Write for the Bolton Offside
By: Bob |
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Do you have a passion for Bolton football? Do you like to write and to share your opinions? Are you fired up for the 2007-2008 season? We’re looking for someone to captain this blog. This is not a paid position, but you will be rewarded with an admiring worldwide audience that will hang on your every word. If you are interested in joining the The Offside team, shoot an email to bob [at] theoffside.com and let him now why you are excellent for the position.
Category: Team News
That Was A Close One
By: BC | 1 Comment
After eighty-minutes of no goals, it was getting a bit worrisome for Bolton supporters. Would we do it again? Would we give points to a lowly team that we should beat? Well, where as it might be the nice thing our mothers taught us to do, we didn’t. It was Kevin Davies, the man who could only play fifty-odd minutes against ManUre, the man that supported the Blades as a child, the man that our style of play seems to be made for, who eventually netted for us.
Bolton dominated much of the game, but a few Sheffield United counter attacks sent hearts racing. Thankfully Davies came to the rescue with a blast into the bottom right corner.
We may have won, but we lost our skipper for the next two games. Nolan picked up his tenth foul of the season and will miss Wigan and Everton. He will join Campo - who is also serving a suspension - for tea and discuss their poor behavior when we take on Wigan at the JJB next weekend. Thankfully we got Faye back from injury who was able to fill in the middle where Campo likes to play. Faye showed a great effort, and a good amount of energy, something our midfield more than occasionally lacks. While it may seem that lacking Kevin Nolan may hurt us, perhaps in the end it is something that will help us. Big Sam doesn’t like to introduce new players. For some reason, he loves to go with Pederson and keep the talent on the bench. With both Campo and Nolan out, perhaps the Iranian Andranik will get a well deserved start. And maybe, just maybe we’ll even see the likes of Idan Tal actually on the pitch. We fans can look forward to this as a time that Sam is forced to try out some of his new talent. Unfortunately, he’ll probably stick Pederson in somewhere he doesn’t belong, and move players around. Before you know it, we’ll have Anelka playing center back with El-Hadji Diouf.
Category: ResultsThree Points?
By: BC | 4 Comments
The Super Whites will meet Neil Warnock’s Blades this weekend. One would think it would be an easy three points as fifth place takes on a side only four points clear of relegation, and realistically it probably should be relatively easy. Unfortunately, if you’re a fan of Bolton you know that sometimes Big Sam and the boys feel bad for the bottom dwellers at the end of a season. We’ve seen it happen all too often. We’re clearly the better team. We go in, and gift three points to a team that’s shambles. It’s really heart-wrenching.
The Blades have picked up one point in the past three games, and while this form is utter crap, the Whites haven’t picked up any in the past three. It’s actually a bit frightening going into this game. Six games ago there was talk of us with a chance of getting into European football. This idea has been scrambled and now we’re hoping to hang on to UEFA Cup Footy. Poor. Absolutely piss poor.
We will have Kevin Davies back, and hopefully he’ll be able to go a bit longer than he did against ManUre. We also hope to have Faye back from injury, however we will be without the great Ivan Campo. Campo picked up his tenth yellow card of the season, and consequently will miss this match against the Blades. On a lighter note, Hulse is out through injury. And let’s face it. Hulse was fifty-percent of that team.
Bolton Wanderers 2 - 0 Sheffield United. El-Hadji Diouf, and Anelka are due.
That’s How They Did
By: BC | 2 Comments
As it was International week in the world of football, there’s nothing to report on the Whites. Well, not directly.
So Long, Farewell
By: BC | 3 Comments
During the January transfer window there was speculation of Chelski looking to purchase Israeli stand-out Tal Ben Haim for a mere three million pounds or so. As it was, the Whites had little depth in the back and really couldn’t afford to essentially give away an all star for crumbs. Now, instead of giving away an all star for crumbs, we’re giving him away, period. Gone. For free. No more Tal Ben Haim. It has been understood for some time that Ben Haim wanted out. It came down to a matter of a paycheck, and as Big Sam said “We can’t afford Tal anymore.” I guess you can’t blame him, but it’s still frustrating to see a top class defender like Ben Haim walk away because our chairman won’t throw down some more cash. But we can still be bitter about his money grubbing desire.
It is assumed that Ben Haim will be picked up by one of the Big Four as he has the quality to play for them, and they have the funds to pay for him. I could see him moving to the Pool, or Chelski. Personally, I don’t see ManUre or the Arse in need of him, although I’m sure Ben Haim would be content to sit on the bench and roll in the dough. If he wasn’t, he’d end up staying with the Whites, not making as much, but getting all the playing time he wants.
Tal Ben Haim will almost certainly be starting in the back for Israel when they take on England in Israel in a Euro 2008 qualification map. As Ben Haim sees it the loser of this match will fail to qualify, and although England is the favorite to win, he feels like giving them a run at it.
4-1! Again?
By: BC | 3 Comments
To be honest, I don’t think many Wanderers fans went into this game realistically believing that we’d win. Sure it would have been nice, and it was certainly a possibility if only ephemerally fleeting. A draw was much more realistic, but still, perhaps a bit of a pipe dream. Most of us had resigned ourselves to a loss, but hoped that it would be a bit less offensive than our recent handlings at the Riverside, and White Hart Lane. To my chagrin, it was not. If anything it was even more offensive.
We did it again. We lost four to one again. A few early goals from the opposition and we were shot. Scrambling around the pitch hoping not to let too many more go by in the remaining three-quarters of a game. In all three games, the goals came early on and proved to be too big of a mountain to climb. And in all three games it seemed that there was one essential player that destroyed our defense (Downing, Keane, Ronaldo).
Oddly enough as I told you the other day that Davies wouldn’t make it due to his semi-recent injury, he started, and didn’t prove to be much help to our cause as he was subbed out after only the fifty-second minute. For some reason unbeknown to anyone with the exception of Big Sam, Pedersen started the match but was replaced after only by twenty-eight minutes by El-Hadji Diouf. Was this some tactic to save Pederson some energy after the game had more-or-less already been lost? I don’t know, but it doesn’t make sense. Come on Sam.
Most of Man U’s goals came from set pieces. Our set pieces. Their counter attacks. Aren’t we supposed to be the ones that dominate set pieces? Aren’t we a “set piece” team (aside from being a “long ball” team)? And they were our set pieces that Man U just swiped from us. Piss poor. Depressing. Yes, it’s Manchester United. A very good Manchester United side, but four to one? Our set pieces? What’s going on Sam? When are you going to get our boys together and turn this decrepit form of ours around? We’re waiting.
Hopefully we can get a win on the thirty-first when we take on Sheffield United and keep a few points between us and sixth place.
Go Home and Play You Foreigners
By: BC | 2 Comments
It’s been a topic of debate by some, and as of late, a bit of a finger pointing concern at Manchester City by Richard Dunne. 
It would seem to some that the English Prem is lacking in, well, English players. In my mind two teams really stick out when we talk about foreigners dominating a side, obviously the Gooners, and my beloved Wanderers. The Whites have three standard English players in Nicky Hunt, Kevin Davies, and Kevin Nolan, and in time perhaps David Thompson.
Well if we were to have a team consisting solely of Englishmen when it came time for international weeks like the one ahead of us, most of our team would be sitting around and training. This is good, but at this stage in the season, it’s good to keep match fit and play a match a week or so. When we field only a few quality individuals from any given country, it’s likely they’ll be called up for international duty, so it is with Bolton this upcoming week. Of our eighteen listed possibilities for Saturdays match against Manchester United, nine have been called up for senior international duty. On top of that, one of our players out on loan has been called up for the national team, and a handful have been called up for their countries youth squads (most of them on loan.) All in all, fifteen of our boys have been called into international duty.
Too Early For Davies Return?
By: BC | 5 Comments
Yes, yes it is. Kevin Davies has been out for the past six weeks due to a chipped bone in his foot. The effects of his absence have been easy to see to most supporters of the Whites. Davies adds a great option upfront, and with out him, the Wanderers form has slipped - putting them virtually out of competition for a top four spot. Davies is due to return soon, but the question is how soon.
Saturday sees the fifth placed Wanderers take on a tip-top Manchester United side at Old Trafford. Bolton face an uphill battle, but it would be a little less steep with the help of Davies upfront. Unfortunately according to Big Sam, it’s probably a bit too soon to see Davies back in the line up as he “hasn’t been able to kick a ball” in the time that he’s been injured. Undoubtedly it would be too soon to see Davies back in. No need to jeopardize another injury facing an already tough match.
Although difficult, the Wanderers will look to put two recent defeats to Spurs and Blackburn behind them and do their best to collect at least a point from Man U. As much as I’d love to see the Whites take some points from the league leaders, and keep some distance between them and sixth place, I’m afraid it won’t happen. Three - one to Manchester United. Hope I’m wrong.
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