Bolton Preview: Extended Honeymoon's Over

Posted 15/08/06 11:21EmailPrintSave

 

 

 

Last season: Eighth; UEFA Cup - last 32; FA Cup - quarter-finals; League Cup - fifth round

Major players in: Abdoulaye Meite (Marseille, undisc), Quinton Fortune (Man Utd, free), Idan Tal (Maccabi Tel Aviv, free)

Major players out: Bruno N'Gotty (Birmingham, free), Radhi Jaidi (Birmingham, free), Jay-Jay Okocha (Qatar Sports Club, free)

 

Bolton's obvious problem for some last season was that just as Sam Allardyce threw his hat into the ring for England the results dried up. Two wins after mid-March, the second a home defeat of relegated Birmingham on the last day, tells the story of a manager taking his eye off the ball. There are other ways of looking at it, however.

 

Examine their month-by-month record: only in September did they average more than two points per game, with two wins and one draw in their three matches. For the next six months they averaged between 1.5 and 1.66 points per game, before that slump in April that saw five defeats, a win and a draw in seven games to scupper their chances of Europe. So Bolton were a side that never really peaked but did find time to slump.

 

But here's a third way. Bolton's run of defeats started in March at Middlesbrough, but that April sequence included defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs: at the time the top four sides in the land. The other setbacks came at Birmingham and West Brom, both sides fighting (albeit unsuccessfully) for survival. Only Chelsea won by more than one goal, meaning the margins on each day between success and failure were very small.

 

I'm not going to tell you which one of those interpretations is the best way of looking at their season; I think they all have merits and all shed light on what happened. Events are rarely the product of a single factor.

 

Whatever the causes, it is important that that slide does not carry over into the new season or Allardyce will have more to complain about than usual.

 

As it is season-ticket sales are said to be down, hardly an endorsement of Allardyce's team's style, but also a reflection of that bad run; will he complain about the fans, too?

 

There is a suspicion that much of the moaning is for effect; consider last year's home game with Liverpool where he largely ignored an awful challenge by Sissoko in favour of criticising a bigger name, Gerrard, for obeying the law of gravity. It's a central point of Fat Sam's schtick that his club don't get the rub of the green and that isn't going to change.

 

The problem is that his complaints ring hollow (Kevin Nolan backed Gerrard as soon as he saw a replay of the incident) if they are laughed out of court, as frequently happens, and if his team persist in occupying the upper reaches. Eighth, sixth, eighth again is a solid record - think what Wanderers could achieve if there wasn't a conspiracy against them!

 

Perhaps to get the closing-time 'it's you and me against the world' ringing true again, Sam needs a season that's more of a struggle. In which case I think he could be in luck.

 

A team without real stars has to play as a team or it will fail and a side whose two top scorers (Stylianos Giannakopoulos, the well known abbreviation, and Nolan) are really midfielders are always a touch vulnerable. The success of the two is the key to the 4-1-2-3 formation; if they misfire then Kevin Davies isn't going to pick up enough bits and pieces for comfort.

 

Of course Sam has been looking for a striker (Andy Johnson was one he wanted) and perhaps if he finds his man then all will be fine. But you just wonder what would happen if they don't get the right man and if there's any stuttering in front of goal by the converted midfielders.

 

The good news (or bad news if he wants to be miserable) for Sam is that the opening fixtures look favourable, if Spurs leave the Reebok empty handed on day one.

 

Trips to Charlton and Fulham, visits by Watford and Middlesbrough, then off to Fratton Park: none of those nasty big boys who bring the referee with them to worry about and a good chance for a tasty share of the points.

 

But should Bolton not get a decent start, then a follow-up of Liverpool, Newcastle, Blackburn then Manchester United could prove taxing.

 

If they do struggle then Sam will ratchet up the siege mentality and they'll still be OK. But he is just beginning now to be a victim of his own success and whether such a season would win over new fans or bring back deserters is moot.

 

These no longer feel like the good times to everyone at the Reebok; to maintain that feeling you need progress and whatever the causes of April's slump it sure as hell wasn't progress.

 

Makes some good points!

 

If we struggle in our opening run of games then i can see us struggling for a while and Sam does need to curb his whinging!! It's even getting annoying for Bolton fans!

Makes some good points!

 

If we struggle in our opening run of games then i can see us struggling for a while and Sam does need to curb his whinging!! It's even getting annoying for Bolton fans!

 

You muppet! You say I know nothing about football and then praise the above article which basically says what I have been saying all Summer:

 

1) Allardyce is a whinger

2) Allardyce thinks the referee is always against BWFC

3) Bolton are boring

4) Can???t score goals

5) We will probably struggle

That's a very well written piece actually................for once

You muppet! You say I know nothing about football and then praise the above article which basically says what I have been saying all Summer:

 

1) Allardyce is a whinger

2) Allardyce thinks the referee is always against BWFC

3) Bolton are boring

4) Can???t score goals

5) We will probably struggle

No you say we will be relegated and that sam is rubbish!

 

No one on here denies any of those points bar the last one as i personally think we won't struggle mid table at best but i can't really see us struggling!!

I think that she's flirting with you there Frank

Football 365 are a load of London-biased wankstains.

And now the Mancs have put us 15th!!! Cheeky gits. That puts them somewhere between 16th and 20th then!!!! :-)

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/spo...t_to_burst.html

Edited August 15, 200620 yr by snackum

Aye - Paul Hince is a genius. Only a City fan would predict anything but relegation for them this season, they've got a few academy players come through and blues talk like they're all going to be better than Lionel Messi - ha ha ha ha

The f365 article basically backs Sam's opinion that we're just a decent finisher away from a decent side.

 

If Davies, Vaz T?? and Nolan ( the main culprits last season IMO) were better at finishing, we'd be back in Europe.