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Dougie has truly turned it round at Bolton in the final third of the season. As a result, most fans won't have a bad word said about him. Some are certain he's taking us up next season, some even think we'd have gone up this season had he been here to begin with.
But what I want to put forward is why there's still room for argument that recent events in terms of results aren't necessarily a sign of things to come and aren't entirely owed to or a representation of Dougie's intelligence.
Today's team selection was far from the first I've found it difficult to defend. He plainly did brilliantly in bringing in Medo and Craig Dawson, but the signing of a highly influential loan player from a Premier League club and a largely underpriced midfielder from overseas within months of appointment was a feat also achieved by Owen Coyle, whose intelligence we now can't poke enough fun at. Another large factor has been the improvement in individual performances who had previously been viewed as poor signings, namely Pratley, Alonso and Ngog. This was also considered key in terms of the value Coyle initially added to the club. But the final and most crucial point for me is the difference it has made to our play that Kevin Davies, who was still a big part of Dougie's short-term plans until the sourness regarding his contract began, has finally been omitted entirely from the squad in favor the basically better Ngog, CDavies, Sordell and Tom Eaves. On that basis, you could argue that one of Dougie's most crucial decisions was one made on non-footballing grounds, and we'd have otherwise been out of the running for a play-off place a long time ago.
If you interpret this as a belief that Dougie is no good, you read it wrong. All in all, I'm looking forward to next season. What I'm saying is the apparent progress we've made is meager basis to feel certain that Dougie is a safe pair of hands who will take the club a long way.
But what I want to put forward is why there's still room for argument that recent events in terms of results aren't necessarily a sign of things to come and aren't entirely owed to or a representation of Dougie's intelligence.
Today's team selection was far from the first I've found it difficult to defend. He plainly did brilliantly in bringing in Medo and Craig Dawson, but the signing of a highly influential loan player from a Premier League club and a largely underpriced midfielder from overseas within months of appointment was a feat also achieved by Owen Coyle, whose intelligence we now can't poke enough fun at. Another large factor has been the improvement in individual performances who had previously been viewed as poor signings, namely Pratley, Alonso and Ngog. This was also considered key in terms of the value Coyle initially added to the club. But the final and most crucial point for me is the difference it has made to our play that Kevin Davies, who was still a big part of Dougie's short-term plans until the sourness regarding his contract began, has finally been omitted entirely from the squad in favor the basically better Ngog, CDavies, Sordell and Tom Eaves. On that basis, you could argue that one of Dougie's most crucial decisions was one made on non-footballing grounds, and we'd have otherwise been out of the running for a play-off place a long time ago.
If you interpret this as a belief that Dougie is no good, you read it wrong. All in all, I'm looking forward to next season. What I'm saying is the apparent progress we've made is meager basis to feel certain that Dougie is a safe pair of hands who will take the club a long way.
