Soccer City FC
Seven rounds in and where do we stand? If you’re Liverpool or Chelsea, then you’re standing at the top of the mountain, looking down. If you’re Hull, then you’re on cloud nine, looking over your shoulder and enjoying the ride. And Bolton? What of the Wanderers through these first seven rounds? To be honest, they’re exactly where everyone expected them to be. That’s right, the Trotters sit Sixteenth in the table, claiming seven points through seven rounds and looking to be on-par for another disappointing run.
Alas, that’s an issue for later in this article. First, and of some import to Trotters faithful, how glorious was Matthew Taylor’s free kick against West Ham? Granted, it will forever be overshadowed by Peter Crouch’s scissor kick, Javier Garrido’s corner-curling free kick and Geovanni’s constant string of miracle goals; however, Taylor’s free kick is one of some magnificence in its own right. Often renowned for his miracle goals at Pompey, Taylor has always been touted as one who can score goals in extreme circumstances, and the goal against West Ham, while not particularly extreme in circumstance or location, was something of particular rarity from the Bolton camp of late.
With that said, it has been an otherwise uneventful start for Bolton, getting off to a relatively slow moving start with just two wins to show for their efforts. That’s not to say that Bolton have played particularly bad in their games, and were it not for some unfortunate circumstances, such as Michael Owen’s header late into the second half of the match against Newcastle, Bolton could well be in the top half of the table, challenging for a spot in Europe as they should be. Also taking into account the fact that star striker Johan Elmander and the aforementioned Matthew Taylor have been injured for the greater part of these past seven games hasn’t helped matters. To say that Bolton’s start to this season in the tables has been lousy would be putting it mildly.
All is not lost, however, as Bolton’s recent run of form has been fantastic. We’ve seen the glorious from Matthew Taylor, the incredible from Jussi Jaaskelainen, and the down-right impressive in the form of Kevin Davies’ work ethic on the pitch. Now that Elmander and Taylor are back in action, and Gary Megson is, at last, considering switching to a 4-4-2 formation on the pitch putting Davo and Elmander together up front and using the speed of Mustapha Riga and Gretar Steinsson to service the ball, things for Bolton are certainly looking as bring as they did at the beginning of this season. So, there is certainly no cause for alarm at this point, with the remaining 31 matches to get through and players still to be properly tested.
Off the pitch, however, Bolton is swarming in rumors once again. The most interesting of which lies with the possible action against West Ham in regards to the Carlos Tevez affair. According to Bolton Chairman Phil Gartside, Bolton may seek action against West Ham for costing them a spot in the Premier League table, and damages in the amount of £700,000 (the supposed cost of that spot in the table). Speaking as a lifelong Bolton fan, through the thick and the thin, this “potential action” against West Ham seems exceptionally pedantic, given the fact that even taking away the two goals that Tevez scored in the game in question Bolton would still have only received 1 point for the draw, and therefore, not have moved up in the table. So, to see them go after a club that’s down just to claim some damages for hypothetical situations is somewhat pathetic, and the sooner it’s dropped, the better.
One rumor that has the full attention of just about every curious Bolton fan is that of Gartside’s recent comments regarding the potential sale of the Bolton Wanderers Football Club to foreign investors. In a somewhat offhand remark, Gartside acknowledged that Bolton would indeed sell in the “right offer” were to come along, hinting that perhaps offers were on the table and Bolton might be considering them in more than an inquisitive fashion. If these rumors prove to be true, and Bolton may be sold to foreign investors, then there are two possible outcomes to this. The first of which would be Bolton gaining some much-needed financial freedom, being able to spend money on quality players and becoming genuinely competitive in the Premier League. The other side is similar to what happened last year with the Liverpool takeover, and what is currently happening with Newcastle’s ownership. That meaning absolute unrest throughout the club, and the ire of the fans being directed towards the ownership.
Personally, my perspective on foreign ownership is that clubs should not be sold to the highest bidder just because it’s the newest trend. Things like what we’re seeing with Manchester City and the money they’re splurging and rumored to be splurging in January is ludicrous. They don’t have the best interest of the game or the club in mind, they are solely in it to buy a championship, much like Roman did with Chelsea. If Bolton were to be sold, I would hope that it would be to an investor or group of investors that has the best interest of the game and the club in mind. Yes, it would be nice to see Bolton become competitive financially, but not at the expense of the club’s integrity. It’s highly likely that this rumor will not come to fruition, however, and Bolton will continue in their current financial position. Certainly nothing wrong with that, as Bolton will never be the richest team in the world, but they still manage to do alright in the transfer market.
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