• Saturday, November 28, 2009
• Venue: Craven Cottage
• Attendance: 23,554
• Referee: Steve Bennett

• Kevin Davies [2!]
• Gretar Steinsson [23]
• Jonathan Greening [33]
• Ivan Klasnic [35]
• Ricardo Gardner [50]
• Gavin McCann [53]
• Jussi Jaaskelainen [64]
• Jlloyd Samuel [72]
• Damien Duff [75]

Bolton Wanderers desperately needed a win and a trip to Craven Cottage could have (should have) been a perfect opportunity to earn 3 valuable points.

Early signs of pressure which almost gave Fulham the lead were well defended — just. A prime example was Gretar Steinsson’s save off the line. I’m not even sure how he saved the point blank shot (I bet he’s not either) but nonetheless he made the save and that is what is important. Matt Taylor and Gavin McCann also defended well and are worthy of an honourable mention. (Come to think of it the whole squad deserve an honourable mention seeming they have to serve under the mismanagement of Gary Megson.)




With just 10 minutes to play before half time Ivan Klasnic took The Wanderers ahead following a poorly defended long Bolton throw–in which was headed into the box twice by Gary Cahill. Cahill’s second header reached Klasnic who deftly movement controlled, turned and scored.

While Bolton had hardly ventured forward before scoring they looked less likely to do so afterwards and seem to be content with defending their single goal lead. This was, of course, a mistake and doubtlessly a tactic that Gary Megson had promoted. Fulham were allowed to attack more frequently while Bolton assaults into the final third were not only rare but simply ineffective. Bolton on the whole defended well and goalkeeper Jussi Jaakelainen was force to make a few spectacular saves.

The somewhat inevitable equaliser came in the 75th minute with a powered shot by Damien Duff. A slight deflection by Gary Cahill may have caused helped Duff’s shot into the net and without it the ball may have sailed wide or hit the post.

Only when Fulham had equalised did Bolton really apply the pressure that had been lacking since Klasnic’s goal. Bolton proved that they could create chances but with just a quarter of an hour to go it was too little, too late. The clearest chance came during injury time with the aforementioned Stiensson heading Matthew Taylor’s perfectly weighted free kick just over the bar.

A draw away from home should not disappoint, yet it did. Defending a flimsy lead for an hour is a fallible tactic. Bolton ought to have been bolstered by Ivan’s goal and showed determination to get a second early in the second half. Instead Fulham’s determination grew and grew and ultimately proved to be fruitful.

The single point was not enough to lift The Wanderers out of the bottom three. We can hope that Megson’s Christmas comes early and a slew of wins throughout December sees The Trotters into a prosperous New Year.

Full match report on the Bolton Wanderers official website
Full match report on Fulham’s official website

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• Saturday, November 7, 2009
• Venue: Villa Park
• Attendance: 38,101
• Referee: Mark Clattenburg

• Luke Young [5]
• Tamir Cohen [23]
• Gabriel Agbonlahor [43]
• Johan Elmander [45]
• Gary Cahill [45+2]
• John Carew [53]
• James Milner [72]
• Kevin Davies [74]
• Carlos Cuellar [75]
• Craig Gardner [88]
• Paul Robinson [90
  +2]

Looking a recent results against Aston Villa a trip to Villa Park was bound to be a tricky challenge. Bolton’s last two trips to Villa Park had ended in heavy defeats and The Wanderers had not won there since New Year’s Day 2003.

Sorry we cannot bring you a full match report for this match but here are highlights…

Full match report on the Bolton Wanderers official website
Full match report on Aston Villa’s official website

League Cup, Fourth Round

Chelsea Give Wanderers The Blues

• Tuesday, Ocotber 28, 2009
• Venue: Stamford Bridge
• Attendance: 41,538
• Referee: Andre Marriner

• Salomon Kalou [15]
• Florent Malouda [26]
• Deco [67]
• Didier Drogba [89]

It was never going to be easy for The Wanderers to get a result at Stamford Bridge but who would have known that it was going to so easy for Chelsea.

Bolton boss, Gary Megson, had made a few changes to the side that eventually beat Everton last Saturday. The most notable change was that Ali Al-Habsi was chosen over Jussi Jaaskelainen to face that could have been easily predicted as a barrage of shots. It is almost as Megson had already resigned to the fact that Bolton’s cup run would be halted.

Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario had to be substituted halfway through the first half leaving Ross Turnbull in goal for the majority of the 90 minutes, but this had little affect on the game as Bolton rarely threatened to score.

Although Bolton Wanderers did manage a sizeable portion of the game’s possession (41%) what they did with it was mostly pitiful. Chelsea ruled much of the game and stroked the ball to and fro with ease — it was an impressive display of one touch passing. Chelsea only weakness was in regaining possession and careless tackles resulted in a number of free kicks. However, Bolton seemed content to squander many of these referee awarded opportunities, all too often hoofing the ball too close to Chelsea’s goalkeepers or even out of play.

To be fair, Bolton did have their chances but only three were memorable.

Gretar Steinsson’s free-kick shortly after Kalou’s goal found Matt Taylor but his shot was blocked by Hilario.

At half–time Steinsson was replaced by Johan Elmander whose smart pass to Mark Davies could have given The Wanderers a chance to get back into the game shortly after the restart. Unfortunately Elmander’s vision was not matched by Mark’s finishing, his shot was straight into the welcoming arms of Turnbull.

Up front for The Trotters, and often looking lonely, Ivan Klasnic failed to make an impact until it was too late to do so. Bolton were 3–0 down with just 10 minutes left when Klasnic fired a vicious shot which sadly hit the post. However, Chelsea found time for Drogba to score in the dying minutes of the match to preserve Chelsea’s run of unbeaten games at Stamford Bridge so far this season.

Chelsea travel to The Reebok Stadium this weekend and hopefully this hefty loss will inspire The Wanderers enough to give Chelsea’s third defeat of the season.

Too harsh? Would Jussi have made the difference? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

Official BWFC Match Report
Official CFC Match Report

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• Saturday, October 17, 2009
• Venue: Old Trafford
• Attendance: 75,103
• Referee: Mark Clattenburg

• Zat Knight (og) [5]
• Antonio Valencia [33]
• Kevin Davies [48]
• Matthew Taylor [75]

An unfortunate start for Bolton’s trip to Old Trafford saw The Wanderers chasing for the rest of the afternoon.

Zat Knight deflected a rare Michael Owen header past Jussi Jaaskelainen to take United ahead after just five minutes. Zat Knight cannot be blamed really. If Owen’s header was on target then maybe Jussi would have had it covered, but it wasn’t and somehow Knight unknowingly put the ball in his own net. Nonetheless Bolton were loosing and seemed powerless to cope with frequent runs made by the likes of Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs.

Kevin Davies had a two clear chances to bring the scores level before United got their second. The most notable was a clear header created by rising above Rio Ferdinand to receive Sam Ricketts’ long pass. With only Van der Sar to beat Kevin Davies’ attempt failed to cause concern for the Dutch goalkeeper as it sailed wide. It should be noted that it was better than Owen’s headed effort but sadly there wasn’t a defender to fluke an equaliser.

Man United’s second was inevitable as Bolton’s midfield struggled with the home side’s frequent forays. A neat one–two between Antonio Valencia and Gary Neville set up the Ecuadorian who powered the ball past Jaaskelainen.

Further shots by Kevin Davies and Matt Taylor were also wide leaving Van der Sar little to do in the first half. Bolton’s keeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen, was kept busy and often had to make great saves, the best of which came in the second half and kept Berbatov’s spectacular close range volley out of the net.

With twenty minutes to go Bolton were slowly improving and began to string a few passes together.

Substitute Mark Davies (on for Cohen) made a terrific run from midway inside his own half to the edge of Manchester United’s penalty area, where he passed wide to his left to his Kevin Davies. Kevin crossed the ball low, only to have it rebound back off Neville. Kevin’s second cross was somewhat higher and Matt Taylor rose high above Evra to nod in with precision giving the visitors hope.

Bolton were fired up by Taylor’s goal and created chances but could not finish. Ivan Klasnic combined with Kevin Davies and fired just wide from outside the penalty area. A searching cross by Sam Ricketts was just too high, even for a leaping Zat Knight whose header went just over the bar.

Gary Cahill had Bolton’s last touch of the match and was unlucky to only header the ball into the arms of Edwin Van der Sar. Bolton battled well after a disheartening first half in which the midfield failed to close down United’s attacks quickly leaving the back four and Jussi with a perhaps too much to deal with. Although Bolton did get back into the game towards the end of the match The Reds defended their narrow lead and a lack of precision finishing prevented Bolton leaving Old Trafford with a share of the points.

Official BWFC Website — Match Report

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• Saturday, September 26, 2009
• Venue: St Andrews Stadium
• Attendance: 28,671
• Referee: Steve Bennett

• Tamir Cohen [10]
• Roger Johnson [64]
• Stephen Carr [75]
• Jlloyd Samuel [78]
• Kevin Phillips [84]
• Chung-Yong Lee [86]

Yesterday’s trip to Saint Andrew’s Stadium was to be a veritable walk in the park compared with the fixures The Wanderers have lined up next month. After Bolton’s midweek win against West Ham in the League Cup expectations had been raised considerably and clearly The Wanderers needed earn more points. Ahead of visiting his former club Frabrice Muamba said, “I’m just looking forward to trying to get the three points on Saturday.” He also indicated that his team–mates were too and spoke of a happy squad.

Bolton only took a couple of minutes to show a willingness to win but Ivan Klasnic’s shot sailed over the bar. Bolton had to wait until the 10th minute to get ahead created from a throw–in deep inside Birmingham City’s half. Kevin Davies flicked Sam Ricketts long throw to the centre of the six–yard box where Tamir Cohen scored with relative ease having lost his marker Sebastian Larsson.

At half–time The Wanderers had hung on to their lead despite a number of chances created by their opposition. An impressive strike from Keith Fahey hit the crossbar the rebound fell Teemu Tainio whose shot from outside the penalty area was powerful but always rising harmlessly above the goal.

Shortly after the restart Gary Cahill was busy defending and put an end to a couple of Birmingham’s advances. City pressed again and Christian Benitez forced a fine save by Jussi Jaaskelainen. An early second half effort by Klasnic was blocked and he was replaced 10 minutes later by Korean international, Lee Chung–Yong. A further 10 minutes of half opportunities created by both teams passed before Chung–Yong skilfully took the ball deep inside the City penalty area, perhaps took quickly — lacking support Lee was forced into a side–footed attempt from an angle that proved too acute.

Birmingham City’s goal was created with a neat one–two between Kevin Phillips and Christian Benitez. Phillips took a second touch to tap the ball into space on the edge of Bolton’s penalty a equalised with a powerful shot beyond Jussi Jaaskelaine’s outstretched dive.

Within two minutes Bolton Wanderers were awarded a free–kick for a foul on captain Davies. Matthew Taylor’s direct kick struck the upright and rebounded towards Lee Chung–Yong who deftly hooked the ball away from the melee into space and scored, all within the confines of the six–yard box. Lee’s parents had travelled from South Korea to watch their son play and must have been proud to have witnessed his first goal for the club. A jubilant celebration ensued in which Cahill rugby tackled Lee to ground and fellow Wanderers piled atop.

Birmingham had been thwarted and Bolton took all three points with the aid of yet another late goal.

As The Wanderers trot up the Premier League is Gary Megson worthy of praise now that he is finding apparent success with a squad that he has built? Megson’s tactics and team selection will be put to the test next month as Bolton face away trips to White Hart Lane and Old Trafford and Everton and Chelsea visit The Reebok. A challenging month indeed.

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish:

“After we had equalised I don’t know if the players thought that the game was over. It looked like they were in a trance for a couple of minutes.

“It was poor defending for their winner and was another harsh lesson of what can happen in the Premier League.”

Gary Megson:

“It was a well deserved win and we showed a top–class response after they equalised. But I felt that we should have been in a better position because we created enough chances to have had the game won.”

Bolton Wanderers Official Match Report : Megson’s Review
Match report on Birmingham City’s Official Website
Video highlights on Manny Road

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• Saturday, September 12, 2009
• Venue: Fratton Park
• Attendance: 17,564
• Referee: Chris Foy

• Tamir Cohen [13]
• Younes Kaboul [25]
• Matt Taylor (Penalty) [41]
• Kevin–Prince Boateng [63]
• Gary Cahill [89]
• Younes Kaboul [90 +2]
• Nadir Belhadj [90 +5]

A late goal by Gary Cahill secured Bolton’s first points of the season leaving Pompey languishing at the bottom of the Premier League.

Tamir Cohen could have given The Wanderers the lead even earlier but his headed attempt flew over the crossbar. Moments later Matt Taylor really should have scored but with only a wrong–footed David James to beat his shot was sliced embarrassingly wide. Thankfully, Gretar Steinsson’s neat pass allowed Cohen to take Bolton ahead with an impressive shot from the left.

Portsmouth equalised from a corner taken by Jamie O’Hara which was met by Younes Kaboul who duly nodded the ball past Jussi. A few minutes later Kaboul almost took Pompey ahead but this time failed to meet O’Hara’s corner kick. This season Bolton seem to struggle most when defending corners. Defending set plays is something that Gary Megson needs to improve as it is a vulnerability that could prove costly over the course of the season.

Bolton took the lead again about five minutes from half–time. Former Wanderer Tal Ben–Haim made what was adjudged to be an unfair challenge on Kevin Davies and Bolton were awarded a penalty. Looking a replays of Ben–Haim’s tackle it could be argued that Portsmouth were unlucky that referee Chris Foy instantly pointed at Penalty Spot. Matthew Taylor stepped up to take the penalty against his former club and placement rather then power took The Trotters ahead once more.

Bolton held on to the lead beyond the break but, perhaps inevitably, Portsmouth equalised again. Bolton failed to successfully clear the ball from their penalty area and Portsmouth debutante Kevin–Prince Boateng fired a grass–cutting shot from near the penalty spot.

Predictably Ivan Klasnic made his debut for The Wanderers with 20 minutes to go but failed to make an impression. However, Gary Megson’s final substitution, Gavin McCann (who replaced goal scoring Israeli Tamir Cohen), did make a difference late on. McCann scored an unusual goal following a long throw–in deep into Portsmouth’s penalty area — two consecutive headers by Gavin McCann and Bolton were ahead for the third time in the game.

Obviously disheartened by what turned out to be the late winner for Bolton, Portsmouth ended the game with two yellow cards as they became increasingly scrappy in the final minutes of the match. For once luck was on Bolton’s side and arguably enabled them to earn their first points of the season leaving poor Portsmouth languishing at the bottom of the Premier League.

Bolton Wanderers Official Website
Portsmouth Football Club Official Website
Watch highlights on MannyRoad — they include Ben–Haim’s super tackle.

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Bolton Score!

• Venue: Prenton Park
• Attendance: 5,381
• Referee: Nigel Miller

• Mark Davies [41]
• Aaron Cresswell [55]

Mark Davies first goal for The Wanderers was enough to book a place in the Third Round of The League Cup.

Finally, Bolton get a goal, albeit against League One strugglers Tranmere Rovers — but it gave The Wanderers a crucial win. To loose or draw would have been disastrous for Gary Megson who already lacks the support of Bolton fans, sports writers, TV pundits…

“For some reason Bolton seems to be viewed entirely differently from the 19 other clubs in the Premier League. We need to change that. I was watching television today we were described as Bolton, who haven’t won a game all season — it didn’t say the season was nine days old.

“It motivates me and it motivates the players. We have to keep everything within the four walls of the dressing room. There is not a great deal of assistance from anywhere else but we get on with it.

“Today the fans were chanting ‘Megson give us a wave’. I turn around and wave and get booed! To be perfectly honest that’s normal.

“The players in the circumstances have been fantastic because it is a lot harder for us than most.”

Bolton did create a number of chances either side of Mark’s goal and really should have increased their lead. The most notable was fairly late on when Johan Elmander should have sealed the victory but his header from within the 6 yard box was somehow deflected by Tranmere’s Luke Daniels.

Thankfully Bolton kept a clean sheet to ensure progress to the third round. Bolton will discover who they will face next in The League Cup this Saturday (August 29, 2009) after their next Premier League match when Liverpool visit The Reebok Stadium. Let’s all hope that Bolton begin to convert their chances into actual goals and get their first points of the season.

Full Match Reports

Bolton Wanderers official website
Tranmere Rovers official website

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• Venue: The KC Stadium
• Attendance: 22,999
• Referee: Michael Jones

• Sean Davis [19]
• Stephen Hunt [30]
• Seyi Olofinjana [35]
• Johan Elmander [55]
• Kamel Ghilas [61]
• Deiberson Geovanni [65]

Both clubs were hoping to earn their first points of the season and Bolton perhaps should have secured all three points in the first half with a number of decent chances.

Johan Elmander almost took Bolton Wanderers ahead in the 2nd minute but his shot skipped wide. Kevin Davies had a number of decent chances in the first half but failed to take The Trotters ahead, most notably from free kick crosses. Matthew Taylor’s shot from a free kick tested Hull’s ‘keeper Boaz Myhill who made a great save. Overall Bolton applied pressure but seemed unable to convert the numerous chances.

Hull City didn’t seem to feature very much in the first half but almost took the lead moments before the half-time whistle. Stephen Hunt’s corner was met by Caleb Folan whose header inside the six-yard box flew over the crossbar.

The Tigers started the second half as they ended the first — this time Deiberson Geovanni’s shot from just inside the penalty went over the bar. Moments later Kevin Davies wasted another golden opportunity from another free kick delivery that he headed wide.

Despite all of Bolton’s efforts Hull City took the lead when The Wanderers defence failed to clear the ball from inside the penalty area. Ghilas was gifted a chance with an overhead pass by Jozy Altidore that wrong–footed Bolton’s defence, Ghilas duly struck goalward, beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen. He came close to scoring a second but struck the crossbar.

Bolton battled on and Boaz Myhill was tested again near the end of the match with successive shots by former Tiger, Sam Ricketts and substitute Lee Chung-Yong. Alas it was too late for Bolton to share the points and Hull win their first home game of the year.

Perhaps Kevin Davies ought to be practising heading goalward until Bolton’s next match when The Wanderers travel to Prenton Park to face Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd Round of the League Cup next Tuesday (August 25, 2009). The next Premier League fixture is next Saturday (August 29, 2009) when Liverpool visit The Reebok Stadium.

Match Highlights

There’s no commentary but nonetheless you might want to turn your speakers off — unless you like JLS.

Watch Hull versus Bolton highlights on YouTube.

Hull City’s manager, Phil Brown told the BBC;
“It is a massive three points although we rode our luck but importantly we scored a good goal.

“We defended valiantly and made sure we got our heads on balls ahead of the likes of Kevin Davies.

“There are a lot of positives especially with getting a clean sheet.”

At the time of publishing there has been no comment by BWFC boss, Gary Megson.

Full Match Reports

Bolton Wanderers Official Website
Hull City Official Website
Sky Sports
BBC Sport

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Both managers will be eager to get some points after disappointing starts to the season. Former Wanderer Phil Brown has so far suffered two defeats this season; the first against Chelsea (a respectable 2-1 at Stamford Bridge) and a midweek 5-1 battering by Tottenham Hotspur at the KC Stadium, including a hat–trick from Jermain Defoe.

Yesterday Phil Brown told the official Hull City website;

“Tomorrow represents the start of the season for us. We’ve had two games against two of the best teams in the country. We’ve got nothing from those games apart from pride in the first and a little bit of a lesson in the second.

“I took the lads for a little hike this morning and took them down to Boothferry Park. It’s quite alarming when you think that ten years ago, that was the state of this football club.”

The trip to Boothferry Park was to remind the players how far the club had come over the last decade, although it may have just made them think about how strange their manager can be.

Brown concluded,

“At this moment in time, we’ve got to make sure that the first win comes as soon as possible to take a little bit of pressure off people.

Tomorrow is a big game for us and Bolton represent tough, quality opposition who have been there and are now a model for a lot of clubs.”

I presume that Phil is saying, like Bolton, Hull have been in the lower division and battled their way to the top division. Whether Bolton are a ‘model for a lot of clubs’ is open to debate.

Bolton will be without Gardner who has suffered a hamstring injury which may take he another 2 or 3 weeks to recover from. Joey O’Brien (knee) and Ricardo Vaz Te are definitely out too. Gretar Steinsson could make a return having missed the opening match, he scored against The Tigers last time Bolton met them at The Reebok Stadium, 1–1 was the final score.

Last time Bolton travelled to the KC Stadium they won with a single goal. Hopefully The Wanderers will do the same today.

BWFC Prediction

Hull City 0–2 Bolton Wanderers

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Bolton Wanderers Football Club have unveiled the new away shirt ahead of the new season which starts on August 15th, 2009 when BWFC will beat Sunderland at The Reebok.

What do you think? Personally I prefer it to the new home shirt. Share your thoughts below by leaving a comment.

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