Spurs
The Strange and Confusing World of Phil Gartside
Monday, December 5th, 2011 | BWFC News | 14 Comments
Smiley Phil
“I’ve got to say, that Stuart Parker’s one of my favourite players, but if he’s going to score from there he’s one hell of a player.” The words came from Bolton chairman Phil Gartside who was speaking on the BBC’s Five Live, in the wake of an entirely predictable thrashing at Tottenham Hotspur.
Who Stuart Parker is, hasn’t yet been established.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Gary Cahill was sent off for legging up Scott Parker after his clumsy touch had given the Spurs midfielder a run on goal, albeit from a somewhat unlikely position.
By the time he spoke to Mark Chapman on the Beeb, Gartside was in a forgiving frame of mind.
“We had a game against Stoke the other week. I know the Stoke chairman Peter Coates described Howard Webb as disgraceful. I’m not going to say that about Stuart Atwell,” he commented.
Grumpy Phil
You’re not? How kind. Oh, hold on. Wind the clock back half an hour or so, and here’s what Gartside told Greater Manchester Radio.
“The refereeing decision, to quote Peter Coates, when he said about Howard Webb and the decision at Bolton, is an absolute disgrace.
“The authorities will look at that and my statement, that the referee’s a disgrace, is probably questionable, but we’ve had some bad decisions this season.”
After the softening of his position on air, Garty returned to grumpy mode on the way home, just after passing through Sandbach.
“Get a life and look at the injuries,” he tweeted from his iPhone to one supporter who had suggested that taking 9 points from a possible 42 made it hard to ‘keep the faith’.
Maybe Phil’s hormonal. Or perhaps there’s more than one of him and one Phil doesn’t know what the other’s doing. That might explain a few things.
Nasty Phil.
- Richard McCormick
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Phil Gartside: “A Cheat, a Liar and a Fraudster”
Gary Cahill to Leave – In Exchange for a Truck Load of Players
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Cahill, Kevin Davies, Richard McCormick | 2 Comments
The long running Gary-Cahill-to-leave-but-we-don’t-know-how-much-for-and-where-to continues this morning with the skunks in the press being particularly inventive.
Eboue flys, without assistance from an airline
Matt Law, in an ‘exclusive’ for the Daily Express, figures that Arsenal will offer Henri Lansbury, Carlos Vela, Armand Traore and Emmanuel Eboue as part of a deal for Bolton’s star centre back.
This will be unwelcome news for Eboue, who was involved in a spat with Kevin Davies at the Reebok in 2006 and has never quite recovered. The Ivorian international has already catered for this eventuality, obtaining a Belgian passport to make his detection more difficult. He was last seen on the M25, heading for Heathrow, with final destination unknown.
Across town at Spurs, Harry Redknapp is prepared to trade Sebastien Bassong, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton according to the Daily Mail. This motley crew is worth £17 million apparently, matching Cahill’s asking price. However, if Jenas is excluded, the value of the players offered rises to £20 million.
If it’s ok with Messrs Wenger and Redknapp, we’d rather have the money, thanks.
- Richard McCormick
Follow @RMc2407
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
Will the Real Bolton Wanderers Please Stand Up?
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle, Stuart Holden, Zat Knight | 6 Comments
And so it ends. A season of thrilling highs and crushing lows; flowing football and the Megsonesque; stirring fightbacks and feeble surrenders; fine home form but the worst away record in the league. Will the real Bolton Wanderers please stand up?
The campaign has ended with a small black cloud hanging over the Reebok and a genuine fear amongst fans of what might happen next time around, after five defeats on the bounce and a disastrous last day that saw the club drop five places in the Premiership and lose over £4 million in bonuses.
Martin Petrov finishes off Spurs, eight seconds after the ball had been on the edge of Bolton's penalty area.
It seems a long time ago that the Whites were sweeping aside Spurs, Wolves and Newcastle in quick succession with the sort of pass and move football that supporters had been longing to see. The roar of anticipation as the side broke from defence hadn’t been heard since the promotion season of 1997.
There were special goals too, the result of both individual and collective brilliance. Johan Elmander’s triple turn on a sixpence at Wolves that left four defenders needing to have their internal organs unplaited; Stuart Holden finishing off a move involving twelve passes in the same game; Mark Davies starting and finishing a move that saw a late equaliser against Blackpool; Elmander skipping around Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul to complete a passing sequence that started on the half-way line; Holden’s half volley at home to Blackburn that put a stop to Sam Allardyce’s victory jig on the touchline, and his managerial tenure at that club.
Lee heads the winner at Birmingham. It was going to be our year.
The FA Cup run was long overdue and much appreciated, even if it did end in disaster. Beating three Premier League teams away from the Reebok is no mean feat, and victory at Birmingham City was the best away day Wanderers fans had had in years.
After beating Newcastle, there was a slump in form and another, more significant one, in the final games. In both cases, Stuart Holden’s absence was the key factor. The American’s astute reading of the game and his ability in recovering possession after his colleagues had lost it, covered up a major problem with Bolton’s midfield organisation. There wasn’t any.
Failing to deprive the opposition of space in that vital area isn’t a luxury that any top flight side can afford, yet Owen Coyle didn’t come anywhere near to remedying the problem. Coyle has a different idea of how football should be played than Sam Allardyce, but he could learn a thing or two in that respect, from the man who used to occupy his chair.
The manager’s persistence with Zat Knight at the expense of David Wheater was also a puzzle, as the new signing seemed to gel better with the rest of the defence. One wondered if Knight had footage of the supposedly tee-total Scot doing unnatural things with the club mascot, whilst swigging from a bottle of Buckfast.
Oh no it wasn't.
After events of the last couple of months, the Bolton boss doesn’t quite have the God-like status he enjoyed before, with some wondering if he is too inflexible to be a truly great manager. Time will tell no doubt, especially if he is afforded the funds to make the squad truly his own over the summer months.
The habit of gifting points to teams in desperate need of them was seriously irritating, the worst instance being the visit of Sunderland. The Wearsiders hadn’t scored away from home since January when they arrived at the Reebok in May, and had no recognised strikers available. So there was a grim inevitability about their 2-1 win, with Bolo Zenden running the show after stopping off for his pension on the way to the game.
Liverpool under Roy Hodgson were the worst they’d been for decades, yet secured two wins. Chelsea were in dismal form on meeting the Whites but managed the same. Relegation threatened Blackburn were grateful for the easy three points at Ewood Park after not winning for months, as were Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, although it wasn’t enough to save them.
Has there been progress overall? It can be argued either way. More points have been gained than last term, with fewer goals conceded and the highest number scored since Bolton returned to the Premier League in 2001. Yet the finishing position is exactly the same as last year and one place lower than Gary Megson managed in his one full season.
There has been a glimpse of what Bolton Wanderers could be, tempered by harsh reality that comes from a squad lacking in depth. The season may be over, but the next mission, one that involves building a side to compete at the top level for an eleventh straight year is already underway.
- Richard McCormick
Champagne on ice
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Lee Chung-Yong, Owen Coyle | 6 Comments
Harry Redknapp stated prior to the Arsenal game that, if Spurs were victorious in the North London derby, his Tottenham side could win the Premier League. His statement was widely ridiculed, though not quite as widely as it should have been, not due to the idea that Spurs could win their first league title in 50 years, but because Spurs hadn’t won such a fixture since 1993. Thirty minutes in and ‘Arry’s pre-match boast was looking even more ridiculous as the distance between the pretenders and the elite could not have been more stark. However, 60 minutes later and, following a miraculous turnaround, Spurs fans were toasting their first win at their rival’s home in seventeen years. Once the three o’clock fixtures finished, Redknapp was considered almost clairvoyant. Chelsea’s defeat at St. Andrews meant that Spurs were now just six points away from the league leaders. Title challengers indeed.
eh up... Harry's going on about the title again, better make an appearance just to keep things real...!
However, whilst journalists were marvelling at Redknapp’s Nostradamous like predictions, few noticed a fatal flaw in his plan. Whilst Arsenal were slipping up at home, that was their third home defeat of the season and fourth in total, Chelsea had suffered back to back defeats for the first time in years, City were struggling to play more than one attack minded player in any given team and Man United, while unbeaten, cannot win away, few had noticed that another team in white were above Spurs, and their form was not faltering. › Continue reading
It’s Perfectly Alright to Stamp on Bolton Players
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 | BWFC People, Johan Elmander | 1 Comment
Bolton fans have reacted with some anger, but mainly resignation at the news that Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone will not face retrospective punishment after his stamp on Johan Elmander, during Saturday’s game at the Reebok.
The FA were unable to act after referee Chris Foy claimed that the incident had been seen by match officials. Yeah, right.
In truth, it’s difficult to get agitated about Huddlestone did. For one thing, Bolton won – and in some style. Secondly, it wasn’t a full blown assault, more a petulant toe poke, for which the appropriate sanction is a clip around the ear and an admonishment to stop being such a girl, rather than a three match ban for violent conduct. However, the fact that this is not an isolated happening does grate a little.
After being reduced to a gibbering wreck by Eduardo’s horrible leg break at Birmingham, you’d think that William Gallas would be mindful of the health of his fellow professionals. How wrong that assumption would be.
In last season’s game against between Arsenal and Bolton at the Emirates, Gallas went in over the top on Mark Davies which led to the young midfielder being stretchered off with damaged ankle ligaments. A red card? Nope. A yellow then? Negative. Retropective punishment? Not on your nelly. Alan Wiley, the man with the inappropriate surname, said he’d seen the challenge so no action was taken.
Sissoko explains how he can get away with anything
Going back a while, to a New Year fixture at the Reebok against Liverpool, there was not one, but two stamping incidents. Firstly, Steven Gerrard did a little tap dance on the already prostrate Kevin Nolan. It was difficult from the video footage alone, to establish if there was malicious intent, and as Nolan himself made light of the event, it’s best to move on.
The same couldn’t be said for Mohamed Sissoko’s ten metre dash to stick the boot into a horizontal El Hadji Diouf. Given the seamier side of Diouf’s nature, some might say he’s due a good shoeing. Perhaps, Mark Clattenburg, the man in the middle that day, was working to a set of rules in which that sentiment had been enshrined. There can be no other explanation for the entry in his match report which said that no action was deemed necessary.
A few months earlier at Stamford Bridge, it wasn’t a stamp, but a reckless kick to the area below Tal Ben Haim’s knee that earned Michael Essien a booking, rather than the sending off it deserved. But that’s what you get when Rob ‘Big Club’ Styles is carrying the cards.
The intention here is not to claim that Bolton are being singled out for neglectful treatment. It’s the inconsistency and the bias toward the big clubs that is the problem.
Clattenburg was the referee at Manchester City when Emmanuel Adebayor attempted to stamp on Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie. A ban resulted this time, as the act had not been seen. Which was odd, as it happened three feet in front of the man with the whistle.
At Arsenal in September, Gary Cahill got his marching orders for the mildest of infringements. Even Arsene Wenger thought the decision unfair. When old wrinkle bonce sides with the opposition you know there’s a problem.
'Get up you cissy. Stevie hardly touched you'
Stuart Atwell officiated that day, which may provide an explanation. He was also in charge at Liverpool in March when he allowed Steven Gerrard to escape without censure after his forearm smash on Michael Brown of Portsmouth. The list goes on.
Without inside knowledge it’s hard to know where the problem lies. Are the FA too harsh on officials who admit they’ve made mistakes? Are those tasked with controlling Premier League matches completely starstruck? Or are they just a bunch of lying bastards?
Until the answer is found, players of the less fashionable clubs will hope that their more illustrious counterparts don’t start carrying weapons onto pitch. In the current climate they’d get away with using them.
- Richard McCormick
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
Spurs v Bolton – How the pendulum has swung…?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Gudni Bergsson, Jay-Jay Okocha, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce | 16 Comments
This weekend sees Bolton travel to White Hart Lane, and a clash between two famous old clubs that have 16 FA Cup
how times have changed
Finals (12 wins) and a combined total of 146 years of top-flight football between them, not to mention Spurs’ 4 League Cup wins, and 4 European trophies.
Recent history has been very different for the two clubs, with Spurs only spending one year out of the top flight since 1950, whilst Bolton have dropped through the leagues and back twice in the same period. However, looking further back in history paints a different picture of the two clubs.
Prior to 1950, Spurs had spent as much time in the Second Division as the First, and their only FA Cup win had come as a non-league club in 1901. Bolton had already won the cup three times, been runners-up twice, and spent the vast majority of their history in the top flight.
The abolition of the maximum wage in 1961 changed the football landscape at the time, and Bolton’s decline from this point onwards was dramatic and prolonged.
By the end of the 1959/60 season, Bolton were historically England’s 5th most successful club, based on average league position. At the same point, despite one league title success, Spurs were the 20th best team.
By the end of 2008, Spurs – by now winners of the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup four times, and four European trophies – had moved up to seventh in the table of overall average league positions, whilst Bolton had failed to add to trophy cabinet, had spent more time out of the top flight than in it, and slipped to 21st in the overall average league table.
In anticipation of the weekend’s clash, bwfcforum’s Statman takes a closer look at the history of the two clubs for Manny Road. › Continue reading
Every Day’s a cup final for Mark Halsey….!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Football Association, Ivan Campo, Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicolas Anelka, Owen Coyle, Phil Gartside, Premier League, Premiership referees, Sam Allardyce, Youri Djorkaeff | 11 Comments
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.
Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Video highlights
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 | BWFC Goals, BWFC People, Kevin Davies, Ricardo Gardner | 1 Comment
For those who don’t want to wait until the last five minutes of Match of the Day (and have to listen to Gary Lineker patronising us)
Highlights from the Wanderers 2-2 draw with Spurs today…
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