The Mirror Needs to Get its Story Straight

Bolton fans are very naughty for being bad to Gary Megson. We know this because the Daily Mirror told us. The publication best known for being a watery imitation of the Sun newspaper is so keen to get the Reebok faithful on message that it published the same article twice.

‘I sat chatting to a Bolton fan as we watched their defeat to Liverpool on Saturday – and 90 minutes later I still couldn’t get my head around why their supporters dislike him so much,` wrote David Anderson on Tuesday. And on Friday.

Perhaps Mr Anderson should ask his colleague Simon Bird. The Mirror`s North-East correspondent watched Bolton lose at Sunderland in late 2007, and wasn`t impressed.

`Bolton are an ugly, horrible team to watch, and having kicked Sunderland players more than the ball for 40 minutes, they found a route back into the game when Liam Miller fouled Ricardo Gardner and El-Hadji Diouf’s free-kick floated into the far corner,` he bleated in his match report.

Bird may be a tad biased given his geographical location, but the description isn`t far off. Diouf has since chosen to leave the club, along with Nicolas Anelka. Those two flair players have been replaced with the work horses that Megson is so fond of.

The Bolton manager is undeserving of the abuse he receives from sections of the crowd. He`s doing his best with limited resources and ability. But he sends his teams out crippled with caution and terrified of possessing the ball. It`s no coincidence that no goals have been scored from open play in three league games this season. That he started with a five-man midfield at League One Tranmere in the Carling Cup says it all.

Those who claim to watch football for entertainment miss the point. As do the witless fools who drone on about the game being ‘played the right way`. That may be fine for the neutral, but supporting your own team is a far more complex interaction than passively observing what`s in front of you.

All sport is ultimately a contest and the aim is to win. It isn`t always possible to do that in an elegant fashion, and fans understand that. But it`s supposed to be enjoyable.

There is something deeply dispiriting about Bolton`s play. They go out not to win, but to avoid defeat – whatever the opposition. That might be justified if it worked, but only three Premier League teams lost more matches last season and two of those were relegated.

This campaign has resumed in the same way. A reverse against Liverpool is no big deal, but to emerge pointless from encounters with dross like Sunderland and Hull is unacceptable.

Fans who complain are under fire, but the ones who don`t go are a bigger problem. Only large away followings and the £49 season ticket for under-18s are keeping attendances at the Reebok above the 20,000 mark and that`s with prices having been frozen or reduced for four years. That won`t improve until what`s on show is more attractive. No amount of PR spin is going to change that.