2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

Bolton Wanderers
2008–09 season
Chairman Phil Gartside
Manager Gary Megson
Stadium Reebok Stadium
Premier League 13th
FA Cup 3rd round
League Cup 2nd round
Top goalscorer League:
Kevin Davies (12)
All:
Kevin Davies (12)
Highest home attendance 26,021 v
Manchester United
(17 January 2009)
Lowest home attendance 19,884 v
Portsmouth
(20 December 2008)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was Bolton Wanderers 10th season in the Premier League, and their eighth consecutive season in the top division of English football and covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. As they failed to win the Premier League 2008–09 title it was the 70th time that they have competed at the top level without winning the title, the most of any club.

The team kit for the 2008–09 season was produced by Reebok who were also the shirt sponsor. Unlike previous seasons, the new kit did not debut in the final home game of the 07–08 season. The new home kit is predominantly white with a blue upper third going over the shoulders. The new away kit is predominantly yellow with the same style over the shoulders, this time green. Due to no other club playing in a kit similar to the away design, no third choice kit was needed.

Pre-season

Bolton signed Fabrice Muamba from relegated Birmingham City for £5m and broke the club transfer fee record to sign Johan Elmander from Toulouse FC for £8.2m in a deal which saw Daniel Braaten move the other way as a makeweight. Riga Mustapha and Danny Shittu were also signed for undisclosed figures. Both Iván Campo and Stelios Giannakopoulos did not have their contracts renewed, leading Campo to write a public letter to Bolton fans on a website, expressing his regret at not being able to say goodbye to them.[1] He would later join Ipswich Town whilst Stelios joined Hull City. Andranik Teymourian also left on a free, joining Fulham, Abdoulaye Méïté joined recently promoted West Bromwich Albion for £2m and El Hadji Diouf made good his promise that he would leave the club[2] by joining Sunderland for £2.6m.

Bolton kicked-off their pre-season programme by drawing 0–0 at local rivals Rochdale. Their next pre-season friendly, away to Tranmere Rovers was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. A convincing 5–0 defeat of Doncaster Rovers by a mostly first team squad was followed the next day by a mostly reserve squad beating local team Chorley 2–0. Pre-season was completed by a mini-tour of Greece, drawing 1–1 against previous UEFA Cup opponents Aris Thessaloniki before losing to AEK Athens 1–0.

Premier League

Bolton got off to a winning start in the league opener at the Reebok Stadium against newly promoted Stoke City on 16 August, Gretar Steinsson and Kevin Davies scoring before Johan Elmander scored a debut goal in a 3–1 victory.

A week later Bolton travelled to Newcastle United but left with a 1–0 defeat. This was followed four days later by a home 2–1 Carling Cup defeat to League One side Northampton Town, a result not helped by the sending off of Gary Cahill. Bolton's first goalless draw of the season followed when West Bromwich Albion visited The Reebok.

After an international break, Bolton returned to action by facing Fulham at Craven Cottage but performed poorly in another 2–1 defeat, Kevin Davies scoring late on. Davies scored again a week later when Arsenal visited the Reebok Stadium but it was not enough in a 3–1 defeat. A third consecutive defeat came at Premier League champions Manchester United, a converted penalty, given in controversial circumstances, one of the goals in a 2–0 defeat.[3]

Bolton's second victory of the season came in the live game at West Ham on 4 October, Gary Cahill and a thirty five yard free kick from Matthew Taylor adding to Kevin Davies' fourth goal of the season. A week later the local derby against Blackburn brought Bolton their second goalless draw.

The first reported murmurings of discontent amongst the fans against the manager followed a 2–0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in Harry Redknapp's first game in charge of the home team on 26 October.[4] and the team were jeered off after a last minute goal consigned them to another defeat on 29 October, 1–0 at home to Everton.[5]

The pressure was eased somewhat with a 2–0 derby victory over Manchester City on 2 November, a Richard Dunne own-goal adding to Ricardo Gardner's first league goal in six years. The match marked Jussi Jääskeläinen's 400th game for the club. A second successive win followed the week after, 1–0 away at Hull City and although a 2–0 followed at home to Liverpool, two more victories away at Middlesbrough and Sunderland brought the manager his first manager of the month award in the Premier League.[6]

Winning the award seemed to have a detrimental effect on the team as two successive defeats followed to high flying Chelsea and Aston Villa. The club's only victory of the month, 2–1 at home to Portsmouth was followed by two more defeats, a Boxing Day loss away to Liverpool and two days later at home to local rivals Wigan Athletic.

The New Year commenced with an early FA Cup defeat away to Sunderland. A week later Bolton held out for 84 minutes before losing 1–0 away at Arsenal. Another conceded late goal at home to Manchester United, this time in the 90th minute, made it four losses in a row but the run halted in the next game, a 2–2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers, now managed by former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce, although Bolton had been two goals up with half an hour left. A similar fate almost befell the team in the next home game against Tottenham Hotspur, Darren Bent scoring twice in two minutes to cancel out early goals from Sébastien Puygrenier and Kevin Davies. However, a late Davies goal gave Bolton their first win in more than a month.

The January transfer window saw three new players arrive and one player leave. Kevin Nolan, the team captain for three years, was sold to Newcastle United for £4,000,000. Kevin Davies replaced him as captain. Mark Davies arrived from Wolves for £1,200,000 and two loan signings, Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula arrived from Zenit St. Petersburg and Benfica respectively.

Due to international fixtures and the club's early departure from the FA Cup, only two games were played in February, a 3–0 away defeat to Everton and a 2–1 victory over West Ham, Bolton completing a double over the London side. Kevin Davies' goal in this game gave him his best ever goal haul for the season in league games in the top flight. He would go on to score twice more and finished the season as the club's leading marksman.

March saw four points collected, through a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United and a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich. These results bookended two successive defeats, a 2–0 away defeat to Stoke City and a 3–1 reverse to Fulham.

In April, a 4–1 win over Middlesbrough at the Reebok Stadium at the very beginning of the month would prove to be Bolton's last victory of the season. The week after, a visit to Chelsea saw Bolton recover from four goals down to almost snatch a draw, an injury time shot by Gary Cahill being cleared off the Chelsea line. A 1–0 result at Portsmouth was then followed by four successive draws stretching into May, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Hull City taking points at the Reebok whilst a local derby at Wigan Athletic. The season finished with a 1–0 derby defeat at Manchester City

Table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
11 Wigan Athletic 38 12 9 17 34 45−11 45
12 Stoke City 38 12 9 17 38 55−17 45
13 Bolton Wanderers 38 11 8 19 41 53−12 41
14 Portsmouth 38 10 11 17 38 57−19 41
15 Blackburn Rovers 38 10 11 17 40 60−20 41

Source: Barclays Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

FA Cup

League Cup

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1GKHungary Ádám Bogdán 0000000000
2DFEngland Nicky Hunt 0000000010
3DFEngland Jlloyd Samuel 380101040030
4MFEngland Kevin Nolan 2001011221100
5DFEngland Gary Cahill 323100033311
6MFEngland Fabrice Muamba 380101040060
7MFEngland Matthew Taylor 34101000351040
8URepublic of Ireland Joey O'Brien 7000108010
9FWSweden Johan Elmander 29510030510
10FWPoland Euzebiusz Smolarek 130110014010
11MFJamaica Ricardo Gardner 284101030410
12GKEngland Ian Walker 0000000000
14FWEngland Kevin Davies 38121010401240
15DFIceland Grétar Steinsson 373101039380
16MFEngland Mark Davies 9000000030
17MFNetherlands Riga Mustapha 180101020010
18FWIceland Heiðar Helguson 1000100000
18DFFrance Sébastien Puygrenier 7100007110
19MFEngland Gavin McCann 330001034081
20FWPortugal Ricardo Vaz Tê 2000002000
21FWPortugal Ariza Makukula 6000006010
22GKFinland Jussi Jääskeläinen 380101040030
23MFSwitzerland Blerim Džemaili 0000000000
24DFNigeria Danny Shittu 90101011020
25MFIsrael Tamir Cohen 4000004010
26GKOman Ali Al-Habsi 0000000000
27DFEngland James Sinclair 0000000000
28DFPoland Jarosław Fojut 0000000000
29FWSlovakia Zoltán Harsányi 0000000000
30UEngland Chris Basham 110000011100
31DFRepublic of Ireland Andy O'Brien 341101036150
35FWEngland Tope Obadeyi 3000003000
43FWEngland Nathan Woolfe 0000000000
––Own goals –1–0–0–1

Statistics accurate as of match played 24 May 2009

Transfers

In

Date Pos. Name From Fee
1 July 2008 MF England Fabrice Muamba England Birmingham City £5,000,000[7]
1 July 2008 FW Sweden Johan Elmander France Toulouse £8,200,000 + Daniel Braaten p/x[8]
28 July 2008 MF Netherlands Riga Mustapha Spain Levante Undisclosed[9]
6 August 2008 DF Nigeria Danny Shittu England Watford Undisclosed[10]
26 January 2009 MF England Mark Davies England Wolverhampton Wanderers Undisclosed[11]

Out

Date Pos. Name To Fee
1 July 2008 DF England Mark Ellis England Torquay United Free
1 July 2008 FW United States Johann Smith Canada Toronto FC Free[12]
1 July 2008 MF Greece Stelios Giannakopoulos England Hull City Free[13]
1 July 2008 MF Spain Iván Campo England Ipswich Town Free[14]
1 July 2008 MF Iran Andranik Teymourian England Fulham Free[15]
1 July 2008 MF Norway Daniel Braaten France Toulouse p/x[16]
28 July 2008 MF Senegal El Hadji Diouf England Sunderland £2,500,000[17]
10 August 2008 DF Ivory Coast Abdoulaye Méïté England West Bromwich Albion £2,000,000[18]
11 December 2008 GK England Ian Walker Released Free[19]
2 January 2009 FW Iceland Heiðar Helguson England Queens Park Rangers Undisclosed[20]
30 January 2009 MF England Kevin Nolan England Newcastle United £4,000,000[21]
12 February 2009 DF Poland Jarosław Fojut Poland Śląsk Wrocław Undisclosed[22]

Loan in

Date from Date to Pos. Name From
29 August 2008 30 June 2009 FW Poland Ebi Smolarek Spain Racing de Santander[23]
9 January 2009 30 June 2009 DF France Sébastien Puygrenier Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg[24]
16 January 2009 30 June 2009 FW Portugal Ariza Makukula England Benfica[25]

Loan out

Date from Date to Pos. Name To
1 September 2008 30 June 2009 MF Switzerland Blerim Džemaili Italy Torino[26]
3 November 2008 31 December 2008 DF England Nicky Hunt England Birmingham City[27][28]
13 November 2008 15 February 2009 FW England Nathan Woolfe Wales Wrexham[29]
28 November 2008 1 January 2009 FW Iceland Heiðar Helguson England Queens Park Rangers[30]

Kit Profile

Supplier: Reebok
Sponsor(s): Reebok

Home Strip
Away Strip

References

  1. ↑ An Open Letter To The Fans Of Bolton Wanderers by Ivan Campo
  2. ↑ "I am definitely leaving Bolton – Diouf". BBC Sport. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  3. ↑ "Ref Styles admits penalty mistake". BBC Sport. 2008-09-29. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  4. ↑ "The dream fixture that turned into a nightmare". The Bolton News. 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  5. ↑ Smith, Mason (2008-10-30). "'Criminal' Bolton allow Fellaini to steal the spoils". London: Guardian Online. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  6. ↑ "Megson Lands First Monthly Award". www.bwfc.co.uk. 2008-12-12. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  7. ↑ "Bolton splash out £5m on Muamba". BBC Sport. London. 16 June 2008.
  8. ↑ "Bolton 3 Stoke 1". The Sun. London. 17 August 2008.
  9. ↑ "Trotters strike Riga deal". Sky Sports. London. 28 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Trotters complete Shittu deal". Sky Sports. London. 6 August 2008.
  11. ↑ "Davies joins Bolton from Wolves". BBC Sport. London. 26 January 2009.
  12. ↑ "Toronto FC Signs Young Striker Smith". The Sports Network. 15 August 2008.
  13. ↑ "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  14. ↑ "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  16. ↑ "Bolton sign £10m-rated Elmander". BBC Sport. 27 June 2008.
  17. ↑ "Diouf completes Sunderland switch". BBC Sport. 28 July 2008.
  18. ↑ "West Brom take Meite from Bolton". BBC Sport. 10 August 2008.
  19. ↑ "Keeper leaves Bolton". Sky Sports. 11 December 2008.
  20. ↑ "Helguson seals permanent QPR deal". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009.
  21. ↑ "Nolan completes Newcastle switch". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009.
  22. ↑ "Fojut heading home". Sky Sports. 12 February 2009.
  23. ↑ "Bolton seal Smolarek deal". SkySports. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  24. ↑ "Defender Puygrenier joins Bolton". BBC Sport. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  25. ↑ "Makukula secures Bolton loan move". BBC Sport. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  26. ↑ "Dzemaili leaves Bolton for Torino". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008.
  27. ↑ "Birmingham sign Hunt in loan deal". BBC Sport. 3 November 2008.
  28. ↑ "Bolton end Hunt's Birmingham loan". BBC Sport. 30 December 2008.
  29. ↑ "Midfield duo tie up Wrexham loan". BBC Sport. 13 November 2008.
  30. ↑ "Helguson seals QPR move". Sky Sports. 28 November 2008.

External links

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