Fans' forum - report

Because I like you all so much, I have spent a little time on Twitter, following several feeds, to try to summarise as many questions and answers as possible from tonight's fans' forum at the Reebok.

Please can we have no trolling on this thread. I am posting a link to it on JA606.

Q1. Regarding sale of players and club's debts.

OC: Mark Davies wants to stay and get club back into PL. Fulham enquired about Ngog but were told not for sale. Squad stronger for this season than last season.

PG: The club has a small amount of bank debt on overdraft. All other money owed to ED trust. Should club receive any stupid offers, Coyle will get money to spend. Eddie Davies owes money to Eddie Davies and the only way he can get money back is by putting more in. Eddie Davies also guarantees the overdraft. Nobody is for sale.

OC: I take responsibility for what happened to the club last season.

Q2. Is it a disadvantage to kick towards the South end of the ground?

<confusion as to point of the question>

Q3. For Owen Coyle. What is the bare minimum requirement for this season? What is considered failure?

OC: We want to return to the PL. OC believes squad can get back to PL and wants to achieve it. Failure would be not getting promoted this season.

Q4. Coyle asked why we bring everyone back for corners.

OC: Everyone's got different flavours. Most PL teams do. Tried pre-season to leave man up front. Can sometimes leave the posts exposed.

Q5. To Gartside. Do you accept that you are the common denominator in the demise of the club?

PG: Yes. (1 word answer).

{Jack Dearden comes to PG defence. Successful period of club where PG has presided)

PG: I accept responsibility. Hurts to see us relegated as a fan and as a chairman. My responsibility as chairman. PG invites fan for private chat.

PG: In hindsight, some wrong decisions made. Don't accept certain points made by fan.

Q6. For Owen Coyle. No complaints about where we finished last season? What lessons have you learned?

OC takes issue with the assertion that we ended where we deserved. 1st half of season, no complaints with statement. 2nd half not so much.

OC: Stu Holden irreplaceable which affected way we want to play.

Q7. For Owen Coyle. Crucial nature of Stuart Holden. Will he be fit and when?

OC: damage to knee, all the scans showed he was fine. Only when game intensity started the nature of injury became apparent. Hope Stu will be back by end of October playing. Sent Stu training kit and letter letting him know how important he is.

Q8. for Owen Coyle. A few changes in team for pre season. Do you know what your strongest team is?

OC: We have 2 players for each position. Better, younger squad to move forward. Chopped and changed to try and give all players game time. Hopeful Wheater will be back by December. Bolton a scalp in Championship. Onus on us to impose ourselves on the games.

Q9. Fan applauds PG for handling of the Muamba situation. However, felt let down by club for no lap of honour at end of the last home game.

OC: was happy for the players to go back out. Wants the club to be a family club. Want supporters to have affinity for players. Had players For 15-20 mins dissecting game. Won't happen again.

Q10. Question regarding Marvin Sordell.

OC: Sordell will be outstanding for the club. Difficulty in fitting him in last season. Sordell probably best finisher at the club.

Q11. Reported in BN about Muamba going to Belgium to see a heart specialist. Where we up to?

OC: can't say too much on the subject.

Q12. for Owen Coyle. Are we still in the market, what are we after and loan or permanent?

OC: We're after a defensive midfielder. Interested in Sanchez. Thought a deal was in place. Agents changed and demands quadrupled. Out of our financial viability.

Q13. Question about club policy in relation to players' use of Twitter.

OC: Players responsible for what they Tweet. Issues with certain Tweets. Responsibility on them to show they are no different to anyone else. If they have anything detrimental to say about colleagues, they'll be hammered. Obligation to ensure they represent club at all times.

Q14. Question about testimonial for Ricardo Gardner.

PG: allowed one but don't know where we're up to.

OC: Bibi training with club and getting fitter.

Q15. How did Nigel Reo-Coker leave the club?

OC: NRC left not through finance but because he wants to play at the top. Couldn't wait for 4 weeks and accepted his decision. Not looking to offer NRC a deal to return.

Q16. for Owen Coyle. You spoke about reducing wage bill and age of squad. Why retain Zat Knight and not Mark Connolly?

OC: I didn't see Mark Connolly playing at the club.

Q17. Wondering if the club can, if not sold out, send tickets to local schools to get Bolton kids supporting Bolton.

PG: Already do this.

Q18. to Owen Coyle. Has anything been done around the back room staff to develop you as a manager?

OC: caught a lot on counter attack, looking to address. Always learning. Had job offers from other clubs but love BWFC. Easy to duck and dive events like tonight but won't do it. Focused and driven to get club back to PL.

Q19. Super John is over. Is he being given a role at the club?

OC: something that can be looked at however nothing as of yet.

Q20. to Phil Gartside. How many people have answered questionnaires and what have club taken from it?

PG: club takes them seriously and club takes comments, both positive and negative into account. About 3500 responses.

Q18. to Owen Coyle. Has anything been done around the back room staff to develop you as a manager?

OC: caught a lot on counter attack, looking to address. Always learning. Had job offers from other clubs but love BWFC. Easy to duck and dive events like tonight but won't do it. Focused and driven to get club back to PL.

Good question, fair answer. Good to know Bibi is training with the club as well.

Thanks for doing that LH, interesting reading!

Interesting read, Thanks!

Top stuff LH and I appreciate the site big up elsewhere too.

Still banging my head in the wall about this one though!

Q18. to Owen Coyle. Has anything been done around the back room staff to develop you as a manager?

OC: caught a lot on counter attack, looking to address. Always learning. Had job offers from other clubs but love BWFC. Easy to duck and dive events like tonight but won't do it. Focused and driven to get club back to PL.

BTID - can we put LH's article on our twitter site if not already done so - link to this page perhaps?

Sluffy wrote:Top stuff LH and I appreciate the site big up elsewhere too.

Still banging my head in the wall about this one though!

Q18. to Owen Coyle. Has anything been done around the back room staff to develop you as a manager?

OC: caught a lot on counter attack, looking to address. Always learning. Had job offers from other clubs but love BWFC. Easy to duck and dive events like tonight but won't do it. Focused and driven to get club back to PL.

BTID - can we put LH's article on our twitter site if not already done so - link to this page perhaps?

Already done

You spoil us mate.

Thank you.

Sluffy wrote:You spoil us mate.

Thank you.

No worries, I enjoy it

I was wondering if anyone is encouraged by Coyle accepting responsibility for relegation? It's often stated on here that he makes a lot of excuses.

Well...

Somebody who did go to the forum said this -

Lots of questions about tactics that Coyle ducked and dived. Clearly not prepared to admit any fault at all for last season. Which was the main worry from the evening!

...and another said this -

Agree about Coyle though, seemed to want to direct all the blame on relegation towards former players/injuries/circumstance/bad start.

He did say that his preferred way of playing was with a 3 in midfield. Especially if he could have had NRC/Holden/M.Davies fit. Said that the reason he went 4-4-2 was going for victories towards the end of the season. Being honest, i'm not sure I believe him, especially when he referred to the coming season and said that he wanted "two players for ever position" and then listed a 4-4-2 unsurprisingly.

He did admit we were too open, although seemed to think that this was only in the first part of the season.

He also disagreed with someone who said we finished were we should have...



Doesn't sound to me from that, that he really has taken responsibility, does it to you?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I am. The fact that he pointed to what we all saw last season regarding being caught out on the counter and his attempts to get a rock to partner two ball-playing midfielders in Mavies and Andrews suggests that he has (finally?) seen some holes and is trying to plug them, speaks volumes to me. PG agreeing that some bad decisions were made last season - although he could be seen as trying to appease fans, says as much. As cynical as you may wish to be, it would suit PG far more to be the chairman of a Prem club that it does to chair a Championship club.

In reality, it wasnt just his fault, it was also the players for not playing to their full potential, the board for not replacing Holden/LCY, Lady Luck for the players injuries...

Sluffy-

Well yes, there's a direct quote saying he accepts responsibility for relegation, I don't know what more people want to be honest - blood? For him to degrade and emasculate himself or to release a statement saying "I'm shit and I know I am" on the club website?

We had a thread on here last week where posters were asked what questions they would ask Coyle.

I can't remember the poster and the exact question but someone said they would ask Coyle why he picked a certain player. I replied to that post saying he will reply "I pick the team".

It's a personal view but I don't think the manager of a football club is accountable to, or should be expected to answer questions about, anything to do with player selection, formations and tactics. If I were Coyle, I would evade a lot of these questions too.

He IS accountable to all stakeholders at the club for the overall performance - and on that level, he has accepted responsibility.

Of course, people look at things such as reports from a fans' forum and infer whatever they want from them.

There are posters on this forum who want their pound of flesh, have written Coyle off etc, and they're entitled to hold that view, but personally I think, from what I have read, anyway, as I wasn't there, he came out of it pretty well and answered fair questions in the right way.

Agree with Largehat, all tactics have holes, non are perfect and playing one style will always expose other opportunities to the opposition. He clearly isn't go into game by game details of where his tactics may have been wrong, just an overall acknowledgement that he should have done better, he has accepted responsibility and thats all he need do.

Thanks LH.

Still puzzled by OC's answer to Q10:

OC: Sordell will be outstanding for the club. Difficulty in fitting him in last season. Sordell probably best finisher at the club.

What difficulty in fitting him in? The goalscoring duo of Ngog and SKD keeping our best finisher out?

OK I need to move on.

Thanks LH, good read.

I think it was a master stroke by Coyle to leave out "our best finisher" because he couldn't find a place for him amongst the pisspoor finishers.

I enjoyed reading that... thanks Mr hat.

I had tickets for that but didn't go as I was in work till about 8, sounds like coyle does REALLY care and so does gartside. I've never really deep down thought they didn't... im just one that thinks both of them (coyle more so) can talk a good job.

everything they have said I expect to see happening.

gartside says failure would be not returning to the premier league, I expect coyle to be punished if we dont... with his job. Sorry but no room for sentiment when it comes to the club as a whole.

would love to see the first 'real' club idol for me in super John back at the club in some capacity.

The Debt - I'm sorry, but i think there is more in this, I would have expanded the question by asking what Eddie Davies' family's plans are if and when he passes away (god forbid) ... If they are not interested in football, are they just going to asset strip us and let us go in to administration...or carry on his Legacy?

Natasha Whittam wrote:Thanks LH, good read.

I think it was a master stroke by Coyle to leave out "our best finisher" because he couldn't find a place for him amongst the pisspoor finishers.

I have to admit... this DID make me have a 'WTF' moment...

Q18. to Owen Coyle. Has anything been done around the back room staff to develop you as a manager?

OC: caught a lot on counter attack, looking to address. Always learning. Had job offers from other clubs but love BWFC. Easy to duck and dive events like tonight but won't do it. Focused and driven to get club back to PL.

Coyle's not exactly a rookie in management terms - he's coming up to 10 years now. He must be a slow learner if he's not worked out it's a good idea to play your "best finisher" in crucial games yet.

Might not want to have have a discussion in this thread if so feel free to delete or ignore my comment

but am i alone in saying i just no longer care about last season? It's done, i couldn't care less who's to "blame" either.

I'm focussed on this season now, If Coyle can't have us in the top 10 after 10 games i think it's starting to look seriously bleak for him here. But until that time, lets see what he can do in a league where he's had major success before.