Tony Pulis

[Prufrock]

It's f*cking sport. It's a sport that happens to have the capability to be brilliant to watch, but the aim is to win. I'd like to be entertained, but the entertainment comes from watching a sporting contest.

[thebish]

I think there are some quite striking similarities between ourselves and stoke...

a longstanding manager seeing us promoted and keeping us there
a foray into Europe
a reputation for ugly tactics / hoof ball / ruining the Premier league!
(though along the way I think we had more flair players than Stoke ever did - that might be my bias - so we had more flair to cheer than they ever have)
punching above our weight
the press briefly changing their mind and us being the flavour of the day for a brief time "you know - despite what commentators say - bolton do play some good football.." etc.
then losing that long term manager

who knows if the similarities will continue.. Sammy Lee found that you cannot change a club's footballing culture/style overnight by buying Braaten! the mood music is that stoke want a style-change... I think it takes a decent manager to pull that off, especially under the pressure of having to survive in the Premiership..

[jaffka]

Rafa is the one the fans want.

[thebish]

Rafa is the one the fans want.

i think i heard someone on the radio this morning saying he had distanced himself from speculation...

[jaffka]

Rafa is the one the fans want.

i think i heard someone on the radio this morning saying he had distanced himself from speculation...

not suprising really

i think that the fans will be disappointed with who they think they will get as to who they will actually get

one of the fans stated that they are above Mark Hughes

[thebish]

Rafa is the one the fans want.

i think i heard someone on the radio this morning saying he had distanced himself from speculation...

not suprising really

i think that the fans will be disappointed with who they think they will get as to who they will actually get

one of the fans stated that they are above Mark Hughes

considering where mark hughes's stock is right now - maybe they're right!

[Harry Genshaw]

I think there are some quite striking similarities between ourselves and stoke...

a longstanding manager seeing us promoted and keeping us there
a foray into Europe
a reputation for ugly tactics / hoof ball / ruining the Premier league!
(though along the way I think we had more flair players than Stoke ever did - that might be my bias - so we had more flair to cheer than they ever have)
punching above our weight
the press briefly changing their mind and us being the flavour of the day for a brief time "you know - despite what commentators say - bolton do play some good football.." etc.
then losing that long term manager

who knows if the similarities will continue.. Sammy Lee found that you cannot change a club's footballing culture/style overnight by buying Braaten! the mood music is that stoke want a style-change... I think it takes a decent manager to pull that off, especially under the pressure of having to survive in the Premiership..

Aye, bob on. I was surprised to see that they had outspent Utd for the last 4 years and were one of the bigger spenders. If their football was as tedious as it looked to me, you cant blame their fans for wanting a bit more bang for their buck if they were splashing so much cash around on supposedly better footballers.

[jaffka]

Rafa is the one the fans want.

i think i heard someone on the radio this morning saying he had distanced himself from speculation...

not suprising really

i think that the fans will be disappointed with who they think they will get as to who they will actually get

one of the fans stated that they are above Mark Hughes

considering where mark hughes's stock is right now - maybe they're right!

probably, I still think that he is ok despit a nightmare at QPR

this Stoke thing reminds me of your TWSPY about Blackburn years ago when they were looking for a new manager

[thebish]

this Stoke thing reminds me of your TWSPY about Blackburn years ago when they were looking for a new manager

blimey - that feels like another age altogether!

[BWFC_Insane]

I think there are some quite striking similarities between ourselves and stoke...

a longstanding manager seeing us promoted and keeping us there
a foray into Europe
a reputation for ugly tactics / hoof ball / ruining the Premier league!
(though along the way I think we had more flair players than Stoke ever did - that might be my bias - so we had more flair to cheer than they ever have)
punching above our weight
the press briefly changing their mind and us being the flavour of the day for a brief time "you know - despite what commentators say - bolton do play some good football.." etc.
then losing that long term manager

who knows if the similarities will continue.. Sammy Lee found that you cannot change a club's footballing culture/style overnight by buying Braaten! the mood music is that stoke want a style-change... I think it takes a decent manager to pull that off, especially under the pressure of having to survive in the Premiership..

That's pretty much what I meant.

If they get a good and pragmatic manager who isn't expected to turn them into Swansea in 2 years then they might be ok.

If the clamour for 'good football' overtakes all else and the appointment is poor then I thinks the fans will regret hounding their most successful manager in 30 years out.

[thebish]

I think there are some quite striking similarities between ourselves and stoke...

a longstanding manager seeing us promoted and keeping us there
a foray into Europe
a reputation for ugly tactics / hoof ball / ruining the Premier league!
(though along the way I think we had more flair players than Stoke ever did - that might be my bias - so we had more flair to cheer than they ever have)
punching above our weight
the press briefly changing their mind and us being the flavour of the day for a brief time "you know - despite what commentators say - bolton do play some good football.." etc.
then losing that long term manager

who knows if the similarities will continue.. Sammy Lee found that you cannot change a club's footballing culture/style overnight by buying Braaten! the mood music is that stoke want a style-change... I think it takes a decent manager to pull that off, especially under the pressure of having to survive in the Premiership..

That's pretty much what I meant.

If they get a good and pragmatic manager who isn't expected to turn them into Swansea in 2 years then they might be ok.

If the clamour for 'good football' overtakes all else and the appointment is poor then I thinks the fans will regret hounding their most successful manager in 30 years out.

aye - but then again - we don't know what would have happened had Big Sam stayed at Bolton - or what would have happened if Pulis had stayed at Stoke... sometimes your time comes to an end and you need a new project... Sam's success with West Ham doesn't mean he could have kept it up at Bolton - we just will never know...

as someone once said - Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

[BWFC_Insane]

I think there are some quite striking similarities between ourselves and stoke...

a longstanding manager seeing us promoted and keeping us there
a foray into Europe
a reputation for ugly tactics / hoof ball / ruining the Premier league!
(though along the way I think we had more flair players than Stoke ever did - that might be my bias - so we had more flair to cheer than they ever have)
punching above our weight
the press briefly changing their mind and us being the flavour of the day for a brief time "you know - despite what commentators say - bolton do play some good football.." etc.
then losing that long term manager

who knows if the similarities will continue.. Sammy Lee found that you cannot change a club's footballing culture/style overnight by buying Braaten! the mood music is that stoke want a style-change... I think it takes a decent manager to pull that off, especially under the pressure of having to survive in the Premiership..

That's pretty much what I meant.

If they get a good and pragmatic manager who isn't expected to turn them into Swansea in 2 years then they might be ok.

If the clamour for 'good football' overtakes all else and the appointment is poor then I thinks the fans will regret hounding their most successful manager in 30 years out.

aye - but then again - we don't know what would have happened had Big Sam stayed at Bolton - or what would have happened if Pulis had stayed at Stoke... sometimes your time comes to an end and you need a new project... Sam's success with West Ham doesn't mean he could have kept it up at Bolton - we just will never know...

as someone once said - Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

Absolutely. I think the sense some had with Allardyce was that he knew the ride was going to get bumpier and it suited him to walk out at that stage. But as you say who knows.

I guess with Pulis they had a bad season so it's more understandable to an extent. And yes he may have struggled again.

On a similar note be interesting to see who Everton appoint and how they do. Another long term manager needing replacing. Don't think it's easy.

[Worthy4England]

I saw a quote from a Stoke fan that was: "the last few seasons have been 90% tedious slog with no entertainment or joy. And the worst thing that can happen? Relegation to the most exciting league there is! I know the Premier League is the 'place to be' but us real supporters know we'll still be here in 50 years time so I value entertainment and memories over just aiming to scrap a shit draw at places like Sunderland in order to reach 40 points"

I think that is absolutely spot on.

It is, absolutely .... & exactly how I got in Allardyce's final year.

I would still feel that, without hindsight. With it, I do have to wonder though whether I should have appreciated what we had.

I recall we tediously finished in Europe in Allardyce's last season. Anyone wanting him out should have had their bumps felt.

Were we third or 4th at Christmas? Or was that the season before?

Anyhow I'll be fecking delighted if I'm still watching Bolton in 50 years time.

[Lord Kangana]

3rd on Christmas day wasn't it?

[Zulus Thousand of em]

Anyhow I'll be fecking delighted if I'm still watching Bolton in 50 years time.

Me too.

I'll be 108.

[BWFC_Insane]

I saw a quote from a Stoke fan that was: "the last few seasons have been 90% tedious slog with no entertainment or joy. And the worst thing that can happen? Relegation to the most exciting league there is! I know the Premier League is the 'place to be' but us real supporters know we'll still be here in 50 years time so I value entertainment and memories over just aiming to scrap a shit draw at places like Sunderland in order to reach 40 points"

I think that is absolutely spot on.

It is, absolutely .... & exactly how I got in Allardyce's final year.

I would still feel that, without hindsight. With it, I do have to wonder though whether I should have appreciated what we had.

I recall we tediously finished in Europe in Allardyce's last season. Anyone wanting him out should have had their bumps felt.

Were we third or 4th at Christmas? Or was that the season before?

Anyhow I'll be fecking delighted if I'm still watching Bolton in 50 years time.

The season he left though we were absolutely dreadful in the second half of it. I think we had top 4 form till January then relegation form thereafter. Of course it was still good. But crowds dropped, people becamse dissatisfied. There was discontent even when we won. 1-0 away at Watford a win, but lots and lots of moaning about the football, and the spectacle.

There was general discontent from many. Not to the point of wanting Allardyce out (though I suspect a few "radicals" on forums like this one were airing that kind of view), but in general I think fans were bored. Remember this team no longer had the flair of Okocha, or the mecurial Djorkaeff or the calming brilliance of Hierro. It was more functional. It did have Anelka though.

I think that's what Bobo is describing. It was all beginning to feel like going through the motions. I suspect that was not only a reflection of "taking things for granted" but also that some fans sensed Allardyce himself was bored by it all and possibly looking for new challenges.

For me I wasn't bored but just had the feeling that things were coming to an end.

[Zulus Thousand of em]

Pulis will probably pitch up at Wigan.

[ChrisC]

Pulis will probably pitch up at Wigan.

He has family over in America. Wouldn't be surprised to see him pitch up in the MLS to be with his son and grandkids.

[Worthy4England]

I saw a quote from a Stoke fan that was: "the last few seasons have been 90% tedious slog with no entertainment or joy. And the worst thing that can happen? Relegation to the most exciting league there is! I know the Premier League is the 'place to be' but us real supporters know we'll still be here in 50 years time so I value entertainment and memories over just aiming to scrap a shit draw at places like Sunderland in order to reach 40 points"

I think that is absolutely spot on.

It is, absolutely .... & exactly how I got in Allardyce's final year.

I would still feel that, without hindsight. With it, I do have to wonder though whether I should have appreciated what we had.

I recall we tediously finished in Europe in Allardyce's last season. Anyone wanting him out should have had their bumps felt.

Were we third or 4th at Christmas? Or was that the season before?

Anyhow I'll be fecking delighted if I'm still watching Bolton in 50 years time.

The season he left though we were absolutely dreadful in the second half of it. I think we had top 4 form till January then relegation form thereafter. Of course it was still good. But crowds dropped, people becamse dissatisfied. There was discontent even when we won. 1-0 away at Watford a win, but lots and lots of moaning about the football, and the spectacle.

There was general discontent from many. Not to the point of wanting Allardyce out (though I suspect a few "radicals" on forums like this one were airing that kind of view), but in general I think fans were bored. Remember this team no longer had the flair of Okocha, or the mecurial Djorkaeff or the calming brilliance of Hierro. It was more functional. It did have Anelka though.

I think that's what Bobo is describing. It was all beginning to feel like going through the motions. I suspect that was not only a reflection of "taking things for granted" but also that some fans sensed Allardyce himself was bored by it all and possibly looking for new challenges.

For me I wasn't bored but just had the feeling that things were coming to an end.

At Christmas we're third. Allardyce wants to finish in the CL places and I suspect so do the team. I wasn't bored with 3rd at Christmas, I can't recall any time in my Bolton supporting career, we've been third by Chirstmas in the top flight, ever (we were actually 3rd when we played Liverpool on the 1st Jan) - 17 matches left. By match 36 we were still in 5th, although couldn't have caught Arsenal by then. but the reality was we were well in it when the January transfer window opened.

On the January transfer window, I think there's two sides of the story - there's the Garty "We'd need to invest £100m" - note, as far as I'm aware he never said Allardyce asked for £100m - then there's what we actually got - Michalik & David Thompson - hardly two people designed to push on into CL places, we added Cesar Martin in the Feb. I understand if we haven't got the money, we haven't got the money.

But I didn't attend the Liverpool game on New Years Day, at all bored - we still had Speed, Campo, Anelka, Joof etc. If that's bored, I'll take some of it now.

On our relegation form, we didn't drop below 5th until game 34, and got back to 5th by game 36. I'll have more of that too thanks.

That was one season where you could clearly see that things were changing for the worse - by what measure? None of it stacks up with what actually occurred on the season as a whole - which is what Manager's should probably be judged on. Our second highest finish in around 50 years. Please let the wheels fall off like that again soon.

[BWFC_Insane]

I saw a quote from a Stoke fan that was: "the last few seasons have been 90% tedious slog with no entertainment or joy. And the worst thing that can happen? Relegation to the most exciting league there is! I know the Premier League is the 'place to be' but us real supporters know we'll still be here in 50 years time so I value entertainment and memories over just aiming to scrap a shit draw at places like Sunderland in order to reach 40 points"

I think that is absolutely spot on.

It is, absolutely .... & exactly how I got in Allardyce's final year.

I would still feel that, without hindsight. With it, I do have to wonder though whether I should have appreciated what we had.

I recall we tediously finished in Europe in Allardyce's last season. Anyone wanting him out should have had their bumps felt.

Were we third or 4th at Christmas? Or was that the season before?

Anyhow I'll be fecking delighted if I'm still watching Bolton in 50 years time.

The season he left though we were absolutely dreadful in the second half of it. I think we had top 4 form till January then relegation form thereafter. Of course it was still good. But crowds dropped, people becamse dissatisfied. There was discontent even when we won. 1-0 away at Watford a win, but lots and lots of moaning about the football, and the spectacle.

There was general discontent from many. Not to the point of wanting Allardyce out (though I suspect a few "radicals" on forums like this one were airing that kind of view), but in general I think fans were bored. Remember this team no longer had the flair of Okocha, or the mecurial Djorkaeff or the calming brilliance of Hierro. It was more functional. It did have Anelka though.

I think that's what Bobo is describing. It was all beginning to feel like going through the motions. I suspect that was not only a reflection of "taking things for granted" but also that some fans sensed Allardyce himself was bored by it all and possibly looking for new challenges.

For me I wasn't bored but just had the feeling that things were coming to an end.

At Christmas we're third. Allardyce wants to finish in the CL places and I suspect so do the team. I wasn't bored with 3rd at Christmas, I can't recall any time in my Bolton supporting career, we've been third by Chirstmas in the top flight, ever (we were actually 3rd when we played Liverpool on the 1st Jan) - 17 matches left. By match 36 we were still in 5th, although couldn't have caught Arsenal by then. but the reality was we were well in it when the January transfer window opened.

On the January transfer window, I think there's two sides of the story - there's the Garty "We'd need to invest £100m" - note, as far as I'm aware he never said Allardyce asked for £100m - then there's what we actually got - Michalik & David Thompson - hardly two people designed to push on into CL places, we added Cesar Martin in the Feb. I understand if we haven't got the money, we haven't got the money.

But I didn't attend the Liverpool game on New Years Day, at all bored - we still had Speed, Campo, Anelka, Joof etc. If that's bored, I'll take some of it now.

On our relegation form, we didn't drop below 5th until game 34, and got back to 5th by game 36. I'll have more of that too thanks.

That was one season where you could clearly see that things were changing for the worse - by what measure? None of it stacks up with what actually occurred on the season as a whole - which is what Manager's should probably be judged on. Our second highest finish in around 50 years. Please let the wheels fall off like that again soon.

I don't think anyone realistically was judging Allardyce. And I think most felt we'd have been ok had he stayed and would have vastly preferred that, me included.

I just think the landscape of football was subtly changing and the free transfers we'd excelled at were drying up.

Allardyce probably knew he'd taken us as far as he could. I certainly got that sense, as a fan at least.