WestHamUnited
Will Owen Coyle Regret Selling Matty Taylor?
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Matt Taylor, Owen Coyle | 5 Comments
Matthew Taylor has completed his move to West Ham United, for an undisclosed fee, after an amount of £2.2 million was suggested earlier in the week. The news has been greeted with joy by a section of Bolton’s support. It’s a harsh judgment.
Taylor was an easy target for the boo boys. He lacked pace, couldn’t go past a player and his defensive capabilities were of a standard that made the idea that he could stand in at left back seem laughable. Yet he most certainly had an end product.
Matt Taylor pictured left. The man with an enormous right testicle.
The midfielder was signed in January 2008 as Gary Megson* went on a spending spree with money acquired from the sale of Nicolas Anelka. Things did not begin well. Played further forward than he was used to, Taylor was famed for not scoring when he should have done. Most notably he missed a hat trick of sitters against former club Portsmouth as the Whites went down to a 1-0 defeat at home after dominating the game.
The following season he netted ten times, no mean feat for a midfielder, including the highlight of his time at Bolton, a scorching free kick against, ironically, West Ham at the Boleyn. A good goalkeeper would have struggled to save that effort. The Hammers only had Rob Green, whose fumblings have gifted the Wanderers so many points that he’s been assigned an honorary squad number at the Reebok.
The 2009-10 campaign was blighted by glandular fever which was undiagnosed until late February. Still, he got on the score sheet eight times, including a brace at Stoke that virtually guaranteed Premier League survival for Bolton. From then on he was a bit part player, struggling to hold down a place after the arrival of Martin Petrov and failing to string two good games together when given a chance.
At his best, Taylor was a deadly striker of the ball, an expert set piece taker and an accurate long range passer in open play. His main problem was that he didn’t produce his best frequently enough, which left the lesser parts of his game more open to criticism. But there was never any doubt about his commitment, with the stats frequently showing that he’d covered the most ground during a game.
There were claims that he was Megson’s man, but touchline arguments with the Ginger One test that assumption. His response, when asked if the former Bolton manager’s constant yelling bothered him, was also interesting.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” he said. The body language and tone of voice suggested that the words were not an accurate reflection of his thoughts.
Not that Taylor was averse to making his feelings known. There are some who claim that paying the entrance fee to a stadium entitles them to barrack an individual they see as underperforming. That’s another argument, but those people shouldn’t complain when the abuse is returned, as it was with Matt Taylor. Yet no player enjoyed the crowd’s adulation more when he scored.
Will Bolton miss him? Possibly. A set piece specialist is always useful in a side that lacks creativity. The counter argument is that this move brings in much needed revenue for the club and gives the player a chance of regular first team football and therefore an opportunity to regain his form.
Fans at Portsmouth still regard Matthew Taylor with affection. On the whole, that isn’t the case at Bolton, which is regrettable given his overall contribution. This supporter for one, wishes him well.
- Richard McCormick
* Note for lazy journalists. Matt Taylor will not be re-united with ‘former boss’ Sam Allardyce
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
Can West Ham Beat the Bolton Jinx?
Friday, April 8th, 2011 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News | No Comments
Saturday’s visitors to the Reebok Stadium are West Ham United, who’ve generously supplied a huge number of points for Bolton Wanderers in recent years. The Whites have won the last seven encounters and in sixteen games, starting with the infamous relegation battle in 2003, there have been twelve wins and only two defeats.
Rob Green in familar pose
Given the respective league positions of the two sides, one might expect that sequence to continue, but it isn’t that straightforward. At Christmas, the Londoners looked certainties for relegation, but they showed improvement in February with the emergence of Thomas Hitzlsperger, Demba Ba and some fine captain’s performances from Scott Parker.
However, they may be somewhat deflated after last week’s capitulation to Manchester United at the Boleyn. With 65 minutes gone, the home side were sat on a two goal lead, but then Wayne Rooney happened. That the chav master general scored a hat-trick has been overshadowed by the conversation he had with a pitch side camera.
Who or what Rooney was responding to hasn’t been established, but his tirade cost him a two match ban and a lucrative contract with a soft drinks company. It was either that or change the name of the beverage to Coca Fucking Cola. › Continue reading
Kevin Davies – A true Legend
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, El-Hadji Diouf, Football Association, Gary Megson, Ivan Campo, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Nat Lofthouse, Nicolas Anelka, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Youri Djorkaeff | 2 Comments
Legend: it’s a word thrown round all too readily it appears these days. Scrolling down my news feed on Facebook last week, I found one friend bestowing legendary status on Javier Hernandez following his late winner for Manchester United away at Valencia. I’m sure he was caught up in the moment, or at least I hope so, and I imagine in the cold light of day, he wouldn’t be quite so keen to put Hernandez up with the ‘Kings of the Stretford End’ such as Cantona, Law and Charlton just yet although, considering the fact that the guy probably couldn’t find Old Trafford with a sat nav and more than likely believes that football was invented in 1993, nothing would surprise me.super
A proud moment for Super-kev
It’s not just fans of other clubs who seem keen to claim certain questionable players as ‘legends’. El Hadji Diouf has achieved legendary status to some Bolton fans, despite the fact that his consistency could often be called in to question and, regardless of his ‘love’ for the club, he felt the overwhelming urge just prior to our biggest match of the season at home to Sunderland to announce to the national press that, irrespective of the result of said match, he would be leaving Bolton for a big club on the continent. Now, I’ve visited Sunderland in the past and, while it does seem like another country, and sometimes another world, it sure as hell isn’t in Spain!
So what does constitute a legend? Well, in my humble opinion, in order for the word legend to have the impact it deserves, it has to be limited to certain players who have had a profound impact on the club. We have had some world class players grace the famous white shirt of Bolton Wanderers, particularly over the last ten years: Jay Jay Okocha – so good they named him twice; Youri Djorkaeff – World Cup winner in 1998 and European Championship winner in 2000; Ivan Campo – two time Champions League winner; Fernando Hierro – three time Champions League winner and five time winner of La Liga; Eidur Gudjohnsen – two Premier League titles with Chelsea and a La Liga title and Champions League winner with Barcelona; Stelios Giannakopoulos – European Championship winner with Greece in 2004; Nicolas Anelka – Premier League, FA and Champions League winner with Arsenal and Real Madrid respectively prior to his time with us, not to mention adding further Premier League and FA Cup success with Chelsea following his time at The Reebok. In total; ten domestic league titles, seven Champions Leagues, two European Championships, two FA Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. Not to mention, the small number of 457 International caps. In short, these guys have won it all. › Continue reading
Shock and Surprise in Bolton as the Unthinkable Happens
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 | BWFC People, Gary Cahill | 2 Comments
There was a small earth tremor in Bolton last night as the jaws of several thousand local football fans hit the floor simultaneously. The reason? Gary Cahill making his much awaited and long overdue debut for England after Michael Dawson’s attempt to re-invent himself as a contortionist went horribly wrong.
Of course Cahill wasn’t anything close to being first choice. Rio Ferdinand has a knee problem and John Terry a shagging injury, whilst West Ham’s Matthew Upson is still hiding under the stairs in East London after being terrorised by Kevin Davies again. Not that Upson should be anywhere near the national squad, unless it’s to hand out the half-time oranges. › Continue reading
Bolton Meet Up With an Old Friend at West Ham
Friday, August 20th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People | No Comments
Can we play you every week Rob?…
Bolton visit West Ham at the weekend, where they’ll encounter a generous acquaintance.
At the recent World Cup, goalkeeper Rob Green deprived England of a much needed victory, with a comical gaffe. This was no surprise to White’s fans. They’ve enjoyed Green’s attention deficit disorder immensely over the past few years. He’s good for at least three points a season – to Bolton that is.
Oops...
Ultimately, Green was rescued by his colleagues in the national side. They were even more dismal than he was, including Matthew Upson, another who shouldn’t have been in South Africa, unless it was to have a gander at Table Top Mountain.
Making up the trio of undesirables is Tal Ben Haim, formerly a competent centre-half for the Wanderers. Since leaving the Reebok, Ben Haim has failed at Chelsea, Manchester City, Sunderland and Portsmouth. He put the blame for his mis-adventures at Stamford Bridge on someone else.
‘If I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach I would have signed for another club. I knew nothing good would come for me with Grant as Chelsea coach,’ he moaned.
It must have been an unpleasant surprise when Ben-Haim joined Portsmouth, only to be followed by Grant a few weeks later. Yet now he’s signed on loan for West Ham. Guess who the manager is? Maybe the Israeli has lost his mind as well as his ability.
Bolton go into this one, with six straight wins over the Hammers. They’ve lost only once in twelve league games against Saturday’s opposition, a Carlos Tevez inspired affair, at the start of Sammy Lee’s ill fated tenure.
‘Who’s the midget in the suit?’ sang the home support.
The Wanderers were lacklustre against Fulham, West Ham had a disaster at Aston Villa. Both sides need a win. Which is probably why a draw is the likely result.
Enjoy. Contains a few naughty (but very funny) words at the end.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv69mqem2-I[/youtube]
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 West Ham: Video highlights
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | BWFC Goals, BWFC People, Gary Cahill, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies | No Comments
Some much needed relief…
All the goals from the Wanderers 3-1 Carling Cup win over West Ham (minus the last goal for some reason)…
Are the vultures circling for Gary Megson already?
Monday, August 17th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson, Phil Gartside | 15 Comments
Manny Road gets ready for battle (Pic: Gidzy, some rights reserved)
Manny Road gets ready for battle (Pic: Gidzy, some rights reserved)
The media are looking for a victim and the Bolton Wanderers boss might not get such an easy ride this season
Disclaimer: Before we get started, it’s worth pointing out that in preparation for writing this post Manny Road has kitted up in full body armour in anticipation of the backlash likely to come my way. Manny Road is well aware that it’s a marathon not a sprint, that it was only one game, and that but for the legs of Marton Fulop we might well have got a point against Sunderland on Saturday.
So what’s my point? Why is Manny Road stoking the fires of negativity after just one game?
Bolton 1-0 Newcastle: The fans’ view
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 | Ariza Makukula, BWFC News, BWFC People, Ebi Smolarek, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Johan Elmander, Mark Davies, Ricardo Gardner | 1 Comment
The Bolton Wanderers match report you won’t read in the papers (or see on Match of the Day)
Here’s what the various Bolton Wanderers message boards made of the 1-0 win over Newcastle United yesterday…
Wanderers World review: Part 2
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Dave Higson, Kevin Davies | No Comments
Manny Road is pleasantly surprised by Wanderers World…
I’m aware that I seem to spend a lot of time writing negatively about Bolton Wanderers (and one man in particular), so it’s good to have something nice to say for once.
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