocking out Rangers at Ibrox along the way, and got them to the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup before leaving for Burnley, a cup final which his current assistant Sandy Stewart won without him before himself moving South to link up with Coyle. He then took Burnley to within 2 minutes of Carling Cup final before a late Jermain Defoe goal deep into extra time snatched away their dreams. The one thing against the Allardyce era, for me anyway, was that, for all the top eight finishes, and they were considerable achievements, we had no need for the silver polish, and sadly you can’t organise an open top parade to show off a league table. That may all change under Coyle.

All the players have said that Coyle’s enthusiasm is infectious and that rubs off on everyone he meets. Well, I haven’t met Owen Coyle but his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me regardless. It’s not going to be easy and, similar to my last article after the Stoke game regarding Europe being a possibility, I’m sure a lot of other clubs will be thinking the same, but hopefully we may need to get the champagne on ice because we have a great chance of going to Wembley (twice)!

-dh1985-

The FA were unable to act after referee Chris Foy claimed that the incident had been seen by match officials.  Yeah, right.

In truth, it’s difficult to get agitated about Huddlestone did.    For one thing, Bolton won – and in some style. Secondly, it wasn’t a full blown assault, more a petulant toe poke, for which the appropriate sanction is a clip around the ear and an admonishment to stop being such a girl, rather than a three match ban for violent conduct.  However, the fact that this is not an isolated happening does grate a little.

After being reduced to a gibbering wreck by Eduardo’s horrible leg break at Birmingham, you’d think that William Gallas would be mindful of the health of his fellow professionals.   How wrong that assumption would be.

In last season’s game against between Arsenal and Bolton at the Emirates, Gallas went in over the top on Mark Davies which led to the young midfielder being stretchered off with damaged ankle ligaments.  A red card?  Nope.  A yellow then?  Negative.  Retropective punishment?  Not on your nelly.  Alan Wiley, the man with the inappropriate surname, said he’d seen the challenge so no action was taken.

Sissoko explains how he can get away with anything

Going back a while, to a New Year fixture at the Reebok against Liverpool, there was not one, but two stamping incidents.  Firstly, Steven Gerrard did a little tap dance on the already prostrate Kevin Nolan.   It was difficult from the video footage alone, to establish if there was malicious intent, and as Nolan himself made light of the event, it’s best to move on.

The same couldn’t be said for Mohamed Sissoko’s ten metre dash to stick the boot into a horizontal El Hadji Diouf.  Given the seamier side of Diouf’s nature, some might say he’s due a good shoeing.  Perhaps, Mark Clattenburg, the man in the middle that day, was working to a set of rules in which that sentiment had been enshrined.  There can be no other explanation for the entry in his match report which said that no action was deemed necessary.

A few months earlier at Stamford Bridge, it wasn’t a stamp, but a reckless kick to the area below Tal Ben Haim’s knee that earned Michael Essien a booking, rather than the sending off it deserved.  But that’s what you get when Rob ‘Big Club’ Styles is carrying the cards.

The intention here is not to claim that Bolton are being singled out for neglectful treatment.  It’s the inconsistency and the bias toward the big clubs that is the problem.

Clattenburg was the referee at Manchester City when Emmanuel Adebayor attempted to stamp on Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie.  A ban resulted this time, as the act had not been seen.  Which was odd, as it happened three feet in front of the man with the whistle.

At Arsenal in September, Gary Cahill got his marching orders for the mildest of infringements.  Even Arsene Wenger thought the decision unfair.  When old wrinkle bonce sides with the opposition you know there’s a problem.

'Get up you cissy. Stevie hardly touched you'

Stuart Atwell officiated that day, which may provide an explanation.  He was also in charge at Liverpool in March when he allowed Steven Gerrard to escape without censure after his forearm smash on Michael Brown of Portsmouth. The list goes on.

Without inside knowledge it’s hard to know where the problem lies.  Are the FA too harsh on officials who admit they’ve made mistakes?  Are those tasked with controlling Premier League matches completely starstruck?   Or are they just a bunch of lying bastards?

Until the answer is found, players of the less fashionable clubs will hope that their more illustrious counterparts don’t start carrying weapons onto pitch.  In the current climate they’d get away with using them.

- 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

The support from football fans and ordinary people in the street has been inspirational

Click the link to listen to Mark Halsey’s Exclusive  interview.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/751463426e948768/

Despite hailing from Hertfordshire, Mark Halsey has firmly established himself as one of Bolton’s favourite adopted sons. After spending 12 years playing non-league football for Cambridge City and Hertford Town he began his refereeing career in 1989 and a decade later refereed the famous 1999 Football League One Play-off Final between Gillingham and Manchester City at Wembley. The same year he was promoted to Premier League status and shortly after the FIFA List of referees. He quickly established himself as one of the most popular referees in the League.

Mark was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to speak Exclusively to Manny Road & bwfcforum’s Andi Walton. He started by asking him about his current health:

MH:      Yeah I’m feeling very good, I seem to be getting stronger with every game I do and it’s a bonus for me because I never thought I’d be back refereeing again, so every day is a cup final and it’s really great to be back and the reception I’ve received from the two games I’ve done at Rotherham and Port Vale and Oldham and Bristol Rovers, the fans have been absolutely fantastic and it’s been very emotional and overwhelming for me.

AW:      It must have been the furthest thing from your mind getting out on the football pitch when you were in the midst of your treatment but now you’ve got to that stage, it must be a real thrill.

MH:      For me to come back and, you know, I suppose…for what I’ve gone through with all my chemotherapy and my radiotherapy…I mean if you saw me at Christmas, I was nowhere near the Mark Halsey of old, you know, but I’ve worked hard and a lot of people have helped me and it’s been great.  The support I’ve received from people around the country – just ordinary football fans and ordinary people in the street.  They’ve been inspirational to me and they’ve got to really pat themselves on the back for the way they’ve helped me and it’s down to them that I’m back where I am now.

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Click the link to listen to the interview.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/751463426e948768/

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AW:      Tell us about the club Mark, how have they been helping?

MH:      Oh they’ve been fantastic. I come into remission and Adie the fitness coach and you’ve got Nick Worth in charge of the physios, they’ve been brilliant with me.  Then you’ve got the doc who’s been brilliant with me.  Owen Coyle’s been running with me and Adie’s set me running programmes to do to build my fitness back up and without the club I don’t think I’d be where I am now as well because they’ve been absolutely first class with me, first class.

AW:      Let’s go back a bit earlier in your career. You were a player before you were a ref weren’t you?

MH:      Yeah.  I was a player. I played non-league as a goal keeper down in the Ryman’s league and up until I was about 28 really then I gave up playing and sort of…well 30 I was, and gave up playing and took up refereeing.  I got one or two injuries and took up refereeing.

AW:      Do you think that’s given you an advantage as opposed to somebody…well you know, it’s a decent standard you played at.

MH:      It was yeah. It does help you playing the game. I have empathy for the game, I give players a chance, I love football, I’m a football fan and it’s all about 22 players on the field and the fans, you know, it’s not about the referee.  And I think that’s where sometimes we lose sight.  It doesn’t always mean to say that ex-players make good referees.

AW:      So how did you end up in Bolton then, because obviously we can tell from you voice that you’re not born and bred.

MH:      No born and bread in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire and I married a Bolton lass so obviously that’s when I moved up here and here I am.

AW:      You’ve become an honorary northerner.

MH:      I’m an honorary northerner, yeah and I love being a northerner. I love being a northwester, I wouldn’t move back down south.

AW:      So you’ve talked about the club helping you with your recovery, but how did you come about getting involved with Bolton in the first place?

MH:      When I first moved up here in 2000…Sam Allardyce has been brilliant with me as well.  He was in charge of the Wanderers and I asked if I could come along and train with him and I am and I’ve been there 10 years now, going every day.  I mean the lads have been fantastic with me and over the last 9 months I’ve got to know Joey O’Brien and Sean Davis very well, although Sean’s got on my nerves, in there recovering in the gym because of the long term injuries…but we’ve passed the time away really well and we’ve had a good laugh and he’s a bit of a pain in the backside is Sean!

We’ve had good times.  It’s been great, you know…but that’s why there’s a plus point being in the gym with them two all the time.

AW:            Obviously you arrived in 2000 and that was when the club was just about sort of on the up and up wasn’t it?

MH:      In 2000 first season in the Premier League it was.

AW:      And has the club advanced since you first arrived? I imagine that you’re one of those who have been around for the longest now.

MH:      I think they’ve gone from strength to strength really. You can’t take it away from what Sam Allardyce done.  I mean he’s put the club on the map and he’s done a fantastic job.   And obviously all good things come to an end and you move on.  And we’ve had people come and go and they’ve all done well in their own way and I think now that Owen Coyle’s here.  I mean Owen Coyle…his enthusiasm is second to none.  When I first saw his training session I thought he was absolutely…his enthusiasm was fantastic and he’s got all the lads up there and playing and working for him.

AW:      I suppose you’ll be coming up against Sam now won’t you because obviously you never did while was in charge of Bolton?

MH:      No I don’t referee Sam. He’s at Blackburn and we’re right good friends so they never give me Sam’s club’s.

AW:      Right, so that’s all kind of acknowledged then by the powers-that-be, is it?

MH:      Yeah.

AW:      Who are the best Bolton players that you worked alongside then over the last 10 years Mark?

MH:            Obviously there have been some great players haven’t there? I think Jussi Jaaskelainen  and I’ve trained with Jussi and I think he’s got to be up there, one of the top players, top performers, consistently week-in week-out.  And Ivan Campo was fantastic in the midfield there.  Djorkaeff and Jay Jay Okocha – there are some great names of the past aren’t there.

AW:      I suppose those are the sort of names as well that the fans remember best, particularly those like Campo really had a connection with the fans.

MH:      Oh of course he did.  They were some good days under Sam weren’t they. You know, I think the lads now that have come in are doing well and playing for Owen and if they keep us in the Premier League, which I think they will…I don’t think there’s a problem there…and see if we can kick on and see if they can kick on next season.

AW:      So you’ve said ‘us’ – you said ‘we’ there.  Does that mean that you’re a Wanderers fan? What would you describe yourself as?

MH:      Well you know, obviously being attached to the club you do, don’t you.  But I mean obviously people know I’m a QPR fan but obviously living in Bolton and training in Bolton, you get an affection for the club because as I say, the club have been fantastic with me and, you know, it’s a family run club.  So you do tend to say we, you know what I mean?

I’ve been to most games there this season because of my illness but you do, you use that terminology don’t you?

AW:      I imagine at times that it didn’t make you feel much better with some of the performances

MH:      [laughs]

AW:      Tell us about the rest of the league then.  You talked about Wanderers players.  Any other players that you’ve jut enjoyed being on the same pitch as?

MH:      Oh I mean there’s loads.  I mean there’s some fantastic players around isn’t there?  From refereeing, you just look at the likes of Alan Shearer, Henri, David Beckham. I had the privilege of refereeing Zidane and he was got to be one of the best, you know…it’s great to be on the pitch with players like that.  And you’ve got there some great players now.  You’ve got Rooney, you’ve got John Terry, you’ve got Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, they’re absolutely fantastic players aren’t they. And it’s one everyone would want to pay to see, whether you’re support for Chelsea or support for Arsenal, cos you’ve got Fabregas who’s outstanding as well, so there’s some fantastic players.  And instead of all the supporters booing and when they come to their grounds, they should be clapping them because you don’t want them players leaving the Premiership and going playing back in Spain and Italy and things like that cos we want to be the best league in the world and we need to keep those players in the Premier league.

AW:      Yeah, there’s the sort of well-known story of Wanderers fans of when Ruud Gullit played at Burnden Park, you know, he just absolutely played us off the park but the fans just clapped him off cos they hadn’t seen a player of that standard for 20 / 30 years on the pitch there.

MH:      But that’s what it should be like every ground…life’s too short.  I know that. You just don’t know what’s round the corner.  And instead of, you know, the fans…yeah of course they get emotional don’t they, with people, so it’s just great to have all these great players gracing our football pitches.

AW:      That brings me onto how you deal with the fans’ reaction to you.  We all know some of the choice language that fans can use about refs if things don’t go the right way.  How hard is it when the whole ground – they question your parentage or whatever it might be?

MH:      [laughs] It’s emotional.  People get emotional.  Football’s emotional.  And I mean 9 times out of 10 you don’t hear it because you’re concentrating and focussing on what you’re doing, so you don’t really pay any attention to it to be honest.

AW:      Do you understand it though?  Say there’s the FA Cup semi final over the weekend and John Terry’s tackle on James Milner has come in for a bit of scrutiny and then there was the penalty in that game as well.  Howard Webb doing that game and obviously someone that you know well.  But can you understand the frustration of the Villa fans there for instance?

MH:      Well obviously I can’t comment.  I honestly haven’t seen any of the incidents, obviously because I was refereeing my game at Oldham, so I’ve not seen.  And I was at Manchester City so I can’t really comment on that because I’ve not seen any of it.

AW:      Well speaking in general, you can understand how…because you know, fans spend a lot of money.  They travel to Wembley for instance in that case and you know, we as Wanderers fans have had loads of decisions, as of course all clubs have over the years, and you do remember them.

MH:      Yeah, it’s just…as I say, these things happen don’t they?  As I say it’s very difficult for referees.  They get a split second, you know, and so it’s very difficult for referees to referee at the top level.  As I said, they get a split second whereas you get all these replays and then you can make your mind up afterwards after watching it two or three times can’t you?  If you look at Fabio Capello, he said the English league’s got the best referees in the world.

But it’s just one of those things.  We all make mistakes.  I make mistakes.  It’s just one of those things.

AW:      Would you appreciate some help from cameras though Mark?

MH:            Obviously that’s not gonna happen because FIFA have said no so that’s the end of the matter so there’s no point, no matter what I say.  It can’t be used and that’s it.  I think we can make good use of them but obviously we cannot…

AW:      What’s the best match you’ve ever reffed at?  The City Gillingham playoff final, I know you did that.  That was an extraordinary match wasn’t it?

MH:      Oh it was fantastic.  Every game I referee is good.  You know, I treat every game the same.  You know, I just love refereeing.  I just love football and I treat every game the same, whether it be at Rotherham, Morecambe, Accrington or wherever it be…at Goodison Park, I treat every game the same.

AW:      You’ve done a league cup final, a charity shield.  Would the FA Cup Final be the dream?

MH:      Oh yeah it would be. I mean with my illness and obviously, you know, being out all season, there’s that carrot there and it would be great if I could come back and referee that FA Cup Final, on merit and not on sentiment.

AW:      How’s the restaurant going on?  You still involved?

MH:      Yeah, it’s not too bad.  It’s been a struggle.  It’s been a massive struggle but you know…it’s been difficult.  But yeah, my wife’s been running that so I’ve not had a lot of involvement with that.

AW:      Where do people go if they… you’ve been good enough to talk to us so we might as well give you a plug.  Where do people go if they want to get involved?

MH:      It’s Ristaurante Sottovento, 69 Worsley Road in Farnworth.  So come along and speak to us or whatever, and support your local restaurant.

AW:      Just a couple of final things then, just on more general reffing issues.  Are players more disrespectful now and does that really affect kids watching them?

MH:      No I don’t think so, no.  To be fair, I think the Respect Programme’s working very well from what I’ve seen of it and, you know, I can only talk for myself and I get the utmost respect from players and I think that the players give the referees the utmost respect as well to be fair.  You know, I think that’s been working well.

AW:      You know when players do surround you though and obviously we’ve talked about the passion that’s involved, and they do get right in your face and, you know, you only have to watch Match of the Day to see that there is some fairly choice stuff being said by the players.  Are you not tempted just to get the yellow card straight out?  That would stop them soon enough, wouldn’t it?

MH:            Well…as I say, football’s a very emotional game and, you know, that’s what it is, it’s very emotional.  And referees manage the occasion, they take that into consideration, so they may just be doing it to themselves and it may look as if it’s at the referee.  I mean the referee on the whole; I think the referees in England do an excellent job.  And the players and the managers do respect that.

AW:      And how’s it different when you’re refereeing an international game or a European game?  Is it more difficult with the language and that kind of thing?

MH:      No they all speak English.

AW:      So you make yourself understood?

MH:      Yeah.

AW:            Refereeing an international game must be a real honour as well.

MH:      It is yeah.  It’s a great honour to represent your country, just like a player, it’s a great honour to represent your country abroad with the three lions and the FIFA badge.  It’s fantastic.  So it’s just the same for a referee as it is for a player representing your country.

AW:      And what’s the future hold Mark?  Obviously you’ll try and keep your recovery on track and get back as a regular Premier League ref next season?

MH:      Yeah, well hopefully I’d like to get a game this season.  But we’ll see how my fitness goes and I’m getting stronger all the time and as I say, it’s not been easy, considering another 2 weeks I wouldn’t be here standing talking to you, it’s been amazing and the Christie  has been a fantastic hospital and my professional team has been brilliant with me and as I say I’ve got a charity dinner on May 7^th at Lancashire Cricket Club, which we’ve got Roberto Mancini, Sir Alex Ferguson, Owen Coyle and Sam Allardyce is guest of honour so it should be a great night.

AW:      Brilliant, how do people find out more about that if they want to?

MH:      They can contact Lancashire County Cricket Club. There’s a Lancashire website and if they want to make a donation, they can text Mark to 78070 to help raise money for the Christie. Or they can visit the Just Giving website…www.justgiving.com/Mark-Halsey

AW:            Fantastic. We wish you all the best with your recovery and it’ll be great to see you back on the pitch in the premier league.

MH:      OK thanks very much.

Click the link to listen to the interview.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/751463426e948768/

As well as battling the illness he is actively fundraising to raise money for The Christie, the leading cancer centre in Manchester. You can help him reach his £50,000 target by visiting www.justgiving.com/mark-halsey or goto http://www.lccc.co.uk/index.php?p=news&id=3495 for details of Mark’s charity dinner on May 7^th at which Sir Alex Ferugson, Owen Coyle, Roberto Mancini and Sam Allardyce will be in attendance.

due to journalistic integrity (and the fact it might not be him) we have blanked out the ugly mush in this pic

(we would like to express, these are not necessarily the views of bwfcforum or manny road)

Superstar Shrek look-a-like Wayne Rooney was last night said to be close to an Old Trafford exit, according to sources.

The former Everton hitman, 24, has been in sensational form for the champions this season, netting his 33rd goal of the campaign in Sunday’s win over rivals Liverpool.

But in news certain to stun the Old Trafford faithful, Rooney was recently seen close to an Old Trafford exit. Our sources, who were allegedly close to the club at the time, also claim to have photos of Rooney in the compromising position. Negotiations to purchase the photos broke down in order to preserve our journalistic integrity.

Englands inform striker’s alleged proximity to the exit door could not come at a worse time for debt-ridden crisis-club United as they prepare for Saturday’s vital clash against local rivals Bolton Wanderers, followed by a run of games that sees them play title rivals Chelsea at Old Trafford followed by local derbies at Blackburn and Manchester City.

The club were keen to refute the rumours, with a clearly flustered club spokesman claiming that the allegations were “completely irrelevant” and “utter nonsense”. The spokesman refused to comment further, whilst Rooney himself was presumed to be unavailable.

The news comes as a further disruption to Italian tactician Fabio Capello’s world cup hopes, following celebrity wideman David Beckham’s Achilles injury.

Alex Ferguson goes in to hiding after hearing Gary Megson thinks they're mates now. Pic from tpower1978

The Bolton News falls for the United boss’ mind games

I Twittered last night about the appalling levels of hypocrisy on Five Live Sport, who went seamlessly from talking about how out of order football fans are for abusing players to then justifying Alex Ferguson’s abuse of referee Alan Wiley.

But Five Live aren’t the only ones who’ve swallowed Fergie’s spin.

This report in The Bolton News carried quotes from the Manchester United manager, lifted from his programme notes for Saturday’s game against the Wanderers, in which he said of Bolton fans:

You see the unreasonableness and impatience of fans expressed in many different ways and it’s all quite different from, say, 30 years, ago.

Would that be the same unreasonableness and impatience that prompts a manager to call in to question the professionalism of a referee?

Ferguson doesn’t give a toss about Megson or the Wanderers. When I worked on the Chelsea matchday programme, Jose Mourinho would often tailor his matchday notes to highlight weaknesses in the opposition – and thus wind them up when they got to the ground and read it.

Far from “launching an impassioned plea on behalf of Gary Megson”, as The Bolton News put it, Ferguson was merely stoking the fires of discontent to give his side an advantage – and The Bolton News fell for it.

More importantly, why is it OK for managers to publicly criticise referees and for players to blatantly swear at them on the pitch, but as soon as a fan dares criticise the people whose wages they pay, they are accused of bringing the game in to disrepute?

If anyone can explain this, there’s a comment box below…

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

How the national newspapers reported the Wanderers’ 1-0 defeat at Fratton Park

The Express said that Bolton weren’t even trying to win the game and were seemingly content with a dull, goalless deadlock.

The contrast with the fighting spirit shown at Chelsea seven days earlier was also pointed out by the Guardian, who described the Whites as “uninspired”. The Telegraph, meanwhile, said we “lacked ambition and failed to ignite.”

So much so that the Daily Mail reckon we’re still in some danger of relegation, not that you would know from the urgency in our performance at Fratton Park. The News of the World described Pompey’s dominance as a “sustained assault.”

That the home side thoroughly deserved all three points was “undisputable”, in the view of the Mirror.

In the Independent, the blame for Bolton’s negative approach was laid entirely on Gary Megson for the way he set up his side with 0-0 in mind.

Only Jussi Jaaskelainen could come away from the game with any credit for the Wanderers, according to the Times. Matchwinner Kanu took most of the plaudits for Portsmouth, although some Wanderers fans might take issue with the Guardian’s assertion that he is Nigeria’s greatest ever player (Jay-Jay Okocha, anyone?).

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

Read the fans’ view on the game here

Watch Portsmouth 1-0 Bolton Wanderers video highlights here

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