BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson Shares His Opinion of Bolton
“I think Gary Megson has done a decent job at Bolton”
That is how BBC Sport football pundit Mark Lawrenson starts his appraisal of Bolton Wanderers ahead of the start of the Premier League season. Lawro gives praise to Kevin Davies and concludes that Bolton will be fine, meaning that they won’t get relegated.
Watch ‘Lawro on Bolton’ on the BBC Sport website.
Former Wanderer, Phil Brown, might not like what he has to say about Hull City — ultimately Lawro predicts relegation for The Tigers along with Burnley who are also managed by an ex–Wanderer, Owen Coyle.
Meanwhile he give ex-Wanderer Sam Allardyce some praise for what he did at Bolton and implies that Blackburn Rovers will flourish under his management.
Do you think Lawrenson’s comments are fair? Share your thoughts below.
Lawro's a plank
Plank's are useful. Hull City won't set the division alight but I reckon the relegated teams will come from Portsmouth, Stoke, Hull, Blackburn, Burnley, Wolves and Birmingham. Less likely Stoke, Blackburn & Hull. No-one predicted Middlesborough and newcastle going down at the beginning of last season. The bookies got the relegated teams pretty wrong. Hull are making some decent late signing and the whole squad has a year's Premiership experience under their belt. Finishing 16th will suit me fine. Anyway, until the transfer window closes, what's the point in speculating? Lambrettaman …. now there's a legend. Keep it up. Oops. My Norwegian Blue just fell off it's perch again. Need to get a fresh nail.
lawrensen is a twat of the highest order
Most outsiders think Megson has done a good job because they just look at raw, logical facts, ie small team + not much money + bottom of the league when took over + kept us up twice = done a good job. For those who actually support the team it's not as straightforward as that, because nothing ever is when you support a football team – it's emotional, irrational. Which is why despite what he's done I believe Megson has done a bad job, because he's divided the fans and created a very bad atmosphere around the club.
Success is a tricky to measure, and yes, fans unequivocally measure success differently from pundits. Are Bolton supporters the only Megson doubters, or do you think that there is unrest among the squad and staff at The Reebok?
(Inspired another post — thanks!)
Difficult to know. Players only ever speak out after a manager has been sacked, they almost always back a manager publicly while he's in the job because they want to stay in the team. The only exceptions to that are when a player is desperate for a move, e.g. Charles N'Zogbia at Newcastle, or where a player's place in the team is so secure that they actually yield more influence than the manager, e.g. someone like John Terry at Chelsea. Of course, there will always be some players unhappy in every squad, whoever the manager is.
I think what you're asking is, could Megson's departure be prompted by rumblings from the players, as many suspect Sammy Lee's was. I suspect not – not least because Megson has (cleverly?) removed the most powerful/influential voice in the dressing room – Kevin Nolan.
I think empty seats/unrest in the stands are more likely to force Gartside's hand. We shall see…
I believe that if Megson were to leave any time soon it would be devastating for the club, possibly worse than when Sam Allardyce left.
Allardyce was going to leave, we knew that, but it came sooner than expected and that left the club in disarray. I don't think that the club had much choice with who they employed as manager after Big Sam, Little Sam and Knox, Megson was willing, if not able.
Many fans will disagree with me but Megson needs support this season.
At least, Bolton needs more positive support and that means more bums on seats and less booing at the manager.