With Arsene finally aligning his Arsenal to gun down opposition and their conquerors of last week, Blackburn losing to drop into the relegation zone, we need no reminding about how long a week in this league can be. Bolton who were this week’s victims of the resurgent gooners are firmly rooted at the foot of the table, stark contrast to last season’s dizzy heights when they were early in the season challenging for fourth place.
Ironic that Bolton legendary manager, big Sam who kept willing investors into a Blackburn side that was clearly punching above its weight during his reign was sacked only a few matches after his wish was realized. While the reasons for his sacking remain mysterious to this day, the promises made of Champions’ League football and marquee player signings highlight the naivety of the club’s new owners given that they have only invested pocket change into their squad. The promotion of first-team coach Steve Kean to his first managerial role had “gamble” written all over it and unfortunately his record since has Blackburn as the bookies favorites for relegation.
The transfer window may have destabilized Blackburn’s defense with the departure of the magnificent Phil Jones, but the fact that the deal was closed so early during the transfer window for a juicy £17m gave Steve Kean enough time and money to improve his squad. The fact that Blackburn still failed to attract significant quality is either testimony to the fact that the new owners are frugal business men who sought to hire a grateful novice manager that would not question their lack of vision, or Steve Kean simply does not have the ability to win the confidence of ambitious professionals. On paper you could say that Steve has shrewdly strengthened his squad in various positions, but with the sense of injustice surrounding his predecessor’s departure and Blackburn fans quickly turning against him, he will have to demonstrate astute management and a thick skin to keep himself in the job and his side in the division for another season.
Bolton fans on the other hand welcomed the long overdue replacement of “clueless” Gary Megson in January 2010. They were delighted to see the return of former player and hero Owen Coyle who looked pure genius for the scalps he claimed as manager at Burnley and the free flowing football they treated the league to. Indeed his return to Bolton was greeted by a honey moon period that saw his side not only display more entertaining football but were clearly dreaming of a return to Europe during the first half of last season.
The turning point for Coyle’s reign seems to have been the FA Cup semi-final collapse to Stoke City last season. Despite thrashing QPR in a perfect opening game to the season that had them sitting at the top of the table, Bolton has since failed to add to their points tally and have quickly wandered their way to the foot of the table. Bolton are failing to compensate for the loss of last season’s surprise star, Johan Elmander, and have scored only once since the opening day fantasy. Chris Eagles and David Ngog look like quality additions, and Coyle will be hoping that his loan signings are as influential as Sturridge was during the second half of last season. Should he emerge from this bad run before the fans and ownership lose their patience, it should make great learning experience for Coyle’s young managerial career. He should soon steer his troops away from the relegation zone and get Bolton into their right place just below mid table.
BLACKBURN
Players in: David Goodwillie (Dundee United, £2.8m), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade, undisclosed), Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Scott Dann (Birmingham, undisclosed), Yakubu (Everton, undisclosed), Jordan Slew (Sheffield United, £1m)
Players out: Phil Jones (Manchester United, £17m), Frank Fielding (Derby, £300,000), Jason Brown, Zurab Khizanishvili, Maceo Rigters (all released), Benjani Mwaruwari (Portsmouth, free), Keith Andrews (Ipswich, loan), Nikola Kalinic (Dnipro, undisclosed), Brett Emerton (Sydney FC, free).
BOLTON WANDERERS
Players in: Darren Pratley (Swansea, free), Nigel Reo-Coker (Bolton, free), Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears (Burnley, joint £3m), Tuncay Sanli (Wolfsburg, season loan), Dedryck Boyata (Manchester City, loan), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan until January), David Ngog (Liverpool, £4m).
Players out: Joey O'Brien (West Ham, free), Johan Elmander, Jlloyd Samuel, Tamir Cohen (all released), Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan, £4m), Matt Taylor (West Ham, £2.2m), Danny Ward (Huddersfield, £1m).
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