Leedswhite

Nice to see that great journalistic institution - the MEN is in agreement with me. Quote "Big Davies battered England defender Matthew Upson into a whingeing wreck, and Cahill was a rock on which West Ham's spirited second half fightback foundered. Afterwards Megson was moved to give Capello a nudge that there are English players performing well at less fashionable clubs, not least his own. "All Gary and Davo can do is keep plugging away and hope that from the long squad they can get into the short squad," said Megson. "Neither of them would let England down if they got the opportunity, but I understand Capello's doubts because he has a great deal to choose from." I think I must be in the wrong career

Some coverage of this on other threads but given the press on Davies / Cahill and last weeks England squad, 2 key contests defined the game for me yesterday. Battle of the Centre Backs - Cahill v Upson No contest, Cahill for me had a superb game, reasonably dominant in the air, key blocks and a stunning goal line clearance. Given a good contest by Carlton Cole but more than held his own. Upson - what a soft tw*t. Outfought, out muscled, out played by SKD. Not up for the fight and did little to demonstrate to me any England credentials at all. Given Upson has won England caps Cahill is on the same level for me, although both are a long way behind Ferdinand and Terry. Battle of the Centre Forwards - Davies v Cole For me (and remember its all about opinions) a much closer contest. Not been a fan of Cole in general but thought he looked lively, strong and threatening throughout - a measure of Cahill's performance that he was kept under control. Thought SKD performed to his usual standard, ran his socks off and gave Upson a complete run around. Great to see he has risen to the challenge of leading the team - do as I do not do as I point (a great change from the previous leader) and that the goals are flowing. Either of the two offer reasonable back up (assuming England was blessed with attacking talent) but given the current lack of talent would love to see SKD given the chance.

Read this thread with disbelief. After all the moaning after the Blackburn game, followed by the response against Spurs, I thought all the true fans had come to the fore and told the moaners to f*** off. How many times do you need to hear this message before you do so. You may not like some of the players, you may not like the manager BUT Please get the message - get behind the team, get behind the manager and you never know we might actually progress. We played a decent side yesterday, high on confidence, long unbeaten streak away from home and we WON. Yes it was hard on the nerves, but we WON. Keep the faith and with the team we now have and the mix of experience and youth, I for one think there is reason for optimism and that the team can improve over the next couple of years. The ship has been steadied, we will finish higher this season than last. What more do people want???

They were discussing this on the radio and said that for the clubs although the deal is 5% higher, premier Clubs have suffered compared to European teams due to the credit crunch. The logic was that 1 year ago, buying a 15m euro footballer from Spain (as an example) would cost: 15m euros at 1.5 euros to the ? is a ?10m signing the same player would now cost at current rates of virtually 1 euro to the ? - ?15m Therefore Megson's policy of buying British is a canny one, until now I hadn't credited him with being a financial genius as well.

Master baiting I would say

Definitely the same guy - face like he's swallowed a mouthful of nettles!! It's sad but he probably thinks he's a loyal supporter. tw*t

Think this guy used to stand in the Burnden Terrace- one ugly f***er. At the Charlton game when we left Burnden, a guy a few spaces down the terrace turned to him just before the final whistle and said " i've stood here for the last 10 years listening to you moaning. i'm just glad that you must have had the worst season in the world, 98 points, 100 goals, cup runs and exciting football. Now f*** off and don't turn up at the Reebok. Around 100 people stood close enough to hear burst into applause. For the first time ever he was speechless. Nice to see he hasn't changed.

Standard of refs leaves me amazed. Having just watched the Liverpool / Chelsea highlights, Riley was wrong on all 3 counts. Gerard - lucky to be on the pitch for that lunge - it was dangerous and high and Riley had a good view. Lampard - shocking decision, if he has any doubts then should hold back from showing a red and given he was running away from the incident and only turned at the last moment to see it he couldn't be certain. Bosingwa - Speechless. If the arguement is that a free kick has just been given and therefore play was dead, I suggest next time we play the scum and the ball is dead, SKD lands a haymaker on that tw*t Neville!! Mike Riley - he lives in Leeds and if I ever bump into him it won't be pleasent.

It's no wonder I left my home town!! When I was at school in Radcliffe generally a mix of Bolton, Bury, City and the Scum. A few glory hunters followed the big teams at the time - Liverpool and Leeds but no mention of Arsenal or Chelsea. When i go and see my folks, find it depressing to see filth shirts walking around town. Mills and Seddon became Tatlock's if I'm not mistaken, based at the bottom of Ainsworth Road - now a car park.

Nice to see the positivity from the weekend continuing. We have what we have both in terms of Manager and Chairman. Therefore, support rather than moan. We don't get all decisions right and they are no different.

Decent enough squad for me anyway, why pay over the odds for players in January. The 3 we have added help strengthen the squad and 2 of them look promising. Jury still out on Elmander but I think he may enjoy linking up with young Davies by getting the ball played into his feet rather than 10 feet in the air.

Lancashire born and bred, now doing missionary work over the Pennines to educate te heathens!!

Just got home after the match and a 40th birthday bash (a proper weekend if ever there was one), so not read all the comments on the other threads. However, having read all the rubbish of last week from people who claim to be fans, and feeling strong enough to add to the fantastic "Bolton Fans since the Premiership" thread, the word I would use yesterday was PROUD: PROUD - of the true fans who showed the rest how they should be by backing the team yesterday, challenging all the negative ***** who have been dragging the club down and supporting the team. It was fantastic to see that even after the second Spurs goal went in, the atmosphere did not turn vitroilic but stayed as it had been the rest of the afternoon. The reward for the true fans was a late winner and that feeling of winning a game at the death that is still with me this evening. The added reward for me was that those who stood up and walked out at 2-2 didn't leave happy and the victory to them was far more hollow than it was for those who stayed and cheered on the team. PROUD - Of the players for the way thy played, their commitment and their strength of character to kick on from the 2 quick goals against. We may not have a bunch of world beaters but in my opinion every one of them gave full effort, obviously inspired by SKD and the younger Davies who impressed me immensely. How nice to see a player who wanted the ball, passed and moved and drove forward - possible inspired signing, time will tell. PROUD - and this is the hardest bit as i have not been a fan of the ginger one, but PROUD of the manager for taking a more positive attitude into the game, playing mostly with 2 up front, substituting like for like only (not going more defensive through his subs) and most of all for not going defensive at any point during the game. The reward for that was the winner. One swallow does not make a summer, but hopefully a corner has been turned. As fans we can play our part by challenging anyone who brings negativity to the match, get behind the team and manager and live up to our name - supporters. Bolton til I die

2 goals at Leicester on the Whites return to the top flight. 5-0 victory - now that was a good day out

Sums it up perfectly for me and more elequently than I did. With the detail you put in the post, seems that your experiences are similar to mine - having been going since the mid 70s and remembering the 2 years in the top division at the turn of the 80s. Relegation didn't mean the same then as it does now (financially) and until this issue is addressed then I agree that for 15 clubs the aim is to stay up at all costs and the game becomes more and more dull as a consequence. Fear of relegation has taken over. I do dream though of supporting a team who trys to play football - you know the idea - ball on the ground, pass and move, and hey even leave one player up the pitch at corners!!! It is theoretically possible to remove the FEAR by levelling the playing field (more even distribution of TV money across the teams etc) but won't happen as the big boys just want to get bigger. Do wonder if casting off the big four to a european League would make it more exciting for the rest but then for anybody who won anything it would always feel hollow.

Exactly the point I raised - what is there to excite you in terms of the league - you know at the start that the same 4 or 5 are at the top and the rest fighting against relegation. Throw into the mix DULL football and you wonder why gates are in decline

It is all about expectations. Been supporting for 35 years and enjoyed it all immensely. But I have lost the spark for the last few seasons, and think it comes down to the way football has gone - its too predictable. What is there to excite you at the start of a season.Certainly not winning the league, so therefore a cup. Knocked out at the first attempt in both competitions doesn't help the cause. Perversely, I enjoyed the second half of last season more than he previous 2 or 3 seasons. The games meant something as there was a lot resting on them - avoiding relegation. This season I think we are too good to go down as there are some awful teams in the league, but it is so DULL. The tactics are just too negative (8 goals at home sums it up for me) and am wrestling with keeping the faith and turning up (Leeds based so a home game is a good half day of an effort including travel there and back) and giving up. However, I know this is impossible as supporting the Whites is so built into your whole life that I would regret it as soon as i stopped. Sorry to continue the views of others (and maybe on the wrong thread) but for me the negative style on the pitch has to go and that I think will only be through the demise of Mr Megson. Not a feeling I would vent whilst supporting my team (last night was totally unacceptable) but anything to bring back some excitement!!! Keeping the faith but finding it increasingly more difficult.