LeicesterCity
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
Bolton Wanderers Hall of Fame #9: Top 10 Kevin Nolan moments
Saturday, January 31st, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Jay-Jay Okocha, Kevin Nolan, Sam Allardyce | 1 Comment
A tribute to Kevin Nolan
I asked yesterday whether selling Kevin Nolan to Newcastle is a good idea. The response was mixed, but on the whole in favour.
Either way, Kevin Nolan’s contribution to the last decade of Bolton Wanderers has been immense. Here are 10 of his greatest moments in a White shirt…
Bolton Wanderers Hall of Shame #4: Barry Knight
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 | BWFC People, Dean Holdsworth, Jlloyd Samuel, Mike Whitlow, Paul Warhurst, Robbie Elliott | No Comments
The referee who made Rob Styles look like Father Christmas…
Bolton Wanderers aren’t the first football club to have their afternoon ruined by referee Rob Styles, and we probably won’t be the last. Just check out Styles’ Wikipedia page for details of his previous crimes against Liverpool and Manchester City.
My initial reaction after seeing his decision to award Manchester United a penalty for Jlloyd Samuel’s perfectly fair tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford on Saturday was that Styles would be a perfect candidate for Manny Road’s Bolton Wanderers Hall of Shame.
But after a couple of days reflection I remembered that however bad Styles’ penalty decision was, he – and any other referee – would have to go a long way to beat the worst-ever refereeing performance in a Bolton Wanderers match.
It was May 2000 when Barry Knight – a name that will forever strike fear in to the hearts of every Bolton Wanderers fan – sent off two Wanderers players (Mike Whitlow and Robbie Elliott), booked eight others and awarded Ipswich three penalties as we went down 5-3 after extra-time in the play-off semi-final at Portman Road.
Bolton Wanderers fans pay their own special tribute to referee Barry Knight. Picture from Super White Army Online.
For his trouble, Knight became a hate figure among Bolton Wanderers fans, with one fan site describing him as ‘a bald headed prick who is supposedly a referee’, accompanied by a picture with a gun target on Knight’s forehead (see above).
I would also suggest that Mike Riley’s sending off of Dean Holdsworth and Paul Warhurst at Christmas 2001, when Bolton came back from 2-0 down with nine men to draw 2-2 with Leicester, was another display of refereeing incompetence that makes Rob Styles’ cock-up look like a gift-wrapped Christmas present.
I see that Styles has now apologised for his crimes against Bolton Wanderers. Pundits on BBC Radio Five Live on Monday night suggested this may have been a cynical ploy to ensure he didn’t get demoted to a Championship game next weekend (if it was then it worked because he’ll be officiating the Tottenham v Hull game).
But in fairness to Styles, an apology is more than we ever got from Barry Knight… and he owes us a lot more than one.
***UPDATE*** Just read an excellent article on Vital Bolton Wanderers detailing Rob Styles’ previous howlers in Bolton Wanderers games. The same site also rightly points out that Steve Bennett has never done us any favours.
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