Which two Trotters run tings at the Reebok? Have your say…

Chelsea look unbeatable at the Bridge

Dirrrrty boys The list is based on fouls committed, which I concede is a flawed way of deciding which players are dirty. For example, there are no defenders on the list, because a) defenders are expected to make tackles, so referees are more lenient on them, and b) midfielders and forwards are simply not as [...]

Cult classic or travesty? Well, it’s, er, different – I’ll say that for Bolton’s new home shirt, which has already been dubbed the “barcode” kit. What do you think of it? Vote below…

Trotters make a pig’s ear of new shirt

Finding the Lonely Hearts of Euro 2008 the perfect home in the Premier League

Arsenal – Artur Boruc
Poland’s keeper was in top form during the competition and a move to a top four club could be enough to tempt him away from Celtic. The Gunners – with Jens Lehmann on his way out – could be interested.

Pies’ cut-out-and-keep guide to Bolton’s £10m striker Name Johan Elmander Age 27 Nationality Swedish Club history Holmalunds, Orgryte, Feyenoord, Brondby, Toulouse, Bolton Wanderers (current) Position Centre-forward. Is he any good? He started two of Sweden’s group games at Euro 2008, albeit out of position, but I didn’t see enough of him to comment on his [...]

Meg loves Mig 4eva?

1. Miguel Veloso to Bolton
Gary Megson is hoping to jump the queue to sign Manchester United target Veloso. The Sporting Lisbon midfielder would cost £16 million. [The Sun]

Time for another stroll down Memory Lane (via Iceland).

Pies rates each Premier League team based on the 07/08 campaign Arsenal (3rd) Played some quite beautiful football at times but faded badly in the last quarter of the season, after leading the pack – Arsene Wenger should have added to his squad in January. Still, to finish just two points behind Chelsea and four [...]

For every winner there has to be a loser. And unfortunately, in the Premier League this weekend, there will be one winner and two losers. If you take away Derby, who have been relegated since about October, it is one of the most competitive relegation battles in years. On the last day of the season Birmingham, Reading, Fulham and (if Reading manage to score about nine goals) Bolton can all still be relegated. The question is: who’s going down?

Ouch! That is not supposed to point that way! Bolton striker Kevin Davies put in a heroic match-winning performance against West Ham at the weekend. Davies grabbed the only goal of the game and played on for a while with a dislocated finger. The hardman simply left the pitch to get treatment before, erm, knuckling back down to his performance.

Football is a team game, but it’s amazing how much of an effect one individual can have on his ten team-mates. Witness Jimmy Bullard’s match-winning performance for Fulham against Aston Villa at Craven Cottage yesterday afternoon. His return from a long-term injury has lifted everyone at the club; it’s no coincidence that Fulham struggled in Bullard’s absence.

A Newcastle fan’s eye view of Kevin Keegan’s second coming, before the start of the anticlimactic 0-0 draw with Bolton. Sam Allardyce never got a reception like that.

Anelka is the main man at Bolton, the star attraction, their best player. Bolton are ‘Nicolas Anelka’s Bolton’, just as Arsenal were ‘Thierry Henry’s Arsenal’ not so long ago. He is happy at the Reebok, but he should be – it’s the sort of club that fits neatly with his selfish, ‘big fish in a small pond’ attitude.

Stelios of Bolton Wanderers celebrates scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute of last night’s Premier League match between Bolton and Derby County at the Reebok Stadium.
Derby battled gamely and probably deserved a point from the game, but their fate is sealed, barring the most miraculous escape in Premier League history.

The January transfer window is open for business, and so football’s rumour mill has gone into overdrive. Will Berbatov stay at Spurs? Has Joey Barton taken a shower yet? So many questions, so few answers. Here are the top 5 transfer window rumours of the day, neatly summarised in one cut-out-and-keep package:
1 Avram Grant wants to splash out £35m to sign both Nicolas Anelka and ‘want-away’ Dimitar Berbatov. Via Daily Star

Scenario 1 Robbie Keane was sent off for a clumsy tackle that warranted a yellow. Keane is a mouthy sod, always in the ear of any ref, but he is not a dirty player. (Watch the incident here)

Bolton midfielder Gavin McCann favours the balding badger look these days, so much so that he only just made it into the Horror Hair category and was almost a Shit Lookalike for Pepe Le Pew! He has always had a receding hairline, but it has now receded so far that it is practically in-growing. Against Middlesbrough yesterday, McCann was shamed into covering his hair in a bandage (OK, the clash of heads might have influenced his decision slightly).

Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton claims a cross during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers at Upton Park on November 4, 2007 in London, England. Photo Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

It’s not rocket science, putting together a football blog – not when videos like this are freely available on the internet. Via The Offside and Doktor Fussball

Listening to The Guardian’s Barry Glendenning talk on the paper’s Football Weekly podcast about about how much his mate hated playing under Gary Megson – Megson reputedly made said player trade in his Porsche for a shitter car – made me think that perhaps I was being a bit harsh on Bolton fans, who didn’t [...]

HEROES Rob Green Saved a last-gasp penalty (pictured) to snatch a point for West Ham at Pompey. Surely Green now has to be taken seriously for England’s No.1 shirt instead of Paul Robinson? Cesc Fabregas Showed off the full extent of his freakish maturity and talent with a wonderfully authoritative performance at Anfield. Stevie G [...]