Largehat, as I’ve said, I admire your faith in Owen Coyle and if he turns out to be a good manager for BWFC then I will be the first to congratulate you.
Last time we discussed it you described my faith in Owen Coyle as 'annoying', but look, I'll take what you have said here on face value. I do think your expectations of what the club can achieve in the short to medium term are too high, and that you've already written Coyle off, so it is going to take something pretty special for you to agree that he has turned out to be a good manager, but, that aside, ta.
You seem intent on making excuse after excuse for Coyle. Lack of funds, inheriting a poor squad etc. which are all true to some extent I guess but the thing I hate most about Bolton Wanderers under Owen Coyle is our complete lack of fight and passion for the white shirt. These players don’t give a toss and Coyle lets them get away with it.
I can assure you - as I have said in this thread - I have not been happy with the performances or the results since April. I was at Swansea too, I spent 18 hours out of the house, spent a sizeable chunk of my disposable monthly income on the trip, and was devastated by what I saw. I was not happy. I thought to myself that if we get hammered by Stoke, there has to be a good chance Coyle will be sacked. I wouldn't have agreed with the decision, but I am realistic about how far his stock has fallen since April.
The key thing for me is that his stock as fallen since April. You won't acknowledge that he did anything positive pre April, other than the month of November 2010, though. That's why I think your expectations are crazy.
As for the 'excuses' themselves. I will argue in Coyle's favour because I believe in him and I genuinely can't see a single man out there who I would rather have at the helm who would operate an established PL club with no transfer budget and do a better job. If we're honest, the two alternatives you've suggested are ridiculous in one way or another.
I know you think I’m old fashioned, but you know what, I don’t care. I expect Bolton players to give 100% every week and sweat blood for the cause. Because it’s what I, and any other true Bolton fan, would do if they were picked to play.
That's like starting a business and saying to your employees - I expect none of you to ever be late for work. Or opening a pub and saying 'I expect the till to be spot on at the end of every shift'. In theory there's no reason why it can't happen, but in reality you're on a hiding to nothing. Myself and others have discussed this with you seemingly endlessly but we're always going to get back to the fact that if someone takes a hammering, they lose confidence and self-belief, and this impacts upon effort. I don't think you accept this point, but to me, that's just the way human nature is.
I went to Swansea the other week and witnessed a surrender. It was embarrassing. It wouldn’t have happened under Allardyce, and although we’d have lost under Megson, we wouldn’t have given up so easily.
I went to Blackburn for an FA Cup replay in 2001 and Sam threw that game. He picked a shíte team, the players took it easy for 90 minutes, and out we went. That went completely against the traditions of my football club. Don't paint Sam Allardyce to be a saint when it came to motivating the players, passion and heart and so on. At least Coyle respects the fans enough to try to compete in the cup competitions every season. Neither manager is perfect of course but I'm sorry, Allardyce teams did capitulate too at times.
And also - while you mention Sam - he had a transfer budget and better players to work with.
You can continue to patronise me all you like but one fact is undeniable. Owen Coyle followed the most unpopular manager in Bolton’s recent history. He arrived to a fanfare of exciting football and promises of turning this club around. It should have been a doddle. When he took over we were in the bottom 3. Nearly two years on we are still in the bottom 3. Deny that Mr Hat.
Unlike you, I don't deny obvious facts which are clearly explained to me. I post clear facts in response to your points, and you ignore them. Yes, we are in the bottom three. Yes, we were in the bottom three when Coyle took over. Unfortunately it comes down to expectations again.
The way the club is operated it is inevitable we will spend time in the relegation zone while we are in the PL, and it is also inevitable that we will one day go down, regardless of short term factors like personnel. There are about 7 clubs who will always survive and we are not one of them.
Am I happy to be in the bottom three? No.
Do I think Coyle is partly or completely to blame? Yes.
Do I trust him to get us out of it? Yes.
Do I think he has done enough in his previous season and a half at the club to deserve the patience of the club and its fans to do that? Yes.
If you look at how you would answer the above four questions, we probably share more common ground in our views than you would otherwise imagine, and they key difference is where each of us draws their lines in the sand.
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