Is This The Worst Ever Bolton Team?

[Natasha Whittam]

On another thread someone mentioned that this is the strongest Premier League ever. I really do disagree with this statement, I personally feel football is worse than it's ever been since Bolton entered the Premier League in 1995. Sure, the players are fitter and stronger nowadays but are they actually better footballers? I know there's no way of telling, but let's analyse the Bolton teams down the years. What were their line-ups on or around this date?

The first Bolton team to play in the Premier League was in the 1995-96 season where they finished bottom and were relegated. On 23rd September 1995 they played Liverpool at Anfield and lost 5-2, with goals from Andy Todd and a Mark Patterson penalty. The team on that day was:

                                      Keith Branagan

Scott Green      Chris Fairclough      Gudni Bergsson      Jimmy Phillips
David Lee         Alan Thompson       Richard Sneekes     Mark Patterson
                         John McGinlay         Fabian de Freitas

Subs:  Aidan Davison, Owen ‘Fanny’ Coyle, Andy Todd


The second team we'll look at is from the 2001/02 season, our first season in the Premiership under Sam 'Queue Jumper' Allardyce, we finished 16th and stayed up. On 22nd September 2001 we played Arsenal at Highbury and drew 1-1 with super sub Michael Ricketts getting the goal. The Bolton team that day was:

                                             Jussi Jaaskelainen
Anthony Barness      Gudni Bergsson      Mike Whitlow      Simon Charlton
Henrik Pedersen       Kevin Nolan            Paul Warhurst    Ricardo Gardner
                                 Jermaine Johnson   Dean Holdsworth

Subs: Steve Banks, Bruno N’Gotty, Michael Ricketts, Rod Wallace, Djibril Diawara


The third team to analyse is from the 2005/06 season when we qualified for Europe by finishing 6th. On 25th September 2005 we played Birmingham at home and drew 1-1 with Radhi Jaidi getting the goal. The Bolton team that day was:

                                   Jussi Jaaskelainen
Nicky Hunt      Bruno N’Gotty      Radhi Jaidi      Ricardo Gardner
Henrik Pedersen   Ivan Campo  Kevin Nolan   Gary Speed
                          El-Hadji Diouf   Kevin Davies

Subs: Kevin Poole, Stelios, Les Ferdinand, Julio Cesar, Fernando Hierro


And finally we have the current team which is currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. Last Saturday we played Arsenal away and lost 3-0. The Bolton team was:

                                               Jussi Jaaskelainen
Gretar Steinsson      Zat Knight      David Wheater      Paul Robinson
Chris Eagles             Nigel Reo-Coker     Fabrice Muamba     Darren Pratley    Martin Petrov
                                                       David Ngog

Subs: Adam Bogdan, Kevin Davies, Tuncay, Ricardo Gardner, Mark Davies, Dedryk Boyata, Gael Kakuta

So have a look at those teams. The team that got relegated in the 90’s was mainly made up of the players that got us there, no big signings. Surely David Lee and Alan Thompson would walk into our current first team? Yet they were comprehensively relegated.

And what of the team that got us to the UEFA Cup in 2005, virtually man-for-man they are better than the current lot.

So what do you think, are we paying more to watch a lower standard?

[largehat]

Very interesting article, Natasha. First point I would make is that in real terms, ticket prices have gone down since the start of the century, and the club has instigated a lot of loyalty schemes such as interest free credit, price freezes, buy 5 get 1 free and so on. So we are not paying more at the turnstiles. TV rights, increased commercial activity and Eddie Davies are picking up the tab for the jump in player's wages.

Just as an aside, when Kevin Davies was on Twitter, someone asked him "is it right that Nicky Hunt is a multi-millionaire?". Davies replied, "I don't know". I think that exchange spoke volumes about PL wage inflation.

The next point I would make is that David Lee was never a Premier League player. At his peak he wasn't good enough. I'm not singling out Lee here, most of the team we came up with in 1995 wasn't good enough. We invested nothing in the team, got 29 points an finished bottom. It's a miracle we got 29 points. Our only two PL players were Stubbs and McAteer and they couldn't wait to jump ship.

The best squad we have had was between 2003-2006. We were in a position to pay fees for players, Sam had an eye for a bargain, we probably lived beyond our means and the people running the football side of the club today are paying the price. So yes, the team is worse than it was 5 years ago but these things run in cycles.

The other consequence of that period is that it gives people high expectations moving forward. There is a guy on another forum I visit who has been a Wanderers fan for about 10 years and he has been whinging for the last few seasons because he wants to get his passport out and go on a European tour. He doesn't understand or respect the club's history. When I - and others - tell him this is beyond the club's current means he thinks we are being negative. He also thinks there is some sort of clique amongst those of us who have followed the club through all four divisions and so on, like it's a secret club he isn't allowed to join.

He misses the point. It's not all about having lower expectations or settling for second best at premier league level because we have endured years in the lower leagues and think we're just little Bolton and we should be grateful just to be in the PL. It's because we know that for all except a very small handful of clubs, football works in cycles.

You can't expect a club of our size to comfortably avoid relegation every season.

In the current cycle we have been overtaken financially by clubs who are near the peak of their respective cycles - Stoke, Sunderland, QPR, Fulham. We can't compete with these guys on a like for like financial basis. What we can do is fall back on our infrastructure which is strong and be smarter with the resources we do have. Look at Stoke spending £10m on 30 year old Peter Crouch. Ridiculous. Our equivalent is spending £4m on 22 year old Ngog. A lesser player but one who will have a decent resale value, and, if things go well, we can possibly get 30 goals in two years out of the lad and double our money.

So yes, the team is worse, but we are probably paying less in real terms and all of this is the way of things.

[DaveBWFC]

Shít players in all those teams you've listed Natasha.

The one with Jermaine Johnson and Dean Holdsworth up front is probably the worst.

Mainly because of those two.

[largehat]

Dave, who are the shíte players in the 2005/6 team she listed?

[DaveBWFC]

Nicky Hunt. Possibly one or two others but out of respect I won't name them.

[largehat]

I can't argue that Nicky Hunt wasn't shíte, he was in the form of his life that season, but yes he was shíte.

[Malcolm Everett]

I think we had some good teams under Big Sam, especially when we signed Anelka and had the likes of Nolan, Anelka, Diouf, Campo, Stelios, Okocha, etc in the starting line up.
But I think this current team is one of the best teams we have had in terms of players.
Players like Cahill, Holden and Chung Yung Lee would walk into any of our old teams. I think right now we have better strikers than we ever have had in our Premiership era (apart from when we had Anelka). I also think we have the strongest central midfield we've had in NRC, Muamba, Mark Davies, Holden, Sean Davis. I think our full back options are better than we've ever had. We used to have players like Charlton, Barness, Hunt, Samuel, Gardner, etc - I would take the likes of Ricketts, Steinsson and Robinson over those.
So I think this is one of our strongest teams we have had.  

[Malcolm Everett]

The 1998/9 team had some cracking players in. They were good days being a Bolton fan! Jensen, Frandsen, Johansen, Gunnlaugson, Gudjohnson, Holdsworth, Bergsson, Fish, etc

1  Claus Jensen Midfielder 47 0(0) 01 0(0) 06 0(0) 54 0(0)
2  Per Frandsen Midfielder 47 0(0) 01 0(0) 04 0(0) 52 0(0)
3  Neil Cox Defender 45 0(2) 01 0(0) 05 0(0) 51 0(2)
4  Michael Johansen Midfielder 43 0(3) 01 0(0) 04 0(1) 48 0(4)
5  Mark Fish Defender 39 0(0) 01 0(0) 05 0(0) 45 0(0)
6  Jussi Jääskeläinen Goalkeeper 34 0(0) 01 0(0) 05 0(0) 40 0(0)
7  Bob Taylor Striker 35 0(6) 01 0(0) 03 0(3) 39 0(9)
8  Mike Whitlow Defender 27 0(1) 01 0(0) 03 0(1) 31 0(2)
9  Arnar Gunnlaugsson Striker 22 0(5) 00 0(1) 06 0(0) 28 0(6)
10  Dean Holdsworth Striker 22 (10) 01 0(0) 03 0(1) 26 (11)
11  Scott Sellars Midfielder 22 0(4) 01 0(0) 02 0(0) 250(4)
12  Ricardo Gardner Midfielder 22 0(6) 00 0(1) 02 0(1) 24 0(
13  Andy Todd Defender 21 0(2) 00 0(0) 03 0(0) 24 0(2)
14  Guðni Bergsson Defender 15 0(3) 01 0(0) 03 0(0) 19 0(3)
15  Robbie Elliott Defender 17 0 ( 00 0(0) 01 0(0) 18 0(
16  Paul Warhurst Defender/Midfielder 17 0(5) 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 17 0(5)
17  Jimmy Phillips Defender 14 0(1) 00 0(0) 03 0(1) 17 0(2)
18  Nathan Blake Striker 11 0(1) 00 0(0) 02 0(1) 13 0(2)
19  Steve Banks Goalkeeper 09 0(0) 00 0(0) 03 0(0) 12 0(0)
20  Eiður Guðjohnsen Striker 11 0(6) 00 0(0) 00 0(1) 11 0(7)
21  Greg Strong Defender 04 0(1) 00 0(0) 04 0(0) 08 0(1)
22  Jon Newsome Defender 06 0(0) 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 06 0(0)
23  Keith Branagan Goalkeeper 03 0(0) 00 0(0) 01 0(0) 04 0(0)
24  Hasney Aljofree Defender 01 0(3) 00 0(0) 01 0(0) 02 0(3)
25  Bo Hansen Midfielder/Striker 01 (10) 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 01 (10)
26  Jamie Fullarton Midfielder 01 0(0) 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 01 0(0)
27  Scott Taylor Striker 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 00 0(1) 00 0(1)

[Natasha Whittam]

The next point I would make is that David Lee was never a Premier League player. At his peak he wasn't good enough. I'm not singling out Lee here, most of the team we came up with in 1995 wasn't good enough. We invested nothing in the team, got 29 points an finished bottom. It's a miracle we got 29 points. Our only two PL players were Stubbs and McAteer and they couldn't wait to jump ship.

David Lee is just like Theo Walcott, all pace and not much else. But from time to time he would deliver that perfect cross after beating the full back. When was the last time A Bolton winger or full-back beat a defender and crossed for a Bolton player to score?

I'm sure someone will come up with one, but off the top of my head I can't think of any. Pace wins games, even if that pace isn't a brilliant player.

I'd take David Lee in his prime over Eagles or Petrov.

[Natasha Whittam]

The 1998/9 team had some cracking players in. They were good days being a Bolton fan! Jensen, Frandsen, Johansen, Gunnlaugson, Gudjohnson, Holdsworth, Bergsson, Fish, etc

I agree with you. The Johansen, Jensen & Eidur threesome was a joy to watch.

[Natasha Whittam]

Shít players in all those teams you've listed Natasha.

The one with Jermaine Johnson and Dean Holdsworth up front is probably the worst.

Of course there are some rubbish players, but in all those teams you can pick out some rocks that would easily make our current first team.

Gudni, N'Gotty and Jaidi were all better defenders than our current lot. Alan Thompson, David Lee, Campo and Speed all better than Muamba & co.

[Le God]

Michael Johansen was my favourite player as a kid; when he smashed in that goal against ipswich in the playoffs.

still the best game/atmosphere i've seen at the reebok.

You make a good point about them teams though looking back.

[largehat]

I was there on Black Sunday when we lost 6-0 to the scum at Burnden. We put out a midfield of Thompson, Sneekes and Lee. I can't believe you think Lee is even in the same league as Petrov. At 31 Petrov is a bit past his best now for a wide player, but after Stoichkov, he is one of the most revered players in Bulgaria's history. Bulgaria have qualified for the World Cup Finals eight times.

[wanderlust]

The short is is no. The slightly longer answer is no - we had some appalling teams in the 70s and 80s and any team with Allardyce in it was poor. Can't be arsed writing a very long answer, but it would involve the word "no" at some stage.

[Natasha Whittam]

The short is is no. The slightly longer answer is no - we had some appalling teams in the 70s and 80s and any team with Allardyce in it was poor. Can't be arsed writing a very long answer, but it would involve the word "no" at some stage.

We're talking Premier League only. Although Julian Darby was better than Muamba.

[Natasha Whittam]

I was there on Black Sunday when we lost 6-0 to the scum at Burnden. We put out a midfield of Thompson, Sneekes and Lee. I can't believe you think Lee is even in the same league as Petrov. At 31 Petrov is a bit past his best now for a wide player, but after Stoichkov, he is one of the most revered players in Bulgaria's history. Bulgaria have qualified for the World Cup Finals eight times.

Petrov is rubbish. How many good crosses has he put in since he signed? There was a day when wingers were expected to cross a ball into the box. Kevin Davies might be past it, but he's played in a Bolton team that hasn't had a decent winger who could cross since David Lee. Imagine his goal tally if he was getting crosses to attack in the penalty area rather than hopeful punts from the defence.

[Jamster26]

He's put in some brilliant crosses this season. He's been our best player. Hard, I know.

[DaveBWFC]

He's put in some brilliant crosses this season. He's been our best player. Hard, I know.

Yet we've been destroyed down our left hand side. He is partly responsible for that.

[Le God]

To be fair he put in 2 or 3 good crosses at the weekend and there was no one in the box.

you could say don't cross it then or you could say why has no one supported but there you go.

[Bribey]

Okay, while I completely agree with Natasha's notion that the former great Bolton squads were more entertaining and fun to watch. I still don't think that they would be able to beat our current Bolton squad because of fitness and a number of other factors. While former Bolton squads would be enjoyable to watch against the teams that were around during their age, the current Bolton squad would be more effective in a head to head game against a former Bolton team.

[H. Pedersen]

Pretty much everything half-decent that we've done this season has come through Petrov.  I truly don't get why some people dislike him on this board.  If Eagles had any pace Petrov would have set up the equalizer against Arsenal.

[SuperJohnMcGinlay]

Petrov is rubbish. How many good crosses has he put in since he signed? There was a day when wingers were expected to cross a ball into the box. Kevin Davies might be past it, but he's played in a Bolton team that hasn't had a decent winger who could cross since David Lee. Imagine his goal tally if he was getting crosses to attack in the penalty area rather than hopeful punts from the defence.

If you think David Lee could cross you are deluded!

[CaBuell]

We're talking Premier League only. Although Julian Darby was better than Muamba.

No he was not

[Natasha Whittam]

If you think David Lee could cross you are deluded!

I don't think he could cross, he was rubbish. But my point was he'd try 10 times a match, 9 would sail into the stands but 1 would be pinpoint into the penalty area. He got into these positions because he was quick.

We don't have enough pace to compete at this level.

[SuperJohnMcGinlay]

I don't think he could cross, he was rubbish. But my point was he'd try 10 times a match, 9 would sail into the stands but 1 would be pinpoint into the penalty area. He got into these positions because he was quick.

We don't have enough pace to compete at this level.

Agreed, he was nippy and he always gave 100%.

I really don't know where to start with what we are lacking at the moment, it's probably easier if I just say we are lacking good football players.