ReebokStadium
Champions League Liverpool? You’re Having a Laugh!
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, David Ngog, Mark Davies, Nigel Reo Coker, Premier League | 9 Comments
Saturday saw a blustery evening at the Reebok, but it wasn’t the wind that blew Liverpool away. A new year has, it seems, brought a new Bolton Wanderers with it. A battling, energetic and imaginative display saw The Whites put three past the visitors and take three points off the Merseysiders for the first time since 2006 – when goals from Ivan Campo and Gary Speed put The Reds to the sword. It had been a long time coming, but this game was worth the wait.
Kenny Dalglish waves goodbye to the chance of a top four finish.
At first, it looked as though Bolton were going to make a slow start. Liverpool seemed relaxed and confident, whilst the men in white seemed nervous and gave the ball away far too easily. Liverpool’s dominance lasted all of 3 minutes, and then Wanderers took control of the game. Fabrice Muamba, whose new-found on-the-ball composure has been welcomed by all Bolton fans, fed a short ball to the feet of David N’Gog. N’Gog’s ability with his back to goal is starting to become telling, and his deft flick, whilst holding off the challenge of Martin Skrtle, gave Mark Davies licence to run. As Davies carried the ball forward N’Gog was off and running, forcing Agger to go with him with him and opening-up space in the heart of the Liverpool defence. With Skirtle lumbering in his wake and Agger on the back foot, Davies took full advantage with a trademark ‘jinky’ run giving him a sight of goal. Owen Coyle made comments in the press recently, in which he called on Davies to add goals to his game; Mark was clearly listening. A beautifully placed finish from the midfielder gave Wanderers the lead and sent the Reebok faithful into raptures.
Liverpool were visibly shocked, as were most Bolton fans to be honest, but Wanderers immediately set out to show the early goal was no fluke. Chris Eagles, who had a dreadful time against Utd at Old Trafford, looked like a man with a point to prove, and it was he who would worry Liverpool next. Eagles won the ball from Jose Enrique and set-off in determined fashion. Eagles would trouble Enrique all game with his energy and willingness to run with the ball, and he skipped away from the former Spain U21 international before drilling a shot across the face of goal. If Liverpool fans had seen the first goal as a freak, Eagles’ effort may have knocked them down a peg or two – if nothing else, it shut the usually boisterous Liverpudlian away fans up for some time. Maxi Rodriguez almost gave Liverpool something to sing about, as he got in behind from a long punt by Pepe Reina. It really should have been 1-1, but Maxi somehow contrived to ‘miscontrol’ the ball and then handle, earning Wanderers a freekick. It was a let-off for Wanderers and should have been a wake-up call for a defence playing a high line. › Continue reading
Bolton Wanderers. And a Deal Involving Death
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 | BWFC News | 18 Comments
Sponsorship deals have been the order of the day in the Premier League over the past few days with Manchester United picking up a cool £40 million from DHL for an arrangement involving their training kit, and neighbours City frantically renaming outlying bits of the Etihad stadium, in order to rake in even more dough.
Meanwhile, tucked away in a corner of the club’s official website, was news of a deal between Bolton Wanderers and South Korean firm Hanwha SolarOne, which will lead to a series of advertising campaigns at the Reebok Stadium, featuring that company’s range of solar panels. Inter Milan and Hamburg SV have similar agreements.
The promotion of a clean, sustainable, environmentally friendly method of energy generation seems an ethically sound project to be involved with.
There’s a snag though. Hanwha Group also makes landmines.
Yes, you read that right. Those devices which have a tendency to explode, sometimes thirty years or more after they’ve been laid, leaving victims, frequently children, dead or maimed.
Hanwha Group was founded in 1952 as Hanwha Explosives Inc, and has since grown into a global conglomerate embracing a vast variety of businesses. However, the explosives division is still thriving and continues to peddle landmines as well as cluster munitions and missiles. Unlike the UK, South Korea is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel mines. This leaves Hanwha free to continue that gory branch of its trade.
SungSoo Lee, CSO of Hanwha’s business division was enthusiastic about his latest deal.
“Hanwha Group is proud to support the Bolton Wanderers, one of the most respected Premier League football clubs,” he said.
“Most of all, full attention of Bolton on sustainable world is accordant with the Hanwha Group credentials on social responsibility addressing climate change, energy disparity, and energy security and scarcity on a global scale.”
It’s yet to be explained how that vision fits in with the sale of products that can blow a human being to bits.
- Richard McCormick
Why Coyle shouldn’t make another ‘sideways’ move
Monday, January 10th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Bruce Rioch, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce, Sammy Lee | 5 Comments
Before we get started, I want to make one thing clear; to all the bitter Burnley fans who may read this, I fully expect Coyle to accept the Liverpool job if, and that’s a big if at the time of writing, it is offered to him. That is the nature of football. We saw it with Rioch and Allardyce; you saw it with Coyle and.. erm… Coyle
That said, while I don’t for one second think that Coyle would turn down Liverpool, they are after all a massive club with huge tradition and a great history, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think he wouldn’t regret it six months down the line.
I’m sure we wouldn’t stand in Coyle’s way if Liverpool does make an approach. It would be a fruitless endeavour anyway. Once a player / manager / assistant manager / coach / groundsmen / tea lady etc have made up their mind that they wish to leave, the best thing the club can do is try to get the maximum amount for them.
king Kenny in high spirites on his return to Anfield, with a ermmm his assistants
That is why, if Liverpool do come calling, we’ll be powerless to keep Owen. I’m not naive; Coyle is an ambitious manager and his career aims will mean that he’ll outgrow Bolton, just as he outgrew Burnley.
I don’t expect him to stay at Bolton for his entire career and I’ve always been prepared for the fact that, if a big club came in for him, he would leave. The consolation in that logic was that, in order for a big club to come calling, Coyle had to be a success at Bolton.
He has; 7th in the league going into the new year, despite a little, and probably understandable considering the squad, wobble in form and results of late.
I have just been informed by my Dad that Roy Hodgson has been sacked by Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish has been appointed until the end of the season › Continue reading
What a difference a year makes….?
Monday, December 27th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Bruce Rioch, Football Association, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Premier League, Premiership referees | 1 Comment
I didn’t get round to replying to Josh’s thread about what a difference a year makes, so I’ll stick my thoughts here.
(incidentally, when fans discuss the golden era of Bolton Wanderers, for me our second greatest period – after the 1920′s – is 30 Dec 2009 to 8 Jan 2010)
I’ll start by saying I’m a huge fan of Owen Coyle. In my opinion, this is the best managerial appointment we have ever made. Whether we go on to have the success to justify that statement remains to be seen and depends on a whole range of factors, but for me there has never previously been an available candidate more perfect for the job. I’ve stated my reasons for this in great depth many times in the past on the old official board and others, so I won’t go over old ground.
we're all a happy bunch here...
All that said, my take on the first year under OC is that if anything the “Coyle revolution” has gone slightly slower than I expected / would have liked.
To evaluate the changes, it seems reasonable to summarise based on some key areas: our league position, the style of football, spirit / morale within the club, and mood / enthusiasm of the supporters.
League position:
A massive “pass” for OC thus far. Taking over in the bottom three and guiding us comfortably to safety last season was a solid start, but it’s our lofty heights this season that really catches the eye. It’s pretty safe to say that we would be nowhere near 6th at this stage of the season under the previous manager. I’d also say it would be unlikely that we would be anywhere near this position now if BSA had never left (or worse – returned).
However, we shouldn’t get too carried away yet. We have put ourselves in an excellent position to give us a chance of a top 8 finish, but there’s a long way to go yet. Other teams have games in hand, and our position could look a bit different after the next couple of games.
We’ve also benefited from a season where some of the fancied sides have started poorly. Nobody would have predicted at the start of the season that Liverpool, Everton AND Villa would all be outside the top 8 at this stage of the season. › Continue reading
The Spuds are Mashed at the Reebok
Sunday, November 7th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Fabrice Muamba, Kevin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Martin Petrov, Matt Taylor, Stuart Holden | 2 Comments
Sometimes it’s easy being a Bolton fan. Not often mind, and such moments are usually interspersed with ones of exasperation and even despair. But that just makes the good times sweeter when they arrive.
Last week Owen Coyle’s men lost to the poorest Liverpool team in decades. That seemed a long time ago as they demolished a Spurs side who had ripped Inter Milan a new nether orifice in mid-week.
Yet in the first half, that outcome seemed unlikely. There was no lack of effort or belief against Gerrard & Co, but there was an absence of guile that proved costly. The same seemed to apply in the opening period against Tottenham.
All that changed, in a pivotal moment, just after the half-hour mark and it was down to defensive ineptitude, inadequate goal-keeping and a linesman who should have gone to Specsavers.
Fabrice Muamba, robbed a dawdling Sandro and found Matt Taylor, who fed the ball to Kevin Davies. The Wanderers captain was in an offside position, and he didn’t strike the ball that cleanly, but Heurelho Gomes, in the Tottenham net, got down to it with all the speed of someone with an arthritic hip. The home side were one up, and the complexion of the game changed for good.
'Arry's Not 'Appy
Had the visitors gone in level, Harry Redknapp would probably have stayed with his starting eleven. Instead he brought on Roman Pavlyuchenko for Wilson Palacios in an attempt to open the game up. It worked, but not in the way that ‘Arry had envisioned.
‘After we went one down, we went 4-4-2 and were as open as a barn door,’ said the man with the saggiest jowls in football, post-match. It was an accurate assessment, although he missed the words ‘and it was all my fault’ off the end of the sentence.
Ten minutes into the second half and Bolton extended their lead with the best passing movement of the game so far. Lee to Taylor to Elmander to Gretar Steinsson, who finished with the touch of a striker.
Steinsson had been expected to be busy at the other end of the pitch with Planet of the Apes extra, Gareth Bale. The Spurs winger had a quiet game, as befits a man who had been hyped into outer space by a fawning media, but he did show moments of quality in the first half. › Continue reading
Bolton’s Gary Cahill Joins Stoke City
Sunday, October 17th, 2010 | BWFC People, Gary Cahill, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies | 4 Comments
Opinions are still divided after Saturday’s game between Bolton and Stoke City at the Reebok.
Should Stoke have had a penalty? Was the sending off of Ivan Klasnic harsh?
Should the Neanderthal Stoke fans who terrorised women and children be inhumanly euthanized? Should they be joined by the Bolton chavs who mouthed off and then ran off leaving others to deal with the consequences of their actions?
Some things can be agreed on though. Kevin Davies, Johan Elmander and Gary Cahill play for Bolton, while Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Shawcross and Kenwyne Jones are in the employ of Stoke City.
Not according to the News of the World.
The quotes in italics are produced word for word from Adrian Milledge’s deliciously confused match report.
Rupert Murdoch. Worth billions. Employs numpties.
‘The 33-year old, set up by Pennant’s outswinging corner, should have doubled Bolton’s lead in first-half stoppage time but headed wide.’
That 33-year old was Kevin Davies, who was presumably trying to score from inside his own penalty area. Neat if you can manage it.
‘Cahill completely snuffed out any threat from Davies and his strike partner, the in-form Johan Elmander.’
No wonder Davo had a lean day. Johan too.
‘And with Shawcross keeping a firm hand on striker Kenwyne Jones, the goal came from a winger.’
This marking players from your own side lark seems to be catching on.
Ready for the best bit? Here you go.
‘…aside from Delap’s long throws and some teasing corners sent in by Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant, Stoke played the ball on the floor.’
Maybe Mr Milledge watched the game whilst upside down. That would account for his mental disintegration.
Kevin Davies – A true Legend
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, El-Hadji Diouf, Football Association, Gary Megson, Ivan Campo, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Nat Lofthouse, Nicolas Anelka, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Youri Djorkaeff | 2 Comments
Legend: it’s a word thrown round all too readily it appears these days. Scrolling down my news feed on Facebook last week, I found one friend bestowing legendary status on Javier Hernandez following his late winner for Manchester United away at Valencia. I’m sure he was caught up in the moment, or at least I hope so, and I imagine in the cold light of day, he wouldn’t be quite so keen to put Hernandez up with the ‘Kings of the Stretford End’ such as Cantona, Law and Charlton just yet although, considering the fact that the guy probably couldn’t find Old Trafford with a sat nav and more than likely believes that football was invented in 1993, nothing would surprise me.super
A proud moment for Super-kev
It’s not just fans of other clubs who seem keen to claim certain questionable players as ‘legends’. El Hadji Diouf has achieved legendary status to some Bolton fans, despite the fact that his consistency could often be called in to question and, regardless of his ‘love’ for the club, he felt the overwhelming urge just prior to our biggest match of the season at home to Sunderland to announce to the national press that, irrespective of the result of said match, he would be leaving Bolton for a big club on the continent. Now, I’ve visited Sunderland in the past and, while it does seem like another country, and sometimes another world, it sure as hell isn’t in Spain!
So what does constitute a legend? Well, in my humble opinion, in order for the word legend to have the impact it deserves, it has to be limited to certain players who have had a profound impact on the club. We have had some world class players grace the famous white shirt of Bolton Wanderers, particularly over the last ten years: Jay Jay Okocha – so good they named him twice; Youri Djorkaeff – World Cup winner in 1998 and European Championship winner in 2000; Ivan Campo – two time Champions League winner; Fernando Hierro – three time Champions League winner and five time winner of La Liga; Eidur Gudjohnsen – two Premier League titles with Chelsea and a La Liga title and Champions League winner with Barcelona; Stelios Giannakopoulos – European Championship winner with Greece in 2004; Nicolas Anelka – Premier League, FA and Champions League winner with Arsenal and Real Madrid respectively prior to his time with us, not to mention adding further Premier League and FA Cup success with Chelsea following his time at The Reebok. In total; ten domestic league titles, seven Champions Leagues, two European Championships, two FA Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. Not to mention, the small number of 457 International caps. In short, these guys have won it all. › Continue reading
Burnley Football Club Just Keeps on Giving as Bolton Snatch a Point
Sunday, August 29th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies | 1 Comment
It remains to be seen whether former Burnley manager Owen Coyle will make a success of his time at the Reebok, but another recruit from the poor relations in East Lancashire made a more immediate impact, as Bolton snatched an unlikely point against Birmingham City.
Player, shirt, grin, with zimmer frame cunningly concealed
Robbie Blake had done nothing, apart from look old, after he replaced Johan Elmander, but his free kick that gave the Whites a share of the points was a peach. Ben Foster in the Birmingham goal couldn’t have been further from the ball if he’d been outside the stadium.
Five minutes into the second half things had looked grim for the home side, after Craig Gardner put Birmingham two up. By this stage, they were down to ten men, Jussi Jaaskelainen having been sent off for bitch slapping Roger Johnson. The incident will be a prime candidate for inclusion in a future instalment of Football’s Most Embarrassing Moments. That left Adam Bodan, wearing a shirt almost the exact colour of his hair to make a league debut under the most difficult of circumstances.
Johnson appeared to be at the centre of everything. Early on he put the visitors ahead from a James McFadden cross, but was at fault when bundling Kevin Davies to the floor with twenty minutes remaining. Davies coolly slotted the resulting penalty home.
Bolton huffed and puffed to little effect, a Johan Elmander effort being the closest thing to a chance, but they were rescued as referee Kevin Friend lived up to his name. A clash between Gary Cahill and Barry Ferguson appeared to be six of one and half-a-dozen of the other, but a free kick was given to the home side just outside the penalty area, and Blake curled it brilliantly over the wall to give his new side a share of the spoils.
It’s Time to Have Stuart Hall Stuffed and Mounted
Monday, August 16th, 2010 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Johan Elmander | 4 Comments
A game between Bolton and Fulham was never likely to be a classic, this being the fifth 0-0 draw in ten fixtures between the sides at the Reebok. Maybe that’s why only 20,352 turned up for the first game of the season. Given the weather, there were more enjoyable things to do.
Expecting Owen Coyle to immediately transform Bolton’s dysfunctional game into something more dynamic would be foolish. He is after all, working mainly with the squad that his predecessor assembled in order to play dull football. But more evidence that he’s moving in the right direction is required.
The centre back pairing coped easily with Bobby Zamora, but the defence as a whole is still too easy to get behind, particularly on the side that should be occupied by Gretar Steinsson. Up front, the Whites were toothless, incapable of putting the opposition under sustained pressure.
The most damning criticism of Gary Megson, is that his players looked as if they were strangers to each other. After a pre-season with Coyle and a whole host of friendly games, little progress has been made in that department. Can we have some movement please?
A scoreless draw, against a side notoriously poor on their travels is not a satisfactory result (Fulham won one game and lost eleven away last season.) Especially with a difficult September to come in which the points tally is likely to be zero.
Worse was to come for those Wanderers fans who tuned into Five Live on the way home where the BBC demonstrated their continuing contempt for Bolton by giving the match summariser’s gig to Stuart Hall.
Hall is many things, an irritating wanker being one of them, but he’s no football reporter. The use of language is bad enough. It reminds you of On Again, On Again, the song that Jake Thackray wrote about his wife. › Continue reading
Bolton’s Greatest Ever Manager …
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Bruce Rioch, Premier League | 3 Comments
In reality, we do not have an outstanding list of candidates for our greatest ever manager. We’ve only had 23 full-time managers. Of these, you can pretty much discount dismiss Tom Mather, who was manager throughout WWI, and the short spells of Jimmy Meadows and Sammy Lee and even shorter (in duration) reign of Jimmy McIlroy.
I'll blow all my rivals out the water......!
We can also discount the fledgling tenure of current manager Owen Coyle, and Roy McFarland’s strange half-season spell as co-manager.
This leaves seventeen full-time managers who held the position for a season or more, but includes short-ish unsuccessful spells for Nat Lofthouse, Stan Anderson, George Mulhall, and Charlie Wright, all of less than two years.
Taking these out, we are now down to thirteen contenders.
Of these thirteen, I would immediately dismiss six as candidates.
John Somerville and Will Settle managed us in the early part of the twentieth century, and during their tenures we were the 17th best and 14th best team in England respectively. Given that there were only two divisions and forty league clubs by the end of Settle’s tenure, the fact that we were in the top half of the Football League does little to enhance either manager’s claim to greatness. Additionally, Somerville managed to get us relegated four times between 1899 and 1910. › Continue reading
Useful links
Tags
Search Manny Road
