What do you mean ‘who are you?’ X here, giving my own personal viewpoint on tonight’s game. No, I don’t know where Al is.
Bolton travel to the Black Country tonight, hoping to make it two wins in a row for the first time since Blackburn were despatched in March. March 1964 it seems like, even if it was only seven months ago.
‘Interim’ boss Jimmy Phillips is currently the most successful Bolton manager ever with a 100% record and has been helped enormously by having people who actually know what they are doing and, more importantly, know the club behind him. So, obviously, he should be given more than two games.
Dougie who what’s that?
Vital Quotes:
‘We all know going to Molineux can be a tough test. It can be a tough stadium to get a result in.’ So far, so Coyle. ‘On Saturday we wanted to be on the front foot from the start at home but conceding meant we needed to go to Plan B quickly.’ Plan what again? Wasn’t he in The Sweeney? ‘Playing a passing game and retaining possession is key for me. The sooner we do that in games, the more chance we have of taking control of a game. We will analyse Wolves` strengths and make sure we are in a position to use our strengths.’ What the hell is this gobbledygook? I want to hear about what a great manager Stale Onhisbacken is dammit. ‘We are expecting Wolves in their home stadium to be attacking us so we have to be prepared for that. But when we do have the ball we will be encouraging our players to be composed and confident to try and stretch them.’ No, not the tactics. The manager? He’s great isn’t he? A great guy… ‘I was very pleased with the way the players adapted to the playing philosophy and style we asked them to play in on Saturday. Our passes completed came to over 360 which outshone previous statistics where we only had 300 passes whether successful or not. They certainly adapted to the style I wanted, to play out from the back. The mood of the place has been great. They have been very positive and high-spirited and adapted to the change in training methods very well.’ Stone me. What’s that. A breath of fresh air?
Wolverhampton Wanderers Team News:
Karl Henry, who makes SKD look like a paragon of tackling virtue, is back from a, would you believe, suspension. Other than that, Wolves have no new injury worries.
Player to watch: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
With the sale of Steven Fletcher, the onus fell back on Ebanks-Blake who, like Chris Eagles, proved himself in the Championship, only to be found wanting in the Premier League. Like Eagles, he has scored six goals this season and has a quick turn of feet that could cause problems for Ream and Mills.
Bolton Wanderers Team News:
Other than your usuals, it’s a pretty injury free squad to choose from. Knight, Alonso and Wylde played for the reserves last night, so don’t expect them to be anywhere near the team.
Player to watch: Chris Eagles
He may not be able to score from the penalty spot, this costing his manager his job, but he can sure score from free kicks. Eagles is the out and out player of the season so far, although there should soon be others challenging for that position. When he plays well, we play well.
Match Facts & Stats
Over 118 games that the two Wanderers have played against each other since 1888, it is nip and tuck with the more southern side leading by just two games, 49-47. At Wolves that is extended to 35-14.
Bolton’s leading scorer in the fixture is obviously Sir Nat with nine. In the second tier it is SuperJohn McGinlay, with four.
The last time the teams met was in the halcyon days of the Premier League (remember them?), the one and only Wanderers winning at Molineux in March with goals from Petrov, Alonso and SKD.
Ref Watch:
Lee Probert. The actual Lee Probert. A bone fide, dyed in the wool, Premier League standard, referee. Not that that counts for much. This will be Mr Probert’s first Championship game of the season, lucky him, but he has taken control of six Premier League games so far and dished out nineteen yellows and one red. The last Bolton game he took charge of was the 2-2 draw at Sunderland in April when he didn’t book a single Bolton player.
Match Prediction:
I still wouldn’t trust our defence further than I could collectively throw them, so 2-1 to the away side.
Next Fixtures:
Another away trip, to deepest, darkest, dankest, miserabilist Middlesbrough, on Saturday.