Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City

The team lists are out, and it is Ivan Klasnic partnering Kevin Davies up top.

Johann Elmander returns to central midfield, where he was so impressive last weekend.

Paul Robinson is back, and after two weeks on the sub's bench to avoid suspension, I am sure he will be overly anxious to kick somebody.  Will be a shocker if he doesn't get a yellow card in the opening fifteen minutes.

Stoke's back four looks to be lacking pace, the best way forward might be to get Lee Chung-yong or Martin Petrov in behind.  Stoke have Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant on either side.  I think we will see a lot of diagonal balls early (from both sides) to try to bring the wingers into the game.  That is where both clubs are strongest today.

Kickoff is less than a half hour away.  Wembley is rocking.  It is going to be epic.  Cummon Bolton!!!!!!

FA Cup Semi-finals

Some of you may have noticed that the headline for this post has an -s at the end.  Yes, it is plural.  There are actually two FA Cup matches this weekend.

Now, it is no surprise that the Manchester Derby has received more coverage, it is certainly more of a glamour tie than Stoke v Bolton.  However, I have watched some recent sports news from the UK today, and the first match got all the coverage.

Normally this type of thing doesn't bother me, but this match at Wembley is a big deal for Stoke and Bolton, and to not even get a mention on a 60 minute sports news program seems awfully disrespectful.

Distracted

Maybe distracted is the wrong word, but I feel like some of the intensity has left this Bolton side in the last couple league matches.  I can't say I blame them.  They sit eighth in the table on the magic 40 points, they have an epic FA Cup semi-final at Wembley coming up, their free-flowing style of play has made them media darlings, and they no longer have an insane red-haired man screaming at them every day.

The supporters have joined this party as well, they are talking about the trip to London, talking about summer signings, and generally enjoying a great season.

The media has also joined in.  In fact, this article in the Bolton Evening News focuses not on the game at hand (West Ham visits tomorrow), but on the summer plans of Johann Elmander, whom Owen Coyle desperately wants to keep at the Reebok.

I would like to see Elmander stay, and I think there is a good chance he will.  Johann knows he has a good situation in Bolton, and he has been nothing but appreciative towards Coyle for revitalizing his career.  Many supporters have been bleating about loyalty and what not, but I have no problem with him letting his contract run out.  He's 29 years old, this will probably be his last big contract, and I don't blame him for wanting to keep all of his options open.

FA Cup Quarterfinals

Wanders are going to Wembley for the first time since 2000!  I was attending Uni in Bolton at that time, living in Orlando Village at Thynne Street, right across the way from the Cattle Market and just down the road from a chicken slaughterhouse.

We lost to Aston Villa in the semi-final that year, but times have changed.  I know several Bolton fans would like to see us face Manchester United if we get to the final, in a replay of 1958.

I am just glad to see the club progressing.  In less than two years Owen Coyle has completely transformed Bolton Wanderers from a drab, unmotivated group under Gary Megson to an exciting, hard-working, high-scoring barrel of fun.

My hope is that the additional cup matches, plus the fact that we have already reached the magical 40 point mark in the league, will allow some of the fringe players an opportunity to show us what they've got.

FA Cup Fifth Round

Bolton Wanderers are traveling down to London to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage.  And there had better be a winner, because neither of these clubs can afford a replay.

Bolton are quite shorthanded at the back for this one.  It is not just how many you lose that hurts you, but who you lose.  Sam Ricketts is Owen Coyle's most versatile defender, he can play anywhere along the back 4.  So when there have been injuries in defense, Ricketts has often been the man to pick up the slack.  But this time it is Ricketts who is hurt.  And that leaves Bolton without a recognized right back for tomorrow's match.

An Absolute Tonking

And to be honest, we were due.  We have an inconsistent goalkeeper, subpar fullbacks, a swashbuckling style, and a manager who has no qualms throwing on 4 forwards when we are behind in the second half.  It was inevitable that at some point we were going to concede 4 or 5.

I don't think there is a need to panic.  We are in a poor run of form right now, but the Chelsea match Monday was not as bad as the scoreline would indicate.  The loss away to Stoke is the only game this month where you could say Wanderers played terribly.

I think fitness issues and some injuries have contributed as well.  I would not be surprised if we beat Wigan in the FA Cup on Saturday and that starts a good run of form for us.  I still think we will end up mid-table.  And one of the hallmarks of a mid-table team is inconsistency.  So all the supporters who are freaking out just need to relax, drink a beer, and shut their pie-holes.

Does anyone outside of England care about the FA Cup?

Or more pressing, does anyone in England care about the FA Cup? There is plenty of handwringing about another round of low attendances and general indifference by the football watching public.

But I suspect these are the same people who are usually whinging about ticket prices, or matches not starting at 3 PM on Saturdays, or players not being loyal to their clubs, or too much money in the game, or foreign owners buying English clubs, or players not speaking English, or whatever else they notice on any given day is not the same as it was in 1953.

It is a shockingly small segment of the football watching population, and the small attendances at FA Cup matches, large TV ratings, and worldwide interest in Premier League clubs generally proves this. Yet this group makes for a good story. Some white haired pensioner moaning, "Me dad used to give me 15 shilling on a Saturday, and that would be plenty for me to go to the match, get a program, and a pork pie at halftime, not to mention the bus there and home again." All while some reporter nods knowingly.

Of course the reporter is quite happy to receive the extra stipend he gets for his Sky Sports appearances, as well as his minute-by-minute reports on a website. And he certainly doesn't complain when he gets to watch Burnley-Wigan on a rainy Tuesday in February from the comfort of his flat in the west end of London, saving himself a 6 hour roundtrip and an evening in the cold and damp.

My point is, it's 2010, a fact that most of us have accepted, including the reporters who choose it as an easy story subject so they don't have to any real work this weekend.

Wanderers Earn Replay

Bolton dominated the first half, but squandered several chances and were only up 1-0 at the half. Spurs really came into the match in the second half, although Bolton still created some chances. Sam Ricketts, again playing centre-half, gave away a stupid penalty, raising his arms over his head and blocking a pass in the box. Luckily, Huddlestone took the penalty quite poorly for Spurs and Jussi Jaaskelainen was able to save it. Overall, a draw was probably a fair result, and they will do it all over again at White Heart Lane.

As for individual players, a few stood out. Zat Knight played very well before going with some sort of injury, which has to be a huge concern for Owen Coyle.

Johann Elmander was outstanding in every aspect of the game except finishing, which is still a problem. He held the ball up well, ran at the defence when he could, and created chances for himself and others. In fact, his quick one-two with Lee Chung-Yong and excellent cutback set up Kevin Davies for Bolton's goal. This just showed that when he is able to play off another striker in a true 4-4-2 setup, he is a very dangerous player.

Fabrice Muamba was great in midfield, winning ball after ball and harassing Tottenham's creative players into mistake after mistake. His finishing was also poor, but he is still young, and if he can improve himself technically over the next year or two, he will really turn into a top class player. We have already seen him improve his passing this season through maturity. He doesn't panic as much, plays the simple pass, and gives the ball away far less than he did a year ago.

Paul Robinson was poor again. Nothing more to add really.

Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are looking really short on defenders, and don't have a great record at the Reebok, so there could be an upset brewing here. Given that Harry Redknapp may be planning an escape to a tax shelter in the Caribbean Sea, those chances are increasing every minute.

Owen Coyle claims he will put out his strongest team, but I am hoping to see a few squad players get an opportunity to show what they can do.

Stuart Holden may finally be fit enough to make his Wanderers debut, although I doubt he will feature from the start. As far as the rest of the attackers go, I would be pleased if Riga and Vaz Te were given a chance to do some damage. Lee Chung-Yong and Kevin Davies are both starting to look a little tired, I would like to see them rested as well.

I am not really optimistic though, chances are Coyle will make few changes. Here is my prediction of his starting XI on Sunday;

Jussi Jaaskelainen GK: I would like to see Al-Habsi get a start, and he well might.

Gretar Steinsson RB, Jlloyd Samuel LB: Please no Paul Robinson, please!!!

Zat Knight CB, Andy O'Brien CB: Not a lot of other options here, and Knight has been brilliant since Coyle arrived.

Fabrice Muamba CM, Chris Basham CM: This is a soft prediction, as it may well be Tamir Cohen with Basham, but I think Coyle might try a Liverpool style 4-2-3-1, and I would like to see Basham in the holding role, as his passing would complement Muamba's ball-winning.

Matt Taylor, LM, Ricardo Gardner RM, Mark Davies CM: As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see a bit more adventure in attack, but I don't think Coyle will take too many chances.

Johann Elmander F: I think Kevin Davies needs a rest, physically and mentally. Also, it will be really interesting to see how Coyle's system works without the hulking centre-forward present to give the ball away.