<p><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=owen coyle&amp;iid=8671399" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/e/3/a/9/Football__Tottenham_38ad.jpg?adImageId=12893743&amp;imageId=8671399" border="0" alt="Football - Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers Barclays Premier League" width="500" height="350"></figure></div></a></p>
<p>There are green shoots of recovery around the Reebok Stadium, after several winters of discontent under Gary Megson. With Owen Coyle’s arrival, suddenly Bolton Wanderers are playing football again and trying to win games, rather than bore teams to death and hoof it skywards. Megson’s long ball banality has no place in modern football and I feel sorry for the next bunch of fans that have to suffer the tedium of his tactical ineptitude.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Phil Gartside realised that he preferred being the chairman of a Premiership club more than defending a manager who had lost the entire crowds respect. His own position was under threat and no matter how well a chairman and a manager get on, eventually it becomes a question of self preservation. Gartside made the selfish decision after two bad, bad managerial choices almost finished the club off. Now things are a whole lot rosier down Burnden Way and the club can look to a more positive future.   <a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=owen coyle&amp;iid=7943190" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/5/5/6/f/FA_Cup_Bolton_b927.jpg?adImageId=12893759&amp;imageId=7943190" border="0" alt="FA Cup: Bolton Wanderers 1 v 1 Tottenham Hotspur" width="500" height="330"></figure></div></a></p>
<p>At the time when Coyle left, I was critical of the decision, mainly as I didn’t think Bolton could strike up the pace as quickly as they needed and Burnley seemed to be doing well. I didn’t understand it, but then again, not many people did other than Bolton Wanderers fans. The Green half of Glasgow were certainly left scratching their heads as they watched Tony Mowbray’s reign imploded in a series of bizarre transfer and selection issues and wondering how they couldn’t attract Burnley’s manager over the summer.</p>
<p>So Coyle kept his part of the bargain, he turned his back on devotion and demi-god status at Turf Moor, to ride to Boltons rescue and try and keep them in the Premiership. He did it and with points to spare, such was the dearth of quality shown by the bottom 3 sides for most of the season. Whilst the bottom 3 were nowhere near the worst the Premiership has seen, the lack of a consistent goalscorer in all three relegated sides was too much to bare.</p>
<p><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=kevin davies&amp;iid=8746530" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/4/a/4/6/Football__Bolton_b66e.jpg?adImageId=12893765&amp;imageId=8746530" border="0" alt="Football - Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City Barclays Premier League" width="500" height="336"></figure></div></a></p>
<p>Now Coyle has a few weeks off, and will look to pre-season training in July to begin to continue the good start he’s made to his 4th managerial position. Bolton fans came in for some criticism last season with their campaign to get rid of Gary Megson. <em>“Ideas above their station” ” Spoilt by the Allardyce years”</em> and <em>“Small club punching above their weight”</em> were just some of the delightful accusations levelled at the fans. Quite why wanting rid of a manager who messed up the biggest night in the clubs modern history and would send his teams out not to lose, rather than to try and win games is such a problem.</p>
<p>They pay money and are rightly entitled to their opinions, whether we agree with it or not.  I’ve never understood how Gary Megson keeps getting jobs, his record other than at West Bromwich Albion is abysmal. Only Megson could unite Nottingham Forest and Leicester City fans in their hatred of him, such is the feeling of anger towards him from both sets of supporters. Now that takes some doing in anyone’s book, at least Coyle only has one clubs fans anger to deal with, probably for life. Bolton wasn’t a massive rescue job, he just needed to remind the players how to play football, as daft as that sounds.</p>
<p><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=gary cahill&amp;iid=8622179" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/f/5/b/8/Sports_News_47e0.jpg?adImageId=12893772&amp;imageId=8622179" border="0" alt="Sports News - April 25, 2010" width="500" height="355"></figure></div></a></p>
<p>He simply needed to get the core performers back in unison and on song. The spine of a decent Premiership side was always there, it just wasn’t allowed to be a football team. With Jaaskelainen, Davis, Elmander, Cahill, Taylor and Davies to call on, it simply needed the depressing air lifting from the place and things would soon settle down. The first 6 weeks were tough, but eventually, points started to come, performances started to come and the team began to climb the table.</p>
<p>Next season will be Coyle’s biggest test so far as a manager. He had nothing to lose at the other jobs he took, Burnley achieved more than even the most loyal fan could have imagined, but I doubt Bolton will be scraping around the relegation zone next season. Despite what their critics may say, Bolton have now been back in the top flight of football for ten years and are an established Premiership club. The troubles of the last 3 seasons should prove nothing more than a bad dream for the Wanderers fans, mid-table is more than realistic for next season.</p>

Bolton Look To Build On Coyle&#039;s Good Start

Bolton Look To Build On Coyle&#039;s Good Start - World Soccer Talk

Bolton Look To Build On Coyle's Good Start

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<p>Ah, Gary Megson, never a manager to pass the blame on to anyone else for his own shortcomings, has decided that today he would announce that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/megson-questions-boltons-awkward-squad-1826485.html" target="_blank">certain players are trying to destabilise the club</a>. After watching Sundays performance, I don’t blame them, they look a team with no self confidence, no belief and no faith in the manager. At least he’s not blaming the fans this week. It’s always some else’s fault in Gary Megson’s mind. On Sunday, they’d lost their zip. Now, dark forces are working against Gary Megson, not the fact he played two left wingers in the same midfield and substituted their best player on Sunday, Ricardo Gardner. Witchcraft is abound on Burnden Way in Megson’s eyes.</p>
<p>The fans do not need a reason to increase their dislike of a manager that they never wanted.The boo’s that came cascading down from the Reebok faithful when Ricardo Gardner was removed served to remind Megson that regardless of the chairman’s support, If enough fans stop going, it won’t matter. Money makes the world go round and Bolton’s gates have never been the highest. Currently 5,000 down on 2005-2006 season, even a local derby on Sunday against Blackburn couldn’t raise the attendance over 22,000.</p>
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<p>To be honest, I think Gary Megson would lose a popularity contest if he was the only person in it and only his friends could vote. His dogmatic, banality at all costs style of football makes you want to stitch your eyelids together. That’s no attack on Bolton Wanderers, they have the quality of player to be able to get the ball down and play football. Under Allardyce, they attracted a quality of free signings and rough diamonds that played a high tempo, effective and physical game.Megson’s teams just won’t play football because he doesn’t know how to.</p>
<p>Under Megson, they look lost, without purpose and drive. A key point of this is Johan Elmander. Now, I’ve seen a bit of Elmander play over the last 3 or 4 years and right now, he looks like he’s never played the game before. There is no doubting that Elmander is a quality player and he made Toulouse a different side during his time there. Now, he looks like a fish out of water.Elmander is no Fernando Torres, but he’s a damn fine striker.</p>
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<p>The chairman Phil Gartside has said there was no need to panic and he wasn’t the type to do so, but tell that to Sammy Lee. Gartside came out with this gem: <strong><em>“The season is 38 games and we are confident. We have been playing some good football, it’s been decent stuff. No one presses panic buttons around here. I have been in the game long enough not to do that.”</em></strong> Now I’ve yet to find a Reebok regular that would agree with any part of that statement.</p>
<p>Since Megson took over at the Reebok stadium, Bolton have played 92 games in all competitions under his stewardship. Incredibly, they’ve only won 26 of those matches. That’s a win ratio of 28.2% and Paul Hart who has so much to deal with and got sacked today had a win ratio at Pompey of 30%. With the fans baying for his blood, Bolton now face Fulham and Wolves away before Manchester City arrive and these are crucial games. The Christmas fixture computer has given them some tough local games and relegation six pointers, so things aren’t going to get any easier.</p>
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<p>By once again blaming everyone else, Megson shows a thin skin to his limitations as a manager. As I mentioned earlier this year, Megson has a dreadful record as a manager, but keeps getting jobs. It astounds me how the same names keep going round and round and never achieving anything but the jobs keep coming. Mind you Megson claimed he’d been black balled after his dreadful spell at Nottingham Forest, which when you consider he only won 17 games out of 59, speaks for itself.</p>
<p>The dreaded vote of confidence has come, the fans are chomping at the bit to let him know just how little they think of him, attendances are falling, Megson is blaming the fans, the players and the club are second bottom. The question Bolton fans must be wondering is just how bad to things have to get at the Reebok before Megson gets sacked. We’ll find out soon enough if there is a happy ending in Horwich.</p>

Megson Begins A Dangerous Game At Bolton

Megson Begins A Dangerous Game At Bolton - World Soccer Talk

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Bolton Look To Build On Coyle's Good Start

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Megson Begins A Dangerous Game At Bolton