im amazed we actually put our fringe players in the reserves, were they alright with this? see now they are sharper both in fitness and in front of goal.

well done megson its only taken u half a year.

ive ridiculed braaten all seasom but 3 goals in 2 games, get him ont bench for saturday

we might see bratten and helgusson play on saturday, i've not been brattens biggest fan but 3 goals in 2 reserve games, and at least helgusson can take pens!

trotters1964 wrote:
we might see bratten and helgusson play on saturday, i've not been brattens biggest fan but 3 goals in 2 reserve games, and at least helgusson can take pens!

we need to try something, helgusons record in the first team is good so why doesnt he start?!

give some youngsters a chance because campo and j lloyd just arent good enough

the last time we looked like winning a game was when Helgusson and Davies played upfront in the Reading game - that looked a useful attack. I see in this morning's BEN that Diouf says he is off at the end of the season regardless if we stay up or go down. Translated means - the players know we are going down and I'm staying to play in the championship under the useless ginger one.

steve wrote:
the last time we looked like winning a game was when Helgusson and Davies played upfront in the Reading game - that looked a useful attack. I see in this morning's BEN that Diouf says he is off at the end of the season regardless if we stay up or go down. Translated means - the players know we are going down and I'm staying to play in the championship under the useless ginger one.

err sorry typo I'm NOT staying....

Reserves are one thing, a lot less pressure, different environment etc..What we need are players whom step up to the plate, and perform, put 110% effort in for BWFC and handle the increased pressures of each premiership game.....

Den wrote:
Reserves are one thing, a lot less pressure, different environment etc..What we need are players whom step up to the plate, and perform, put 110% effort in for BWFC and handle the increased pressures of each premiership game.....

Hope you don't mean like the players who've been in the team all season then, Den. LOL
Oh .... and by the way, guys : Helguson scores goals, Braaten might offer something different, 1 or 2 youngsters might add pace & freshness, & then we might get results. That wouldn't do. It's not in the master plan.

Play the reserves on sat they cant do any worse than the pric-- that have been playing all season

Best i have also seen wanderers play this season in the league was reading away, and it was helguson who was fantastic before coming off who sparked the performance, surely if fit he has to be in the starting 11, and we could push matt taylor to LB now gardner is hurt, one way or another, the ginger one has got to push for victories, and surely fatty braaten is worth a spot on bench instead of the rasiak!

Give over.

In every single instance this year Fat'un (Braaten-geddit? no? oh well) has looked lazy, uninterested and EVEN FATTER THAN FATBOY NOLAN!

He'll not play for our first team again.

It might be too late now to give some of these lads a go in the first team. With the lack of games, they wont exactly be match fit. Playing the squad players in the reserves should have been the norm all season. Instead we use it as a development team, but never play the youngsters anyway.
Megson should have made changes weeks ago. He kept hoping that the likes of Nolan, Davies and Diouf would rediscover form, but they never did. On Dioufy, I think he has had a poor season. He hasnt looked sharp, doesnt get into goalscoring positions and has to be the thickest player I have ever seen.

More bookings for dissent than anyone in the Prem League. He knows he is a target for refs/linesmen yet every match he goes charging towards them, arms waving, screaming abuse as if that will make them change a decision. Does he never read about the crackdown by refs on dissent? Every season, a couple of suspensions, 80% of his bookings for dissent. I think there is passion and there is downright stupidity and immaturity.

Let's get talking about who will be getting a season ticket next year, considering it's highly likely we'll be in the Championship. Now lets firstly go back in time to our last day survival against Middlesbrough a few years back. Had we lost that day and got relegated there is no doubt I would have still felt passionate about coming back again the following season. Why? Because it was a team I was proud of. We had great characters who put their absolute best into every game and played with hearts on their sleeves. The manager got the best out of each and every one of them, and above all, they entertained me no end. I was more than proud to be a Wanderer. The truth is, neither Bolton nor West Ham deserved to go down but luckily we survived. This year though is a lot different. The club will be asking us to stand by them, reaching deep into our pockets, to support a dreadful team managed by Gary Megson, who none of us wanted in charge. The club and Phil Gartside didn't listen to us then, rubbished our opinions, and now it's all gone wrong want us to keep the faith! It's an absolute joke. They've learned their lesson big time but it won't be long before we get the blame! In the days when ticket prices were dirt cheap, we could afford to stick with the club through thick and thin. But at 500 pounds a season ticket? What do you all think?

Great comments by a true fan.

Its ten years at the Reebok,and we will be playing in the Championship next season .
The club should reward the loyal fans by giving big discounts next season .
E.g
Those of us who have had a seson ticket since day one should get the biggest reduction and so on.
It would also be a chance for the club to do something positive.

Dead right apple. I was there at the Boro game, great characters in that team- Frandsen, JJ etc who entertained even when losing.

The whole town was behind them and Big Sam, nobody was threatening to quit. After this season, I will not set foot in the Reebok again, as long as Megson is there. Nothing to do with disloyalty, I have been going and paying my money for over 50 years, home and away.

With me it is anger. Anger at the suicidal manner in which Gartside has run this club in the past 2 years, anger that I cannot cheer my team on while a complete idiot like Megson is on the payroll. He does not represent me. He is a fool who has reduced our club to a laughing stock.

I'm a daft old thing, and still bought the new shirt every season, and wore it with pride. Meeting Bolton fans abroad on holiday, there was a real spirit, a pride about being a fan and wearing our colours. Not any more. Im almost embarrassed to be a Bolton fan after the things I have witnessed this season. I hear people on radio phone ins ridiculing our team, journalists write that they will be glad if we go down.

Little Bolton has gone from a team that was
grudgingly admired and respected to possibly the most despised club in England. If you had paid someone an absolute fortune to **** up this great club in one season, they could not have done a more thorough job than these clowns. In my lifetime, I dont think we will ever recover the goodwill we had in football. How very sad that is.

apple wrote:
Let's get talking about who will be getting a season ticket next year, considering it's highly likely we'll be in the Championship. Now lets firstly go back in time to our last day survival against Middlesbrough a few years back. Had we lost that day and got relegated there is no doubt I would have still felt passionate about coming back again the following season. Why? Because it was a team I was proud of. We had great characters who put their absolute best into every game and played with hearts on their sleeves. The manager got the best out of each and every one of them, and above all, they entertained me no end. I was more than proud to be a Wanderer. The truth is, neither Bolton nor West Ham deserved to go down but luckily we survived. This year though is a lot different. The club will be asking us to stand by them, reaching deep into our pockets, to support a dreadful team managed by Gary Megson, who none of us wanted in charge. The club and Phil Gartside didn't listen to us then, rubbished our opinions, and now it's all gone wrong want us to keep the faith! It's an absolute joke. They've learned their lesson big time but it won't be long before we get the blame! In the days when ticket prices were dirt cheap, we could afford to stick with the club through thick and thin. But at 500 pounds a season ticket? What do you all think? Great comments by a true fan.

I know what your saying apple but how many fans did 'stick with the club when prices were dirt cheap.' When we were in the lower reaches of the league, how many actually went? When we went down to the 'Championship' whilst at the Reebok crowds were not great. Every team that is about our size and in the lower divisions could point the finger at someone in their club that they blame. Does that mean that they just stop going? I will still support Bolton. If people stop going as some sort of protest, does that mean they won't buy any Merchandise in protest? Will they stop watching Sky becasue they fund the current regime? Reebok? How far do you take it?

donmarg wrote:
Play the reserves on sat they cant do any worse than the pric-- that have been playing all season

I have a feeling that if we dropped Habsi, O'Brien, Steinson, Cahill, Guthrie, Taylor, Diouff and Davies and replaced them with Walker, Sinclair, Carlisle, Dzemali, Fojut, Meite, Cohen and Rasiak we would all say Megson has totally lost his marbles. The only players I would want in the squad from that reserve team would be Helguson, Bratten and Alonso. I dont understand "they couldnt do any worse" - we lost 3-2 to Arsenal, not 5-0 to Fulham.

Lancashire 73, you just dont seem to get it. Of course fans will still turn up next season, but considerably fewer. Nobody will have a go at you for sticking with them, but quite a few feel that we should not continue to line Gartsides pockets, not cheer on a team led by Gary Megson.

The more fans who turn against the Gartside/Megson regime, the more chance we have to change things, and in time, make our club successful again. The " Keep the faith " stuff, the " I will keep going " comments will sadly only encourage Gartside to believe he still has some level of support within the club. I would respect your viewpoint more if you said you were going to the match with a 20ft banner reading " Gartside Out " but you seem to want us all to keep turning up and cheering on a very poor side, managed by the worst in our history. Do you not get the difference between now and the feeling around the place at that Boro game?

Jon W, it was not that we lost 3-2 to Arsenal it was the manner in which we lost. It was the second time against 10 men in three weeks and the fact of the matter we defended which is criminal against 10 men and showed nothing up front even though we were in the accendancy. No team would have given up a 2 goal lead with 30 minutes left not even Derby and come away without a point. The facts are simple more defending deep like we do invites presure and we cannot cope with the presure.

apple, think it was Jon from memory who thought the Wigan performance was a good one, and how unlucky we were. Presumambly he's pleased we kept the Arsenal score down to 3-2??

Braaten,Alonso,Helgu
son,Dzemali all playing for the reserves and yet when nicky hunt picks up an injury instead of dealing with Walcott by putting someone quick on him or puting an extra man in midfield to break up arsenals play you bring on Raisiak.So whats the matter mr megson do you really think the swiss international is not as good Cohen, and Helguson and Braaten not as good as Raisiak? or do you prefer to try to justify your own signings.

And by the way what an incentive to tell your manager he will stay even if he fails.

What will the price reduction be for season tickets when we are relegated?

And another thing....... when i saw Meite interviewed on sky last night he was clearly devastated to be training with the reserves and out of the team, meite has been a good player for bolton signed by a man who knew a bit about good defenders are we now being told he is a trouble maker like campo like jussi , or any other player who thinks that our manager is out of his depth, i think the problem is gary Megson

When the season is over the reserves have finally been used for the correct purpose - pathetic, BWFC. Alonso, Braaten, Wilhelmson, Rasiak, Helguson et al who were not being regularly used in the "First" Team should have been playing regularly in the reserves to keep them sharp and fit and to hone their skills under pressure. When will the BN do an investigative piece on Negson's "training" methods.

Embankment Bob wrote:
Lancashire 73, you just dont seem to get it. Of course fans will still turn up next season, but considerably fewer. Nobody will have a go at you for sticking with them, but quite a few feel that we should not continue to line Gartsides pockets, not cheer on a team led by Gary Megson. The more fans who turn against the Gartside/Megson regime, the more chance we have to change things, and in time, make our club successful again. The " Keep the faith " stuff, the " I will keep going " comments will sadly only encourage Gartside to believe he still has some level of support within the club. I would respect your viewpoint more if you said you were going to the match with a 20ft banner reading " Gartside Out " but you seem to want us all to keep turning up and cheering on a very poor side, managed by the worst in our history. Do you not get the difference between now and the feeling around the place at that Boro game?

Maybe I don't get it. Maybe I'm just addressing the numerous messages I've seen on here saying 'Me, my wife, the dog...' will not be renewing next year. Perhaps these are members of the 10,000 or so who didn't go when we struggled previously. If people want to come and protest, I would much prefer that to them staying away. I also feel we need to put all this in context. I have heard over the years sack the board chants, RIP Bolton and complaints about the manager MANY times. Where the Wharbies loved? Were Phil Neal or Colin Todd adored? When we sold Nathan Blake - sack the board. When we sold Eidur, RIP Bolton. Steve Thompson - Money grabbers. I heard lots of complaints about people who now seem to be hero worshipped. (Sam's boring football - he had fall outs too(Ricketts - our top scorer?), Jay Jay was a 'disgrace' of a captain according to some..) Maybe its just the pain of relegation that has everyone in a frenzy. However, believe it not we still do have some things going for us as a club and I won't be jumping in the Irwell just yet - no matter how much some of you think I should.

Embankment Bob wrote:
Lancashire 73, you just dont seem to get it. Of course fans will still turn up next season, but considerably fewer. Nobody will have a go at you for sticking with them, but quite a few feel that we should not continue to line Gartsides pockets, not cheer on a team led by Gary Megson. The more fans who turn against the Gartside/Megson regime, the more chance we have to change things, and in time, make our club successful again. The " Keep the faith " stuff, the " I will keep going " comments will sadly only encourage Gartside to believe he still has some level of support within the club. I would respect your viewpoint more if you said you were going to the match with a 20ft banner reading " Gartside Out " but you seem to want us all to keep turning up and cheering on a very poor side, managed by the worst in our history. Do you not get the difference between now and the feeling around the place at that Boro game?

Maybe I don't get it. Maybe I'm just addressing the numerous messages I've seen on here saying 'Me, my wife, the dog...' will not be renewing next year. Perhaps these are members of the 10,000 or so who didn't go when we struggled previously. If people want to come and protest, I would much prefer that to them staying away. I also feel we need to put all this in context. I have heard over the years sack the board chants, RIP Bolton and complaints about the manager MANY times. Where the Wharbies loved? Were Phil Neal or Colin Todd adored? When we sold Nathan Blake - sack the board. When we sold Eidur, RIP Bolton. Steve Thompson - Money grabbers. I heard lots of complaints about people who now seem to be hero worshipped. (Sam's boring football - he had fall outs too(Ricketts - our top scorer?), Jay Jay was a 'disgrace' of a captain according to some..) Maybe its just the pain of relegation that has everyone in a frenzy. However, believe it not we still do have some things going for us as a club and I won't be jumping in the Irwell just yet - no matter how much some of you think I should.

Lancashire73 wrote:

Embankment Bob wrote: Lancashire 73, you just dont seem to get it. Of course fans will still turn up next season, but considerably fewer. Nobody will have a go at you for sticking with them, but quite a few feel that we should not continue to line Gartsides pockets, not cheer on a team led by Gary Megson. The more fans who turn against the Gartside/Megson regime, the more chance we have to change things, and in time, make our club successful again. The " Keep the faith " stuff, the " I will keep going " comments will sadly only encourage Gartside to believe he still has some level of support within the club. I would respect your viewpoint more if you said you were going to the match with a 20ft banner reading " Gartside Out " but you seem to want us all to keep turning up and cheering on a very poor side, managed by the worst in our history. Do you not get the difference between now and the feeling around the place at that Boro game?

Maybe I don't get it. Maybe I'm just addressing the numerous messages I've seen on here saying 'Me, my wife, the dog...' will not be renewing next year. Perhaps these are members of the 10,000 or so who didn't go when we struggled previously. If people want to come and protest, I would much prefer that to them staying away. I also feel we need to put all this in context. I have heard over the years sack the board chants, RIP Bolton and complaints about the manager MANY times. Where the Wharbies loved? Were Phil Neal or Colin Todd adored? When we sold Nathan Blake - sack the board. When we sold Eidur, RIP Bolton. Steve Thompson - Money grabbers. I heard lots of complaints about people who now seem to be hero worshipped. (Sam's boring football - he had fall outs too(Ricketts - our top scorer?), Jay Jay was a 'disgrace' of a captain according to some..) Maybe its just the pain of relegation that has everyone in a frenzy. However, believe it not we still do have some things going for us as a club and I won't be jumping in the Irwell just yet - no matter how much some of you think I should.

I agree with most of what your saying, players come and go, and things go badly for managers. But with every previous manager has come new hope, not megson. He wasn't wanted and has since proved why. I can stomach being rubbish, wantaway players and things going wrong. But deliberatly bringing in a manager who was clearly not up to the job and then letting him turn us into a laughing stock by throwing cup competitions is a bit harder to swallow

Embankment Bob wrote:
Dead right apple. I was there at the Boro game, great characters in that team- Frandsen, JJ etc who entertained even when losing. The whole town was behind them and Big Sam, nobody was threatening to quit. After this season, I will not set foot in the Reebok again, as long as Megson is there. Nothing to do with disloyalty, I have been going and paying my money for over 50 years, home and away. With me it is anger. Anger at the suicidal manner in which Gartside has run this club in the past 2 years, anger that I cannot cheer my team on while a complete idiot like Megson is on the payroll. He does not represent me. He is a fool who has reduced our club to a laughing stock. I'm a daft old thing, and still bought the new shirt every season, and wore it with pride. Meeting Bolton fans abroad on holiday, there was a real spirit, a pride about being a fan and wearing our colours. Not any more. Im almost embarrassed to be a Bolton fan after the things I have witnessed this season. I hear people on radio phone ins ridiculing our team, journalists write that they will be glad if we go down. Little Bolton has gone from a team that was grudgingly admired and respected to possibly the most despised club in England. If you had paid someone an absolute fortune to **** up this great club in one season, they could not have done a more thorough job than these clowns. In my lifetime, I dont think we will ever recover the goodwill we had in football. How very sad that is.

Bob, you and I are from roughly the same generation and I agree 100 per cent with everything you say.

The overwhelming feeling is anger, to go from an established top 8 side competing in Europe to almost certain relegation in 8 months takes monumental incompetence. And when the fans could see this coming from the moment Megson was appointed, only to be told we know nothing about football, it makes it 10 times worse.

The worst of the lot however is the logo on the season ticket, "this is my club". Well no it isnt!! It is Mr Davies club, which is being run into the ground by Messrs Gartside and Megson. We the fans dont matter a toss to them,our opinions count for nothing.

Bob you obviously remember way back, why is it that we seem to lurch from one financial crisis to another?

Going back to the start of the Lifeline which was the fans response to trying to save the club from bankruptcy, the building of the Normid on our ground supposedly to safeguard our Bank overdraft, despite us being owned at the time by one of the richest families in the country.

The move from Burnden to the Reebok, which we were assured wouldnt cost the club a penny, but ended with Burnden being sold without planning permission for a fraction of its worth.

The building of the Hotel, which we were told would be a good income stream for the club, but which I beleive made a loss in the last accounts.

Not to mention all the great players we have had to sell over the years for tens of millions of pounds to ward off the latest financial crisis.

All the above is from memory so I apologise for any inaccurancies and omissions.


The worrying thing is with the loss of our Sky money and the reduction in season ticket income, you can only see matters getting a lot worse.

The sale of Anelka will become known in future as the worst piece of transfer business and false economy that this club had ever done.

Meanwhile unless drastic action is taken now, you can see us doing a Leeds, Forest etc over the next few years

Lancashire 73 as soon as megson leaves then i will renew my tickets no matter what league we are in however, as long as he is in charge then i will not put a penny into the club. I don't want you or anyone else to do the same that is my stance and that is how it is. Next year will be the first year since i have missed since 1974. The last straw came in Lisbon seeing Garside in a restaraunt lording it with the directors and then the following night the ginger pri;ck running down the tunnel after the game not acknowleing any of the fans who were first class all night and all he could do was to throw the game. Never in all my time of being a bolton supporter have i felt such hatered towards the structure of the club just call me fickle because that is my stance.

apple wrote:
Jon W, it was not that we lost 3-2 to Arsenal it was the manner in which we lost. It was the second time against 10 men in three weeks and the fact of the matter we defended which is criminal against 10 men and showed nothing up front even though we were in the accendancy. No team would have given up a 2 goal lead with 30 minutes left not even Derby and come away without a point. The facts are simple more defending deep like we do invites presure and we cannot cope with the presure.

Agreed Apple, it was poor. Do not mistake my post as any support for the appalling Megson, but if we "play the reserves" at the expense of the players I listed does anyone think we will improve? We need a new manager yes but we dont need a new goalie, defence, midfield and strikeforce. At least 2 of Bratten, Andranik and Helguson would do for me, anything more would not improve things. Just 1 other point on the Arsenal game - Derby would never have been 2 goals up in the first place. They havent managed it against any team let alone Arsenal, whereas we have done it v Reading twice, Brum and Wigan. A bit of credit where its due, we werent given a 2 goal lead on a plate. We would have got more credit if we had, as expected, lost 4-0 to Arsenal.

Embankment Bob wrote:
apple, think it was Jon from memory who thought the Wigan performance was a good one, and how unlucky we were. Presumambly he's pleased we kept the Arsenal score down to 3-2??

Bob - good try, but you should read my post again. I said that on the balance of chances Wigan didnt deserve to score more than us on the day. This did not excuse either the appalling 1st half hour (which was a repeat of every other visit to the JJB in previous yearS), the bad line up chosen by Megson or the shocking style of football (my main memory is of Joey O'B launching 40 yarder after 40 yarder nowhere in particular). To repeat, in case you forgot, Diouff had a goal mysteriously disallowed, I watched it several times on TV and I've no idea why, we should have had either a goal or penalty when Davies header was handled, arguably another pen when there was another handball, Nolan had a goal disallowed when we all thought he looked offside but he turned out not to be. He then had 1 headed off the line under the bar. Yes it was terrible to watch, but no, I wont have it that a draw wasnt a fair result.

Jon i agree that the two of the three should be utilised namely Andranik & Helgerson also i would try the lad we paid a lot of money from coventry who can catch pidgeons as well as being a youth international. we should bin Cohen and Raziak as they are clearly not up to it also i have to say Bratten as he is not that good. The players that should be utilised do not get a look in i.e stelios yet we play the young lads who are a little light weight. The midfiels should have steel that and should contain Stelios, Andanik, Nolan, Diouf with taylor at left back and Helgerson & Davies up front that is up front not as a stand in helper out in defence. This will give us an outlet ball which we have not had since the appointment of the ultra defensive idiot. With that team we would have a fighting chance however, it will not happen and we will be stuck with same old same old.

Surely this means we never have to witness Rasiak in a Bolton shirt again.