Ballsy Banter Roll of Honour 2012: Moment of the Year

December 18, 2012 in Awards

We are on day two of the Roll of Honour 2012, and this brings a brand new category – Moment of the Year. Football is all about moments, those scenes that will last long in the memory – be it moments of joy, sorrow or complete mayhem. Let’s see what the panel picked.

ROLL-OF-HONOUR-12-MOMENT Read the rest of this entry →

Why is Owen Coyle’s stock still so high?

October 10, 2012 in Championship, Premier League

Earlier this week, Owen Coyle became the latest victim of the managerial merry-go-round that high level football produces. In such an open league, and with the high-valued Premier League the reward for success, the Championship in particular affords little time to most managers trying to make a success of their club. However, Bolton and chairman Phil Gartside are not known for making impulsive decisions – they have only had four managers since 1995 – and Coyle’s sacking has been coming for a longer time. Yet amongst the footballing community, Coyle’s stock still remains high, which seems baffling when taking into account the club he took over.

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Early starters in The Championship: Who has already got great value in the transfer market?

July 17, 2012 in Championship, Transfers

With only a month to go to the start of the Football League season, teams are beginning to take shape. Whilst we can still expect a lot of transfer activity, there has already been a significant number of players changing hands; it’s about now that fans are starting to realise what their team’s intentions are for the season. Are we seriously challenging or merely keeping our heads above water?

So with a month to go, let’s start looking at who Championship clubs are bringing in, and more notably, who might have bought a lemon. Read the rest of this entry →

Coyle counts the cost of poor investments

May 14, 2012 in Premier League

I really did feel sorry for Bolton yesterday. It is never nice to see a team get relegated, but to see a team go down as a result of a shocking refereeing decision must be heartbreaking for the Wanderers fans. A season in the Championship awaits in August, but where did it all go wrong for the Trotters? They were a solid mid-table side a few seasons ago, even playing in Europe. So what happened?

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Arguably the best goal from the FA Cup so far…

January 7, 2012 in Football Virals

Arnaud Mendy smashes a beautiful volley on the spin for Maccesfield Town against Bolton Wanderers. What a hit. Read the rest of this entry →