Dec 2009

Match update delayed - Megson Sacked!

I was going to post an update about last night’s game but that’s going to be delayed for a bit because we have bigger news - Gary Megson has been sacked! After letting a 2-0 lead slip to 2-2 - a result at least partly blamed on Megson bringing off goalscorer Ivan Klasnic for Gavin McCann with 20 minutes to go which brought an angry reaction from large portions of the crowd - against Hull at home, the club have obviously decided enough is enough. The official statement is here. No news as to a successor yet.

Moved?

I don’t remember when this happened but the game at the Reebok against Hull that was previously scheduled for tonight has been moved to tomorrow night. I assume this is to do with Hull playing on Sunday.

A Good Result, I Think

Bolton drew 1-1 away at Burnley on Boxing Day, which given Burnley’s home form is probably a pretty decent result. Matt Taylor opened the scoring with a direct free kick in the first half and David Nugent scored for Burnley in the second half, after which Bolton were under pressure but managed to hang on.

Goal is
here.

Well Blimey Again! (Update)

Can anyone remember the last time Bolton scored 3 goals two games running? Well it’s happened now. Bolton beat West Ham United 3-1 at a chilly Reebok stadium last night. After a goalless first half, Chung Yong Lee opened the scoring finishing off a nice move. That was equalised by Diamanti before Robert Green dropped the ball at the feet of Ivan Klasnic. It really was an awful error. Gary Cahill scored a header from a corner late on to make the game safe.

Due to a very busy schedule this week (hey, time of year) I’m not going to get a chance to do the goal movies for this until the weekend. Given we don’t play Wigan until Monday night, I don’t think there’s much hurry.

Note : The goals have now been uploaded
here.

Wigan Game Postponed

The game at the DW stadium this evening has been postponed. While the pitch was passed as playable, the area around the stadium is heavily snowed and icy and local authorities felt they were unsafe for large crowds. No date has been set for the re-arranged game yet.

Well Blimey

Something of a thriller at the Reebok this weekend, completely out of sorts with what we’ve had to put up with so far this season. The game with Man City ended 3-3, with Craig Bellamy sent off. Bolton went ahead three times - a Klasnic opener (which was just as offside as the Wolves opener last week), then a Cahill screamer - a genuine goal of the season candidate IMO - and a second Klasnic goal. Each time though City pulled the game back, equalising through a deflected Tevez shot, then a great move ending with Micah Richards finishing from close in, then another Tevez goal late on.

There’s been a lot of grumpiness at the Reebok recently and there’s been good reason for it but you couldn’t fault Saturday’s game for entertainment value.

Can It Get Much Worse?

Bolton lost 2-1 away at Wolves on Saturday. The home side went 2-0 up thanks to an early goal (which looked very offside) by Jody Craddock and a 30 yard effort by Milijas, only for Johan Elmander - on as a sub after Ivan Klasnic started - to pull one back from close range to set up a frantic last 10 minutes.

But Bolton really have to do better than last minute scrambles against clubs that were previously keeping them company in the bottom three. There is no invention, no movement, no drive. Football365 today described Bolton Wanderers as ‘T
he unhappiest club in the league’ and frankly, I can’t find any particular evidence to refute the tag. We’ve scored 3 goals in the last 6 weeks and we haven’t kept a clean sheet all season. The players look dispirited, the manager is blaming everyone else including his own players and the board are totally absent, other than Phil Gartside proposing outlandish re-organisations to the FA whose only function seems to be to save Wanderers from a relegation which, on current form, is not just inevitable but is probably deserved.