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Dougie Freedman is so meticulous with his preparations that even the black-and-white photographs on the walls of Bolton Wanderers training ground are chosen and presented with a deliberate effect in mind. The pictures are of club legends like Nat Lofthouse or sepia prints of Bolton’s first home at Pike’s Lane in 1881, emphasising the long, lauded history. The captions are typed in small print so the players have to look closely.
Early on Wednesday morning, Freedman and his Bolton players board the train south for the Capital One Cup tie at Chelsea. It is a welcome break from the Championship where they lie just above the relegation zone, where the fans debate the job Freedman is doing. The manager himself is aware of all the talk about his future but is determined to focus on his “long-term plan” to revive a club which cannot spend because of its staggering debts and losses.
Freedman has worked hard on updating the training ground, on drawing on the past to inspire the current generation. “When I turned up, we had pictures of players of the current squad on the wall,’’ said Freedman, sitting in the boardroom at Bolton’s training ground on Tuesday afternoon. “We no longer have any pictures of a modern-day player. I only want pictures when you’ve done something here. We have pictures of players from the 40s, the 50s and the FA Cup finals. I want the current group of players to understand when you achieve that you go up on the wall.
“I stole the idea from AC Milan. I went to Milanello and they only had pictures of players who had won European Cups on the wall. If you’ve lifted the European Cup, you go on that wall. We’re not at that stage! But it’s my point. I want players to know the history of the club because that’s building the spirit here. I want the players to understand where Bolton started, what happened to some players. We have a picture of Bolton Wanderers players going to war in 1939. That’s poignant.
“I believe my players appreciate Bolton’s history now. We have drip-fed it into them over the past 18 months. We make them aware of the players who used to play here, all the way back to the main man, Nat Lofthouse, how well he represented this football club in many different ways, how down to earth he was. I talk to the players about his qualities, the humility, and what he achieved.
“We played Blackpool in the FA Cup and I made a big thing about the history. I made a big thing about 1953 (the final between the two). I make a big thing about 1958 (the final Bolton won). I let them know where the club started, how we’ve built success in the past, being proud of the club’s history. I also rewind it to more recently to when Bolton got up, and talk about the team that got promotion (in 1995), players like Alan Stubbs, Jason McAteer and Alan Thompson.
“I point out where the players in that team came from, some local, some produced here, some brought from lower leagues, all with hunger. I point out that we can build on that hunger with players from lower leagues, players who have not quite made it, players coming up from the academy.
“Football is cyclical. When I first came to QPR in 1990, when QPR played away I used to go and watch Chelsea at home, because apprentices got a free ticket. Chelsea and QPR were neck and neck then. The cycle went and Chelsea have been riding high on a wave. Bolton had that success in 2001, getting back in the Premier League.’’
They have still not recovered from a painful, expensive relegation in 2012. "We will get back there and I am hoping it is with myself. I hope it is quick but we are in a difficult moment right now. We have a strategy, a clear plan, it’s not dreaming and hoping.
“It is not a criticism of (past managers) Owen Coyle, Gary Megson or Sam Allardyce, because they had to do their job at that time, they had to survive in the Premier League, so they were not too bothered about the development. They could just buy a player in, go short-term, stay in the Premier League.
“When I first got here, I saw one or two players who are only here to pick up contracts. That was very disheartening. We’ve had to cut budgets, unfortunately cut a lot of staff members. We can’t go and spend £8m on Nicolas Anelka no more. It’s the cards I’ve been dealt. We went back to the 1990s thinking: we are going to have to buy our players cheaper, produce players, get one or two local lads in the team, get a spirit to get us back to where we all think we should be. We’ve just bought in Max Clayton, a wonderful talent. In two or three years’ time I might not be here but it’s my responsibility to make sure I leave the club in a better state than I found it. Off the field we have. On the field it has not materialised yet.’’
Why? Finishing is clearly a problem. At the end of the hour-long training session, a few of the strikers practised their shooting and frequently found the mark. “We do enough shooting practice,’’ reflected Freedman, a noted scorer himself in his playing days. “We’ve created enough opportunities. I believe the reason we’re not scoring enough goals is all in the mind.
“As a striker, I used to think the longer a game goes 0-0, the more I see my name in the paper. It’s the striker’s mentality. At 1-0 down it’s harder to produce that goal because the striker thinks ‘I’m only getting the draw’. Strikers love scoring at 0-0, love scoring to show they are winners, that’s what they are built for, they are risk-takers. We are working on keeping clean sheets. We have a three-week (training) plan that doesn’t change whatever the result. It’s about planning.
“We do a lot of our planning in here. This room here was a junk room. We’ve made it into a boardroom. It’s smart, a Premier League room. Parents sit in these seats. I sell them a club that is going to give their son an opportunity. I sell them an environment that enables their son the best chance to be a footballer. We coach them. We have video rooms for youngsters. We embrace education. We offer their parents a package over why Robert Hall should leave West Ham and come to us. We can’t sell them a financial package. We sell them an idea.
“We are not going to buy our way to the Premier League. We have to develop our way to the Premier League. So the environment has to be right. Behind the scenes we’ve created an environment that allows for players to flourish. If I don’t have a long-term objective than I don’t believe I’m doing my job. I have to get the place ready for success. Fans probably don’t understand that. They don’t really want to listen to that but at boardroom level they understand that. Hence the reason I’m probably they’d look at why I am still in a job.”
Bolton’s owner, Eddie Davies, and the chairman Phil Gartside, have been very quiet on Freedman and his future. “We are in a results industry and I don’t shy away from that but there is a plan,’’ replied the 40-year-old. “I believe I sold that to the board when I went before the board: build the right environment, try to have a Cat 1 club (Academy). I thought this is somewhere where I can be successful. It has not materialised yet but the plan doesn’t change.
“They (Davies and Gartside) are supportive as much as they can be. You need to take your hat off to Eddie. Eddie has financed this club for 13-14 years at £160m. He’s put his money where his mouth is. He’s had some wonderful times but he’s come to the conclusion where he can’t keep on feeding the football club. It has to run on its own now we’re outside the Premier League. Phil Gartside has a plan: education programmes, free school here, plans for the football club (development around the stadium). It’s still a Premier League club off the field.
“We have to look after ourselves. We can’t keep on asking Eddie Davies for money. We have to work in a different way. It is a complete different club from when it bought Anelka. The board understand that. It’s going to be very difficult. Derby came down, but have slowly built up, buying players young, waiting for them to mature.
“Fans will not accept long-term views. I’m a fan myself, I want to pay my money to go and watch (Glasgow) Rangers play and I want them to win and if they don’t win I’ve going to have a go because I’ve just paid £10-20. Everybody wants instant success. I’m no different. Everybody would like the short-term quick fix, buy that £10m striker and away we go. It does frustrate me that certain people can walk into a club, have a quick fix. I hope one day that will come to me. I didn’t have that at Crystal Palace either.”
But he did have a memorable night in the League Cup against Manchester United in 2011. “I’d only been in management a short time, and I probably didn’t appreciate the result as much as I should have: to go to Old Trafford and win in a quarter-final! We played on a Wednesday night and we had to play on the Friday night to get £175,000 from Sky. We had to play because we were skint. We’d just beaten United, I was on the plane and I was not very happy because the plane was not taking off on time and we had get my players back to prepare for the Friday!
“I felt I left Crystal Palace a better club then when I joined. I want to do that with Bolton, better on and off the pitch. That’s my vision. That drives me on. The results, the ups and downs, the boos, criticism, cheers, pats on the back are part of the game. I’m desperate to succeed. Succeeding is when I walk Premier League. The situation we’re in drives me on.
“I’m at a difficult moment in my career. But who’s not been? If I want to be a top manager I have to go through a process of learning. This is it. Mr Mourinho spent 15 years (preparing). Brendan Rodgers had to go through a difficult time at Reading. Sir Alex Ferguson (at East Stirlingshire). So who am I to complain? I have wonderful colleagues here, Curtis (Fleming) and Lennie (Lawrence). We work hard. But so does every man in the street.’’
Despite the frustration over Bolton’s position, Freedman finds it easy to relax. “I switch off immediately when I get home. My wife wouldn’t let me not switch off. Yes there are occasions when my mind drifts and I’m lonely, but when you are in my household with four kids, and it’s dinner-time or activities going on, I do switch off. There’s a manager who told me he had some time off so he went to see the Seven Wonders of the World – and at everyone he’s photographed on the phone. I said: ‘that’s not going to be me’.”
He manages to juggle work life and family life. “When I came to Manchester, my first job was to get the four kids in the same school – and make sure it’s timed so they are all doing cross-country at the same time! I’ve got a fantastic wife, Sarah, who takes care of the four kids wonderfully well and lets me get on with a very difficult job. I believe in what I’m doing. I can look myself in the mirror and say I’m proud of how I work and what I do and how I organise. When I hit the pillow I sleep well.”
When Freedman awakes on Wednesday, he will look forward to the Bridge. “In terms of playing Chelsea every season this gives the players a taste. This is what the great game of this country gives us. We can get put against teams from a different division with very different finances. We are playing one of the best teams in Europe. Chelsea are the best team in the country. The league says so. They’ve grown since Mr Mourinho got them last year. They will prove to a lot of people that they are the best team in this year.”
Chelsea will doubtless rotate. “Mr Mourinho works with 22, 23 players and no matter who he picks the chance of them being an international player will be very high. I’m going to say to the players: ‘We’ve worked hard for this. This is what you could be playing against.’ We will give Chelsea respect but we won’t be in fear of them. Mr Mourinho is one of the best in the business. He’s proved that many times. I’ll be encouraging my players but also I’ll be looking to my left to see how he’s moving, his actions towards what’s happening. I will be learning from this experience, growing from this experience, no matter the result.”
He will not arrive at the Bridge with any gift of wine for Mourinho. “I did take Sir Alex a bottle but I got a warning from him to bring one! I’m sure Mr Mourinho’s got enough bottles of wine. I’ll have a chat with him afterwards.’’
Why “Mr” Mourinho? “I call him Mr Mourinho because that’s the way I was brought up. It’s respect. If you dared called anybody you didn’t know by the first name, you’d get a clip around the ear.’’ With that, Freedman headed back past the famous photographs to his office, back to his long-term planning.
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