Capped Wanderers

Amazing what a fortnight brings. First both our iconic Kevin Davies and youngster Gary Cahill made the England team, with King Kev adding his first international cap as a 66 minute replacement against Montenegro. He was truly unfortunate that referee Manuel Grafe booked Kev when Montenegro Miodrag Dzudovic applied a corny acting job on some incidental contact between the two players.


Better yet, the Saturday game against Stoke was pure bliss. I had targeted this match as an important one for the rest of the season. The Trotters had done well in negotiating the first seven games with only a single loss, but the ties were mounting. Granted, the teams and venues were challenging, but continually posting a single point from each game would eventually catch up to us. Playing an in-form Stoke side at the Reebok was a test to see if Bolton could get over the hump ands start posting some points. With a relatively soft schedule the next few weeks, it is time to start cashing in for table position.


At Stoke, it was wonderful that Klasnic broke his duck and brought the winner in. He was marvelous last year and frankly I think Bolton would have been in serious danger of relegation last year if not for the opportunistic headhunting Croation. I was thrilled when  the gaffer managed to return Klasnic back to the Trotters after some complicated off-season maneuvering.  With Elmander and Davies in such fine form, though, we have seen little of Krasnic so far this year. He made his appearance count, although he was jilted with a soft red card. 


What is it with late and soft cardings for Bolton players lately?


with the eighth week in the books the Bolton Wanderers now stand alone Seventh on the table, 11 points from 8 games. Ahead are an away game against Wigan followed by a home game against struggling Liverpool. Who would have thought we would be realistically hoping  for six points from these two contests before the season began?

Last Season - This Season: Side by Side Comparison

Forgive me while I muddle through this, but I was looking at some information from last year to this year and thought I would point out something odd.

Comparing Seasons: The Bolton Wanderers
YEAR P7G GF7G GA7G PS GFS GAS TPS
2006-2007 14 7 3 56 47 52 7
2007-2008 4 8 12 37 36 54 16
2008-2009 7 10 8 41 41 53 13
2009-2010 8 10 11 39 42 67 14
2010-2011 8 10 11 ? ? ? ?
P7G – Points for 7 games GS7G – Goals scored for 7 games GA7G – Goals against 7 games
PS- Points season GFS – Goals for season GAS – Goals against season TPS –
Table position for season



Statistically the Wanderers are in a practical dead heat with results from last year. After seven games in both years we stand at eight points, with 10 goals scored and 11 goals allowed.

Of course, last year the fans were up in arms in disgust at the football that was being played as well as with Megson's grumpy airs. This year the football is more exciting and Owen Coyle has everyone optimistic and pulling the right way.

It should also be said that September of last year was by far the best results for the Trotters. megson's version captured zero points in August but 8 points in September 2009, although the Megson/Coyle team for the remainder of the campaign could only average three points PER MONTH through May. Also by then the grumbling was swelling, while now everybody is kissy-kissy.

The most damning thing shows in the goals allowed. For several years Bolton has averaged a bit over 50 goals allowed a year for several years - even during the disastrous beginning for Little Sammy in 2007-2008. The numbers are really astonishing:

2007 - 53
2008 - 52
2009 - 54
2010 - 63

After seven games last year we were standing well, but then the defense softened. We went from going a reasonable 1.4 goals a game average over three years to 1.65 goals a game last year. After October of last year, our Goals Allowed Average stood over 1.8 - no wonder we only averaged 3 points a moth after October!

The club looks like it still has room to improve and has a generally soft schedule before it for the next few games, starting with the home fixture against Stoke after the international break.

West Brom 1 Bolton 1 - Rollercoaster Game

Wow! What a ride but somehow Trotters end up with a point.

The Baggies dominated play for long periods but Wanderers had several good chances. the most notable one was 13 minutes in when Gary Cahill could not nod Petrov's cross low enough to get into the net.

On the upnote Johan Elmander's left-footed goal early in the 2nd Half had myself giddy with a 0-1 scoreline. The Scandanavian has found his form this year under Manager Coyle. Oh why was he wasted the last two years? But after some anxious minutes Morrison snatched the equalizer for the Baggies and that was that. An away point is great, of course, but I was greedy for the three points.

The end result is seven games into the season Bolton has eight points, exactly the same number of points as last year at this time. Of course, last year September was the best month for the Wanderers. In fact the Gary Megson managed team's high point were 11 points from eight games last October, before the 2009-2010 Wanderers ringing up only 28 points over the remaining seven months. I'll hope we can ignore that miserable fate, especially with a home fixture against Stoke following the international break.

A Global Trotter of a Bolton Wanderer Fan

Hello blog verse. I am Richard Evans, a 50-year-old US citizen living and teaching and writing out of Guayaquil, Ecuador. I am a long time Bolton Wanderer fan since a stint I did in England when I was with the US Army. I have been following the ups and downs of the Trotters long enough I decided to start this blog to share my experiences, pride, angst and everything else that comes along with following a relatively small team amidst the giants of the English Premier League.