Jlloyd Samuel feels nice and rested… but will it do him any good against West Ham this weekend?

Jlloyd Samuel seems to have become Bolton Wanderers’ official spokesman during this international/FA Cup fallow period. A whole host of Samuel-based stories – not all of them especially fascinating, it has to be said – have kept the Wanderers news pages churning out copy during this terminally-slow-news couple of weeks.

One of Samuel’s more, ahem, interesting opinions was that Bolton would benefit from the break, a claim that immediately set alarm bells ringing in my head, with the memory of the supposed benefits of resting players against Sporting Lisbon last season still relatively fresh in the memory.

So just how accurate is Samuel in claiming the Wanderers will benefit from this break?

I looked back at the Whites’ performances following international breaks going back to the start of last season, and this is what I found…

Following the six international breaks last season, Bolton won two (one against Manchester United, to be fair) and lost four.

So far this season there have been four international breaks, with Bolton losing two, drawing one and winning one.

Which, if my calculations are correct, means we have a 30 per cent success rate… not exactly a solid basis for Samuel’s optimism.

Given the relatively low number of players that Bolton send on international duty, should we have a better record following these rest periods? Or does this just show that the idea that players play too many games these days is a nonsense?

Tell us your views in the comments below…

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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.

In particular, Kevin Nolan’s departure would now seem to leave a hole in the Wanderers’ midfield, in spite of Mark Davies’ impressive home debut against Spurs. The Bolton News said that Rangers’ Barry Ferguson was the man Megson had earmarked to fill Nolan’s boots, but in the end the Scottish club weren’t interested in selling either him or Pedro Mendes, another midfield target. The same was true of Portsmouth’s Sean Davis.

The Wanderers faced a different problem in their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso: a lack of cash, although many papers and websites continued to link Veloso with a move to Bolton even after Megson had said the deal was dead on Match of the Day.

Outs
Failing to field the full quota of subs at Arsenal in early January meant Bolton were never likely to offload too many players this January. Nolan’s departure to Newcastle came as a shock to many though, including some of the players. Heidar Helguson’s move to QPR caused less distress.

The key statistic here, though, is that for the second year running Bolton have made a profit in the January transfer window, despite Megson claiming he did have money to spend. And for the second year running we have sold – in the eyes of many – our most influential player (although Kevin Davies might have something to say about that).

Shaking it all abouts
A move for Henrik Larsson never materialised, and rumours of Fred’s imminent arrival at the Reebok Stadium also turned out to be pie in the sky. Ditto for striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and Marco Zorro.

The key questions that arise from all this are as follows:

1. If Megson had money to spend, why is it that he failed to bring in more players?

2. Is it Megson’s fault for not making Bolton an attractive enough proposition for players; is it Phil Gartside’s fault for not making even more money available for the likes of Veloso; or is it just unfortunate that other clubs weren’t willing to sell?

3. Given no-one else was brought in after his departure, was selling Nolan to Newcastle a bad move?

4. Does making a profit in the transfer window represent a lack of ambition or good business sense?

5. Is the January transfer window a welcome distraction or a farcical circus that should be abolished?

If you have the answers to any of these questions, please share your wisdom in the comment box below…

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The ins, the outs and the shaking it all abouts at Bolton Wanderers this January transfer window

Ins
The Guardian estimates that we have £5 million to spend, which is why Joey Barton (thank God), Jimmy Bullard (another person who thinks Phil Brown is a better bet than Gary Megson) and several others (see shaking it all abouts below) will not be donning the white shirt any time soon.

Instead, Megson will be searching the bargain basement bucket for the remainder of this season’s January transfer window, for example…

Swindon Town striker Ian Cox is wanted by Bolton and, er Barnsley and Huddersfield (to be fair Spurs and Fulham are also being linked). Other cheap options could be Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland), Szabolcs Huszt (Hannover) and Mark Davies (Wolves).

A more exciting option might be Sebastien Puygrenier’s Zenit St Petersburg team-mate Pavel Pogrebnyak, who is a striker. Surely he’d be a better option than Darius Vassell, Kevin Doyle or Marlon Harewood, anyway. Or would he?

Outs
Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia has decided he doesn’t want Danny Shittu (must have got round to watching that tape of him playing), but will Sam Allardyce come to the rescue of the increasingly unsettled Shittu?

Other players who might need to leave to make way for others are Ricardo Vaz Te (surely the injury means he’ll be around until the summer), Tamir Cohen (no great loss) and Jlloyd Samuel (a more surprising rumour).

Liberian youngster David Gbemie has been shipped out to the mighty Burscough FC on loan, which I’m guessing means he won’t be making the move to the first time, like, ever. Similarly, Michael Burns has left for Carlisle to team up with a host of other former Wanderers.

Shaking it all abouts
Bolton have apparently sent ‘a delegation’ to Portugal to sign Sporting Lisbon striker midfielder Miguel Veloso for a club record £12 million. Would we have taken on Ariza Makukula’s wages if we were about to break the bank for another striker? I doubt it. Besides, Veloso didn’t seem too convinced by the delegation according to this.

Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards – once a rumoured target for Chelsea – doesn’t seem too happy by a prospective move to the Reebok either.

Another defender who has been linked with Bolton but is now likely to go elsewhere is Hearts’ Christophe Berra, who seems Sunderland bound.

Perhaps Turkish centre-half Gokhan Zan is more likely? But with five centre-halves already on the books – and a move for West Ham’s Calum Davenport already abandoned – surely Megson’s priorities will lie elsewhere, unless he can offload the Shittu. Ditto for Rangers’ Madjid Bougherra.

A midfielder would now seem to be the main priority, but talk of Wolves’ Michael Kightly has gone quiet, Axel Witsel of Standard Liege is surely too expensive at £8 million, it’s game over in the race for Bullard and Olivier Dacourt would rather play in the Italian second division with Parma, it would seem.

What do you think? Have your say below…

Over the last week or so I’ve been counting down my favourite 10 goals, games and players of 2008. You can see the results here.

But in the interests of fairness and balance I thought it only right to reflect on some of the low points of 2008 too and use them as new year’s resolutions for 2009…

1. If the January transfer window proves frustrating, don’t panic buy third-rate Championship strikers like Grzegorz Rasiak.

2. Don’t allow fans to pay hundreds of pounds for a Uefa Cup tie at Sporting Lisbon and then put out a reserve team (OK, so we’re unlikely to see much European action in 2009, but a bit of effort in the FA Cup would be a good place to start).

3. Don’t lose 3-2 to Arsenal when you were 2-0 up and playing against 10 men.

4. If you’re fighting for your lives at the bottom of the table, don’t get battered 4-0 at Aston Villa.

5. If you think you need another centre-half in the squad, don’t waste £2 million on third-rate Championship defenders like Danny Shittu.

6. If you fail in the FA Cup, let’s have a bash at the Carling Cup… therefore don’t capitulate at home with a half-hearted effort against lower league teams like Northampton.

7. Don’t play Kevin Nolan, Gavin McCann, Joey O’Brien and Fabrice Muamba all in the same midfield at the same time ever again.

8. If you do play them, expect that your negativity may prompt some fans to call you names and question your ability to do your job.

9. If it’s 0-0 against Everton at home after 80 minutes, consider making a substitution.

10. Don’t assume that defeat is inevitable against the top four.

Share your own Bolton Wanderers new year’s resolutions in the comment box below.

Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers discussion forums made of the 1-0 home defeat to Wigan:

- So we saved our energy against Liverpool for that performance?

- Gary Megson’s comments after the Liverpool game now look even more ridiculous.

- The whole team was terrible… Megson got his plans for the Christmas games totally wrong.

- We lost to Wigan last year after throwing the Sporting Lisbon match and we lost to them this year after throwing the Liverpool game… when will Megson learn?

- Wigan deserved to win but only because they were the better of two awful teams.

- Wigan were faster, fitter and more committed.

- It was a poor display but the ref and the linesman cost us by not giving Danny Shittu’s goal.

- Apart from Shittu, the team played with absolutely no passion, which is unforgivable. Shittu was our man of the match.

- Andy O’Brien, on the other hand, has to go and he has to go now. He cost us three points single-handedly.

- Kevin Nolan does not have the engine to play in a Premier League midfield. Let him to go to Blackburn.

- It’s no surprise Kevin Davies didn’t play well after Megson messed with his head by dropping him against Liverpool.

- At least he puts some effort in though, unlike Johan Elmander who has barely broken sweat over Christmas.

- The atmosphere was terrible… the drummers and the singing stand don’t work.

- It’s going to get worse before it gets better… because our next two games are against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Sources: BBC 606, The Bolton News, The Wanderer, Bolton Wanderers Mad, Rivals, Bolton Banter, Burnden Aces.

Disagree? Leave your comments below…

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup takes place today at 2.15pm. Wanderers have been given the lucky number seven in the draw.

Recent results have bought Gary Megson enough time for us to now assume that he will still be manager of Bolton Wanderers by the time the third round comes round in January.

And after last season’s surrender at Sporting Lisbon in the Uefa Cup, when Megson fielded a weakened team, the FA Cup will give him a chance to redeem himself with supporters.

There really are no excuses this time, with no Uefa Cup commitments and after being dumped out of the Carling Cup by Northampton at the earliest opportunity.

Portsmouth’s success in the competition last season should give hope to clubs like Bolton that they do have a chance of winning it too.

Personally, I would rather win the FA Cup and be relegated than finish 10th and get knocked out of the Cup in the third round, but I know the board won’t see it like that for financial reasons.

But the board have also shown great willingness to reconnect with the needs of the fans this season, so let’s hope Phil Gartside instructs Megson to go for it regardless of where we are in the league come January.

After all, the defeat at Wigan following the Lisbon surrender demonstrated that resting players is no guarantee of winning the next game.

It’s a long time since we had a decent Cup run (eight years?), and taking the Cup seriously would give Megson a good way of differentiating himself from Sam Allardyce, who always saw the FA Cup as secondary once we got into the Premier League.

It might just win over a few more fans too, especially those who have found it hard to forgive him for his team selection in Lisbon.

Do you want Bolton to take the FA Cup seriously this season? Have your say in the comments below.

And in case Gary needs a reminder of the romance of the Cup, here it is…

[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pldp3vIhHME]

Tapping the phone call between Gary Megson and Rob Styles on Monday, when the whistle-happy referee phoned the Bolton Wanderers manager to apologise for giving Manchester United a penalty on Saturday, would have made interesting listening.

Megson made it clear after the game on Saturday that he was only interested in an apology from Styles if it was a public one. He said:

I don’t want him to ring me up. I would have more respect from him if he just holds his hands up and says he was wrong.

As Gordon Sharrock points out in The Bolton News, keeping the apology private suggests Styles is trying to save his own neck rather than clearing the air in any meaningful way.

Nevertheless, I would have thought that Megson is the last man to pass judgment on Styles when it comes to taking responsibility for your actions.

Perhaps Megson would like to show Styles how it’s done by making a public apology for the following:

1. Fielding an under-strength team against Sporting Lisbon last season when thousands of Wanderers fans had paid hundreds of pounds to travel to Portugal in the hope of seeing their team progress in the Uefa Cup.

2. Allowing his team to be knocked out of the Carling Cup without even a hint of a fight against Northampton earlier this season.

3. Continuing to play Gavin McCann when Mustapha Riga has looked about a million times better on the rare occasions he’s been given a chance.

4. Criticising the fans for making mountains out of mole hills.

5. Criticising the players for being ‘one dimensional’, despite the fact that he picks a teams with three defensive midfielders in them.

There’s probably more. Feel free to add your own in the comments below…

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It’s sometimes difficult to explain why so many Bolton fans see the early to mid-nineties as the golden age, even though the last few years have – in theory – been even more successful.

I think part of the romance of that era was the idea of taking on the world and conquering it against all the odds. There was an ‘anything is possible’ attitude at that time that was epitomised by those great FA Cup performances against Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa and this one in 1994, when goals from John McGinlay, Jason McAteer and Andy Walker helped knock out the holders Arsenal.

Seven and a bit years in to our current Premier League life, the novelty has definitely worn off. Then the Uefa Cup came along to reinvigorate us, but Gary Megson didn’t share our dreams. His team selection in Lisbon was more ‘anything is impossible’.

Ahead of what’s likely to be another 10-men behind-the-ball, attack-at-your-peril performance from Megson’s Bolton Wanderers against Arsenal this afternoon, now seemed like a good time to remember the days when we used to scare the life out of big teams with energetic, attacking football.

The club in its current incarnation was built on the back of nights like this. So when Megson complains about supporters getting on his and the team’s back, he should know that it’s not necessarily just about results, or even performances. It’s about the life and the optimism being sucked out of the club by a manager who has failed to understand what Bolton Wanderers is all about.

We don’t win European Cups and Premier League titles, and we don’t expect to. So please Gary, give us something else to get excited about.

These were the days…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3e6kNpPPXc]

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There was one interesting line in The Bolton News’ preview of the Carling Cup tie against Northampton. Amongst the usual run-of-the-mill quotes about Gary Megson ‘setting his sights on glory’, the paper’s reporter wrote:

Megson was forced to field a weakened team in the UEFA Cup last season as Wanderers battled for their Premier League lives at home.

That’s funny, I don’t remember anyone holding a gun to Megson’s head that night at Sporting Lisbon. Who exactly was doing this ‘forcing’? It certainly wasn’t the Bolton Wanderers fans who paid good money to watch their team surrender their shot at European glory.

Apparently Megson is ‘still haunted’ by what happened in Lisbon… he’s not the only one!

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In The Guardian’s season preview for Bolton Wanderers, author Scott Murray writes:

Megson’s men will do enough to ensure a successful campaign – given that success round these parts is defined solely by survival.

Pretty conclusive you might think, except that the same article also predicts the Wanderers will finish 18th. Apparently this is because that’s taken from an average of all the paper’s hacks’ predictions… so why not get one of the doom-mongers to write the piece then? At least one of them could have justified the prediction.

The description of Johan Elmander’s prospects in the Premier League is just as useless:

His two seasons at Toulouse were generally regarded a success – he reached double figures in both campaigns and was a firm crowd favourite – but plenty of players have shone in Ligue 1 only to come unstuck in England. It could go either way.

Full marks to Murray, though, for sticking the boot in to Gary Megson’s team selection against Sporting Lisbon in the Uefa Cup last season.

European qualification, certainly, is way beyond the reach of Megson’s side, but then nobody wants to clutter up next season’s schedule with glory fixtures, do they?

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