Civil War Erupts at Bolton

Once again at the weekend, Bolton fans were arguing and fighting amongst themselves. The previous instances of this happening were at Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers. This time it was at the home game against Fulham.

On one side there are the supporters who think that Gary Megson is responsible for everything bad, including the team`s performances, lousy weather, the credit crunch and the outbreak of World War Two. On the other are those who may not be an admirer of the man, but who recognise hysteria when they see it.

Megson has previously referred to a section of the fans as ‘pathetic` although he clarified that statement later to indicate that he was referring to those who had sung obscenities toward him at Blackburn. After the woeful defeat to Fulham, he was again critical of Bolton`s following:

‘You listen to the reaction of people around here and you would think you had taken over Real Madrid, and there had never been a poor performance, he told the Bolton News.

In addition, there were clashes between the players and the crowd at Saturday`s game. There are reports of Matthew Taylor verbally abusing fans in the North Stand Lower. The precise nature of what he was responding to has yet to emerge.

Whilst there was a small demonstration last season, once Bolton embarked on the five game undefeated run that saw them escape from relegation, everyone was united. Now the club is threatening to implode. The players look demoralised and there is a small but steadily growing group of match attendees who are as anti-Bolton as an opposition fan could be. It`s already getting very ugly and could prove the difference between the club staying up and being relegated.

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