Coyle Denies Formation Is A Problem
Owen Coyle has jumped to his own defence regarding the criticism of his recent tactics against both Norwich and Wigan. The Bolton manager puts the emphasis squarely on the substandard performance of the players and disagrees that the change in formation has had any major effect.
Bizarrely, Coyle said that the reason for bringing back Kevin Davies to partner N’gog was based on their performance together in the reverse fixture at Wigan back in mid-October. Although we did come away from that fixture with a positive result and the two front men did play well, that was nearly 4 months ago now and doesn’t say much for Owen’s selection criteria if he’s happy to overlook the importance of in-form players and the value of a consistent strategy.
Additionally, he offered no reason for dropping Fabrice Muamba from the starting line-up and The Bolton News reported Muamba as saying on his official Twitter page, “I can’t really tell the reason why I wasn’t involved today, that will get me into much trouble but thanks for all your messages”. I’m sure that by now many of you will have seen the ‘with and without’ Muamba statistics that have been going round between fans, which although not completely conclusive do make for an interesting read.
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Back to Square One
Having dragged ourselves out of the bottom three by playing with a renewed confidence and belief Bolton entered February with a growing belief that the disasters of autumn could be put behind them and the goal of Premier League safety could be achieved.
After endless changes at last it appeared that Owen Coyle had decided on a team and formation that got the best out of the players available to him. In attack Mark Davies and David N’Gog were linking up well and at the back Fabrice Muamba and Nigel Reo-Coker were proving a more than able shield to the back four. The newly established 4-5-1 had seen the Wanderers win at Everton, comfortably beat Liverpool and match Arsenal in a manner that was in complete contrast to the thrashings handed out by the top teams in August and September.
Admittedly it did not fair so well at Norwich last week but the game was still at 0-0 when our manager’s naivety that had shown itself against Newcastle reappeared when he took off the vital Muamba and switched to 4-4-2 in a bid to snatch a victory. The end result just as in the Newcastle game was a 2-0 defeat. So there was no doubt that 4-4-2 had proved utterly unproductive again and a poor hour was surely not enough to abandon the previously productive 4-5-1.
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Wanderers 1 Wigan 2 – Can’t He See The Bleeding Obvious?
Imagine the scene; a primary school in a working class area of Paisley around 1973. The nun in charge of the class asks a question. ‘Please Sister, please Sister’; a slight, dark haired boy on the front row is thrusting his hand forward and almost bursting his braces to provide an answer. The nun points at him, the boy answers; the nun responds ‘No Owen, that isn’t the right answer, it wasn’t the right answer yesterday, or the day before.
Will you ever learn?’ The scene is repeated day after day; young Owen is always boiling over with an answer and, at last, the nun’s response is different. ‘Holy Mother of God, he’s got it right. My prayers have been answered. Well done Owen, well done indeed’ she rejoices. But alas it didn’t last. A week later, we were back to Act One Scene One. ‘No Owen, no, no, no. I thought you had it but you are wrong again. I fear you will never learn’. And though young Owen grew to be a man, he didn’t get any better; he still found it difficult to recognise the right answer even when it was staring him in the face.
You would think our manager would recognise that we had some good results in the last few games, with Reo-Coker and Muamba playing behind Mark Davies in central midfield, and that when he changed this, with half an hour to go in last week’s match against Norwich, we conceded two goals and lost the game. What ever possessed him to start this game with Bogdan; Steinsson, Wheater, Knight, Ricketts; Eagles, Mark Davies, Reo-Coker, Petrov; Kevin Davies, N’Gog? At least he wouldn’t be taking Muamba off; he hadn’t picked him to start. When I heard the team, I felt like heading straight for home.
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Coyle’s Tactical Madness Defies Explanation
It’s not often that you can say the discontent of angry Bolton fans can make you think of Conservative propaganda, but the loss to Wigan on Saturday certainly reminded me of some.
The Conservative party’s 2010 general election poster campaign used the phrase ‘I’ve never voted Tory before, but…” followed by a reason to vote Conservative.
After reading the messages by fans and listening to them after the game, the majority started their comments with – ‘I’ve never criticised Owen Coyle before, but…’ followed by a resounding criticism of his tactics and formation. And I couldn’t agree more!
Even the pre-match team announcement was met with confusion and groans by Bolton fans. They knew that the exclusion of Muamba and the return of Kevin Davies meant a 4-4-2 formation, and they were not happy about it.
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Tim Ream + Twitter = Your Questions Answered Tomorrow…
188BET, Bolton Wanderers’ principal club sponsor, is offering Bolton fans the chance to chat live with new signing Tim Ream.
The US International will be taking over 188BET’s Twitter account to answer fans’ questions during a special live interview on Thursday 9th February.
Bolton have just signed Tim from MLS team the New York Red Bulls and even though he has yet to step out in a Bolton shirt, 188BET is proud to offer Trotters fans this exclusive opportunity to learn more about the club’s latest signing.
Tim comes to Bolton with already impressive credentials to his name, including being one of three candidates for MLS Rookie of the Year after the 2010 season.
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Chance To Play At The Reebok Slipping Away
With the transfer window closing last week it looked like football squads all over the UK had been finalised for the rest of the season…..however with the first set of Bidding positions closing at www.footballaid.com next week there’s still the chance to book your place in Bolton’s starting 11 for 2012!
Football Aid promises you a unique opportunity to Live the Dream of an authentic match day experience; gaining exclusive access to the pitch and tunnel areas, pulling on your own personalised shirt in the official changing rooms, walking down the tunnel to the sound of a cheering crowd and ultimately to step out onto the hallowed turf and represent Bolton in a never to be forgotten football match. And it’s all for charity as well!
Getting involved couldn’t be easier, just visit www.footballaid.com, select Bolton and position, then place your bid – it really is that simple. Bidding’s available throughout the month of February with the last available positions closing on Wed 7th March and there promises to be some hugely exciting auction action in the weeks to come.
Week 1 should appeal to any Midfield Maestros out there, with the 45 min No 6 (CM), 90 min No 7 (RM) and 45 min No 8 (LM) closing on consecutive days between Tue 7th and Thu 9th February.
Week 2 features the always popular 90 min No 9 (CF), No 10 (CM) and No 11 (CF) positions closing Tue 14th, Wed 15th and Thu 16th.
Week 3 gives an opportunity for any defensive stalwarts to claim their place at the back with the 45 min No 2 (RB), 90 min No 4 (CH) and 45 min No 5 (CH) closing Tue 21st, Wed 22nd and Thu 23rd.
Week 4 gives a chance for any super subs to claim their place with the No 14 (CM), No 15 (CH), No 16 (RB) and No 17 (LM) closing between Mon 27th Feb and Thu 1st March.
All that’s left is the last line of the defence, the 90 min No 1 GK position which closes on Fri 2nd March.
Finally, Wed 7th March sees any remaining positions made available in our always frenetic final day of bidding.
Home Team positions close at 15:00 pm with the Away Team closing at 16:00 pm. If you’re concerned about losing out in injury time, or won’t be available to monitor your bid for any reason, make sure and use the automated Maximum Bid option and remember you can close an auction early by using the Buy Now option on selected positions.
So don’t get left on the bench, visit www.footballaid.com now and make your bid to secure a place on your Field of Dreams!
Football Aid celebrated their 11th anniversary in 2011 and have allowed over 12,225 football fans the chance to ‘Live the Dream’ in more than 460 matches. They are a groundbreaking organisation which generates funds annually by hosting charity football matches at iconic stadiums all over the UK. The unique concept was the brainchild of businessman and Football Aid Chairman Craig Paterson and funds raised from the event will benefit the work of a charitable project nominated by the club, as well as projects nominated by Football Aid’s parent charity Field of Dreams.
