Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers

It is a miracle of biblical proportions that this match finished 1-1.  Anyone who watched the action for any extended period of time would have expected a 5-5 goal-fest.  Johann Elmander was on the right wing again, a decision many people are questioning, but he ended up getting a Newcastle player sent off and actually had a pretty good match overall.

Once again though, all eyes were drawn to Daniel Sturridge.  This kid is an absolute beast.  Four goals in four for Bolton, and he does everything well.  Incredible skill on the ball, power, a good shot with both feet, creates chances for his teammates, and whenever he gets the ball I feel like the entire stadium comes to their feet, almost in expectation that something spectacular is going to happen.

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.

Champions League Star Peter Crouch?

The goal was really made by Aaron Lennon, and his run was so good that even he couldn't screw up the cross.  AC Milan really did not look a threat.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic created a few chances late, but for most of the match you would have thought Tottenham were the home team.

In my humble opinion, AC Milan are a spent force, and their current position perched atop Serie A only speaks further to the steep decline in the quality of that league.  It's hard to see anything but a fairly easy home win for Spurs in the second leg of this tie.

As for Tuesday's other match, Schalke have an away goal and Valencia are not known for traveling well, especially to Germany.  It's hard to see anything other than the German side advancing to the last 8.

David Wheater

I thought this deal was a bargain at twice the price for Bolton (I admit I was not alone), and approximately two appearances into his Wanderers career, it appears I was right.  Two games for Wheater, two clean sheets for Bolton.

To be fair, that is probably oversimplifying things.  He may be a more complementary partner though, for Zat Knight or Gary Cahill.  Cahill and Knight are both so big, it somewhat limits their mobility.  Don't get me wrong they both have good pace, and move pretty well for their size, but Wheater may be just a bit quicker.  I have yet to see any results from the scan on Zat Knight's knee, but I am hopeful that he will only miss a week or two.  Wheater is certainly an excellent replacement, but I will be happy when we have three healthy, classy central defenders on the roster.

The situation in defense aside, it was a fine performance against Everton, and hopefully it will herald a return to form for Bolton.

The Right Wing

Daniel Sturridge is a monster, he really has to start for Bolton Wanderers.  As I wrote in my last post, Owen Coye is not dropping Kevin Davies.  That is the pairing up top.  Against Tottenham, Johann Elmander started on the right side of midfield.  He worked hard, and he is certainly skillful, but this left us with no pace on the right wing.  And the fact that Matty Taylor and Paul Robinson were the combination on the left side meant we had no pace on either wing.  We are just not going to win many matches that way.

If it were up to me, Rodrigo Moreno and Lee Chung-yong would be the starting wingers.  It seems more likely that Lee and Martin Petrov will be Coyle's preferred pairing.

I am very interested in seeing the starting XI when Bolton play Everton on Sunday.  The more pace in the team, the better.

The Boys a bit special...

Daniel Sturridge debuted with a goal, giving Bolton a deserved win over Wolves at The Reebok.

What will be interesting to see is the starting XI for this weekend's away match against Tottenham.  A lot of Bolton supporters are calling on Owen Coyle to play Sturridge from the start.  The funny thing is they are split almost down the middle on who to drop to the bench from the current forwards, Johann Elmander or Kevin Davies.

The truth is that Coyle, much like Gary Megson, Sammy Lee, and Sam Allardye before him, will never drop Kevin Davies of his own accord.  That means the only way Sturridge starts is if Elmander drops to the bench.  Elmander has 10 goals this season, but has not been scoring a lot recently.

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.

Transfer Speculation

Bolton have been linked with a few players over the past month or so.  There are really only two types of transfers in January; The Foregone Conclusion and The Complete Shock.

The Complete Shock is what happened to Sunderland last week, when Darren Bent suddenly and unexpectedly announced he was moving to Aston Villa.  Nobody had a clue it was happening until it was done.

I'm Back.

Good day loyal readers and Wanderers supporters.  I have spent the past couple weeks happily wandering the hills of Spain and Morocco, but now I am back, and ready to talk some football.  Bolton play Chelsea in a couple days, and that will no doubt be an interesting match;  However, I would like to spend today's posts addressing transfer speculation.  And believe me, about 95% of it is unfounded, unrealistic, unlikely to ever even be discussed, speculation.

First the confirmed signings;  Andy O'Brien went to Leeds.  I liked him, he was what they call an "honest" player, but he was barely up to premier league quality at his best, and he is well past that now.  I wish him luck.

Tope Obadeyi's loan deal with Shrewsbury Town expired.  He is back with Bolton after making nine starts for town and impressing no one.  He is still only 21, but he won't feature for the first team, and probably will be let go this coming summer.  We have had a few of these over the past few years, winger/forward types with a lot of pace and little else.  None of them have worked out.  It does not appear Tope will be the first.

Chelsea - 1 Bolton - 0

Chelsea had a spell of about five minutes in the second half of this match where they really looked a threat. They scored their goal, had an effort cleared off the line, and forced a good save out of Jussi Jaaskelainen.  Other than that, they looked a lot like Arsenal at their absolute worst.  Loads of possession, but no cutting edge, no chances created, no evidence of even the desire to score a goal.

Bolton on the other hand, looked fairly good, especially during the first half.  One of the TV analysts even argued that Wanderers had created the better chances.  A lot of this was down to Fabrice Muamba and Stuart Holden (Pictured, Below).  Chelsea's three-man midfield of Michael Essien, Ramires, and Frank Lampard is probably worth £60 million, and they were dominated by the two central men in the Bolton midfield.

Muamba and Holden covered more ground than the Chelsea three, snuffed out any threats they made, and created some chances at the other end.  Just an epic, box-to-box performance, from two players under 25 who cost a combined £5 million.  Both have recently signed contract extensions, and neither has shown any desire to leave Bolton.

Bolton Wingers

At the start of the season many analysts thought that the biggest strength of this Wanderers team would be its wingers, Lee Chung-yong and Martin Petrov.  That has not quite come to pass.  But the wing play has been important.  Matt Taylor scored today, and he will be very important over the next several weeks, as Lee will be playing for South Korea in the Asian Confederation's championship.

Petrov has had an up-and-down season, and there is no guarantee that he will start against Chelsea on Wednesday.  It may be time for young Rodrigo Moreno to get his chance.

No matter who comes into the starting XI for Lee, they will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility, as the Korean winger has become an integral part of Bolton's attack.

Owen Coyle has some big decisions to make.

Bolton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion (or That Damn Peter Odemwingie)

The Nigerian striker will be fit again to play Bolton on Boxing Day.  He is pivotal to what West Brom do, and will make things difficult for the Wanderers.  Not only does he score (6 goals in 11 matches), but his presence and intelligent movement creates space as well as opportunity for the Baggies' midfielders.

If I am honest, Odemwingie (pictured, right) is exactly the type of player Bolton tend to struggle against.  Of course, we have only kept one clean sheet all season, so I think it would be fair to say we struggle against most strikers.

These two clubs played to a draw a couple months ago, in a wide-open attacking match that was one of the finest spectacles of this season.  West Brom will have had two weeks to prepare for this match because of weather-related postponements, while Bolton are coming off an away loss in one of only three matches played last weekend.  Whether this provides an edge to either side on Sunday I am not sure, but going into a run of four matches in eleven days, we may see some squad rotation on both sides.

Sunderland

There is no doubting the talent of this Sunderland squad, and they have shown that talent, especially at home, against several clubs in the top half of the table.  They looked very good while beating Bolton on Saturday, yet it was only 1-0, and the Trotters had several chances late that could have very easily lead to an equalizer.  To make my point, this is what I wrote about Sunderland in my season preview;

This Sunderland squad is actually pretty close to Steve Bruce's Wigan and Birmingham squads. He always puts a talented group of players together, they always finish pretty comfortably mid-table, analysts always expect them to push on into the top half, and they never do. 11th sounds about right for this club.

And I am afraid that about sums it up.  They are flying high now, but Steve Bruce teams are just a tease, not the real deal.

The Bolton Midfield

Fabrice Muamba was dropped to the bench today in favor of Stuart Holden and Mark Davies in Bolton's central midfield.  Mark Davies was sent off for 2 yellow cards.  Muamba and Holden scored Bolton's goals.

Holden just turned 25, Mumba and Davies are both 22, and all three have exhibited substantial improvement as the season has progressed.  Going into the season, it was thought by many (including me) that Bolton's strength would be their wingers.  Yet Lee Chung-yong and Martin Petrov have both displayed uneven form through the first 16 matches in the premier league.  The spine of the team (Strikers Kevin Davies and Johann Elmander, Holden, M. Davies, and Muamba, central defenders Zat Knight and Gary Cahill, keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen) has been Bolton's strength this season.

Today's performance against Blackburn was good overall, not great, but the important thing, three points, was attained, and the Wanderers still find themselves riding high, sixth in the table for another week.

Martin Petrov

It's a big match for the Bulgarian winger against his former club.  He left under a black cloud, and he was not shy about criticizing the weatherman.  Petrov had some problems with injuries while at Eastlands, but he was always impressive when he was able to get on the pitch.  I am sure he is dying to prove a point this Saturday, but it is up to Owen Coyle to decide how Petrov can do so most effectively for the team.

Petrov generally doesn't play 90 minutes.  He has only completed one game in nine starts for Bolton this season.  To be fair he has competed all three that he has started for Bulgaria, so he is certainly fit enough to play the whole match if need be.  Coyle has to make the decision on how to best use Petrov's energy and emotion.  Will he start him, hoping that he can create mayhem straight on from kickoff, or will he save him for the 60th minute, an impact sub in the last half hour of what promises to be a close, hard-fought match.