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

Cheers Liverpool. Kinda stepped on my point there. Ah well, I haven’t written a Manny Road article for so long… I’ll continue.
I don’t think there has been a worse time than this to manage Liverpool. Of course they are a massive club but they have an average team, little money to spend (although obviously more than we
have) yet they still have the same expectations. True, they should be doing better than what they are doing now, but their squad falls way short of the current top 5.
The Liverpool fans wanted Dalglish. They now have Dalglish. The masses now have their ‘messiah’. Where have we heard that before? If King Kenny does not provide the results expected at Liverpool, as Hodgson clearly didn’t, then they want a big name manager – Hiddink, Rijkard  etc.

To be fair, they have a point. Liverpool are a big club and have big ambitions. Some may say unrealistic expectations, but there’s no way a club like Liverpool shouldn’t be challenging for a Europa League  place, especially when the likes of Sunderland, Bolton and Stoke are  above them.

Sadly for Roy, success at a lower level doesn’t always translate into success at a bigger club. His managerial history is evidence of that.  He has had his managerial successes at ‘underdog’ sides such as Fulham and Switzerland, while his stays at Inter Milan and Blackburn were less impressive.

If the Liverpool fans didn’t think Hodgson has the right credentials  to manage Liverpool (he didn’t and I said that from the very
beginning), I fail to see how Coyle does. He has all of 18 months PL  experience. Coyle is destined for big things, I have no doubt about  that, but he’s still a relative novice at this level. He’s still  learning his trade and, looking round the Liverpool forums, their fans  know this.

The red half of Liverpool have never got over the fact they just arn't as pleasing on the eye as the blue half these days !

If you don’t have the majority of the fans (let’s face it, you can’t please all of the people all of the time) behind your appointment,  you’re always going to face an uphill struggle as those against your  appointment will continue to be negative to save face. ‘We won 4-1 but we were negative’ ring any bells?

In essence, you have to do twice as well in order to win over the sceptics. With Liverpool’s squad the way it is, and the expectation  level as high as it is, I consider that to be almost impossible for any  manager other than Dalglish who will get additional time due to his  legendary status at the club.

Sadly, you only get one shot at managing a ‘big’ club (ask Allardyce  and Rioch etc). Allardyce’s stock couldn’t have been higher when he left The Reebok for the final time in April 2007. In eight years, he had turned Bolton Wanderers from Championship strugglers into European contenders. He even managed a domestic cup final and an impressive interview for the England job for good measure. It took less than eight months at Newcastle to destroy that legacy.

Get the boot from a ‘big’ club, even if it is considered a harsh dismissal, and you could ruin all the good work you have done in your career up to that point. You’re forever finished at that level. True, Coyle has got time on his side, but once you are pigeon holed into a ‘level’, it is very difficult to get out.

Coyle has already been linked with the Arsenal job (it’s amazing what a strong media perception can do for a career). He has had continued success at every club he has been at. His star is definitely on the  rise, but if he were to take the Liverpool job at this stage in his  career, and failed (and with the aforementioned expectancy levels and  squad that was more than likely), he’ll be forever remembered as the  man who was sacked by Liverpool.

His success before Liverpool will forever be overlooked, or dismissed with the attitude that ‘it’s easy  to achieve success with Bolton, Burnley and St. Johnstone, but this is  [insert big club name here]‘.

Mark Hughes in another example; whilst at Blackburn, he was talked as being a candidate to replace Ferguson when he eventually retires from Manchester United.

Following ‘failure’ at Manchester City and he’s now at Fulham. Not to worry, it’s ‘his level’. At least he’ll have so much compensationI think the moral of the story is, if you’re offered a job at a ‘big’ club, be sure you’re ready for it. I’m not sure Coyle is.

If the Liverpool job had been offered to Coyle, I’m sure he’d have taken it. He’s an ambitious man and the possibility of managing a club like Liverpool would surely be too much to turn down.
However, I imagine a club in a better position on the field will come in for Coyle at some point if he stays here. We have the media perception now that we play like Brazil. That will attract potential suitors.

Personally, I think the media perception of Allardyce and his style of football always went against him. He achieved far more with us than Coyle has thus far (although I’m sure that will change if Coyle stays here) yet his name was never linked with Liverpool, much to his obvious (and understandable) irritation.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Spurs are interested in him if ‘Arry gets the England job. That wouldn’t have happened had he got the Liverpool job and, despite their respective histories, I know which job I’d prefer upon leaving Bolton.

Liverpool are a big club in decline. The allure of managing Liverpool is obvious, but the reality is not so great, as Hodgson will no doubt tell you. This is the worst Liverpool team in years. They have no chance of cracking the top 5 for the foreseeable future.

If it were any other circumstances, I’d say Coyle would be mad not to manage them, but with the current team and consistent expectation  levels, I think he’d have been in a no win situation.

Thankfully, for us anyway, Coyle was not put in that position. Liverpool’s owners have gone for Dalglish. To be perfectly honest,  it’s just delaying the inevitable. Other clubs will come in for Coyle if he continues his impressive work with us. He is far too good a manager to stay with us long term. We just need to enjoy his time here and, hopefully when he does move on, he’ll leave us in a good position in the league and perhaps a trophy in the cabinet. He is destined for big things that’s for sure and, at the moment, those things are bigger and better than Liverpool.

-Dave Hallsworth-

The Reebok Stadium. It's been bolted down as a precaution against light fingered visitors

Such things are common for the guests. The death of a neighbour’s cat can trigger a week of mourning, statements in Parliament and a candlelit vigil outside both cathedrals.  However, a moment of sombre reflection is justified this time.  It’s to acknowledge the passing of Liverpool FC as a force in English football.

The league title last came to the red half of Merseyside twenty years ago.  Since then the likes of Graeme Souness, Roy Evans, and most satisfyingly, Rafael Benitez, have presided over a slow, but inexorable decline.

Assessing Benitez when he first arrived in this country wasn’t easy, due to language difficulties.  It was only when his command of English improved, that it became apparent what a tit he was.  The Spaniard spent tens of millions, building a nondescript squad and is just as culpable for the club’s plight as Tom Hicks and George Gillette.

Now there’s Roy Hodgson. When your manager signs Paul Konchesky, you know the aspiration is mid-table mediocrity.

Not that the ex-Fulham man has much to work with. The list of players at Anfield used to be full of household names.  Now, apart from Fernando Torres, and arch diver Steven Gerrard, it comprises has beens, overrated journeymen and anonymous foreigners.

Steven Gerrard in familiar pose

This game will be an interesting test for Bolton.  While Liverpool won’t be challenging for a Champions League place anytime soon, they are still, at least for the moment, regarded as a big club.

Against such opposition, Gary Megson had a never say live attitude.  Last season’s fixture resulted in a 3-2 win for Gerrard & Co.  For some, the turning point was the sending off of Sean Davis, for looking at Lucas Leiva in a funny way.  But the stats told a damning story.  The home side had a mere 19% of possession.

Things are different under Owen Coyle.  His team are way off the finished product, and will be so for several transfer windows.  But there is a spirit and a self-belief that was entirely lacking before the Ginger One was given the boot.

The Whites should have beaten Manchester United and Aston Villa, but were let down by poor finishing. A victory over a fashionable side, even one in freefall is overdue.  Anything less then three points will be a disappointment.

- Richard McCormick

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.

Here’s what I said about Gary Megson on the Unofficial Bolton Wanderers Podcast this week (click on the link below to download the MP3 file or alternatively the transcript is at the bottom of this post.)…

Manny Road on the Unofficial Bolton Wanderers Podcast

The gist is this… for the first time I decided to include a current Bolton Wanderers employee in the Hall of Shame: namely Gary Megson.

This wasn’t an easy decision. Like most fans, I want to support my team, and that includes the manager as well as the players.

I’m also aware that in spite of the abuse thrown at Megson at Blackburn last week, there are a significant number of fans who support him, think he’s doing a good and who think that fans like me should get off his back.

If that’s what you think, then please do state your case in the comment box below. Here’s why I think you’re wrong…

I’ve made it abundantly clear over the last few months that I don’t believe Megson is the right man to manage Bolton. Yes, he’s doing OK – kept us up, has brought in two or three good players etc – but for me it’s not just about results on the pitch or league position.

They’re the things that pundits use to analyse the game (see Stan Collymore here). A supporter’s relationship with his/her club is much more complicated.

It’s about feeling like a part of something. It’s about waking up on a Saturday morning excited at the thought of going to see your team play (even though you know they’re not that good). It’s about feeling like the guys in the white shirts and the man on the touchline in charge of them care just as much as you do… that they’re on your side. They have to embody your irrational emotional attachment.

That’s why Liverpool fans stick by Rafa Benitez even when he wastes money on Robbie Keane. It’s why Arsenal fans continue to support Arsene Wenger, even though the trophies have dried up.

Gary Megson is completely unable to stir any of these emotions in me. Whether it’s the style of play, his comments in the press, his poor track record as a manager, I don’t know. But for whatever reason, he’s sucked the strange and unexplainable joy out of supporting Bolton Wanderers.

He also seems hell bent on creating division. Yes, the fans started. Yes, we never gave him a chance. But nor has Megson ever done enough – on the field partly (Sporting Lisbon springs to mind), but mainly off it (his “pathetic” comments are not the first time he’s slagged off the fans)  – to win his detractors over.

In fact, with his comments last week, he probably made it impossible to ever win them over.

As I said on the podcast, I wouldn’t join in with negative chants towards Megson… and certainly not when the team is 2-1 up, it’s just counter-productive. But when the team is performing as badly as it did at Tottenham earlier this season, I can understand why fans vent their frustration.

And ultimately, what other way have they got to make their feelings known? Should fans just keep on backing their team whatever happens, or if there’s something fundamentally wrong with the club should they seek to change it? I believe it is the latter… although I appreciate that it’s a fine line between showing concern and being self-destructive.

Whatever happens for the rest of this season (I think Megson will probably keep us up fairly comfortably), it is now abundantly clear to me that he has to go in the summer, for the emotional wellbeing of club as much as anything else.

Was I wrong to put Gary Megson in the Hall of Shame? Have your say in the comments below.

Download the latest episode of the Unofficial Bolton Wanderers Podcast in full here.

Here’s what I said on the podcast in full…

“For this month’s Hall of Shame I’m breaking the mould a little bit. I’ve always said before that I would never include anyone currently employed by the club, but I’m recording this just a few hours after it emerged that Gary Megson has labelled Bolton fans “pathetic” following another round of negative chanting aimed at him during the draw at Blackburn last night.

I know that a lot of people think that negative chanting by fans is wrong and personally it’s something I would never do… buy I can understand why others do.

The bottom line, though, is that no matter what the fans throw at you – and whatever the rights and wrongs of that are – you should never turn round and call them pathetic, quite simply because it’s the fans that pay the manager’s wages, and without the fans Bolton Wanderers would be nothing but a pub team.

For me this is unforgivable, especially as it seems like Megson is constantly trying to drive a wedge between the players and the fans.

Most managers would rather soak up the criticism themselves to protect the players, but Megson seems happy to blame anyone but himself.

And that’s why he’s in my Hall of Shame. All we need now is for him to get sacked so that I don’t feel so bad about it.”

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Gary Megson is a nice man, don’t you think? He never slags off his opponents like that nasty Mr Benitez does. And he never discredits other teams, like that horrible Mr Wenger.

Instead, that nice Mr Megson can often be heard singing the praises of his fellow Premier League managers and their teams, usually a day or two before those managers and their teams take three points off Bolton Wanderers.

Fans of those other teams even go on the internet, from time to time, to congratulate us on having such a thoroughly nice man as our manager.

If only that nice Mr Megson could be a little nicer to his own kind. To the people that pay his (probably rather generous) salary.

Instead, he thinks that people who pay £20, £30, sometimes even £40 or £50 to watch his team have no right to criticise them when they throw away two-goal leads. He thinks that supporters who have not seen their team win in over a month should sit in silence as they watch their team capitulate.

He also thinks that Bolton fans should be grateful to have a team that frequently play dour football and rarely show any real willingness or desire to score goals and win games.

In short, he thinks we are – and this was his exact word – “pathetic”.

That’s right. The man who surrendered our place in the Uefa Cup last season, the man who thought Grzegorz Rasiak and Danny Shittu were capable of playing the Premier League, the man who couldn’t be bothered to use a substitute against Everton even though we didn’t look like scoring in a million years, the man who at Fulham and Tottenham this season oversaw two of the worst performances I and many others have ever seen from a Bolton Wanderers team (need I go on?)… he thinks we’re “pathetic”.

Well done, Gary. You just ruined any slim chance you may have had of earning the respect of Bolton fans.

Disagree? Have your say in the comments section below…

The Bolton Wanderers manager needs to start playing a few mind games

Whether it’s Middlesbrough’s impressive youth set up or Liverpool’s title credentials, Gary Megson has made a habit of lavishing praise on the Wanderers’ opponents this season.

In contrast, his proclamations about his own players are almost always downbeat. Take his post match comments about Chris Basham on Saturday. Instead of praising the youngster for an impressive performance against quality opponents, he referred to him as ‘a right back who couldn’t get a game on loan at Rochdale’ on Match of the Day.

Compare this to Martin O’Neill, who was filmed running on to the pitch shouting ‘genius’ to Ashley Young after one of his matchwinning performances earlier this season.

Megson could also learn a trick or two from Rafa Benitez. Of course, what Benitez said about Alex Ferguson was tremendously hypocritical. His main gripe appeared to be that Ferguson has bad-mouthed Liverpool in the press, but Benitez has been just as happy to bad-mouth Bolton in the past: see here and here.

But that’s not the point… they’re all at it. Benitez is just protecting his patch and it’s about time Megson started doing the same. Some may see it as mere pantomime. Some may say that manager’s like Steve Bruce get away without slagging off their opponents.

But when you play in the way Bolton do – i.e. in a way that attracts a lot of criticism from opposition fans, players and managers – then you need someone at the helm who’ll stand up for you like Sam Allardyce did, otherwise the big four will just walk all over you, as they pretty much have with Bolton ever since Allardyce left.

What do you think? Have your say in the comment box below…

There seems to be no doubt who most of the papers would like to win the Premier League this season.

Robbie Keane’s sudden return to form may have ruined their juciest January transfer window story, but there was a definite air of excitement after Liverpool battered Bolton and gave journos hope that they might actually have something a little different to write about come mid-May.

‘It is not only the fans who are starting to believe that this could be the season when Liverpool end their 19-year wait for the title,’ said The Times.

It was all about Keane in The Sun, even if they did blame him for Rafa Benitez’s recent illness.

Even Gary Megson was keen to join the Liverpool love-in in the Express.

The Mirror offered Bolton sympathy, describing them as ‘poor’ (that’s poor as in ‘oh poor you’ rather than poor as in ‘shit’… although they did point out that our defending of set pieces was indeed… shit).

The Guardian were harsher, suggesting that Megson had learned nothing from his failed attempt to nullify Steven Gerrard at the Reebok a month ago.

The Telegraph, on the other hand, put our capitualtion down to the ‘frailties of left-back Jlloyd Samuel’.

The Daily Mail also salivated over both Keane and Liverpool and suggested any chance Bolton may have had disappeared when Kevin Nolan missed a first-half sitter.

The Independent, though, demonstrated just how tame Bolton’s threat was by reporting that after that Nolan effort it took another 82 minutes for us to muster another.

Share your views on the game in the comments below.

You can read the fans’ views on the game here.

1. Gary Megson has lost every games he’s ever managed against Liverpool, conceding 20 goals in six games and scoring just one (in fact, this stat fest contains a gold mine of depressing Liverpool-based stats for Wanderers fans).

2. Bolton have lost their last four games to Liverpool and conceded 12 goals in the process.

3. For a less depressing statistical outlook, visit bwfc.co.uk, who provided ths week’s most pointless stat: today’s referee Alan Wiley has produced 49 yellow cards and two red cards in 17 games this season (if that doesn’t whet your appetitie for a trip to Anfield I don’t know what will).

4. Oh wait a minute, what about this one… the game will kick-off at 5pm Bulgarian time (no, really, someone actually wrote a preview to tell the world that).

5. Looks like Sammy Lee won’t be in charge of Liverpool today as Rafa Benitez looks to return to the touchline following kidney stones.

6. Matthew Taylor and Kevin Nolan both want maximum points for Christmas (presumably they want that all year round, though, right?).

7. Fernando Torres probably won’t be fit to play OR… he could be fit to play… OR he will be on the bench (take your pick).

8. Liverpool are top of the league at Christmas for the first time since 1996, a year when they went on to win… absolutely nothing. And Bolton went on… to get relegated (I can do useless and irrelevant historical information too).

9. Bolton’s recent form under Megson is ‘quietly impressive’ (surely it’s only quiet if you’re not listening?).

10. One thing that’s never quiet is Megson’s ego-stroking of the opposition before every game, this week featuring Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

11. Liverpool fans are hoping we won’t ‘park the bus in front of the goal’.

12. But they still expect to win 2-1.

Think the pundits talk a load of rubbish? You can leave your own preview or prediction in the comment box below.

Bolton Wanderers have now lost all four matches against the big four teams in the Premier League this season.

Yet in all four games they have also been on the end of controversial refereeing decisions, including:

- Emmanuel Eboue’s offside goal for Arsenal being allowed to stand.

- Rob Styles awarding a penalty for Jlloyd Samuel’s challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

- Rob Styles (again) disallowing Gary Cahill’s goal against Liverpool.

- Howard Webb failing to spot two handballs by John Terry against Chelsea yesterday.

Does this suggest that Premier League referees are afraid to give big decisions against the big four?

Does the media furore that Alex Ferguson, Rafa Benitez, Phil Scolari and Arsene Wenger are able to kick up when decisions go against their teams make it more difficult for referees?

Would Bolton have picked up points from any of the above games if decisions had gone their way, or would we have lost them regardless?

Tell us your views in the comment box below.

Fair play to Gary Megson for somehow managing to keep a lid on his anger on the two occasions that Rob Styles has worked his magic on us this season (this occurred to me after watching Neil Warnock’s latest undignified rant over the weekend).

But I fear Megson may be taking the FA’s much talked about Respect campaign a little too literally.

I wrote prior to the Liverpool game that I hoped he would be less complimentary about Liverpool during his team talk with the players than he was in the press, where he lavished praise on Rafa Benitez’s side.

Was Megson showing them too much respect? Judging by our first-half performance, he may well have been.

There’s also a more serious tactical point to be made here. Clearly Megson showed too much respect to Steven Gerrard too, who he man-marked with Fabrice Muamba. It didn’t work: Liverpool ran amok, Muamba was hauled off at half-time and Megson was again forced to admit that his original game plan had totally failed.

I noticed on the Liverpool website that they gave Xabi Alonso the man of the match, and as this match report from The Independent points out, the biggest flaw in Megson’s game plan was that in giving Gerrard so much respect, he showed an ignorance of the amount of influence both Alonso and Javier Mascherano have on making Liverpool tick.

The implication is that while the uneducated layman (that’s you and me) might think Liverpool’s success begins and end with Gerrard, a highly-paid Premier League manager should have the ability to see the bigger picture.

And that, in a nutshell, is why the only person who didn’t get any respect at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday was Megson himself.