In all the fairy stories I heard when I was a child, the little guy slew the giant and lived happily ever after with the beautiful princess. The build up to this game, indeed the last few weeks, might have been written by Hans Christian Andersen but when it came to the crunch, despite some telling kicks to his groin, the giant triumphed and the hero was beaten and remains in the mire. Still, as defeats go, it was all pretty enjoyable, and, hopefully, the new prince Owen will have learned a few things about his inheritance.
For the last week or so, the internet message boards have been full of guesses as to what eleven, Owen might pick for his first game. Mark Davies and Ricardo Gardner were in most of the suggestions and many discarded the Allardyce/Megson icon Kevin Davies. Owen obviously hadn’t read them; he started with the same team that Megson selected for his final game i.e. Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson; Chung-Yong, Muamba, Cohen, Taylor; Davies, Klasnic. Plus la change.
One effect of the management shuffle has been the revitalisation of my feelings about trips to the Reebok. Gary Megson going was welcome; appointing Owen Coyle in his place was exactly what I hoped would happen. Bad weather, falling off my bike, World War Three, wouldn’t have stopped me attending this game. As I took my seat I was brimming with excited anticipation. The sequence of Owen Coyle goals on the big screen, backed by Dave Higson’s unforgettable commentaries and the season’s biggest crowd chanting ‘Owen Coyle’s Super White Army’, added to the notion that happy days were, indeed, here again.
The first five minutes raised the bar of expectation even higher. Wanderers tore into their illustrious visitors like hounds at a cornered fox. It wasn’t just effort. Bolton’s high speed aggression was spiced with some neat passing and not a little skill, especially from Chung on the right wing. Exhilaration reached its climax when Klasnic smashed the ball home from twenty yards; sadly, it didn’t count as he had come back from an offside position. Excitement moved to the other end where Jussi had to rush from his line to thwart Eduardo and Arsenal, having absorbed the opening flurry, gradually imposed themselves on the game. That set the pattern for the rest of the half, with the visitors having the bulk of possession, but with Wanderers retaliating with some decent chances. Cahill and Knight were looking solid in the centre of defence and hopes were still high but after half an hour the game changed. Following a muddle in the Bolton goal mouth, there were enough defenders around to suggest the ball ought to have been cleared but instead it ran to Fabergas. An exchange with Eduardo involving quick feet and quick thinking allowed the Gunners captain to shoot past Jaaskelainen. One nil to the Arsenal.
To their credit, the Wanderers supporters, maligned by the press for their treatment of Megson, renewed their encouraging chanting. The game continued to ebb and flow and both sides had several chances to score. Jussi saved well with his feet following a corner and Fabergas ought to have scored a second following another delightful sequence. As for us Klasnic had a stabbed shot that that was easily saved and a surprise pile driver from distance that beat the keeper but went wide, Cohen just failed to volley home a cross from Chung, and the Korean himself had a shot saved by Alumina. As the great man himself would have said, it was ‘a ding dong do’.
Towards the end of the half Klasnic’s skill and perseverance almost brought the equaliser. Close to goal, he flicked the ball over the head of Gallas but couldn’t get power on his shot. Nevertheless Alumina did well to save from almost point blank range.
If Bolton started the first half well, the early part of the second period was unbelievable. We peppered Arsenal for fifteen minutes and it seemed inevitable we would score. Owen had obviously told the players to feed Chung, who was tormenting the stand in Arsenal left back and delivering a series of testing crosses. The best chance came when Klasnic turned provider and fed Taylor who could only side foot over the bar from ten yards when he ought to have brought the scores level.
On the hour Owen Coyle made his first substitution as Bolton manager. The crowd held its breath as Gavin McCann stood on the touchline. Was Owen going to make the same fateful change that proved to be the nail in Mego’s coffin? No, he didn’t take off Klasnic, Muamba was the man replaced, but it still proved to be an unwise decision. To be fair to the newcomer, it was his ball over a square defence that gave Taylor yet another gilt-edged opportunity, which the winger wasted by shooting right-footed first time when he could have advanced on goal and picked his spot with his stronger left foot.
With just less than twenty minutes to go, Arsene Wenger himself made a substitution that was more telling when he brought on Clichy to help contain Chung-Yong. The tactic, a compliment to the Korean’s excellence, worked and the Wanderers dominance evaporated. McCann had failed to make much of an impact and before long, Arsenal doubled their lead. Fabergas was again involved in another smart move, and though there was a suspicion of offside, Merida was allowed to convert Eduardo’s deep cross.
There was still more than ten minutes left but the goal effectively killed the game; there appeared to be no way back. Gardner and Elmander were introduced in place of Cohen and Klasnic but the Wanderers effort petered out. Owen Coyle’s Super White Army was heading for the exits and there was little sign of the early euphoria. Yet two further chances fell to the unhappy Taylor. First, he scooped yet another pinpoint pass from Chung over the bar, and then in the final minutes there was a little cameo that I would hope might have a bearing on future selections. Gardner athletically intercepted an Arsenal pass on the half way line. He carried the ball forward to the edge of the area and delivered a fine pass to set Taylor free on goal only for the prodigal to make another horrendous hash of it.
There were cheers rather than boos at the end and Owen came on the field to congratulate his players and applaud the crowd. He’s clearly more aware of public relations than Gary Megson and the passionate and attacking display meant that the reservoir of goodwill remains primed. We had made a decent fist of getting a result against a very good side that is in excellent form. But, though even the most blinkered could not claim we were the better team, we lost a game that we had enough chances to win and we are next to the bottom of the league. Even more worryingly perhaps, many of the reservations expressed in previous reports remain. Robinson and Steinsson both gave their all but neither looked Premier League class. Neither was Taylor lacking in effort but he is in wretched form and wasted enough opportunities to have won the game himself. McCann’s introduction weakened a midfield that was already having a hard enough time. Neither Cohen nor Muamba had bad games but they are both essentially destroyers. Neither has the control and creativity displayed by Gardner in his brief appearance.
On the other hand, Zat Knight had his best game in a Wanderers shirt. He was commanding in the air and looked generally sound alongside the always dependable Cahill. Klasnic always looked sharp and eager for a goal; I don’t know why he was substituted, he was always a threat while Elmander was impotent. Kevin Davies had his best game for a while, though one wonders how he will fit into Owen’s football philosophy in the longer term. One man who will be fundamental to the new regime is Chung-Yong Lee. He was the one player on the Bolton side that Arsene Wenger might well have coveted. Almost everything he did was spot on. His movement and control were top class, he can play himself out of trouble with quick feet, and though slight, he uses his body well. He will be as important to the ‘New Bolton’ as the wonderful Fabergas is to the present Arsenal.
So, on to the next game, which is against, …er, Arsenal. Only the most supreme optimist would anticipate any points at the Emirates but it will be interesting to see if the manager makes any changes in tactics or personnel. He’s clearly a man that sees the mint rather than the hole, and he may retain Taylor because he was in the right place so many times. In that case I’d play Ricki at left back; as I’ve said before, he’s too good a player to leave out of this limited collection. However Gardner on the left and Chung-Yong on the right sounds more attuned to what I hope Owen Coyle is going to deliver. Or maybe I still believe in fairy stories?
