Elmander Proves His Worth, But Where’s the Love?

By: Chris C.
Soccer City FC

At long last the new year of football is underway and all is right with the world, if only for 90 minutes at a time. Off the pitch, we’ve still got the normal events of the day with Dimitar Berbatov asking to leave Tottenham in favour of greener pastures with Manchester United. Emmanuel Adebayor has signed a new, long-term contract with Arsenal for bigger money than he was making, despite still having a valid contract with the club. Perhaps most interesting is that Everton continues on without having made a single singing, even after losing Andy Johnson to Fulham. Yes, life off the pitch is as confusing and ever-changing as expected.

What of Bolton, you ask? Well, life moves on much as it has this past while. Things look bright for the Trotters this season, having had a relatively successful round of pre-season friendlies and doing exceptionally well in their season opener against Stoke. What’s more, Gary Megson has come out to state publically that there will be at least one more signing before the close of the transfer window, with two offers currently on the table. Who those offers are geared towards remains unknown; however, it is believed that one offer is dead in the water and the other could come to fruition within the new couple of days. What will be most interesting about that is just who Megson is targeting at this point. Many speculate that one offer was directed towards Milan Baros, whilst the other could be for highly-sought after big man Nikola Zigic. Another claim has one contract offer directed towards the much-rumoured James Harper move, whilst still others link Bolton with a handful of players spread throughout the world. Whether those claims will prove true or not remains to be seen; however, what the hunt is still on at the Reebok, and Trotters fans are just as anxious as ever to see who else will join the squad after a very expensive summer spending spree from Gary Megson.

What has been very good news for Bolton fans the world over has been the emergence of Johan Elmander into the Trotters lineup. While it’s true he took his time to get his touches in during the Stoke game, Elmander has proven to be worth every penny and has certainly found the back of the net during his time with the club so far. What remains to be seen is whether or not Johan will continue to provide the goals, and whether or not Megson will continue to play a 4-5-1, leaving Kevin Davies to service and support Elmander, rather than playing a genuine striker’s role. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see what role Mustapha Riga will have to play in the overall sway of things, given that he is the speedy winger that Bolton needed to pick up with once it became clear that El-Hadji Diouf was on his way out. Having the role present will add the extra dimension that Bolton will need, but we have yet to see Megson field a side that encompasses the full complement of Davo, Elmander and Riga in one go. Given that stance, will we see Bolton play a 4-4-2, or will it be a combination of Davo and Riga serving Elmander out front? What we do know is that Bolton should have plenty of variance within their squad at this point to keep things moving in the right direction.

As expected, the back four have also been exceptional, with Andy O’Brien and Gary Cahill forming a terrific tandem in the middle, and Gretar Steinsson being absolutely pivotal in Bolton’s matches to date. Having a right back willing to come forward and play the ball in attack is something Bolton haven’t had in quite some time, and it certainly adds that extra dynamic that, when couple with the speed of Riga on the other wing, should be a potent force throughout the remainder of the season. On the whole, things look fantastic in the Bolton camp this time around. Maybe this next addition will be the missing piece that sees Bolton pushing hard for a European spot.

What hasn’t been going so well for Bolton during this summer and subsequently during the first week of Prem football is the media perspective. With nearly every media outlet having had their say, and every fan of the footballing world posting their own expectations, Bolton are consistently being ranked in the bottom 5, with a few exceptions placing Bolton as high as 13th in the table in terms of where they will finish. The vast majority of these tables go one step further, saying that Bolton will finish in the bottom 3, or in still another exception, dead last. These are completely unfounded comments to make at this point, and Bolton’s run of form in the past few games certainly supports this position. Why Bolton are being consistently down-trodden based on their struggles last season, despite their 5 game unbeaten streak when it mattered the most, is absolutely beyond any real supporter, and certainly beyond me.

Bolton have done nothing but play good football, and since the addition of Johan Elmander, the play has been nothing short of incredible. So, to see the club constantly pushed down to lower levels of the table, despite no genuine proof that Bolton will struggle in the least this time around, is exceptionally frustrating for Bolton fans to see and leaves most of us asking: Where is the love?

Let us hope that Bolton continue to prove them all wrong!