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

TweetFollow @RMc2407

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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

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.

So how relevant is end-of-season form to performance in next campaign? Let’s hope the answer is ‘not very’. Only two previous premier league teams have ever lost their last five matches: Sunderland in 2003 and Derby in 2008. Both teams finished bottom and were relegated. Sunderland set a record low points tally of nineteen. Derby set a new one with eleven. We are therefore proud holders of another record – the only premier league side to have lost their last five games without being relegated.

So are we realistic relegation candidates, and if so who else is? Maybe recent history can give us some pointers.

Teams relegated from the premier league over the last ten years generally fit into one or more of the following categories:

1. Newly promoted

The omens aren't good, Neil

The most obvious category. Thirteen of the last thirty relegated sides were newly promoted, and not since the class of 2001 – Bolton, Blackburn, and Fulham, who are all still there – have all three promoted sides stayed up. Looking on the bright side, it’s 1998 since all three promoted teams were relegated (Bolton, Barnsley, and Crystal Palace), so maybe at least one will survive?

Candidates: QPR, Norwich, Swansea

2. Narrowly avoided relegation
Five of the last ten years’ relegated sides – including each of the last two years – finished in 17th place the previous year, so history suggests there’s a 50:50 chance Wolves will be in the mix next season.
For the record those relegated sides were Derby, Sunderland, West Brom, Hull and West Ham, and those that have survived were Fulham, Wigan, Portsmouth, Everton, and Bolton.

Although no team finishing 16th has been relegated the next year, the closeness of this year’s relegation scrap suggests that the other last day survivors, Wigan and Blackburn, could also be in the mix.
Candidates: Wolves.
Possible: Wigan, Blackburn

3. Second season
Five of the 30 slots have gone to teams ‘enjoying’ their second season in the top flight. In the case of West Brom and Hull, they had also narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, but the other three – Ipswich, Reading, and Birmingham – had finished in the top half.

Newcastle and West Brom are the two clubs facing their second season. West Brom have steadied the ship under Roy Hodgson and will be targeting mid-table at least. Of the two, Newcastle would be the more likely candidates for me, but only because of indications of internal problems and my belief that Pardew is a poor manager, although they should have the finances to build a decent side after the sale of Andy Carroll.

Candidates: Newcastle and West Brom.

4. Finished the previous season badly
Accounts for six of the thirty relegation slots in the last ten years. Two of these were teams that had also narrowly avoided relegation, but the other four all finished comfortably mid-table, albeit in poor form, reminiscent of this year’s Bolton.

Leicester finished the 2000/01 season with nine defeats in their last ten and dropping from 4th to 13th in the process. They carried this form into the new season, getting thumped by newly promoted Bolton in their first game of the new campaign, losing seven of their first ten games, and being rooted to the foot of the table for most of the season.

Southampton finished 12th in 2004 but with only two points from their last five games. Again, this carried over to the new campaign, with them winning only one of their first twelve and ultimately finishing bottom.

Charlton finished the 2005/06 season in 12th place despite four defeats in their last five then started the next season with seven defeats and only one win in their first ten games, ultimately finishing 19th.

Birmingham’s impressive 2009/10 season saw them defy expectations and claim a top ten place, but also saw them win only one of their last ten games. Whilst the following year started with a four-game unbeaten run, they only managed one win in the first eight, and ultimately a poor end to a topsy-turvy season saw them relegated on the last day.

In four of the last ten seasons, one of the relegated teams have had the worst form of any surviving team in the last five games of the previous campaign. Obviously this also means that the other six teams that finished bottom of the form guide survived, including Everton in 2004 and Man City in 2007 who went on to enjoy top half finishes the following year.

Remember, though, that losing your last five games is unprecedented for any surviving club, so Bolton are in uncharted territory. We managed less than a point a game since Christmas (only Blackpool and West Ham had worse records) and with our diabolical away record, a tricky start at newly promoted QPR (reminiscent of Leicester in 2002) closely followed by games against five of last season’s top six and things could look bleak by mid-October.

Last season’s only other premier league ‘survivor’ with less than a point per game in their last five was Arsenal, who are clearly in no danger of relegation.

Candidates: Bolton

5. Other factors
This category covers other potential ‘warning signs’: financial troubles, loss of a long-term manager, change of ownership, daft managerial sackings and disastrous appointments.

Many of the teams already mentioned also fit into this category. Leicester had recently lost Martin O’Neill. Charlton had lost Curbishley and followed up with three managers the following year. Southampton lost Strachan and appointed Sturrock (briefly) then Wigley (laughably), and so on.

Only six of our thirty relegated teams do not fit into at least one of the categories above. Two of these – Leeds in 2004 and Portsmouth in 2010 – were victims of financial meltdown, as the consequences of overspending took them from European qualification to relegation in short time.

Another – Newcastle – had recently changed ownership, and were going through their Laurel and Hardy phase as new owner Mike Ashley was demonstrating why he should never have been allowed anywhere near a professional football club. There were already murmurings of discontent before Keegan walked out at the start of their relegation season.

Barring sudden loss of interest from the Arabs / Russians / Americans, there are a couple of potential candidates from this category.

Blackburn’s recent change of ownership coupled with the appointment of an inexperienced manager probably put them at the top of the list.

Bet you daren't appoint ... him!

Mike Ashley still should be allowed nowhere near a football club, and Newcastle’s sacking of Hughton and appointment of Pardew seems a bit of an odd one. Again there are murmurings from within the club, and the sale of your captain and main goal threat to a championship club doesn’t bode well, so let’s add them too.

Aston Villa’s appointment of McLeish is the most head-scratchingly daft for a while, but they have too much money and (currently) too good a squad to be genuine candidates.

Candidates: Blackburn, Newcastle.

That leaves only three clubs out of the last thirty relegated that were relegated without any of the ‘warning signs’ listed above, which suggests that if you’re an established premier league club not mentioned thus far, you’re probably safe..

Summary: put your money on …
It’s difficult to look beyond the three promoted sides, and likely that at least a couple will be in the mix. Other prime candidates for me would be; Blackburn due to their potential for off-field turmoil with the new owners and because they narrowly avoided relegation this year, Newcastle due to Mike Ashley, Alan Pardew, and second season syndrome, Wolves simply because the worst placed survivor tends to have an even chance of going down, and finally Bolton due to our poor form at the end of last season and our difficult schedule at the start of this one, but mainly so I don’t jinx us by saying we’ll be safe.

To narrow it down further, I’d expect Wolves to build on their survival in the last two seasons and Bolton to have too much pedigree, too solid a set-up and too good a manager to be in the mix after Christmas.

So perm any three from Norwich, QPR, Swansea, Newcastle, and Blackburn.

There you go – the three relegated teams will definitely come out of that bunch. Probably.

- Wakey

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

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.

Following Bolton’s 5-1 demolition of Newcastle, they too were just six points off the league leaders, yet claims that we could claim the first league title in our club’s illustrious history were not forthcoming. While Bolton Wanderers have (whisper it) become fashionable of late, with numerous column inches devoted to the ‘total football’ Owen Coyle’s team is now playing, the common consensus is that the league title may be beyond us, despite a friend of mine signing up to bwfcforum.co.uk with of rather optimistic username of ‘Bolton for the Title’! Yet I have reason to believe that Kevin Davies may indeed be lifting some silverware come May.

The title race is one of the closest in years. Some commentators have said that this is evidence that the league is the best it’s ever been, despite the fact that Chelsea’s total of 28 points from 14 games is the lowest tally accumulated by a league leader since 1994. However, whatever the reason, the league is indeed close this year. Chelsea lead the way obviously, despite their recent loss of form, but they’re just three points ahead of fourth placed Manchester City and (as this is a Bolton blog and we’re flying high), just six points ahead of fifth placed Bolton Wanderers.

The run up to Christmas is vitally important. We have five games before the trip to Chelsea on December 28^th. My personal target is 8 points from those five games, but I’m sure you will have your own targets and aspirations too dear reader. I consider that to be a realistic target, especially considering three of the five games are at home against Blackpool, [Insert Corporate Name Here] Rovers and West Brom. We also have away trips to Eastlands to face Man City in a match to determine fourth place (provided we beat Blackpool this week) and a trip North to face Sunderland, a match to keep us in fourth place (provided we beat Blackpool, City and Blackburn).

If we can get the necessary wins to take us to that ‘magical’ 30 point target, it will leave us to get 10 points from the remaining 18 games to see us safe from relegation. I know that we’re not talking about the prospect of relegation at the moment, considering our form and league position, but the sooner we can make that mathematically certain, the better.

The reason I hope that we can get to 30 points by January is not to keep pace with the league leaders, or even the top 4 contenders, although that would be nice. The reason I want to put ourselves three quarters of the way to safety is so we can give the FA Cup a bloody good go this season.

For a club with such a fine FA Cup tradition, our recent attempts at cup success have been nothing short of pathetic. We haven’t got past the fifth round since 2004, and that includes third round exits in both attempts under Gary Megson. However, we now have a manager who remembers fondly the cup runs of the early 90s (ironically better than myself) when we had several, memorable giant killings of top flight teams while we were in the lower leagues, knocking out the cup holders (Liverpool in 1993 and Arsenal in 1994) in consecutive seasons, and at their own grounds too.

We’re now equipped with a manager who treats cup competitions with the respect they deserve (I’ll conveniently ignore our unfortunate exit to Burnley in the league cup earlier this season) and I firmly believe that we are well equipped for cup success. Before anyone says anything, yes this belief is largely motivated by our hammering of Newcastle and other impressive performance of late. However, with the race for the title being so close this season, their priorities may not include the FA Cup. It is well document that Abramovich wants the Champions League, a cup which six managers and £500m have yet to obtain for him; Man United want that nineteenth title to surpass Liverpool; Arsenal just want to win anything although, for some bizarre reason, that doesn’t seem to include the FA Cup; Man City are focused on finishing fourth, ditto Spurs, and both may harbour distant dreams of winning the league (with it being so close, they may never have a better chance). Of course, in isolation, the above teams having other, perhaps more pressing, priorities is hardly a guarantee of cup success. Chelsea have managed to win the FA Cup in successive seasons whilst maintaining a strong domestic title challenge.

However, we have impressive form ourselves and have done more than enough to prove that we’re a good team with some fine players. Two defeats in fourteen Premiership games shows that we’re no longer a soft touch, determined to turn up at games with the sole, and ultimately unsuccessful, aim of trying to escape with a draw.

For the first time in years, we take the game to opposition. For the first time in over a decade, once ahead we keep attacking, which has produced the most goals per game we have ever scored in a Premier League season. Owen Coyle has instilled a belief in the players that we can take points in every game, and with good reason as, bar defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, we have taken points in every game.

We have a settled team and, with that, we have created some strong partnerships; in Elmander and Davies, we have one of the best striking duos in the Premiership on current form. They have scored 14 goals and have numerous assists between them Davies’ excellent pass to set up Elmander’s first goal against Newcastle being a prime example. His deft touch to set up his strike partner against West Brom is another.

In Holden and Muamba, we have a midfield duo who can rival most teams in the league. No-one covers more ground, and they boast the record of the most tackles this season. However, it is Holden’s attacking prowess that has caught the eye. He is easily one of the star performers of the season, turning in first class performances in each and every match.

With our current form, and the bit of luck you need in cup competitions, I believe that we could do very well in this season’s FA Cup. Coyle has a strong cup record for each of the clubs he has managed; he took St Johnstone to the semi finals of both domestic cup competitions in Scotland, knocking out Rangers at Ibrox along the way, and got them to the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup before leaving for Burnley, a cup final which his current assistant Sandy Stewart won without him before himself moving South to link up with Coyle. He then took Burnley to within 2 minutes of Carling Cup final before a late Jermain Defoe goal deep into extra time snatched away their dreams. The one thing against the Allardyce era, for me anyway, was that, for all the top eight finishes, and they were considerable achievements, we had no need for the silver polish, and sadly you can’t organise an open top parade to show off a league table. That may all change under Coyle.

All the players have said that Coyle’s enthusiasm is infectious and that rubs off on everyone he meets. Well, I haven’t met Owen Coyle but his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me regardless. It’s not going to be easy and, similar to my last article after the Stoke game regarding Europe being a possibility, I’m sure a lot of other clubs will be thinking the same, but hopefully we may need to get the champagne on ice because we have a great chance of going to Wembley (twice)!

-dh1985-

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

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.

One was a teasing cross between goalkeeper and the last defender that someone should have got on the end of. Another was a free-kick that hit the outside of the post after Paul Robinson had brought down Sandro. Robinson protested his innocence in the usual way, ie loudly, but like Sandro, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. If the tackle had been any later, it would have occurred in next Wednesday’s game against Everton.

Fifteen minutes from the end, things got even better for the Whites.  Matt Taylor found Lee Chung-Yong in the penalty area and he was bundled to the floor by Assou-Ekotto.  Davies put the resulting spot-kick away in a crisp fashion.  Game over.

Well, not quite.  There was no doubt about the quality of Alan Hutton’s curling left-foot strike that gave the visitors a life-line three minutes later, but he was afforded space by a defence that had gone into cruise mode.  The same could be said about Pavlyuchenko’s volley from an acute angle that made it 3-2.  A great finish, but only a misunderstanding between Steinsson and Jussi Jaaskelainen led to the ball being in that area.

It was here perhaps, that Bolton were at their most impressive.  It would have been easy to panic, but in the remainder of normal time, and the almost six additional minutes added, they showed a surprising ability to keep possession, that denied Tottenham further chances, and at the death, came the best moment.

Stuart Holden ended William Gallas’s solo run with a sliding tackle, and the ball fell to Gary Cahill.  His inch perfect pass was headed on by Davies to Martin Petrov.  The Bulgarian sprinted away from his pursuers and poked the ball under Gomes to give the result a more emphatic look and one that reflected the balance of play.

That Spurs were under strength and still giddy after their European adventures, should be acknowledged, but not over emphasised.  It’s also worth remembering that when the Londoners last won a league game at Bolton, the Reebok Stadium didn’t exist.

The plan was to put a picture of Peter Crouch here. Google image search turned up a better suggestion.

But there was much to cheer the home support here.  Fabrice Muamba had his best game of the season.  Lee Chung-Yong was industrious and inventive. Johan Elmander ran himself into the ground and Gary Cahill signs the deeds on his ownership of Peter Crouch tomorrow.

In addition, Matt Taylor had a hand in three of the goals and Stuart Holden again showed why he’s made himself indispensable.  Man of the Match though, was Kevin Davies, who produced a display that might even get the doughnut repository that is Martin Samuel to belt up for five minutes.

The only major downside was the attendance.  A sparse 20,255 due to a silly kick off time and TV coverage.  But if the quality of the second half performance can be replicated the missing fans will surely return.

- Richard McCormick

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.

Early years: 1888 – 1914
By the time Spurs were elected to the football league div 2 in 1908, founder members Bolton had completed 20 seasons, mostly in the First Division, but with a best placed finish of 3rd. Tottenham had already become the first – and only – non-league club to win the FA Cup since the formation of the football league in 1888. Bolton had yet to win the trophy, having been losing finalists in 1894 and 1904.
In their first season, Spurs finished runners up to Bolton– who had been relegated the previous season. Spurs stayed up for six seasons before being relegated in 1915, whilst Bolton went straight back down in 1910, only to bounce back at the first attempt and remain in the top flight until 1933.

Spurs’ first spell in the top flight saw them finish 15th, 15th, 12th, 17th, and 17th before finally finishing 20th in 1915.

After promotion again in 1911, Bolton finished 4th, 8th, 6th, and 17th before the league was suspended for WWI.

Between the Wars
When the league resumed in 1919/20, Spurs won the Second Division title and went on to enjoy an 8 year period in the top flight, finishing 6th in 1921 and then runners up in 1922 – their highest league finish at that point – but then spent the next 5 years in the bottom half, finishing between 12th and 15th, before being relegated again in 1928.

From 1919/20, Bolton enjoyed one of their best spells, finishing 8 of the next 9 seasons in the top 8.

The 1920’s also saw the two clubs share 4 FA Cup wins, Spurs winning the trophy in 1921 and Bolton following their 1923 success in the first FA Cup Final at Wembley with wins in 1926 and 1929. The decade also saw the first meeting between the two sides in the cup, with Spurs knocking Bolton out in a second round replay in 1925. The two clubs would go on to meet in the cup in a further 5 seasons, with 4 of the ties needing a replay, and a further tie – in 1948 – decided after extra time. In total, including this year’s clash, Spurs have knocked Bolton out 4 times.

Whilst Spurs spent 5 seasons in Division Two from 1928/29, Bolton had slipped into the bottom half of Division One, with the Trotters finally relegated in 1933, swapping places with Spurs who were promoted as runners up.

Spurs then spent two seasons in the top flight – finishing an impressive 3rd in their first season back, before finishing rock bottom the following year – whilst Bolton spent two years in Division Two, finishing 3rd before being promoted the following year as runners up, with the two teams again swapping places in the top flight.

The following four years leading up to WWII saw both clubs remain in their respective divisions, Bolton narrowly avoiding relegation in 1937 but then finishing in the top half for the following two years, whilst Spurs were mid-table in Div 2.

Post War years: 1946 – 1977
Resumption of the league programme in 1946/47 saw Bolton struggling at the wrong end of Div 1 for the next four years, with Spurs finishing 6th, 8th, and 5th before finally returning as Div 2 champions in 1950.

Spurs followed up their Div 2 success by winning the Div 1 title in their first season back in 1951, then finished runners up in 1952. The following season saw them down to 10th, before struggling at the bottom end for the next 3 seasons. Over the same period, Bolton enjoyed 4 top half finishes out of the 6 seasons, with only 1955 (18th) seeing them flirting with relegation. They were also on the wrong end of Blackpool’s famous 4-3 win in the 1953 FA Cup Final.

The next 20 years saw a period of unprecedented prolonged success for Spurs, with 15 top 8 finishes and only 1959 (18th), and 1975 (19th) out of the top half. The highlights of the period was undoubtedly the double success of 1961, in a spell which saw them finish in the top 3 six seasons out of seven between 1957 and 1963. Although they didn’t enjoy this level of consistent success in the remainder of the period, they managed 3rd place finishes in 1967 and 1971.

Spurs also retained the FA Cup in 1962 and won it again in 1967. They followed up their FA Cup success by winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963, the first European trophy win by an English club, along with League Cup wins in 1971 and 1973, a UEFA Cup win in 1972 and losing final in 1974.

Whilst the 1950’s ended well for Bolton, with the 1958 FA cup win followed up with two top 6 finishes, times were changing for the Lancashire outfit, with the abolition of the maximum wage and the end of Nat Lofthouse’s prolific career, and flirtation with relegation in 1961 and 1963 was merely a brief reprieve, as the Trotters finished 21st in 1964.

For a club that had never spent more than two consecutive years out of the top flight, and had only spent 7 years in the Second Division since the formation of the league in 1888/89, it would have seemed unthinkable at the time that Bolton would not have returned to the top flight for 14 seasons. Having narrowly missed out on an immediate return in 1965, Bolton spent the next couple of years in mid-table, before a gradual decline that saw relegation to Division Three in 1971 for the first time in the club’s history. They finished a disappointing 7th in 1972 before being promoted as Division Three champions in 1973.

After a couple of mid-table finishes, Bolton then narrowly missed out on promotion by a point in 1976 and 1977 (to Brian Clough’s Forest), whilst Spurs’ 19th place finish in 1975 was a warning for what was to come two seasons later, when they finished bottom of Division One.

1977- 2001
1977/78 saw the two clubs in the same division for the first time since Bolton’s relegation in 1964, with the two clubs – favourites for promotion – battling it out at the top all season, Bolton finally finishing champions with Spurs promoted in third place.

The fortunes of the two clubs from that point could not have been more different. Whilst Spurs have enjoyed an unbroken spell in the top flight, Bolton managed a 17th place finish in 1979 before being rooted to the bottom for most of the following season and being relegated by some distance. Bolton’s decline from 1980 was worse than that following their previous relegation in 1964, with the club plummeting through the divisions before spending a season – 1987/88 – in the Fourth Division. Bolton then spent a further 5 seasons in the third division before gaining promotion to the second tier in 1993.

Over the same period, Spurs were mostly a top half team, with 3rd place finishes in 1985, 1987, and 1990, and further FA Cup success in 1981, 1982, and 1991 (plus their only Cup Final defeat in 1987) and a UEFA Cup triumph in 1984.

After 2 years in the second tier, Bolton returned to the top flight after a dramatic play-off win v Reading in 1995, but their stay was short-lived. As Manchester United pipped Keegan’s Newcastle for the title, and Tottenham finished 8th, Bolton finished 4 points adrift at the foot of the table. 1995 also saw Bolton make their first appearance in the League Cup final, finishing runners up to Liverpool.

In 1997 Bolton bounced straight back in style, finishing 18 points clear at the top of Division One, with Spurs finishing mid-table in the Premiership. Again, their stay lasted only a season, going down on goal difference to Everton on the final day. Spurs were briefly involved in the relegation battle, but ultimately pulled away to finish 4 points clear in 14th.

Spurs remained in mid-table for the next three seasons, finishing 11th, 10th and 12th, winning the League Cup again in 1999, whilst Bolton missed out in the play-offs in 1999 and 2000 before finally returning via the same route in 2001.

2001-present
Whilst the next two seasons saw Bolton in relegation battles, finishing 4 points clear in 16th in 2002, before needing 44 points to survive in 17th place the following year (West Ham were relegated on 42 points), Spurs maintained their mid-table position, finishing 9th and 10th respectively.

Bolton finished top 8 in each of the next four seasons, with a best finish of 6th in 2005, 3 points off a Champions League place, and also made their second appearance in the League Cup Final, this time losing to Middlesbrough. Spurs finished 14th and 9th before consecutive 5th place finishes in 2006 and 2007, missing a Champions League spot by just 2 points in 2006.

The following season, with Sammy Lee replacing Sam Allardyce as manager, whilst Bolton were rooted to the foot of the table after 10 games with just 5 points, Martin Jol’s Spurs were just 2 points and two places above, and struggling to repeat the form of the previous two years. Whilst Bolton ultimately survived under Gary Megson, finishing 16th and 1 point clear of relegation, Spurs finished 10 points clear in 11th place after Juande Ramos had replaced Martin Jol, and again won the League Cup.

The following season saw Spurs finish 8th (and League Cup runners up) and Bolton comfortable in 13th, despite spending periods of the season hovering just above the relegation zone.

The two clubs have continued to have different fortunes this season, with Bolton breathing a sigh of relief having secured safety with two games remaining, and Spurs currently holding 4th spot and a Champions League place.

Overall …
It’s probably fitting for two clubs whose greatest successes have been in cup competitions that the biggest wins in meetings between the two have all come in cup competitions, with Tottenham’s 6-0 League Cup win in 2001 trumping Bolton’s 6-1 win in the same competition in 1996. Spurs have also enjoyed 4-0 FA Cup wins in 2002 – the only FA Cup tie between the sides not to go to a replay or extra time – and in this year’s competition.

The two sides have not been lucky for each other in the cup. Despite being drawn against each other nine times in cup competitions, and sharing 25 appearances in domestic finals, neither side has reached a cup final in the seasons that they have met.

Spurs have managed to do the double over Bolton six times – including both of their league title-winning campaigns, and most recently in 1978/79 – whilst Bolton have managed the same feat seven times, including 2003/04 and 2004/05. Results since then have typically gone for the home team.

Overall, of the 90 completed seasons that both clubs have been in the football league, Spurs have finished higher than Bolton 60 times.

The head to head results are somewhat closer. Out of a total of 97 meetings, Spurs have 42 wins to Bolton’s 36 (19 draws), whilst in league meetings, Spurs are ahead 36 to 33 (14 draws).

League meetings at White Hart Lane show a clearer dominance for Spurs, with 25 wins, 7 draws, and 9 defeats, the last in October 2004. Since that win, Bolton have managed just 1 point from the last 5 league trips.

With Spurs in pole position for the 4th Champions League spot, and Bolton now playing for nothing other than pride and Premier League prize money, will Spurs extend their dominance at White Hart Lane, or could Bolton upset the odds and get their first win there in almost six years?

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.

Highlights from the Wanderers 2-2 draw with Spurs today…

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