Gary Megson Is BWFC New Manager

Bolton Wanderers Football Club have announced that Gary Megson has been appointed as the new manager after leaving Leicester City after just six weeks.

Club Chairman Phil Garside said:

“We have been able to interview a number of quality candidates and have taken into consideration all the factors which we consider applicable for the post and, after due consideration, decided to offer the post to Gary Megson.

“We feel Gary is the right man to take Bolton Wanderers forward. I have paid particular attention to his career and he has demonstrated to me that he is prepared to roll his sleeves up and has the right temperament for a battle, which this season is undoubtedly going to be.

“We have made decisive decisions over the past few weeks and this is one of them. It is not about me, Gary Megson or any other individual, it is all about Bolton Wanderers surviving in the Premier League. “We have to be fully-focussed on the task ahead to make sure we achieve immediate success. I have spoken to the staff and the players and we are all committed to get behind Gary and turn our fortunes around.”

  • Albionfan

    I have read all the comments with regard to Gary Megson’s appointment. As a West Bromwich Albion supporter for many years I have seen my club scale the heights and suffer long periods long periods of decline. When Ron Atkinson left in the early nineteen eighties to manage Man U and took Bryan Robson with him it followed a season when we had finished third in the top league and it had looked for a long period that we would win it. For the next 20 years the club was in the doldrums and suffered relegation to the then second division and even spent one season in the third division . In 2000 Gary Megson was appointed manager to succeed Dennis Smith who was one of a number of managers who had failed to revive the club’s fortunes. Megson had been manager at Stoke who were bought by Icelandic owners who decided they wanted an Icelandic manager despite Megson’s good record at the club. When Megson arrived at the Albion the club were at some risk of being relegated again but they survived and during the close season he recruited some experience and quality on a limited budget. In the first season we gained promotion to the premier league we were 11 points behind our local rivals Wolves with 12 games left. The team won eleven of it’s last 12 matches to pip Wolves to an automatic promotion place . There is no doubt that Megson had been the driving force behind our promotion to the promised land. On the day we were promoted the atmosphere at the Hawthorns was unbelievable with directors , management , players and fans totally galvanised . As far as the fans were concerned Megson walked on water that day. The board did not back Megson in his first season in the Premier League refusing to pay Premier League wages to the players that Megson wanted to sign and were immediately relegated. Amazingly Megson soon restored confidence to the players and the club were promoted again with a few weeks to spare before the end of the season. Back in the premier legue Megson again failed to receive the full backing of the board and he was forced to shop in the basement for players. Megson is not a man to be taken advantage of or to keep quiet when he sees an injustice. After several public conflicts with the board he was replaced by Bryan Robson. So what have you got ?. You have a manager who will weed out any players who do not give 100% to the cause. You have a manager who will speak out against anyone who prejudices the best interests of your club and a manager who will be at conflict with himself or others which seems to bring out the best in his team. He was an angry young man at The Hawthorns but he is 48 now so perhaps he has mellowed. On a personal level he was the man who made me look forward to Saturday afternoons again. He is now playing for a chairman who backs his managers with resources and has a realistic opportunity to prove himself in the top league. You may not like him and to be fair he can be abrasive but you will probably end up respecting him if he achieves half of what he did at The Hawthorns. You might not belive me but you have a top man- back him.