Boring Bolton: From Playground Bullies to Overachievers

Owen Coyle with high pants

Alright, it’s hardly the end of the season and in all likelihood the club won’t finish with a secure Europa League spot. But fourteen games in, Bolton are only six points off title leaders Chelsea despite arguably having a harder run up to this point. And having seen the way they’ve played this season, I can say their position is entirely deserved.

Once regarded as the schoolyard bullies of the Premier League, the pinnacle of the physical brand of football that gets Arsene Wenger up on his soapbox, Bolton seem to have matured. Coyle has taken Wenger’s critique of the brutish approach of similar clubs, and instead of trying to imitate Arsenal’s brand of ‘passing football’ in the way that so many others have tried and failed, has incorporated and moulded it around the defensive core that has saved Bolton from many relegation battles. The resulting hybrid, although seemingly unnoticed in the media is quite impressive. A sturdy defensive foundation of Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Muamba and keeper Jaaskalainen, allow the more flowing, yet still solid, midfielders like Lee Chung-yong and Stuart Holden to control the game, going toe-to-toe regardless of the reputation of the opposition. It’s not the most interesting football to watch, but it works.

Johan Elmander's goal at Molineux is an easy contender for goal of the season and provides a beacon of hope for the future of the Premier League, proving that a player who can score goals of that quality doesn’t have to come through a top club. Physical teams like Bolton can produce top players and even adapt their game to make a run for the top half of the table. Only time will tell if Bolton’s yet unproven formula will keep them buoyant, but surely if it continues for much longer they will begin to get the media spotlight their achievements deserve.

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