Premier League Preview 2009/2010 – Bolton Wanderers & Burnley

Bolton Wanderers
(Last season – 13th)

As I sat down to write this I honestly could not remember where Bolton Wanderers finished in the Premier League last season. As it turned out I took a guess (13th?) and was correct (woohoo!), but in a way this irrelevant little episode goes some distance towards explaining the uneasy relationship between Bolton manager Gary Megson and the club’s supporters who have by no means warmed towards their commanding officer.

Though Megson has done a pretty steady job during his time at the Reebok Stadium (Bolton were bottom of the league when he took over in October 2007 and he kept them up, got them to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup and consolidated them in 13th last year) it has not been deemed good enough by a vocal minority of fans who have not been afraid to make their ill-feelings known. Bolton and indeed Megson were regularly jeered when things weren’t going well last season, so much so that at one point Megson lashed out and labelled the fans ‘pathetic.’ Not the best way to endear yourself to disgruntled supporters of course, but it is hard not to sympathise with the Wanderers boss. “If your face doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit,” Megson ruefully sighed when asked about the critics and in this instance that appears correct.

Either way, his face is still around at the Reebok Stadium, and Megson has gone dutifully about the task of improving a team that lost more games than Newcastle last season but still managed to avoid ever really getting trapped in a relegation battle. In come Sam Ricketts, Zat Knight, Sean Davis and Paul Robinson; all Megson players down to a tee really – diligent, committed, hard-working but never really going to excite your average Bolton fan pondering his season ticket renewal. Nevertheless you cannot argue that the four of them do not ably boost the squad.

The key men for Bolton last season were undoubtedly Kevin Davies, Gary Cahill and Matthew Taylor as well as Jussi Jääskeläinen of course, who is a key man for Bolton in any season. Taylor and Davies scored 21 goals between them in 2008/2009, over half the figure managed by the entire squad, and Davies’ drive, leadership and casual elbowing of anyone within range were crucial to Bolton’s season. To rely on those two for firepower once again however would be dangerous and Johan Elmander for one needs to step up and prove why he is worth £8.2 million.

Creatively Bolton look a bit lightweight in fact, and this is an area that Megson needs to seriously address if his side are to improve on 13th. If the board keep faith with the manager then Bolton shouldn’t get stuck in a relegation scrap; Megson has the know-how to consolidate the club around lower mid-table. The worry is that mightn’t be enough for fans craving excitement.

Key Man: Kevin Davies
One to Watch: Fabrice Muamba

In: Zat Knight (Aston Villa, £4m), Sam Ricketts (Hull City, undisclosed), Sean Davis (Portsmouth, free), Paul Robinson (West Brom, loan)

Out: Blerim Dzemaili (Torino, undisclosed), James Sinclair (released), Robert Sissons (released), Nathan Woolfe (released)

Burnley
(Last season – promoted)

Take a small market town in the North West of England with a population that could almost entirely fit inside Old Trafford. Add a football club that can boast being one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, going as far back as 1888. Sprinkle on an average attendance of about 13,000. Mix in a charismatic, shrewd Scottish manager and a side so refreshing to watch it’s like going for a swim on a hot day, simmer for about ten months of attacking, entertaining football and what do you get? Why, it’s Burnley Football Club in 2008/2009.

Burnley’s performances in the Championship and indeed Carling Cup last season inspired to the point of transcendence, whereby team and year grow to become synonymous. Like Ajax in 1995, Manchester United in 1999 or Barcelona in 2009, a similar thing happened on a smaller scale at Turf Moor last season; Burnley produced a string of magical moments in a campaign full of swagger and bewilderment to cap off a year that will live long in the memory for their jubilant fans. It all culminated with Wade Elliott’s promotion-clinching goal at Wembley to send The Clarets back into the big-time for the first time in 33 years. Burnley are a top flight team again.

The problem is all the joy, the laughter, the celebrations and the memories are just that now for Burnley – memories. The time for festivities is over and the unforgiving world of Premier League football now awaits. So where do Owen Coyle and his tightly-knit group of players go from here? That is the big question.

Given the resources available to Coyle the task at hand is really quite a daunting one. Forget talk of the Premier League being worth a magic £60 million pot of gold, Burnley’s entire budget for both signings and player wages is a mere £16 million, or 9/10ths of Glen Johnson. Even Derby County had double that when they were promoted and look where it got them. Coyle has had to cut his cloth accordingly, and consequently the players brought in are not particularly high-profile. Richard Eckersley, David Edgar and Tyrone Mears have a mere handful of Premier League appearances between them, while Brian Easton and Steven Fletcher are untried at this level.

The beauty of Burnley however is in what they already have. Determination, team spirit and novelty factor are the intangibles. A fast-paced, high pressing, attacking style of play dictated by the likes of Fletcher, Elliott, Chris Eagles and Robbie Blake are the more earthy attributes.

The fixture list has not been particularly kind to Burnley. After their first game away at Stoke The Clarets play Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea and then Liverpool. It is not at all far-fetched to suggest that after five games they might have zero points from a possible 15. That would provide a crushing dose of reality were it to
happen. In order to stay up, Burnley have to hope they can somehow hit the ground running.

Key Man: Robbie Blake
One to Watch: Wade Elliott

In: Tyrone Mears (Derby, £500,000), Steven Fletcher (Hibs, £3m), David Edgar (Newcastle, undisclosed), Richard Eckersely (Manchester Utd, undisclosed), Brian Easton (Hamilton, £350,000)

Out: Alan Mahon (Tranmere, free), Steve Jones (Walsall, free).

Bolton Wanderers, Burnley FC, English Premier League, Premier League 09/10, Previews