3 Goals and 3 Points!
Sunday, 23 November 08, 03:05 AM
Now what Bolton side was that we saw yesterday? So confident in the way they were playing, passes going to feet, scoring three goals and all this away from home!
Going to an inform Middlesbrough i was thinking at best this was going to be a draw for us, over the last couple of months i have never looked at a match thinking that it will provide three points, were not that simple so when victorys like these pop up then it is always a nice touch.
Straight from the kick off we got right into things. Megson must have really pumped up the lads before the match and while most fans dont rate Gary for his line ups and tactics you have to give him praise when it comes to team talks.
Ten minutes into the match and we were 2 to the good, the first goal being supplied from a lofted Matthew Taylor freekick and headed in by Gretar Steinsson on the back post although it appears Kevin Davies has claimed it as it took the last knick off the back of his head. A little harsh maybe but apparently Gretar doesnt mind and with Davo going through a little goal drought i bet he was quick to claim it. Taylor then went on to add one for himself, a great first touch in the box set himself up to power the ball across Turnbull into the corner.
Halftime came around with the Middlesbrough fans restless which just made things better, i dont think it ever helps when the fans boo off there own players and it may have only been a small section but it certainly echoed around the ground!. Pogatetz pulled one back from close range for Boro with 13 minutes to go after we failed to clear our lines. In the end it didnt matter as we went straight down the other end and within a minute had restored our lead when scored Johan Elmander slotted the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot. Finally scoring his second goal for the club.
Three away wins so far, already more than we got last season in the league and things are starting to look up after we picked up three wins from our last four games.
No complaints at the moment and its starting to feel a lot better supporting the Whites, we aree starting to get the "Super" tag back.
Onwards and upwards you Superwhites!
Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
North East we march!
Friday, 21 November 08, 07:38 PM
This weekend we are off to the Riverside to take on an inform Middlesbrough, one who could also be considered a 'boogey' side when you look at results over the last couple of seasons. At least we
will be there in numbers as the club has got out the free travel club transport for this one.
Middlesbrough, who have gone five games unbeaten now, Will be a real test for us this weekend and should give us an idea of where we stand in this league. Boro who are up in 8th are certainly not untouchable and if we can pull out another performance like we did in this fixture last season then we may come back with the points. We currently sit 13th in the league and this was a team i was expecting around us come the end of the season. Despite this the Teesider's will be full of confidence and certainly go into this one as favorites.
Midweek talk now and Gary Megson.. has had a rant about how we dont score enough goals. Well done Gary its taken you a couple of months to catch up to the fans thoughts on this matter but if he makes an effort to change the tactics we may get a result. Last week against Liverpool we did what i feared we shouldnt which was to sit back and try and hold. We are known for defending from the edge of our penalty box which is much to risky in this league.
If we push up the pitch and get stuck into Middlesbrough with the tackles like we did previously against Man City then we should at least make things a little easier on Jaaskelainen in goal who has been bombared recently.
Line up time now and i was hoping that Megson would finally see the light to give Gardner his starting place back but it looks as if he has picked up a knock in training and now faces a fitness test to play. Riga could then be another option if Ricki G is missing, a quick skillful winger that will give us another attacking option down the right. I would love to see us line up 4411 with Davies leading the line and Elmander just in behind because at the moment the Swede has gone a couple of matches all but unheard of. Taylor, Nolan, Mumaba and Riga being the midfielders in that order and the traditional defenders. After Megson's praise for McCann I imagine that we will start 451.
Prediction time and it really depends on which Bolton side turns up. We have already secured two early away wins at Hull and West Ham which is a good start compared to last season when we only won two away all season. Ive gone with a 1-1 draw for this one and would gladly accept that scoreline, Nolan to pull one out of the bag.
Middlesbrough, who have gone five games unbeaten now, Will be a real test for us this weekend and should give us an idea of where we stand in this league. Boro who are up in 8th are certainly not untouchable and if we can pull out another performance like we did in this fixture last season then we may come back with the points. We currently sit 13th in the league and this was a team i was expecting around us come the end of the season. Despite this the Teesider's will be full of confidence and certainly go into this one as favorites.
Midweek talk now and Gary Megson.. has had a rant about how we dont score enough goals. Well done Gary its taken you a couple of months to catch up to the fans thoughts on this matter but if he makes an effort to change the tactics we may get a result. Last week against Liverpool we did what i feared we shouldnt which was to sit back and try and hold. We are known for defending from the edge of our penalty box which is much to risky in this league.
If we push up the pitch and get stuck into Middlesbrough with the tackles like we did previously against Man City then we should at least make things a little easier on Jaaskelainen in goal who has been bombared recently.
Line up time now and i was hoping that Megson would finally see the light to give Gardner his starting place back but it looks as if he has picked up a knock in training and now faces a fitness test to play. Riga could then be another option if Ricki G is missing, a quick skillful winger that will give us another attacking option down the right. I would love to see us line up 4411 with Davies leading the line and Elmander just in behind because at the moment the Swede has gone a couple of matches all but unheard of. Taylor, Nolan, Mumaba and Riga being the midfielders in that order and the traditional defenders. After Megson's praise for McCann I imagine that we will start 451.
Prediction time and it really depends on which Bolton side turns up. We have already secured two early away wins at Hull and West Ham which is a good start compared to last season when we only won two away all season. Ive gone with a 1-1 draw for this one and would gladly accept that scoreline, Nolan to pull one out of the bag.
Like this blog? Help spread the word:
Johan Elmander, the thoughts so far?
Wednesday, 12 November 08, 02:21 AM
12 games into the season, nearly a third of the way through the season so i thought it was time to do a round up on our big summer signing Johan Elmander.
After making the perfect start scoring on his Bolton debut at home to Stoke things have just been on a drop for him. Being all the talk after the first game, Bolton fans couldnt wait to see there big money striker on the field again, although this time it was only to be for 15 minutes. Away to Newcastle, Elmander limped off the field after an earlier collision with Given and Coloccini.
The news was not good, it was revealed that Swedish striker would be out for upto 6 weeks with a hamstring problem.
Talk around the Reebok faithful was once again, "who can we rely on to score the goals?". n>
While Johan was out we scored 2 goals in 3 league games, so fans were optimistic when he returned to fitness for the Manchester United game at Old Trafford. He lasted 66 minutes before finally being replaced but looked lively. I wasnt too worried that he didnt score in that match, tough fixture and lacked game time so it was a good run out for him in the end. I had my fingers crossed we would see him score at West Ham anyway. After having the chances and troubling the Hammers defense a couple of times it was not to be. He seem isolated up front and after 73 minutes was replaced for Matthew Taylor who came on to score a 'typical Taylor thunderbolt goal'. Still no reason to complain as the work rate was there.
However the next three performances (Blackburn, Tottenham and Everton) lacked the sting he carried earlier in the season. Questions started to be raised on how much effort he was really putting in. Over those three fixtures we didnt score a goal and managed to get a point, A 0-0 draw out of a scrapy Blackburn match.
Elmander picked up an injury so missed our next home game against Manchester City, but was soon forgot about as we managed to pull all three points away from the Richest Club in the World. He
got over it during the week and was brough back into the side for the Hull match, but once again, he had one of those games were he was hardly mentioned.
Off form and not 100% fit its no surprise that Johan has been dropped from the Sweden side who play Holland in a friendly next week.
8 Appearences, 1 goal. It was never going to be fireworks straight away but i was hoping for a slightly better return. He still might be gelling with our style of play but Megson needs to make
sure he gets more stuck in and it can only be a matter of time before we see another goal. I personally would like to see him play off Davies more than just standing along side him. Making runs
forward for the flick on's instead of staying static, eventually one will drop into his feet after he gets use to Davies and visa-versa. After 24 games we will have a better opinion, but i know
i must give him time if i see an improvement in his work rate, if the efforts not there from him i wont be best pleased.
Fingers crossed he strikes this weekend, Liverpool at home and it would be a confidence booster if he was to score against the league leaders.
Like this blog? Help spread the word:
The Brazilian Test
Saturday, 01 November 08, 01:21 AM
On Sunday afternoon Bolton Wanderers welcome the Brazilian flair of Manchester City to the Reebok Stadium with both teams in need of points.
We have dropped futhur into trouble after losing 1-0 at home to Everton Midweek while Citeh lost 2-0 to Middlesbrough at the Riverside. Most of Bolton fans are calling for Megson's head and there is rumors of a mini protest/boycott going around the whites fans. With the game live on telly on the Sunday im sure plenty of fans are planning to follow through with the boycott and watch the game from home.
3 points is in need for the Club and we need to make the most of our home games if we want to have any hope of staying up, which at this stage looks a shaky bet. However Manchester City's form has gone through a little dip of late, only winning one of there last five games in the league so there is certainly hope we could pull something off, thats if we can score of course.
Out of our 10 games this season we have only registered 8 goals, scoring in only 4 of them. Most of us were hoping that Johan would have settled by now and be banging them home but we are yet to see much come back from our record signing, only scoring once this season. Another one under pressure is Kevin Nolan, the captain has been the target of abuse for a number of weeks now and some are calling for him to be benched. Nobby scored in the Carling Cup loss to Northampton to notch up his 50th goal for the club but we are yet to see him register in the league. I have a sneaky feeling this will be his game to turn it around though and looking at Bet365 offer of 3.75 (11/4) for an any time goal i think its might be worth a bet.
As for our opponents, they are having no problem in hitting the back of the net. 23 times already this season and they sit top of the pile in goals scored. The threats are all over the park, Robinho and Jo up front and Ireland, Elano and Wright-Phillips in behind we will have to be on our guard and i wouldnt be surprised if McCann came back into the side after suspension as we revert back to our 451 formation and try and controll the middle of the park.
In this fixture last season it finished 0-0 and im pretty sure we wont see a repeat of that. Im only human so youll probably understand im not oozing with confidence over this one. I would take a score draw if offered now but i see Man City coming away from this one 2-1 winners, with the hope Nolan score's for us so i at least take some cash.
We have dropped futhur into trouble after losing 1-0 at home to Everton Midweek while Citeh lost 2-0 to Middlesbrough at the Riverside. Most of Bolton fans are calling for Megson's head and there is rumors of a mini protest/boycott going around the whites fans. With the game live on telly on the Sunday im sure plenty of fans are planning to follow through with the boycott and watch the game from home.
3 points is in need for the Club and we need to make the most of our home games if we want to have any hope of staying up, which at this stage looks a shaky bet. However Manchester City's form has gone through a little dip of late, only winning one of there last five games in the league so there is certainly hope we could pull something off, thats if we can score of course.
Out of our 10 games this season we have only registered 8 goals, scoring in only 4 of them. Most of us were hoping that Johan would have settled by now and be banging them home but we are yet to see much come back from our record signing, only scoring once this season. Another one under pressure is Kevin Nolan, the captain has been the target of abuse for a number of weeks now and some are calling for him to be benched. Nobby scored in the Carling Cup loss to Northampton to notch up his 50th goal for the club but we are yet to see him register in the league. I have a sneaky feeling this will be his game to turn it around though and looking at Bet365 offer of 3.75 (11/4) for an any time goal i think its might be worth a bet.
As for our opponents, they are having no problem in hitting the back of the net. 23 times already this season and they sit top of the pile in goals scored. The threats are all over the park, Robinho and Jo up front and Ireland, Elano and Wright-Phillips in behind we will have to be on our guard and i wouldnt be surprised if McCann came back into the side after suspension as we revert back to our 451 formation and try and controll the middle of the park.
In this fixture last season it finished 0-0 and im pretty sure we wont see a repeat of that. Im only human so youll probably understand im not oozing with confidence over this one. I would take a score draw if offered now but i see Man City coming away from this one 2-1 winners, with the hope Nolan score's for us so i at least take some cash.
Like this blog? Help spread the word:
-
CamBWFC
Tauranga, NZ
Bolton Wanderers Blog
-
dave said:He went to a really bad team I say. He is not getting any passes when he is in ...
mogggg said:By the rules of the game Rob Styles got that call spot on. If the ball is not i...
On 3 Goals and 3 Points!