Lion Of Vienna Suite - All Posts

Wanderers announce preseason schedule, glamor ties aplenty

2013-05-17T14:14:45Z

Bolton Wanderers fans are looking forward to the prospect of their beloved Whites undergoing a full preseason under the direction of (April Manager of the Month-winning) Dougie Freedman. A few of the preseason fixtures had previously been announced (namely Chester and the apparently now-missing Rhyl match) but now the club has painted a clearer picture of what the senior and U21 sides can expect.

Per the club, both the first team and U21 side will travel to the south of Spain for a week-long training camp on 7 July. After they return home, the first team has three away matches scheduled so far:

Tuesday, 16 July: Rotherham

Saturday, 20 July: Shrewsbury

Tuesday, 23 July: Carlisle

The U21s have five games booked at the moment:

Wednesday, 17 July: Skelmersdale

Friday, 19 July: Chorley

Wednesday, 24 July: FC United of Manchester

Saturday, 27 July: Chester

Tuesday, 30 July: Macclesfield Town

The club will likely announce a few more games for the first team, including the traditional Reebok preseason date.

Dougie Freedman wins Manager of the Month award, beats out Charlton's Powell and Brighton's Poyet

2013-05-17T11:38:15Z

April was a very busy month for Bolton Wanderers and Dougie Freedman. The Trotters played six matches in the space of 25 days, winning four, drawing one, and losing one as they pushed for a play-off spot in a battle that went to the final day of the season. Due to those results, Dougie Freedman beat out Charlton manager Chris Powell and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet for the npower Championship Manager of the Month Award.

The award is decided by a small committee comprised of Alan Curbishley, Andy Williamson (Football League COO), Olaf Dixon (League Managers Association deputy CEO), and Katy Thomas (npower Partnership and Sponsorship manager).

In the Football League's statement, Curbishley commented on the decision:

"It was a great month for Dougie Freedman which resulted in an end-of-season surge for his side, who only just missed out on a Play-Off place.

"I am sure Bolton will be in contention again next season in what will be his first full season in charge."

Katy Thomas also weighed in:

"While they will have been disappointed to have missed out on promotion this season, I'm sure Bolton Wanderers fans will now be looking forward to next season with a great deal of enthusiasm."

Over the course of April, Dougie Freedman's Bolton Wanderers beat out Huddersfield Town (1-0), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2-0), Bristol City (1-2), and Middlesbrough (2-1). They drew 1-1 away to champions Cardiff City and lost away to Leicester City.

In the same time frame, Brighton & Hove Albion, led by Gus Poyet, went undefeated, winning three and drawing three matches. Charlton, managed by Chris Powell, also went undefeated and also won three and drew three, including a 6-0 romp away at Barnsley.

Freedman had been nominated for the same award for February but narrowly missed out.

Officially official: Stu Holden called up to United States camp

2013-05-16T18:46:09Z

We knew it was coming. Jurgen Klinsmann said as much just a few weeks ago when he made it clear that Stu Holden would be included in the United States Mens National Team's camp ahead of this summer's international friendlies (vs a full-strength Belgium and reserve-ish Germany), Gold Cup competition, and Hexagonal qualifiers (vs Jamaica, Honduras, and Panama).

"We've been in touch with Stuart throughout this whole injury period.

"The last couple of months have given us a lot of positive signals. I spoke to his coach at Bolton, and spoke to his coach at Sheffield Wednesday where he played some very important minutes and games while on loan. He's on his way back.

"That being said, we want to have him back in our picture. We are going to bring him for the May-June camp, and also for the Gold Cup."

Holden, who had not started a match for Bolton following a return from long-term injury and then again after a successful loan at Sheffield Wednesday, will be taking the next major step in his recovery. When the American midfielder spoke to us a few weeks ago, he said that he was feeling 100% and that the last thing he wanted was a summer break.

The Gold Cup tournament begins in early July and the United States will open their run on 9 July against Belize in Portland. The other two teams in the USMNT's group are Costa Rica and Cuba. For that tournament, the US will field what is essentially a B-team full of fringe players, young guns, and those coming back from injury. The team will most likely feature a very heavy Major League Soccer contingent.

The full camp squad for the friendlies against Belgium & Germany and the World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica, Panama, and Honduras is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders:

DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)

Midfielders:

Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards:

Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)

Reports out of Italy claim a possible Bolton return for Nicolas Anelka

2013-05-16T17:04:32Z

Over the course of two seasons, Nicolas Anelka made 61 appearances for Bolton Wanderers, scoring 23 goals in the process. He finished the 2006/07 season as the Trotters' top scorer with ten goals on the year. The following season, he signed a four year contract extension but just one year after that, Chelsea came calling and Bolton Wanderers sold the French striker for £15 million.

After his Chelsea stay ended in 2012, Anelka moved to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua (where he was later joined by Didier Drogba). With financial problems and a corruption scandal, among other issues including but not limited to the team's coach, Anelka left the side and moved to Juventus on a five month contract in January, 2013.

Anelka's participation in Juventus' Serie A-winning season was minimal, to say the least. The striker was named to the matchday squad on ten occasions but only participated in three matches, appearing as a late-game substitute in each one. Over the course of his stay, Anelka would total just 48 minutes in a Juventus shirt (including a five-minute-long run out against Celtic in the Champions League).

Now, two different reports out of Italy (from Sportevai and JuveMania) claim that Nicolas Anelka could be on his way back to the Reebok Stadium. It was his stay at Bolton that revived the career of "Le Sulk" following relatively short stays at Paris St Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Fenerbahce.

Questions remain about whether Anelka is the Dougie Freedman "type" of player but his experience is unquestionable and it was the striker's time at Bolton Wanderers that really saw him flourish and re-enter the France national team picture. Wages for a player like Anelka would obviously be a concern but if the price is right, you can bet most fans would say "yes" in a heartbeat.

Anelka was making a rumored £196,000 per week while playing for Shanghai Shenhua last year. He would have to take an 80-90% pay cut in order for it to be financially feasible. Whether this one falls into the "dream transfer" category or not remains to be seen. One would have to imagine that there are a number of clubs still interested in the striker's services.

Anelka took a massive pay cut when he moved to Juventus, signing on to make just €600,000 over the course of six months. That equates to £505,000 for the six months or, for Bolton Wanderers, a very reasonable £18,000 per week.

Freedman is not afraid of bringing in experienced players (insert Danny Butterfield quip here) and the idea of bringing back fan favorites has already been heavily discussed during the manager's relatively short tenure. On loan deadline day at the end of March, one of the most heavily-rumored moves was the potential return of El-Hadji Diouf.

Update: Two more reports from CanalJuve (which cites a tuttomercatoweb report) and CalcioNews24 echo the statements of the Sportevai and JuveMania reports while tuttomercatoweb (the same website that spoke to Marcos Alonso's father about his Fiorentina move) is reporting that there are two clubs in England interested in Anelka's services, they however say that it is two Premier League clubs.

Bolton Wanderers shirt sponsor change looks likely, we hope for Mr. Sparkle

2013-05-16T15:19:25Z

Bolton Wanderers have been sponsored by 188Bet from the 2009/2010 season to the present. The big orange logo took the place of the very familiar "Reebok" wordmark (shortly succeeded by RBK) that was on the front of Bolton's shirt from 1990 to 2009. 188Bet simultaneously sponsored Wigan Athletic's shirts from 2009-2011. It was the second time in Premier League history that two teams were sponsored by the same company (the first occurrence was from 2000-2002 when NTL sponsored Aston Villa and Newcastle).

In 2011, the betting company signed a two year extension with Bolton, running to 2013 (this summer). With that contract running out and it looking ever more like the deal will not be further extended, the Trotters are likely on the hunt for a new shirt sponsor.

The names of various companies have been flying around of late with local firms, loan firms, and now, an Asian firm all in the mix.

There's your answer, Fishbulb. For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about, continue on.

That last bit of information got the fans thinking, what if it was it was the glorious fishbulb shape of Mr. Sparkle, made famous by the Simpsons when Homer finds a logo resembling his likeness on an old detergent box in the Springfield dump.

Enjoy the magic of 1997:

I would think that Bolton Wanderers would be honored to be considered by this soap from the sacred forests of Hokkaido, renowned for its countless soap factories.

Current chatter on Twitter says that Canyonero and Mr. Plow are also in talks for the shirt deal while Krusty Burger has shown interest with Try N' Save and the Leftorium are preparing bids.

For the love of all things good, don't take the bottom half of this post or its obscure Simpsons references seriously.

Mirror report says Marcos Alonso is off to Italy, shocks no one

2013-05-16T13:33:06Z

The Marcos Alonso contract situation is an ongoing affair that now looks like it is reaching its conclusion. The left back's current deal expires at the end of June but despite continuing talks between the player and the club, Alonso's exit is getting ever closer to confirmation. According to the Daily Mirror, Alonso's free transfer to Serie A side Fiorentina is just about done.

This is news that is not, or at the very least should not, be shocking to anyone. It's been coming since the January window when La Viola first expressed their interest in the young defender along with (an admittedly) faint interest from Swansea and late push from Stoke City. The Italian team were always the favorites, offering Alonso wages rumored to be near double what he made at Bolton Wanderers.

Alonso's father said as much when he spoke about the situation to tuttomercatoweb a month ago:

"Yes, Fiorentina are very, very close to Marcos.

"We were in Florence for the first time in December, to speak with the Viola.

"But now Marcos wants to finish this season quietly with Bolton, trying to do his best professional job to bring the club into the Premier League."

On top of that, Fiorentina are guaranteed European football next season in the form of Europa League but have a small chance at Champions League play. As things stand, with 37 matches played, Fiorentina are fourth in the Serie A table, two points behind third-place AC Milan. With a Milan loss (against already relegated Siena) and a Fiorentina win (against already relegated Pescara) on the final day, La Viola would sneak into third place.

After two years of stop-start action at Bolton, Alonso finally broke into the starting lineup this season under Owen Coyle and flourished under Dougie Freedman, making 30 total appearances (29 starting) for the Trotters this season. Alonso's specialty was getting forward from the spot but barring a few very good defending performances, his contributions at the back left a bit to be desired in terms of marking and stopping crosses.

The news is not confirmed as of yet but time is running out for both parties to change the likely outcome.

Report: Bolton in for West Ham's Rob Hall again, this time aiming for permanent move

2013-05-16T11:42:04Z

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Dougie Freedman is apparently interested in making another move for Rob Hall, hoping to bring the winger back to the Reebok on a permanent basis.

On the Football League's loan transfer deadline day, Bolton Wanderers were a very busy group. The club had sent Stu Holden to Sheffield Wednesday for a month-long loan and decided to bring in a pair of wide options to provide competition and increase depth in the squad. The first was the much-maligned Danny Butterfield, brought in to provide backup to Sam Ricketts. The second was young West Ham winger Robert Hall.

When all was said and done, Hall played a total of 37 minutes for Bolton Wanderers. He made the matchday 18-man squad on seven occasions but for six of those, Hall was an unused substitute. The seventh time, the final match of the season, the winger started the match but was taken off in the first half after everything went wrong for Bolton Wanderers.

In that match, prior to the introduction of Marvin Sordell and Bolton's eventual pair of first half stoppage time goals, Rob Hall provided the Trotters' most dangerous opportunity, testing Tangerines keeper Matt Gilks from a free kick that required a good save to stop it.

Hall, 19 years old, had spent the first half of the season on loan at Birmingham City where he made 13 appearances for the Blues, assisting on seven goals. The move was cut short following a groin injury and eventual hernia surgery. The lengthy recovery time was something that Bolton knew about and explains his slow start. Many outlets had called Hall's month on loan at Wanderers a "flop" but 37 minutes is far too little time to judge a player.

The winger still has one year left on his contract at Big Sam Allardyce's West Ham and as such, the Trotters would have to agree a fee for the young winger.

Under-the-radar Ricardo Gardner looking at Major League Soccer move

2013-05-15T16:49:04Z

After 14 years and some 410 appearances for Bolton Wanderers across the old First Division, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup (now called the Europa League), Ricardo Gardner has returned to his native Jamaica. Even when he arrived with partially-bleached dreadlocks and bright yellow boots, the Bolton legend was still a relatively understated player.

For the Trotters, Ricardo Gardner was the sort of player where you didn't know just how good you had it until he was gone. The versatile left-sided player could take up a spot on the wing or at left back and do well at either one.

His goals for Bolton were relatively few and far between, totalling just 23 in a 14-year career with the Trotters but there are a few that will be remembered fondly among the Wanderers faithful. Among the most notable was the goal he scored in the old Division One Play-off Final that took Bolton to a 3-0 win over David Moyes' Preston North End and took the Trotters to the Premier League.

While that goal was the dagger in that match, it is not Bibi's most famous contribution for the Whites. That would come in 2007 as Bolton Wanderers travelled to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich in UEFA Cup action. The Trotters faced a tough task that would end in a famous 2-2 results for Wanderers and it was Ricardo Gardner's goal, his first in five years and the only one that season, that would open the scoring.

Unfortunately for Gardner, his career was stunted with a few long injury lay-offs, with his knee being the major culprit. It was that injury that would cut his Bolton stay short by six months, suffered in a 3-1 loss at Swansea last season.

Now, Bibi Gardner is on his way home to Jamaica with a somewhat unclear future ahead of him. Speaking in a lengthy interview on the club's official website (video below), Gardner explained that he may try to make something happen Stateside:

"I've been keeping myself healthy to prepare for what God has in store for me in the future," Gardner explained. "My family are happy that we are heading back to Jamaica, which makes me happy.

"I want to get the family settled as quickly as possible then I am maybe looking at doing a year in the MLS. Who knows, I might even come back here for another year or two? We will see what happens.

"I do [feel like a proper Boltonian]. It's home away from home for me. From the first day I came here everyone just made me feel so welcome, from Colin Todd to my team-mates and the fans.

Most MLS teams would be able to count themselves lucky should they be able to take advantage of Gardner's drive and wealth of experience. A 14-year long career in England (most of which was spent in the Premier League), experience in Europe, 112 caps for Jamaica, and a World Cup campaign under his belt should be enough to convince any potential suitors.

Gardner will be missed at Bolton but we certainly hope he finds a new club and soon. The 34-year-old still has a lot left to give.

If you have ten minutes to spare, do watch the interview.