I Wrote It. I Stand By It???

When I was writing my preview for Birmingham City, I felt they would stay up.  This is what I wrote;


Will they go down? Probably not. But I think they will be in or near the bottom three all season, and if they survive it will be by a scant point or two, possibly even on goal difference. They will end up with a point total in the high 30's...


Currently, with two matches to go, Birmingham City are 16th.  They have 39 points, 3 above the relegation zone, and a goal difference of -18.  I get to pat myself on the back for this one.

Central Midfield

I don't intend to blame anyone for yesterday's loss to Fulham.  Bolton have been poor away from home all season, and this was just another in a long lineof performances that should be forgotten.  I half expected to see Owen Coyle walking up to people at Harrods with a sweaty map and asking which way to the Thames.

That said, central midfield, thought to be a strength a few months ago, has really become a problem.  Throughout a good part of this season the triumvirate of Stuart Holden, Mark Davies, and Fabrice Muamba controlled the middle of the park.  Times have changed though.  Holden has a long term injury, Davies has had to deal with a few niggling ankle problems, and Muamba, while impressive, has a somewhat limited skill set.  In the last few matches, we have seen Johann Elmander, Tamir Cohen, and even Ricardo Gardner partner Muamba.  Now, I like all three of these players, and I think each of them has something to contribute.  None of them is an adequate replacement for Davies or Holden though. 

Megson signing Sean Davis has been out for almost two years, and at this point, we have to say a comeback is unlikely.  The same holds for Joey O'Brien.  The strength of the position is OK, as long as our first choices are fit, but we need to work on the depth.  As we get closer to summer, I will address each position and how important it is for us to add players.  At this time, you can assume central midfield will be relatively high on the list.

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.

Whenever I Think I Know What I am Doing...

...I look back at my preseason predictions.  Just a few gems;

On Wigan, currently bottom of the table, I wrote;


A couple injuries and some bad breaks could pull the Latics down into the relegation battle, but more likely they will have one or two good runs of form that will be just enough to safely ensconce them in the 13-16 range of the table. 


On Wolves, currently 19th;

Owen Coyle Wants Goals!

Bolton's manager has put out an extremely attacking lineup for today's home match against West Ham.

It's a little unclear what the formation will be, but I will try and discern what I can.

Zat Knight partners Gary Cahill in his return from injury.  Consequently, there is not even a place on the bench for David Wheater.  Coyle has played our two most attack-minded fullbacks, Gretar Steinnson and Marcos Alonso.

Fabrice Muamba will hold in front of the back four, while Martin Petrov and Lee Chung-Yong will rampage up and down the wings.  Now this is where it gets confusing.  Kevins Davies and Daniel Sturridge are up top, but where is Johann Elmander playing?

Bolton Wanderers v West Ham United

I am not as down on the Fabrice Muamba-Tamir Cohen central midfield pairing as some supporters, but it does leave us lacking creativity in the middle of the park.  For a more detailed preview, check out this entry at the Manny Road blog.

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.

Mental Mistakes

When it comes to sports, no player is ever perfect.  No matter how good an athlete you are, there are balls you can't reach, attackers you can't catch, shots you can't reach, etc.  It's physics, it's reality, and much as we wish it wouldn't, it sometimes intrudes on our little world.  However, these are physical mistakes.  Everybody is going to make physical mistakes, and these are easily forgiven.

Mental mistakes on the other hand, are an entirely different animal.  Most mental mistakes are avoidable, and usually pretty easily so.  Flying into a challenge with both feet off the ground 80 yards from goal in the first ten minutes of a Champions League match is certainly avoidable.  Doing so twice, in the first leg of the biggest match in your club's history, is downright stupid.  As Peter Crouch trudged off the pitch today, the fans at the Bernabeu Stadium chanted, "Tonto, Tonto!"  This means, "Stupid, stupid!"  I see no reason to argue with them.

USA 1 Argentina 1

I didn't watch this whole match, only about 60% of it.  And it is only a friendly, which the US probably took far more seriously than their South American opponents.  But I thought the Americans were impressive.  They spent a lot of time defending, however they did a good job of it, their positioning was solid, some of the young players looked very capable, and whenever the US did put together an attack, there was really a sense of a legitimate threat.

Stuart Holden will be missed on both sides of the Atlantic, but the US actually looks better equipped than Bolton to cope in his absense.

Stuart Holden

The American midfielder has been Bolton's player of the season without a doubt, but now he is out for six months.  Just a terrible blow for the club as well as the player, who has had bad luck time and again in his young career.

I just hope that Holden can come back as good, or even better, than he has been this season.  At 25, he should be just entering the peak of his footballing powers.  The worst part is that it looks like he will miss the start of next season as well.  He his having surgery today, hopefully we will know more after that.  Just gutted with this news.

Manchester United 1 Bolton Wanderers 0

I hate Manchester United.  I usually don't traffic in that sort of emotion.  Honestly, I don't get into rivalries all that much.  I usually think it is just another team that we have to beat, but over the past 2 seasons I have really grown to hate Manchester United.  The smugness.  The sense of entitlement.  The xenophobia.  The blatant intimidation.  And worst of all, the lack of talent or ability.

When I see Alex Ferguson pointing at his watch and basically saying, "You cannot blow the whistle until my team wins," I just want to vomit.  And then, the worst part, THE INTIMIDATION WORKS!  The referees in England listen to him.  Inexplicably, illogically, the referees listen to him.

I am trying to articulate why I hate them, but who cares.  I just do.

I hate Manchester United.

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.

Luis Suarez

It's the 40th minute of Liverpool v Manchester United, and the home side has just gone up 2-0.  Both goals have been scored by Dirk Kuyt, but both have been set up by Suarez.

The Suarez signing was widely mocked in England, with most pundits making a joke about him being a good goalkeeper (because of the handball on the goal line at the World Cup), then a reference to Afonso Alves (a South American striker who scored a lot of goals in Holland, the flopped in England), but really not knowing anything about Suarez himself.  If they had watched any of Uruguay's matches prior to the Quarterfinal against Ghana, they would know that Suarez was outstanding in every facet of the game.  He and Diego Forlan were the best strike-partnership at the World Cup.

I think Suarez will have one and a half or two fantastic seasons for Liverpool, and then, much like Fernando Torres, move on to a bigger club.

Bolton Wanderers 3 Aston Villa 2

What a match!  Another outstanding end-to-end affair at the Reebok.  Bolton didn't play as well as they are capable, in fact, Aston Villa will feel rather hard done by after this one, but you have to take advantage when you are on top.  That means finishing the chances you create.

In Ivan Klasnic and Daniel Sturridge the Wanderers have two top class finishers.  And Gary Cahill is not too shabby either.  Remember, in roughly 25 matches last season, before his shoulder problem, he scored seven goals.

Overall, there were some defensive blunders, and the finishing by Villa was not great, but both sides played very well in attack.  More importantly, this win puts Bolton on 40 points for the season, with nine matches to go.  I think mid-table was always the goal, and we should be able to push on after this, well clear of the relegation battle.  It is probably a little early for a return to European competition, and I think we will fall short of that, but an eighth place finish in Coyle's first full season, with a good portion of the squad (Wheater, Lee, Holden, Muamba, Davies, Alonso, Cahill) under 25, bodes very well for the future.