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Birmingham City 2-1 Bolton Wanderers

Matilda Hankinson — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:10:04 -0000

It was another frustrating night for the Bolton Wanderers, and another long journey home with zero points for their effort. Birmingham did what they needed to do to win the match, namely take advantage of the chances given to them, and Bolton once again looked incapable of doing so, not matter how many they set up.

It was a typical Bolton start really. The Trotters started brightly enough, making numerous forays into the Birmingham area. However, 16 minutes in concentration lapsed and Leroy Lita put the home side ahead. Paul Caddis crossed the ball into the six yard box, and Lita put it in the bottom right hand corner of the goal. One minute later Bolton's bad luck continued, as Jay Spearing was forced to come off due to injury, replaced by Keith Andrews. However, uncharacteristically, the Wanderers stayed in the match, and even managed to look the better side that half.

In the 37th minute, David Ngog had an excellent chance one-on-one with Jack Butland, set up by Chris Eagles of course, but his head went straight into the keeper. It looked like wasted chances would be the story of the half for Bolton, but in the 43rd minute, Chris Eagles made sure it would not be so. Stephen Caldwell fouled Ngog, giving away a freekick 30 yards out. Eagles stepped up to take it, and his shot curled beautifully into the top right corner of the net, giving Butland no chance. The teams went into

But it was not to last, and Bolton's halftime hoodoo was in full effect. It is a mystery, whatever goes on in those 15 minutes in the dressing room, but whatever it is it needs to stop. Just 2 minutes after the restart, Zat Knight managed to concede a penalty by taking Marlon King down in the box. King himself stepped up to take, and he converted, putting Bolton behind once again. After that Birmingham were most definitely in the ascendancy.

Coyle recognised this and tried to change Bolton's luck, making a double substitution of Martin Petrov and Benik Afobe on for Chung-Yong Lee and David Ngog. This seemed to do little to interrupt the Blues' flow. Adam Bogdan was forced to prove his worth multiple times, including a fantastic save from Nathan Redmond 25 yards out.

Gradually Bolton did wedge their way back into the game, but none of the chances would line up just right. Mark Davies got a dangerous ball in Birmingham's box, but in the end Butland made an easy save. Afobe also had a chance in the box, but was muscled off the ball as only a 19 year old from Arsenal can be. The best opportunity probably fell to Marcos Alonso, but he couldn't get ahold of his shot and it went wide. There were a few more chances, but after 4 minutes of stoppage time the whistle blew and Birmingham came away with all 3 points.

This, for the most part, was Bolton's game. The Trotters were dominant for vast swathes of the match, tallying 17 shots to the Blues' 10, and 12 shots on target to their 7. However Birmingham had the shots that counted in the end. While the story arc of the match - concede, get a good goal back, go down after halftime, never recover - is not unfamiliar to Bolton fans, this match was different in that this time Bolton deserved to win.

Many fans have already lost patience with Coyle, and understandably. It's been a trying year for us, and things do need to look up soon. But this game, although the result is poor, was an improvement on the losses from earlier this season. This Bolton did not crumple and fall after going down not once, but twice. The finishing is still not good enough, and it is very frustrating, but slowly it looks like the pieces are coming together. It's frustrating, but that much is to be expected from the first season in the Championship after 10 years. Bolton are in 15th place, only 3 points off 6th. There are still many games to go this season, and if the team keeps making little improvements like we saw today, they could pull through after all.

Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Watford

Mark Yesilevskiy — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:01:43 -0000

It was certainly a strange lineup that Owen Coyle threw out for Bolton Wanderers as they welcomed Watford to the Reebok. Chung-Yong Lee was given a rest following his long travel experience during the week while Marcos Alonso earned his first start of the year. Matt Mills returned to the lineup alongside Zat Knight as Tim Ream was not even in the Bolton 18-man sqaud.

It could not have started any better for Bolton as the Wanderers forced two brilliant saves out of Manuel Almunia in the opening two minutes. The perfect start was then cemented on three minutes as Chris Eagles sent a wonderful ball in from a free kick. Matt Mills got his head on the ball and put it into the back of the net past Almunia.

As the first half wore on, Watford started getting more and more into the game but it was still largely Bolton in control. Bolton asserted their position right before the halftime break thanks to another great ball in from Chris Eagles. This time, it was Kevin Davies who scored from the Eagles free kick, making it 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. With that, Chris Eagles had either directly assisted or scored six of Bolton's seven league goals on the season.

As has been the way with Bolton and halftime team talks, it seemed like a different Bolton side came out of the dressing room. Watford started the half off very brightly, troubling the Bolton defense a lot more than they should have. The Hornets made their start to the second half count with a goal on 58 minutes. Rather than the defense being at fault here, this one was really on Adam Bogdan. The Hungarian goalkeeper misjudged the defender's curling ball in. With Bogdan missing the ball in the air, it settled nicely in the side netting inside the Bolton goal.

David Ngog marked his return with a great performance, showing just how instrumental he can be in the Championship for Bolton Wanderers. The striker was really unlucky more than anything to not score a goal as he was substituted off just prior to the Watford goal. From all indications, it seems as though Ngog had asked to come off and we really hope it was more precautionary than anything else.

Bolton managed to hold on for the remaining 32 minutes and stoppage time despite a lot of nervy defending. The Trotters were within a 3-1 win on a number of occasions with Matt Mills' second goal being called back for a foul on Almunia, a close bit of interplay between Afobe and Pratley, and a Kevin Davies header right at the Watford keeper. Bolton will look to Tuesday's match against Birmingham as they sit on seven points and in 11th place.

Bolton Wanderers v Watford: Line-ups and live Matchthread

Dennis Chase — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 13:11:50 -0000

Bolton Wanderers v. Watford

Location: Reebok Stadium
Date: 15 September 2012

Records (W-D-L, +/-, Points, Place):

Home:1-1-2, -2, 4, 21st

Form:LDWL

Away: 2-0-2, -2, 6, 13th

Form:LWLW

GK: Adam Bogdan	GK: Manuel Almunia
D: Tyrone Mears	D: Lloyd Doyley
D: Matt Mills	D: Neuton
D: Zat Knight	D: Nyron Nosworthy
D: Marcos Alonso	D: Daniel Pudil
M: Jay Spearing	M: Jonathon Hogg
M: Mark Davies	M: Mark Yeates
M: Keith Andrews	M: Almen Abdi
M: Chris Eagles	M: Sean Murray
F: Kevin Davies	F: Chris Iwelumo
F: David Ngog	F: Matej Vydra

Substitutes:

Bolton Wanderers; Andy Lonergan, Samuel Ricketts, Marvin Sordell, Darren Pratley, Benik Afobe, Chung-Yong Lee, Martin Petrov

Watford: Bond, Beleck, Cassetti, Smith, Chalobah, Ekstrand, Forestieri

On the Trot: Three Wanderers Play Full International Matches, None Walk Out With Wins

Mark Yesilevskiy — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:31:42 -0000

It was a poor night out in international fixtures for Chung-Yong Lee, Sam Ricketts, and Adam Bogdan as none of the three would leave their World Cup 2014 Qualifying matches with less than three points. Chungy would arguably be the happiest of the three with his side rescuing a draw.

Chungy's South Korea side went 1-0 down early to Uzbekistan thanks to an own goal before pulling two back, one on each side of the halftime break. Sanjar Tursunov equalized for Uzbekistan shortly after Korea went ahead. The match ended at 2-2. South Korea are still three points clear at the top of their group, however.

Sam Ricketts' Wales were battered to the tune of 6-1 by a strong Serbian side. The game saw a total of seven different goal scorers with Gareth Bale the only one on target for the Welsh. Ricketts entered the game at the half with Wales already 3-1 down. Wales are bottom of their group after two matches, having not gained a single point.

Adam Bogdan's Hungary team were also battered, this time by the visiting Netherlands 4-1. It was a lot of poor defending in front of the goalkeeper that opened up the holes in front of goal, allowing the Dutch to pick their spots and coast easily past Hungary. Hungary sit on three points in the middle of their group with Romania and the Netherlands above them Turkey below.

Elsewhere, Gregg Wylde was a substitute in Scotland U-21's 3-2 loss to Austria. The Scots were already knocked out the qualifying for their U-21 tournament.

How to Stop Bolton's Crash and Burn

Matilda Hankinson — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 13:00:17 -0000

The international break has given both the Wanderers and fans a much needed emotional break from the thus far trying season in the Championship. It also gives Owen Coyle a chance to take a step back and figure out what on earth is going on. Bolton sit 20th in the Championship, just two spots above the relegation zone having only gotten 4 points from 4 games. Two of those four While assertions that Bolton would fly in the Championship were always over-hasty, even the most pessimistic amongst us didn't expect the team to be this bad.

Just what is wrong is difficult to diagnose, and even more difficult to fix. Owen Coyle may not be overly popular with Bolton fans right now, and perhaps he doesn't have enough experience to run a Premiership club, but we know he can do the Championship, we watched him do it with Burnley. He also brought most of his backroom staff with him from Burnley, meaning that while Bolton haven't been in the Championship for 10 years, many of its personnel have.

The squad perhaps is not the most impressive Bolton has ever deployed, but there it is by no means terrible. There is a decent balance between experienced veterans (Martin Petrov, Kevin Davies, Keith Andrews) and promising youth (Adam Bogdan, Marcos Alonso, Chung-Yong Lee), something which is necessary for a club of Bolton's size. While it certainly could be improved upon with some savvy plays in the transfer market, for the most part Owen Coyle did what he needed to in the summer transfer window: consolidate the existing squad, hold onto star players, and make a few quiet signings.

Or this would be the case if players were performing. However there hasn't been a single area on the pitch that the Trotters haven't been distinctly lacking in at some point or another. Granted, there have also been moments when the team looked quite good, usually around the 20 minute mark, but these have been few and far between. With the increase in matches, consistency is even more important in the Championship than in the Premiership, and that's one thing Bolton are sorely lacking.

So if it is not the backroom staff, or Owen Coyle, or the players, then it's something much deeper. A malaise has permeated throughout the club, and it is reaching the supporters. Every week, Coyle's job is called for louder and louder, and the Scot is running out of time to fix it.

That's what this international break should be for. Most players are not on duty, only 5 members of the squad having received call ups. There is a disconnect that needs to be addressed, and a confidence that needs to be regained. This is not a bad group of boys, and we know Coyle can do better, we've seen it. At this point, the problem is no longer about tactics or injury problems, the problem is the club, and it will take self reflection and a purposeful change to fix.

Chris Eagles said yesterday,

"It's been difficult for the fans because they have been frustrated with the start that we have made. But in this league, one win can change things and that can soon roll into two or three good results. Before you know it, you move straight up the league.

"We know we have to win matches and although some of the lads have been away on international duty, we have been in training this week working hard. I'm confident that we can come out after the international break, get a good result against Watford and move forward."

In my mind, he has the right idea. The players need to gain confidence in themselves and their talent again, and the team and club as a whole need to find a chemistry. If they don't soon, this run of bad results will spiral us straight down into League One. I still maintain that this is a good club, and that you can pick a good team from this squad, despite performances that say otherwise. Please prove me right BWFC

Bolton Wanderers Jump The Gun On Announcing Tim Ream's United States Call Up

Mark Yesilevskiy — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:00:40 -0000

Last week, Bolton Wanderers announced that seven players were going on international duty with Marvin Sordell, Adam Bogdan, Chung-Yong Lee, Gregg Wylde, Sam Ricketts, Keith Andrews, Tim Ream all set to travel. In actuality, Tim Ream will not be involved in this round of international fixtures and the team had made a mistake on announcing his presence in the United States Men's National Team setup for the World Cup Qualifiers against Jamaica.

The announcement was a bit of a head-scratcher to us when it first happened for two reasons: first, Tim Ream has been part of an awful Bolton defense and he, like the majority of the other players at the back, was directly responsible for the goals. Second, the US Roster was not due to be announced for a few more days.

It turns out that Bolton Wanderers prematurely announced Reams' inclusion in the side. Tim Ream had been in the preliminary list for Jurgen Klinsmann's squad but was cut relatively long before the final announcement was made. Ream made his international debut in 2010 but has been out of the side for all of 2012, having not been included once since his move to Bolton Wanderers. Ream currently has eight caps for the US Men's National Team.

On the Trot: Select Wanderers Go International

Matilda Hankinson — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:30:13 -0000

For many Wanderers, this weekend's international break will be just that: a break. While Bolton never boasted many international stars, the number has fallen even more with Bolton's fall in form. Overall, this is probably a good thing for the club. The players surely could use a break at this point from a season that has already been very trying, and the fewer injury worries the better. However, some Trotters are still off to ply their trade on the world stage, as countries compete to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

Sam Ricketts, our resident Welsh heartthrob, will probably be playing for Wales in their qualifier against Belgium tonight at Cardiff City Stadium. The injury-struck Dragons will be hard put to beat a strong Belgium, as they have yet to get a goal let alone a win under new manager Chris Coleman. You can see the full Welsh squad at this poorly formatted and bizarrely themed FAW page.

Adam Bogdan is a sure fire start for Hungary as they travel to Andorra tonight in Group D. This should be a fairly even match, with both teams in good form of late. Bogdan himself has lost some of the magic of last season, but an international win would help him pick it up. Here is the full Hungarian squad, in Hungarian.

Chung-Yong Lee has been recalled for South Korea after his season long absence due to injury. The team is set to face Uzbekistan at home on September 11th. Coming back has certainly not been overly easy for Chungy, there are moments of his old brilliance but he is rusty. You can view the full Korean side here.

Youngster Gregg Wylde has been included in the Scotland U21 side, in their attempt to qualify for the U21 European Championship. Yesterday Scotland beat Luxembourg 3-0, Wylde remained an unused sub. On Monday they travel to Austria hoping to continue winning ways. Despite the large amount of hassle the club took in securing him, Wylde has yet to make an appearance for Bolton.

Finally, Marvin Sordell has featured for the England U21s, starting in their 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan yesterday. If the Young Lions can get at least a point against Norway on Monday, they will have qualified for the play offs. Sordell put in some impressive performances for Great Britain at the Olympics this summer, and has already scored a precious goal for Bolton.

Good luck to all of our international Wanderers!

Chris Eagles Takes Sponsor's Player Of The Month Award

Mark Yesilevskiy — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:38:25 -0000

August was far from a kind month for Bolton Wanderers. Four points from four games, a crash out of the Capital One Cup, only four goals scored, and seven conceded. Arguably, the only player that really did well in that stretch was Chris Eagles. The winger has started each of the last three league games and has tallied a goal in each outing. As a result, club sponsor 188Bet has handed Chris Eagles the player of the month award after a fan vote.

The final tally read:

Chris Eagles - 70 %

Chung-Yong Lee - 13 %

Kevin Davies - 10%

Speaking to the official website about his award, Eagles said:

"I'd like to thank everyone who voted and hopefully they have seen that it means a lot to me to be here and play for Bolton Wanderers. I'd like to win a few more of these awards by the end of the season.

"It's been difficult for the fans because they have been frustrated with the start that we have made. But in this league, one win can change things and that can soon roll into two or three good results. Before you know it, you move straight up the league.

"We know we have to win matches and although some of the lads have been away on international duty, we have been in training this week working hard.

"I'm confident that we can come out after the international break, get a good result against Watford and move forward."

Here's hoping that you do, Chris, while Bolton win a lot more games.

Hull City v. Bolton Wanderers

Matilda Hankinson — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:06:56 -0000

Hitting the panic button really isn't my style, but having been saying for what seems like an eternity now that Coyle needs to improve soon, things are starting to get a little dodgy. Bolton Wanderers have received 4 points from their opening 3 games, 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss (not including the embarrassing Crawley Town incident). It's not a terrible run, but nor is it what Bolton fans have come to expect from the club. This weekend is yet another chance for Coyle to turn everything around.

Owen Coyle must be feeling the pressure now. The honeymoon with the fans is definitely over, and boos are once again not uncommon around the Reebok. However, he has doggedly stuck with his beloved 4-4-2 through all of this. It is possible that the acquisition of Liverpool's Jay Spearing on a season long loan could inspire the change fans have been looking for.

A central midfield of Jay Spearing to Mark Davies to Keith Andrews would be a very defensive showing, but that might just be what the club needs. There is enough attacking talent on the wings, in the form of Chris Eagles, Martin Petrov, and Chung-Yong Lee, that the central midfield could concentrate on keeping possession, something it will certainly take at least 3 Wanderers to do.

Luckily for Bolton, Hull are in somewhat of a transition period themselves. New manager Steve Bruce will be attempting to mold the side to his game, and that is always a difficult thing for players to adapt to. We've been told that the City player to watch is Sone Aluko, signed from Rangers this summer. The tricky winger could more than trouble Bolton's shaky defense, especially if allowed the space and time on the ball Bolton have usually this season.

Hull City have only scored one league goal this season, but they've also only let one in. The match plan will be to keep things tight, and to physically test Bolton, a club that is used to being considered big boys in the softer Premiership. Coyle is well aware how difficult this match could be,

"Steve has come in and added a few to a squad that already had some very good players in it. It's a fantastic infrastructure there. It's a great club with a great stadium. It's important we impose ourselves and show our quality and make sure we give Hull City some problems.

"There is a very simple reason why it's tough there and that's the fact they have a fantastic fan base. You saw that when they had a great few seasons in the Premier League. Even when Hull City were in the lower echelons of the league, they were still one of the best supported sides in those divisions.

"We are under no illusions what the atmosphere will be like, and that's something we have to deal with, and stand up and be counted."

Standing up and being counted has not been amongst Bolton's strong points this season. Coyle is right in that sooner or later this team will have to show some back bone if they expect to do well in the league, let alone push for promotion. The raw materials for a good team are there, now it's up to the boss to manipulate them into one.

Poll

What will the result be at the KC Stadium?

Hull win

17 votes

Draw

11 votes

Bolton win

14 votes

42 votes | Poll has closed

On The Trot: Seven Wanderers Get International Duty

Mark Yesilevskiy — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:49:07 -0000

Yesterday we discussed Marvin Sordell's England U-21 call-up and and Martin Petrov's Bulgaria exclusion. Today, the rest of the international managers were on the phone with Bolton Wanderers. In additional to Sordell, six Trotters will represent Bolton on international duty. Five of those will be with their full national squads with four of the five playing World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Those qualifying matches will take place on September 7 and 11.

Tim Ream

In what is a somewhat surprising move from US Men's National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Tim Ream has called up Tim Ream for the home and away World Cup qualifying matches against Jamaica. Ream last featured in the league for Bolton in the 0-2 opening day loss against Burnley.

Sam Ricketts

The full back will be with the Wales squad as they take on Belgium at home before travelling to Novi Sad to take on Serbia in World Cup qualifying.

Chung-Yong Lee

We discussed this one last week. Chung-Yong Lee has been recalled by South Korea for their qualifying match away at Uzbekistan.

Adam Bogdan

The goalkeeper looks to add on to his eight previous caps with Hungary travelling to Andorra before returning home for what will surely be a tough Netherlands test in qualifying matches.

Keith Andrews

The midfielder is in Ireland's side for a friendly against Ali Al-Habsi's Oman side.

Gregg Wylde

The winger (who is yet to get a single competitive minute for Bolton Wanderers) is included in Scotland's U-21 side for the U-21 European Championship qualifiers against Luxembourg and austria.

Marvin Sordell

The forward (who scored his first competitive Bolton Wanderers goal against Derby County last week) has been recalled to Stuart Pearce's England U-21s as they also try to qualify for the U-21 European Championship. They will face Azerbaijan and Norway.