Newcastle
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
Mu and Stu Lead Bolton’s Masterclass
Sunday, November 21st, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News | 2 Comments
‘You know what to expect from Bolton’
‘A typical Bolton goal’
If Wanderers fans never hear the statements above again, they probably won’t mind, for the words were never meant as a compliment, and usually came from opposing managers after being turned over by Sam Allardyce’s functional football.
How times change. What sides can expect from Bolton these days is a pasting, and when Owen Coyle’s team get on the score sheet it’s unlikely to be from a long punt upfield or a flick on from a throw-in.
Coloccini finds out he has to face Elmander again later in the season
What constitutes a typical Bolton goal at present was amply demonstrated just after half-time against Newcastle United on Saturday, as the home side put the game beyond reach. There was a concise beauty in the way that Johan Elmander rounded Tim Krul, before rolling the ball into the net, but the move that enabled him to do that started on the half-way line.
Gary Cahill won possession and Fabrice Muamba played a simple pass to Elmander. The Swede turned and twisted in a way that has become familiar, before being barged out of the way by Kevin Nolan.
It didn’t matter, for as so often, Stuart Holden was there to mop up, and he played in Lee Chung-Yong on the touchline. The Korean’s pin-point pass was taken on the turn by Kevin Davies and a touch with his left-foot found Elmander in the penalty area, making a perfectly timed run to add the finishing flourish. Fifteen seconds, six different players, a mixture of hard-work and artfulness and Bolton were home and hosed well before the hour mark.
Prior to that episode the Wanderers were already two goals to the good, via a Davies penalty and a strike from Lee, both efforts aided by defensive incompetence.
Ex-captain Nolan received a warm and deserved round of applause before kick off, but nothing good happened to him for the rest of the afternoon. What prompted the Newcastle midfielder to handle in his own penalty area when under no pressure can only be speculated on. Perhaps he was distracted by the tray of Carrs Pasties that had been placed temptingly on the touchline in readiness for his visit.
If Andy Carroll’s consolation goal for the visitors triggered a period of anxiety it has faded in the memory, unlike Elmander’s second strike on 72 minutes. When the ball landed just in inside Newcastle’s half, he and Fabricio Coloccini were there to compete for it. On current form it was a mismatch similar to that between a Rottweiler and a poodle.
The Argentina international was left an agitated spectator as Bolton’s No9 slotted past a hopelessly exposed Krul. Coloccini got revenge of sorts three minutes later, elbowing his nemesis in the face when about to be skinned again. Some might judge the resultant sending off a suitable punishment, but it was more a merciful release. The 34-times capped defender will spend the next month undergoing therapy before being allowed back on a football pitch, such was the tortuous nature of his day.
If the visitors thought their lot might improve with the exit of Lee, they were mistaken. His replacement, Rodrigo Moreno powered through midfield before feeding Davies. Jose Enrique obligingly upended the Whites captain, giving away another spot-kick, which was duly despatched after a brief comic interlude.
Enrique protested, in the manner of Emerson Thome, smiling, shrugging, pleading and clasping his hands in prayer, whilst Sol Campbell had a full blown hissy fit. The mirth continued post match with Chris Hughton indulging in the rich Geordie tradition of delusion.
This man is mad
‘I don’t think it’s a true reflection of the game,’ said Newcastle’s manager, referring to the score. He was right. Bolton should have won by more.
The Whites had eighteen goal attempts, compared to seven from the visitors (with only two on target) but the most significant number came from the amount of tackles – thirty one by Bolton, to ten by their counterparts.
Coyle’s team play football that’s pleasing to the eye, but that luxury is allowed by a busy, harrying midfield led by Fabrice Muamba and Stuart Holden, or Mu and Stu, as they’ve been dubbed by a Wanderers fan elsewhere. As long as the duo continue to prove their prowess, those facing Bolton can expect to be seriously inconvenienced.
- Richard McCormick
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?
Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Aston Villa: What the papers say
Monday, April 27th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Johan Elmander, Phil Gartside | No Comments
Image via Wikipedia
How the national press reported Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Aston Villa
It seems like we’ve been hearing this for weeks now, but yet again we’re told by the Mail that Bolton are just one win away from definite safety. The same paper also tells us that Gary Megson believes Bolton have “hearts as big as buckets all over the pitch.”
Big hearts maybe (although that wasn’t necessarily the case at Portsmouth last week), but the Guardian thought the Wanderers display lacked inspiration, saying that “the highlights of this encounter will not make it into any PowerPoint presentations put together for Bolton chairman Phil Gartside’s proposed two-tier top-flight that would include Celtic, Rangers and, of course, Wanderers.”
Bolton 1-0 Newcastle: The fans’ view
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 | Ariza Makukula, BWFC News, BWFC People, Ebi Smolarek, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Johan Elmander, Mark Davies, Ricardo Gardner | 1 Comment
The Bolton Wanderers match report you won’t read in the papers (or see on Match of the Day)
Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers message boards made of the 1-0 win over Newcastle United yesterday…
Bolton 1-0 Newcastle: What the papers say
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Jlloyd Samuel, Ricardo Gardner | No Comments
Image by blenky64 via Flickr
How the national press reported the Wanderers 1-0 home win over Newcastle
Most of the papers concentrate primarily on the mounting woes at Newcastle in their match reports.
The Guardian went to town on them, cataloguing their many problems in great detail (not leaving much room for analysis of Bolton’s performance), whilst the Sun pointed out that the travelling Geordie fans turned on their team.
8 things you (probably don’t) need to know about Bolton v Newcastle
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Danny Guthrie, Gary Megson, Kevin Nolan | No Comments
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Your guide to all the Bolton v Newcastle previews and Mystic Meggery
Reasons to be cheerful…
1. Kevin Nolan will miss the game for his new club after he tried to maim Victor Anichebe last week. Joey Barton and Danny Guthrie will also be keeping their studs clean.
2. Newcastle fans may not be able to find the Reebok Stadium because of some typically piss poor transport planning. Unless, of course, Nolan has told them all his secrets.
Reebok Round-Up (24.02.09)
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Gary Speed, Kevin Davies, Kevin Nolan | No Comments
What Manny Road has been reading about Bolton Wanderers over the last few days
Is this a good enough reason to keep Gary Megson?
Sunday, February 15th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Phil Gartside, Roy McFarland, Sammy Lee | No Comments
- Image via Wikipedia
How Alex Ferguson almost changed my mind about the Bolton manager
I’m keen for my view that Gary Megson should be sacked at the end of the season, even if we do stay up, to be proven wrong. Mainly because I want to see my team win and get behind them.
As well as asking my readers for reasons why I’m wrong, I’ve also been actively searching for excuses to change my mind. Here’s the nearest I came last week…
Wanderers window shopping dispatch #4: Five questions that need answering
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 | Ariza Makukula, BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Heidar Helguson, Kevin Davies, Kevin Nolan, Mark Davies, Phil Gartside, Sebastien Puygrenier | 1 Comment
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The final round of ins, outs and shaking it all abouts at Bolton Wanderers this January
Ins
With the three ins this year – Davies, Sebastien Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula – already in the bag, Bolton barely got a mention on Sky Sports News’ overly-dramatic transfer deadline day coverage (was the countdown of the last 10 seconds, accompanied by pictures from Big Ben, really necessary, especially as the Premier League had extended the deadline due to the bad weather?).
Gary Megson confirmed after the Spurs game that he was targetting two more signings before the window shut at 5pm yesterday, so the Wanderers failure to bring in any more new players has to be seen as leaving Megson short of what he feels he needs to keep us in the Premier League.
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