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Eyes reddened with anger, shoulders slumped, Dougie Freedman knew the end was nigh when he fronted up to the local press on Wednesday night after a demoralising defeat to Fulham.
But it was what he said in the aftermath of that 4-0 hammering at Craven Cottage that prompted Eddie Davies to issue the order to terminate his time with Bolton Wanderers.
Club insiders were preparing for Freedman to take charge of today’s game, to run the gauntlet of fan-protests, until a story printed on the back page of The Bolton News hit the ether. The manager had admitted his players were not good enough.
Gears whirred into action and by Friday morning both parties had decided the time was right to make a clean break.
Freedman departed knowing he had done everything he could but that results and performances had been on a downward spiral for some time.
For while the Glaswegian’s long-term vision for Bolton Wanderers was impressive, it didn’t necessarily tally with what was going on at Euxton or in the corridors of the Macron Stadium.
His exit was not mourned by many insiders at the club who had taken exception to the disciplinarian approach he had adopted from day one.
At the academy in particular, the influence of Freedman’s right-hand man Jamie Fullarton had caused internal issues, many of which remain unresolved.
Freedman had brought through many young players at his former club Crystal Palace but was disappointed by the standards in Wanderers’ academy and not above launching the odd verbal grenade into the mix.
His words were not taken kindly – and nor did they square with the success that David Lee’s Under-18s were having on the pitch.
Promises were made to bring through younger players and Freedman actually gave more debuts to home-grown talent than any other manager in recent memory. But their stay in the first team was only temporary and just as squad rotation at senior level seemed to have a demoralising effect, so did the fact youngsters found themselves swiftly out of favour.
Having cast doubt on the Lostock academy early in the piece, a civil war was launched, and one Freedman was never going to win.
It percolated into first-team level where the rigorous and disciplined approach also rankled with some of the senior players.
Freedman’s promise showed through at times with his eye for a player but so did his inexperience in dealing with them.
Many believe he came to the club under false pretences, promised money to spend that never materialised. Privately, Freedman deeply regretted missing out on Lukas Jutkiewicz and Craig Dawson – two players he plucked from relative obscurity to become star performers.
He also oversaw the return to prominence of Tim Ream, Andy Lonergan, Matt Mills and Darren Pratley within the first-team ranks but those who fell foul of his rules were out, and stayed out.
Chris Eagles was a player he intended to build a team around and yet he ended up an outcast, so far had his relationship with the manager deteriorated.
The exit of club legend Kevin Davies was also grossly misjudged as his contract ticked down.
Freedman nearly got it right in his first season, the loan signing of Dawson sparking an incredible revival that saw the club miss out on a play-off place on the last day of the season.
That summer the asset-stripping began and having found success in the loan market, it was a trick he was expected to pull off time and time again as the club looked to cut costs.
Jutkiewicz’s arrival helped turn last season from a catastrophe into a mild disappointment.
But this season’s signings have failed to produce. The ever-diminishing pool of talent Freedman could draw on was running low and he knew it, prompting that ill-judged outburst on Wednesday night in West London.
Fans were unconvinced that he knew exactly what his best team was, and privately he was deeply concerned that the form of senior players was going to cost the club dear.
His attack on the quality he had to pick from may have been a last-gasp effort to cajole one final performance against Bournemouth but, alas, Davies had other plans.
The task of appointing a replacement now falls in the lap of under-fire chairman Phil Gartside, who can have few complaints with the criticism he has received for the last four appointments.
Gary Megson inherited a club in a poor Premier League position thanks to the failures of Sammy Lee after Sam Allardyce’s exit but one competing in the Uefa Cup with a healthy budget.
Owen Coyle picked up a club who had a fractured relationship with the supporters, mended it, but was then found wanting tactically as the Whites slipped out of the Premier League. He too spent money the club couldn’t afford.
Freedman’s time at Wanderers must also be judged as a failure – the question is, will the fury directed at him now be aimed higher up the ladder?
Source
But it was what he said in the aftermath of that 4-0 hammering at Craven Cottage that prompted Eddie Davies to issue the order to terminate his time with Bolton Wanderers.
Club insiders were preparing for Freedman to take charge of today’s game, to run the gauntlet of fan-protests, until a story printed on the back page of The Bolton News hit the ether. The manager had admitted his players were not good enough.
Gears whirred into action and by Friday morning both parties had decided the time was right to make a clean break.
Freedman departed knowing he had done everything he could but that results and performances had been on a downward spiral for some time.
For while the Glaswegian’s long-term vision for Bolton Wanderers was impressive, it didn’t necessarily tally with what was going on at Euxton or in the corridors of the Macron Stadium.
His exit was not mourned by many insiders at the club who had taken exception to the disciplinarian approach he had adopted from day one.
At the academy in particular, the influence of Freedman’s right-hand man Jamie Fullarton had caused internal issues, many of which remain unresolved.
Freedman had brought through many young players at his former club Crystal Palace but was disappointed by the standards in Wanderers’ academy and not above launching the odd verbal grenade into the mix.
His words were not taken kindly – and nor did they square with the success that David Lee’s Under-18s were having on the pitch.
Promises were made to bring through younger players and Freedman actually gave more debuts to home-grown talent than any other manager in recent memory. But their stay in the first team was only temporary and just as squad rotation at senior level seemed to have a demoralising effect, so did the fact youngsters found themselves swiftly out of favour.
Having cast doubt on the Lostock academy early in the piece, a civil war was launched, and one Freedman was never going to win.
It percolated into first-team level where the rigorous and disciplined approach also rankled with some of the senior players.
Freedman’s promise showed through at times with his eye for a player but so did his inexperience in dealing with them.
Many believe he came to the club under false pretences, promised money to spend that never materialised. Privately, Freedman deeply regretted missing out on Lukas Jutkiewicz and Craig Dawson – two players he plucked from relative obscurity to become star performers.
He also oversaw the return to prominence of Tim Ream, Andy Lonergan, Matt Mills and Darren Pratley within the first-team ranks but those who fell foul of his rules were out, and stayed out.
Chris Eagles was a player he intended to build a team around and yet he ended up an outcast, so far had his relationship with the manager deteriorated.
The exit of club legend Kevin Davies was also grossly misjudged as his contract ticked down.
Freedman nearly got it right in his first season, the loan signing of Dawson sparking an incredible revival that saw the club miss out on a play-off place on the last day of the season.
That summer the asset-stripping began and having found success in the loan market, it was a trick he was expected to pull off time and time again as the club looked to cut costs.
Jutkiewicz’s arrival helped turn last season from a catastrophe into a mild disappointment.
But this season’s signings have failed to produce. The ever-diminishing pool of talent Freedman could draw on was running low and he knew it, prompting that ill-judged outburst on Wednesday night in West London.
Fans were unconvinced that he knew exactly what his best team was, and privately he was deeply concerned that the form of senior players was going to cost the club dear.
His attack on the quality he had to pick from may have been a last-gasp effort to cajole one final performance against Bournemouth but, alas, Davies had other plans.
The task of appointing a replacement now falls in the lap of under-fire chairman Phil Gartside, who can have few complaints with the criticism he has received for the last four appointments.
Gary Megson inherited a club in a poor Premier League position thanks to the failures of Sammy Lee after Sam Allardyce’s exit but one competing in the Uefa Cup with a healthy budget.
Owen Coyle picked up a club who had a fractured relationship with the supporters, mended it, but was then found wanting tactically as the Whites slipped out of the Premier League. He too spent money the club couldn’t afford.
Freedman’s time at Wanderers must also be judged as a failure – the question is, will the fury directed at him now be aimed higher up the ladder?
Source
