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Liverpool Outlook: Struggling Reds can expect tough test from Owen Coyle's resurgent Bolton Wanderers
Trotters confident ahead of Anfield trip
29 Jan 2010 12:24:00
By Neil Jones | Liverpool Correspondent
There used to be a time when Bolton Wanderers were something of a bogey -team for Liverpool. When the Trotters returned to the Premier League in 2001 after a three-year hiatus, it took them just two fixtures - and a Sander Westerveld howler - to give their more illustrious rivals a bloody nose. Gerard Houllier's men took just one point off Sam Allardyce's pragmatists that season.
After that, trips to the Reebok Stadium often proved something of a nightmare for Liverpool. The Reds recorded just one victory on the Middlebrook Retail Park between 2001 and 2008, as the likes of Kevin Davies and co proved a physical hurdle too far for the sides of Houllier and Rafa Benitez.
But, like most obstacles, Benitez found a way round. Admittedly Allardyce's departure in 2007 helped matters; Bolton lost a lot of their efficiency under his successor - Benitez's current assistant Sammy Lee - and some would argue they are yet to fully recover. The Reds, meanwhile, have not dropped a point to Bolton since a controversial defeat at the Reebok in September 2006.
Benitez has this week been the subject of fresh speculation about his future at the club. Reports in Italy have suggested the Spaniard could well be on the verge of a move to Juventus. Liverpool officials have denied these claims, but speculation remains, and the Reds' uphill struggle for a top-four finish is unlikely to help quell such talk.
Bolton's new manager, Owen Coyle, knows a thing or two about big managerial decisions of course. On Saturday, he will take the Trotters to Anfield looking to prove his journey of thirteen miles, and three league places, from Burnley to Bolton was the right one.
Coyle has visited Anfield already this season. That beautiful September day, his still-fresh-from-the-Championship Burnley side were rolled over, sunk by a Yossi Benayoun treble and a poacher's strike from Dirk Kuyt. After the match Coyle fielded questions based on his side's attacking-approach, denying that the Clarets' 'forward-first' mentality had cost them.
Marc Iles, the Bolton Wanderers correspondent for The Bolton News, told Goal.com UK that Coyle has already instilled a more positive atmosphere at the Reebok, and that his side will head to Anfield with renewed confidence, despite their lowly league position.
"Already you can see that Bolton are more attack-minded," said Iles, "Coyle had a reputation at Burnley for playing decent football, and you can see that he is looking to continue that here."
Coyle could have two new loan-signings - Jack Wilshere and Vladimir Weiss from Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively - available for Saturday's clash, and Iles believes their captures, along with the manner in which the manager has kept faith with predecessor Gary Megson's players, are a statement of intent.
"If you look at the signings Coyle has made," he says, "They are all tricky, pacy wide-men with talent. That is perhaps the obvious area to be strengthened from the Megson team.
"But the way he named an unchanged line-up [in his first game in charge versus Arsenal a fortnight ago] was very much a statement. People expected wholesale changes, but he has kept the faith in a lot of Megson players, and is looking to get the best from them."
Bolton lost that game against Arsenal, and were beaten again by the same side three days later, but Tuesday night's home victory over Coyle's old club Burnley was not just welcome, it was vital. The Trotters are precariously placed, just a point above the relegation zone, but Iles believes Coyle is the man to drag the club to safety, and says the improvement amongst the side is already visible.
"It had got to the stage at Bolton where pretty much anyone but Megson would have done," he said, "But Coyle is a popular choice. His philosophy is simple, he likes his players to attack when they have the ball, and defend when they don't.
"You can already see in players like [Tamir] Cohen, Lee Chung-Yong and, especially, Zat Knight that they seem happier, they seem to suit Coyle's style of play a bit more, and they have been defending a lot better than they did under Megson."
And with Liverpool struggling for genuine form of their own - despite a run of five unbeaten in the Premier League - Bolton have no reason to fear a trip to Anfield, regardless of their recent record on Merseyside (the Trotters have conceded twelve without reply on their last five visits), though Iles concedes a point would probably be the summit of Coyle's ambitions.
"Being honest, a 70 per cent Liverpool should be strong enough to take the points," he said, "But they haven't been playing well, and Bolton are certainly improving, the likes of Kevin Davies and Lee are in form, so who knows?"
One thing is for sure - win, lose or draw at Anfield, Coyle will retain a strong reputation amongst the Bolton support. Victory on Merseyside however, might just turn 'Judas' back into 'God' again. Except at Turf Moor, of course.
There used to be a time when Bolton Wanderers were something of a bogey -team for Liverpool. When the Trotters returned to the Premier League in 2001 after a three-year hiatus, it took them just two fixtures - and a Sander Westerveld howler - to give their more illustrious rivals a bloody nose. Gerard Houllier's men took just one point off Sam Allardyce's pragmatists that season.
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After that, trips to the Reebok Stadium often proved something of a nightmare for Liverpool. The Reds recorded just one victory on the Middlebrook Retail Park between 2001 and 2008, as the likes of Kevin Davies and co proved a physical hurdle too far for the sides of Houllier and Rafa Benitez.
But, like most obstacles, Benitez found a way round. Admittedly Allardyce's departure in 2007 helped matters; Bolton lost a lot of their efficiency under his successor - Benitez's current assistant Sammy Lee - and some would argue they are yet to fully recover. The Reds, meanwhile, have not dropped a point to Bolton since a controversial defeat at the Reebok in September 2006.
Benitez has this week been the subject of fresh speculation about his future at the club. Reports in Italy have suggested the Spaniard could well be on the verge of a move to Juventus. Liverpool officials have denied these claims, but speculation remains, and the Reds' uphill struggle for a top-four finish is unlikely to help quell such talk.
Bolton's new manager, Owen Coyle, knows a thing or two about big managerial decisions of course. On Saturday, he will take the Trotters to Anfield looking to prove his journey of thirteen miles, and three league places, from Burnley to Bolton was the right one.
Coyle has visited Anfield already this season. That beautiful September day, his still-fresh-from-the-Championship Burnley side were rolled over, sunk by a Yossi Benayoun treble and a poacher's strike from Dirk Kuyt. After the match Coyle fielded questions based on his side's attacking-approach, denying that the Clarets' 'forward-first' mentality had cost them.
Goal threat | Matthew Taylor will be hoping to score
Marc Iles, the Bolton Wanderers correspondent for The Bolton News, told Goal.com UK that Coyle has already instilled a more positive atmosphere at the Reebok, and that his side will head to Anfield with renewed confidence, despite their lowly league position.
"Already you can see that Bolton are more attack-minded," said Iles, "Coyle had a reputation at Burnley for playing decent football, and you can see that he is looking to continue that here."
Coyle could have two new loan-signings - Jack Wilshere and Vladimir Weiss from Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively - available for Saturday's clash, and Iles believes their captures, along with the manner in which the manager has kept faith with predecessor Gary Megson's players, are a statement of intent.
"If you look at the signings Coyle has made," he says, "They are all tricky, pacy wide-men with talent. That is perhaps the obvious area to be strengthened from the Megson team.
"But the way he named an unchanged line-up [in his first game in charge versus Arsenal a fortnight ago] was very much a statement. People expected wholesale changes, but he has kept the faith in a lot of Megson players, and is looking to get the best from them."
Bolton lost that game against Arsenal, and were beaten again by the same side three days later, but Tuesday night's home victory over Coyle's old club Burnley was not just welcome, it was vital. The Trotters are precariously placed, just a point above the relegation zone, but Iles believes Coyle is the man to drag the club to safety, and says the improvement amongst the side is already visible.
"It had got to the stage at Bolton where pretty much anyone but Megson would have done," he said, "But Coyle is a popular choice. His philosophy is simple, he likes his players to attack when they have the ball, and defend when they don't.
"You can already see in players like [Tamir] Cohen, Lee Chung-Yong and, especially, Zat Knight that they seem happier, they seem to suit Coyle's style of play a bit more, and they have been defending a lot better than they did under Megson."
And with Liverpool struggling for genuine form of their own - despite a run of five unbeaten in the Premier League - Bolton have no reason to fear a trip to Anfield, regardless of their recent record on Merseyside (the Trotters have conceded twelve without reply on their last five visits), though Iles concedes a point would probably be the summit of Coyle's ambitions.
"Being honest, a 70 per cent Liverpool should be strong enough to take the points," he said, "But they haven't been playing well, and Bolton are certainly improving, the likes of Kevin Davies and Lee are in form, so who knows?"
One thing is for sure - win, lose or draw at Anfield, Coyle will retain a strong reputation amongst the Bolton support. Victory on Merseyside however, might just turn 'Judas' back into 'God' again. Except at Turf Moor, of course.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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