In late October this website asked, Why no praise for West Brom? West Brom then promptly went on to win one more point in the following games. It is with that lesson that I must apologise to any Bolton fans if their team suddenly goes on a slide but it cannot go without saying any longer. Bolton Wanderers have been wonderful, this season has been superb for the Trotters and yet I haven’t seen many articles extolling their virtues, of which there are many.

It is now late November and after a demolition of Newcastle United, Bolton occupy 5^th place in the Premier League. They are ahead of Spurs on goal difference and a world away from being in the relegation zone as they were last season. Not only that they are playing exciting football under a manager whom the chairman and – crucially – the fans have great faith. With a push towards Europe and a team full of exciting young players and wily veterans, Bolton fans can expect to see this form continue, unless the curse of EPLtalk sets in.

Where has it all gone right?

The revolution began in January of this year as Owen Coyle was appointed from – then – Premier League new-boys Burnley. Burnley had been playing good football but hadn’t won a game for months; they did have creditable draws over Arsenal, Man City and a win over Manchester United early in the season. Coyle took over from Gary Megson, who had become a deeply unpopular figure at the Reebok due to his unsuccessful and unattractive football, two factors which often will spell the end for a manager. Coyle had left as he considered Bolton a team better suited to ‘top flight football’. This was at a time when Bolton were at the same level as Burnley in the league and gate attendances were dropping at The Reebok.

Since the change in management Bolton have been on an upward swing, having avoided relegation last season Bolton entered this season with modest expectations. Coyle has gotten the best out of his players and tailored his tactics to suit that. It has been shown before this season that a 4-4-2 can be effective if applied correctly and pressure is maintained on the opposing side, you need only look at Sunderland’s win over Chelsea and Newcastle’s win over Arsenal to show this. Coyle has played this way with two ‘normal’ wingers. Along with this has been the willingness to go direct if the play calls for it as Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander have proven themselves capable in the air and in bringing each other into play.

Speaking of Elmander, this is the biggest positive for Coyle since his appointment. The startling thing about Bolton’s turnaround has been that it has been done with effectively the same team that he was left with. Elmander was a punch line when Coyle took over as the mis-firing Swede was lambasted for his poor scoring tally and record transfer fee. Whilst he didn’t start scoring straight away there has been a marked improvement in both the quality and quantity of his goals and he is finally showing the moves of a £10 million player. The same applies to Kevin Davies, who could charitably have been described as ‘one-dimensional’ under Gary Megson, Davies has added nuances to his performances which led to an England cap and a small degree of consternation when he was left out of the England squad more recently. Another exciting player already on the Bolton books was the young Korean Chung-Yong Lee, a tricky winger with a great cross I was surprised to hear James Richardson (of the Guardian podcast) question his ability. I thought it was clear to see that the Korean was a very-good Premier League winner and I contested he would make a valuable addition to a team in need of good wingers such as Liverpool.

With this kind of quality at the club I actually find myself in the position of wondering whether Gary Megson was really all that bad for Bolton, he certainly had an eye for a player. He signed Tamir Cohen, Gretar Steinsson, Matty Taylor, Gary Cahill, Fabrice Muamba, Mark Davies and the two signings mentioned above. These are all quality players with Davies, Muamba and Cahill all still relatively young. It is damning though that under another manager these players have performed better and achieved better in such a short space of time. Perhaps scouting is more appropriate to a man of Megson’s ability.

That is not to say though that Coyle has not been as prevalent in the transfer market. Having not spent more than a rumoured £1.5m on an ex-Real Madrid youngster Coyle has added to this team very well. The loan signings of Vladimir Weiss and Jack Wilshere showed the faith he had in quality youth and showed the ambition with which he wanted to play. Since then he has also brought in Robbie Blake and Martin Petrov who have the experience needed to enhance the youth players already at the team (Much like Robert Pires move to Villa). If you have been following Bolton and particularly if you are American you will have noticed one name conspicuously absent. That is because the best of Coyle’s signings and one done for nothing has been Stuart Holden, the Scottish-American midfielder has been key for both Club and Country and one major injury aside has been ever present in Bolton’s team. A dynamic young player he only has one element missing from his game and that is the lack of goals, however if he continues to play the way he has been that will be easily forgiven.

All of the above has been a great positive for Bolton fans who – since their promotion – have become accustomed to the Premier League and even the odd foray in Europe do still have some serious problems beyond the pitch. Coyle has operated well on his budget given that he has had very little money to spend as recent financial results have shown the club in £90m of debt (Which was up 30m from the year previous) puts the club on precarious financial footing. There may have to be sales in order to prop up the balance sheet but a reduction in the quality of the players on show would be a negative sign towards fans as they currently occupy a European place. Also the problem with their record signing taking so long to find his level is that as he has surged into form his contract is on it’s last legs and if no deal is agreed before January he could leave on a Bosman, though the club could sell him at a reduced cost to prevent that (see the story of Nigel De Jong’s transfer).

With that Bolton are at a fork in the road, do they secure their future by losing their best players and hope to unearth a few more gems? Or do they hold on to their best players and risk putting the club in Jeopardy for the hope of a financial windfall from Europe and a high-table place? We will soon see but for the meantime I will continue to watch Owen Coyle’s Bolton play football because, unless you are a fan of the opposing team, it is a joy to behold.

(You can follow me @kipp9 on twitter)

When Bolton paid a club record fee of £8.2 million for the Swedish striker Johan Elmander, a few eyebrows were raised. Yet, the former Toulouse striker had been one of the most consistent players in the French league during his time for the Téfécé and had built a reputation as a creative deep lying centre forward. Unfortunately, joining a side whose manager lacked any creative spark seemed an unusual step for the likable Swede.

It was as unusual for a manager as lacking in creative idea’s as Gary Megson decision to sign him. To put it mildly, Elmander had a nightmare first 18 months at Bolton, playing in a defensively minded side and struggling to cope with being used as a main striker, rather than his usual deeper role. His play suffered, his reputation fell and a nightmare 9 month barren spell seemed to be a millstone he couldn’t shift.

The sacking of Megson was not only a god send for the Bolton faithful, but for the striker as well. Owen Coyle brought a breath of fresh air to the Reebok stadium that removed all the negativity that had built up under the previous two regimes. Despite the continual negative press that Bolton continue to garner, Coyle’s appointment has been one of continual improvement and changing perceptions.

It’s always easy to label sides such as Bolton Wanderers as purely physical, but Coyle is trying his upmost to change the footballing opinion of the side. Any side that had players such as jay Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff cannot seriously be considered a long ball side. To counter this though the lack of credit for players such as Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies showed their achievements were never considered seriously.

Coyle’s appointment has seen Elmander return to his previous quality that he showed prior to joining Bolton. It’s not just a flash in a pan either, he’s been playing consistently well since Coyle took over in January this year. The manager clearly identified Elmander as key to creating a new Bolton Wanderers and the club is beginning to reap the dividends of the change. As an avid watcher of French football, I was always impressed with the strikers ability, skill and quality.

It was a real surprise to see him struggle so much and of course, some players for one reason or another, simply cannot cope with playing in a different league or a new country. Yet Elmander had adapted to playing in Norway, the Netherlands and France so much easier, it was strange to see him look so uncomfortable. Coyle clearly identified the problems and addressed them immediately, allowing Elmander to release the stresses that had clearly held him back.

This season has seen him already equal his league goal tally from last season with 3 to his name so far and Bolton bloodied Manchester United’s nose on Sunday. This is a side clearly on the up, playing attractive, positive football and finally seeing the best of Johan Elmander. It should be a good season for the Bolton faithful and one that will see them bloody a few more noses of more illustrious opponents. Elmander has the skills to unsettle the best defenders and I hope we seem him continue to get the goals his approach play this year clearly deserves.

There are green shoots of recovery around the Reebok Stadium, after several winters of discontent under Gary Megson. With Owen Coyle’s arrival, suddenly Bolton Wanderers are playing football again and trying to win games, rather than bore teams to death and hoof it skywards. Megson’s long ball banality has no place in modern football and I feel sorry for the next bunch of fans that have to suffer the tedium of his tactical ineptitude.

Thankfully, Phil Gartside realised that he preferred being the chairman of a Premiership club more than defending a manager who had lost the entire crowds respect. His own position was under threat and no matter how well a chairman and a manager get on, eventually it becomes a question of self preservation. Gartside made the selfish decision after two bad, bad managerial choices almost finished the club off. Now things are a whole lot rosier down Burnden Way and the club can look to a more positive future.

At the time when Coyle left, I was critical of the decision, mainly as I didn’t think Bolton could strike up the pace as quickly as they needed and Burnley seemed to be doing well. I didn’t understand it, but then again, not many people did other than Bolton Wanderers fans. The Green half of Glasgow were certainly left scratching their heads as they watched Tony Mowbray’s reign imploded in a series of bizarre transfer and selection issues and wondering how they couldn’t attract Burnley’s manager over the summer.

So Coyle kept his part of the bargain, he turned his back on devotion and demi-god status at Turf Moor, to ride to Boltons rescue and try and keep them in the Premiership. He did it and with points to spare, such was the dearth of quality shown by the bottom 3 sides for most of the season. Whilst the bottom 3 were nowhere near the worst the Premiership has seen, the lack of a consistent goalscorer in all three relegated sides was too much to bare.

Now Coyle has a few weeks off, and will look to pre-season training in July to begin to continue the good start he’s made to his 4th managerial position. Bolton fans came in for some criticism last season with their campaign to get rid of Gary Megson. “Ideas above their station” ” Spoilt by the Allardyce years” and “Small club punching above their weight” were just some of the delightful accusations levelled at the fans. Quite why wanting rid of a manager who messed up the biggest night in the clubs modern history and would send his teams out not to lose, rather than to try and win games is such a problem.

They pay money and are rightly entitled to their opinions, whether we agree with it or not. I’ve never understood how Gary Megson keeps getting jobs, his record other than at West Bromwich Albion is abysmal. Only Megson could unite Nottingham Forest and Leicester City fans in their hatred of him, such is the feeling of anger towards him from both sets of supporters. Now that takes some doing in anyone’s book, at least Coyle only has one clubs fans anger to deal with, probably for life. Bolton wasn’t a massive rescue job, he just needed to remind the players how to play football, as daft as that sounds.

He simply needed to get the core performers back in unison and on song. The spine of a decent Premiership side was always there, it just wasn’t allowed to be a football team. With Jaaskelainen, Davis, Elmander, Cahill, Taylor and Davies to call on, it simply needed the depressing air lifting from the place and things would soon settle down. The first 6 weeks were tough, but eventually, points started to come, performances started to come and the team began to climb the table.

Next season will be Coyle’s biggest test so far as a manager. He had nothing to lose at the other jobs he took, Burnley achieved more than even the most loyal fan could have imagined, but I doubt Bolton will be scraping around the relegation zone next season. Despite what their critics may say, Bolton have now been back in the top flight of football for ten years and are an established Premiership club. The troubles of the last 3 seasons should prove nothing more than a bad dream for the Wanderers fans, mid-table is more than realistic for next season.

In a strange yet understandable move, Hull City Chairman Adam Pearson has removed Phil Brown from his position as manager at the struggling side. It strikes me as strange as Brown has been moved on after an impressive, if limited, performance against Arsenal on Saturday. Removal after the dismal showing against Everton the week previously would have made much more sense.

Pearson, on Radio5 this evening, has claimed that the new manager will be in place and revealed to the world on Thursday morning. Though the rumours sweeping Hull tonight would point to a name to strike fear in to the heart of any fan of football but more of that later. Brown leaves after three and quarter years which have seen unqualified success for the Tigers.

Of course, the last year or so has seen them struggle to retain their Premiership status, but by reaching the top tier for the first time in Hull City’s history and then staying up last season, still ranks as Hull’s brightest moment so far. I always liked the fact that Phil Brown always, always referred to it when questioned about Hull’s current form. Today, even when departing the K.C. Stadium, he still found time to mention it. “Although I am extremely sad to be leaving Hull City, I am very proud of my achievements during my time as manager, especially having led the team into the top flight of football for the first time in the club’s 104-year history and ahead of schedule.”

So Brown leaves and the job isn’t too unattractive, regardless of the position that the Tigers find themselves in. 9 games left and with any 2 teams in the bottom 6 capable of joining the doomed Portsmouth in being relegated to the Premiership. Keep them up and the new man becomes an instant hero, as long as he doesn’t attempt a karaoke on the K.C. Stadium pitch at the end of the match. I don’t think I could stomach that again.

Despite the connotations and the misguided opinion that Hull is not a football town, Hull City is an attractive offer. A super little stadium, excellent facilities and the potential to keep growing with the right level of support and investment. So which exciting and dynamic manager are Hull being strongly linked with? Sit down, you may need a strong drink to cope with this news.

By all accounts, chairman Adam Pearson is favoring giving the job to Gary Megson. Yes, Gary Megson. Hated by every set of fans of every club he’s managed, with the exception of West Bromwich Albion, sacked from five of his last 6 jobs. I have to say, I shook my head when I heard the news. Apparently Pearson was going to give the job to Megson back in 2006, but appointed Brown instead. Can someone explain to me how Megson keeps getting work?

At his last 3 jobs, he’s managed Forest, Leicester and Bolton in 166 games and won 47 of them. An earth shattering win percentage of 28%. Quite how he keeps getting work staggers me. I can’t understand it at all. Yet in the time it took me to write this sentence he apparently can’t take the job due to the terms of his severance package from Bolton Wanderers. I could hear the sigh of relief from Hull City fans over here!

So Pearson has made his move and he will attempt to maneuver someone who can attempt to keep Hull City up. I’ll miss Phil Brown though, I always thought he was refreshing honest, though the media used that against him in some quarters. I’ll miss him turning up on Goals on Sunday wearing a pink sweater draped suggestively over his shoulders, his never diminishing tan and his sartorial elegance on the touchline.

Hull City fans will hope that Megson is unable to join them, because they’re dead in the water if he gets them. Mark Hughes would be an inspired choice if they can get him and he can try an infuse the club with the tenacity that he brought to his time as Wales and Blackburn manager. Come the next couple of days, we’ll know exactly who will be the man charged with saving Hull City. Who do you think Hull City should appoint?

Well it certainly sounds like Owen Coyle will be moving the 25 or so miles to Bolton Wanderers to replace the sacked Gary Megson. After being given permission to talk to the Trotters, Coyle looks set to  become the manager of a club he served so well for two years between 1993 and 1995. By all accounts, it’s a done deal and Burnley will begin to look at who they will need to replace the excellent work that Coyle has started at Turf Moor.

Phil Gartside, the Bolton chairman has certainly acted quickly to replace Megson, but their are two things about this potential appointment I can’t get my head around. Firstly, people are saying he has more of an emotional attachment to Bolton than Burnley and secondly, why on earth is Burnley’s chairman Barry Kilby allowing Coyle to talk to them?

The second point perplexes far more than the first. Why has Kilby allowed Coyle to talk to Bolton so easily? For all the criticism of football players agitating for moves, football managers it seems can simply walk away from a contract for nominal fees. Coyle signed a contract extension in the summer after turning down Celtic that tied him down to Turf Moor until June 2013. Now an offer from Bolton Wanderers is more appealing than talking over Celtic?

Now no-one can tell me that the Bolton Wanderers job is anywhere near the level of being in charge of Celtic. It’s a non-starter without question especially right now. Burnley are two points ahead, although having played two games more than Bolton and Wanderers travel to the Emirates on Wednesday night for one of their games in hand.

Burnley fans are rightly scratching their heads thinking what on earth is going on and I can understand their confusion. Why has Kilby not put his foot down and simply pointed out to Coyle the 3 years left on his contract. Or is Bolton’s offer simply too good for Kilby to turn down? Yet for all the money that may be on the table from Bolton to take Coyle, who on earth could replace him?

The first point that I mentioned, the much vaunted emotional attachment, doesn’t add up either. As a player, Coyle played 74 games for Bolton and as of Saturday, he has managed Burnley for 113 games. So how can he have such an attachment that makes Bolton a more attractive prospect than Celtic or staying at Burnley? It’s something that I just can’t understand, which seems to echo the feelings of the majority of Clarets fan.

To be honest, a move to Bolton is more of a sideways move right now than a move up the managerial ladder. Bolton, since Allardyce left have drifted along in the lower echelons of the Premier League, whilst Burnley have been on an upward trajectory ever since Coyle landed. All the pre-season predictions, except for one idiot, pointed to Burnley being cannon fodder.

Yes, their away form has been abysmal, but it smacks of naivety more than a lack of ability. On Saturday, they were being tipped as a team that could be embarrassed by lower league opposition in the F.A. Cup, but in the end, the comfortably dealt with M.K. Dons. They’ve impressed many people this season and good luck to them. Ironically, it was Coyle’s behavior after that game that set tongues wagging.

By claiming he couldn’t go the the post match press conference as he needed to catch a flight to Scotland immediately after the game, people thought fair enough. Unfortunately, Coyle was then caught out by still being at Stadium M.K. an hour later. It was then that questions began to be asked and since then, no-one has become any the wiser as to what on earth is happening. Just a word of advice for Mr Kilby, whatever you do, don’t give Graeme Souness the job!

This weekend sees the entrance of the Premiership and Championship clubs in to the F.A. Cup as the worlds oldest domestic cup competition continues in its 128th year. It’s one of those weekends that gets football fans excited, throwing up all kinds of memories for fans of every club from every level of the domestic game. For fans of all clubs, the F.A. Cup offers us all the chance to dream that this could be our year.

This weekend the fans of Barrow, York City Luton Town and Forest Green Rovers will be bursting with pride as the take on league opposition. Disappointingly for the fan in me, only four non-league sides have made it through to the third round this season but there are still some tasty ties for this years game.

Stoke City, Sunderland, Southampton and Notts County will be the clubs trying to avoid the ignominy of a defeat to a non-league side, but with all three of the bigger clubs at home, I don’t think we’ll see any shocks in those particular ties. There are several ties that are eye opening for several reasons though and of those, Manchester United entertaining Leeds on Sunday is the pick of round. Leeds’ fall down the leagues has been spectacular, but they currently sit on top of Division One, looking certainties to return to the Championship.

It’ll be interesting to see how this resumption of the cross pennine rivalry will be played out, with no love love lost between either side. Of the top four sides in the Premiership, Arsenal certainly have the most difficult tie, with a London derby trip to West Ham United on Sunday as well. Chelsea and Liverpool should make light work of Watford and Reading respectively whilst Tottenham should win easily against Peterborough United.

Overall though, the chances of any Premiership clubs getting knocked out by lower league opponents look slim to be honest but there are a couple of tricky ties. Portsmouth will be hoping Coventry City won’t bring their recent good form to Fratton Park, whilst Birmingham City face a dangerous trip to Nottingham Forest. Manchester City visit Middlesbrough who have been bang out of form since they sacked Gareth Southgate but should be too strong.

Of the other recently promoted sides, Burnley and Wolves both face potential banana skin games at Milton Keynes Dons and Tranmere Rovers and may view the match as a chance to give secondary players a run out. Bolton Wanderers fans will probably be viewing the clash with Lincoln City, now managed by Blackburn Rovers old boy Chris Sutton, with renewed optimism following Gary Megson’s sacking earlier today.

What ever happens, 3 Premiership clubs will be out of the competition no matter what with three all Premiership ties in the third round. Aston Villa welcome Blackburn Rovers, whilst Wigan will be trying to put tonight’s thrashing at Old Trafford out of their minds as Hull City visit the D.W. Stadium and Arsenal travelling to West Ham United.

Overall though, this isn’t really a weekend for shocks, but the F.A.Cup has a reputation for shocking you when you least expect it and that’s why it’s still the best cup competition in the world. Here’s to a great weekend of cup football before we get back to the Premiership.

Watching the entertaining match Tuesday night between Bolton and Hull City, the thought crossed my mind that being the manager of Bolton Wanderers was the least desirable job in the entire Premier League. Little did I know that less than 24 hours later Gary Megson would be sacked as the gaffer.

The only Premier League manager position that is possibly less desirable than the Wanderers is Hull City. But I would argue that Bolton is much less desirable. At least with Hull City you have sympathetic supporters who don’t have high ambitions and who have a team brimming with interesting characters such as Jimmy Bullard and Geovanni.

In fairness to Gary Megson, he shouldn’t have been sacked. I was against Paul Hart being sacked. I was against Mark Hughes being sacked. In all three cases, I was against the managers being sacked because the results on the pitch didn’t match the predicament they were in. Portsmouth were playing with enough confidence and enthusiasm that they could eventually burrow their way out of the bottom three. Manchester City would eventually get their defense right and would be able to turn those draws into wins. And for Bolton, no matter how much supporters dislike Gary Megson, they had two games in hand. If they had won those two games in hand, they would have moved from 18th position to 10th spot in the league! But even if they had won only one of their two games in hand, they still would have moved up to 13th position.

Tying 2-2 against Hull City should have been no disgrace for Bolton last night. Both teams played well and Bolton were so close to scoring an all-important third goal. Even the two goals that Steven Hunt scored were nothing criminal. The first was from a decent cross and was an excellent header into the net. The second took a fortunate deflection for Hunt into the goal.

Looking at Bolton’s recent results, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. They drew 1-1 against Burnley in the local derby at Turf Moor, and we all know how strong Burnley are at home. Prior to that, the Trotters beat West Ham United 3-1. Chelsea only just beat the Hammers recently. Megson’s side drew Manchester City 3-3 in a game that City were lucky to get a point. In late November, Bolton salvaged a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage (a team that beat Manchester United 3-0 at the same ground). And so on.

The reality is that it wasn’t the results that sacked Gary Megson. It was the supporters. Megson fell out of favor with the supporters and openly criticized them. And that may have been a major factor in the final decision by the Bolton chairman Phil Gartside.

Watch Megson’s post-match interview above, which was sadly his last one as manager of Bolton Wanderers.

As I said at the beginning of this article, Bolton is the least desirable club in the Premier League to manage at. One, it has never been a fashionable club. Two, the supporters have higher expectations than they should because they’ve been spoiled by Sam Allardyce’s past successes. Three, the club has a track record of playing a certain brand of football that isn’t endearing to club managers or footballers.

The sad thing is that I can expect a few managers to turn down the position before someone takes it. Whoever walks into this club as the next Bolton manager needs to be someone with a steely character and something to prove. It’s not going to be easy to find someone but they’re out there.

Ah, Gary Megson, never a manager to pass the blame on to anyone else for his own shortcomings, has decided that today he would announce that certain players are trying to destabilise the club. After watching Sundays performance, I don’t blame them, they look a team with no self confidence, no belief and no faith in the manager. At least he’s not blaming the fans this week. It’s always some else’s fault in Gary Megson’s mind. On Sunday, they’d lost their zip. Now, dark forces are working against Gary Megson, not the fact he played two left wingers in the same midfield and substituted their best player on Sunday, Ricardo Gardner. Witchcraft is abound on Burnden Way in Megson’s eyes.

The fans do not need a reason to increase their dislike of a manager that they never wanted.The boo’s that came cascading down from the Reebok faithful when Ricardo Gardner was removed served to remind Megson that regardless of the chairman’s support, If enough fans stop going, it won’t matter. Money makes the world go round and Bolton’s gates have never been the highest. Currently 5,000 down on 2005-2006 season, even a local derby on Sunday against Blackburn couldn’t raise the attendance over 22,000.

To be honest, I think Gary Megson would lose a popularity contest if he was the only person in it and only his friends could vote. His dogmatic, banality at all costs style of football makes you want to stitch your eyelids together. That’s no attack on Bolton Wanderers, they have the quality of player to be able to get the ball down and play football. Under Allardyce, they attracted a quality of free signings and rough diamonds that played a high tempo, effective and physical game.Megson’s teams just won’t play football because he doesn’t know how to.

Under Megson, they look lost, without purpose and drive. A key point of this is Johan Elmander. Now, I’ve seen a bit of Elmander play over the last 3 or 4 years and right now, he looks like he’s never played the game before. There is no doubting that Elmander is a quality player and he made Toulouse a different side during his time there. Now, he looks like a fish out of water.Elmander is no Fernando Torres, but he’s a damn fine striker.

The chairman Phil Gartside has said there was no need to panic and he wasn’t the type to do so, but tell that to Sammy Lee. Gartside came out with this gem: “The season is 38 games and we are confident. We have been playing some good football, it’s been decent stuff. No one presses panic buttons around here. I have been in the game long enough not to do that.” Now I’ve yet to find a Reebok regular that would agree with any part of that statement.

Since Megson took over at the Reebok stadium, Bolton have played 92 games in all competitions under his stewardship. Incredibly, they’ve only won 26 of those matches. That’s a win ratio of 28.2% and Paul Hart who has so much to deal with and got sacked today had a win ratio at Pompey of 30%. With the fans baying for his blood, Bolton now face Fulham and Wolves away before Manchester City arrive and these are crucial games. The Christmas fixture computer has given them some tough local games and relegation six pointers, so things aren’t going to get any easier.

By once again blaming everyone else, Megson shows a thin skin to his limitations as a manager. As I mentioned earlier this year, Megson has a dreadful record as a manager, but keeps getting jobs. It astounds me how the same names keep going round and round and never achieving anything but the jobs keep coming. Mind you Megson claimed he’d been black balled after his dreadful spell at Nottingham Forest, which when you consider he only won 17 games out of 59, speaks for itself.

The dreaded vote of confidence has come, the fans are chomping at the bit to let him know just how little they think of him, attendances are falling, Megson is blaming the fans, the players and the club are second bottom. The question Bolton fans must be wondering is just how bad to things have to get at the Reebok before Megson gets sacked. We’ll find out soon enough if there is a happy ending in Horwich.

Well you’ve got to hand it to him, Gary Megson must have the thickest skin in professional football. I’ve seen him barracked by his own fans at 4 different clubs over the years and that’s some going, even in the fickle world of the football supporter. At a Nottingham Forest game, I saw fans come to blows trying to get to him, at Leicester I saw a fan throw his season ticket at him in his 3rd game in charge. At Bolton he famously finished last in an online poll with 1.7% of the vote behind A.N Other before being announced as manager.

It’s a weird situation when this kind of vitriol follows someone around throughout their career and he’s continually knocked noses out of joint wherever he’s been. Even as a player, whilst highly regarded, Brian Clough was disgusted with his pre-match ritual of throwing up before playing, so much so that he sold him on after only 4 months.

With the exception of the Leicester City job, out of his 8 managerial positions, he’s been sacked from 4 and resigned from 2. The two he left freely were Blackpool and Nottingham Forest, though for his own safety, I think he did well to get out of the City Ground alive. It’s the one thing that astounds me about managers, that whilst I appreciate the mangers success can only be as good as the tools at his disposal, why do so many bad managers keep getting work.

Now it may seem churlish to label Megson as a bad manager, but there is no doubting he is unpopular wherever he goes, with the exception of West Bromwich Albion. Albion were on a slippery slope when he came in and he got them in to the Premiership and they’ve been yo-yoing back and forth ever since, but good lord he plays awful football and that’s where the problem lies. My biggest criticism of him as manager of Bolton is his over reliance on the long ball game and consistently negative outlook.

The constant arguments between Megson and the Bolton fans took a new twist the other day when he said “We’re not Real Madrid”. I don’t think any Bolton fan is under the delusion that they expect the team to play as if they were, but surely Megson could try and pacify the fans rather keep coming out with statements that seem to deliberately antagonise them. With the players he has at his disposal, it’s not too far a jump for them to play football now and again.

The nucleus of a good side is there, with the likes of Matty Taylor, Sean Davis, Johan Elmander, the underrated Jussi Jaakelainen & Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill. Yet the negativity of the fans is beginning to drive a wedge between everyone at the Reebok Stadium. Did the Sam Allardyce reign give them a false level of optimism?

Some Bolton fans have never forgiven Megson for playing a reserve side in their biggest game for 50 years in the UEFA Cup. Megson’s idea was to rest the players for a Premier League game against Wigan the Sunday after, which they ironically lost.  That game against Sporting Lisbon was the high point of some Wanderers fans football lives and they resent the fact he didn’t care enough.Staying up was all that mattered and to some fans, that was a bridge too far.

No doubt, the most vitrolic Bolton fans are wanting him out, in 6 League and Cup games they’ve won two, both away from home. The win against Tranmere was no surprise, they are in big trouble already. If anything Megson would have been relived to see the pressure John Barnes is under at Prenton Park. The only win in the league was at troubled Portsmouth who can’t buy any luck at present.

Yet when Megson starts a home game playing with one striker what does he expect? By playing negative football at home, he promotes the negativity in the stands. Each fuels each other, Megson is now scared to lose games, the fans expect defensive, boring football. The fans boo, he complains about lack of support.  Trouble is, if Megson does go, who on earth will they bring in to replace him?

Bolton Manager Gary Megson

In October 1999 Sam Allardyce breezed into his office at the Reebok Stadium to take over a club at the foot of the first division table. Amazingly, he guided Bolton Wanderers to the play-off semi finals the same season as well reaching both domestic cup finals.

The following season Wanderers finished in third place and again competed in the play-offs – this time they dispatched Lancashire rivals Preston North End 3-0  in the final. Allardyce had led Bolton to promotion in his first full season.  The first two years in the Premier League were understandably spent fighting off relegation which they did successfully. What we didn’t expect was for the Trotters to then finish in the top eight four season’s consecutively - qualifying for the UEFA Cup twice in the process and even achieving sixth place in 2004/05.

These highly succesful seasons in the Premier League owe no small part to Wanderers’ success in the transfer market. During this era Youri Djorkaeff, Jay Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro, Ivan Campo and Nicolas Anelka all donned the the white shirts of the Lancashire club. Not only did Bolton qualify for Europe, they made it to the League Cup final in Cardiff where they were beaten by Middlesbrough. 

However those days of European qualification, cup finals and regular top ten finishes seem like a distant memory. When Big Sam left to take over at Newcastle United in April 2007, Bolton turned to his assistant Sammy Lee. Lee’s tenure was disastrous. Despite ensuring qualification for Europ in the month after taking over his name sake, Little Sam lasted lasted until October of the next  season with just one win to his credit. In stepped Gary Megson and the continual battle against relegation. Despite the direct style of football not really changing since Allardyce’s reign, it seems poor signings have led the club to the position they are in.

Johan Elmander arrived at the club in 2008 for a whopping fee of £8.2 Million from Toulouse with Daniel Braaten going the other way. He has managed a pitiful 5 goals in his 28 games for the club. For the sake of pointless statistics that is £1.64 million pounds per goal, tad expensive for a centre forward you feel?

Gary Cahill was signed last season from Aston Villa for £5 Million. Now I want to go on record and mention that I watched Cahill on loan for Sheffield United in the same season and make 16 appearances for the Blades. He looked an outstanding player in the Championship but £5 Million quid is a big fee when you consider that Everton landed Phil Jagielka for £4 Million.

Bolton were once incredibly shrewd in the market but have splurged on mediocre players since the days of Sam Allardyce. Add Gretnar Steinsson (£3.5 million), Danny Shittu (£2 Million basic) and we add further weight to the issue.  Matt Taylor has been a reasonable acquisition, a tad over-priced at £4 million but at least he has 10 goals to his credit. Yes, the £8.2 million striker Elmander has been out-scored by a left back/midfielder.

I know that transfer fees for players are forever spiralling upward, but does anyone out there not think that Allardyce wouldn’t have spent that cash better than Megson? Considering that the Trotters sold Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea in January 2008 for £15 Million those transfer funds have been poorly distributed. Maybe Bolton saw Megson a fit appointment in relation to his direct style of physical football – it can’t have been his charisma. A quiet character by the name of Neil Warnock once commented on Megson releasing an auto-biography by saying ”Oh he’s writing a book is he? Well it’ll be the best f**king cure for insomniacs that’s ever been published”.

I  fear that Bolton, a good family club may join the likes of Southampton, Coventry and Middlesbrough in domiciling in mid-table anonymity for years before finally suffering the drop. Bolton have been good for the Premier League and have been a model for other promoted clubs to base their for model for success on. However with the current man in charge I cannot see Wanderers firing back up the table – particularly if they don’t replace Kevin Nolan.