In my view Bolton boss Owen Coyle is one of the brightest coaches in the Premier League.
He is a straightforward guy who tells it like it is but he is also one of the games thinkers.
However his Bolton side have been on a terrible run of form recently and currently find themselves in 19th in the Premier League.
Luck
Bolton have had terrible luck in recent weeks and the officials haven’t helped them either. For the past two weekends the Trotters have had players sent-off in questionable circumstances. The worse luck they have had however is with injuries.
Two of their star players from last season midfielders Stuart Holden and Chung-Yong Lee are both long-term casualties. Both of those players have shown themselves to be well worthy of the Premier League and were outstanding for Wanderers last season.
Any team would struggle if they lost arguably their two best players. It’s not like Owen Coyle has a massive squad to replace the pair either, so he has to carry on and try to ground out results.
Basics
The team need to get back to the basics that made Bolton so strong under Sam Allardyce. Owen Coyle brought in more of an expansive style of football at Bolton last season but the loss of Holden, Lee and to a certain extent Johan Elmander in the summer means they can’t currently play that way.
The players the Scot has left are not as good on the ball as the two injured stars and that means Coyle will need to adapt Bolton’s playing style to the players available. Coyle seems like he doesn’t want to adapt the style of play though and that could be his downfall at the Reebok Stadium.
Backing
Coyle has received the backing of Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, who via Twitter asked the fans to get behind Coyle and their team. The Wanderers chairman also said it wasn’t a vote of confidence. Usually when chairmen come out in support of a manager with a dreaded vote of confidence he is sacked soon afterwards.
Sunderland chairman Ellis Short recently came out and backed Steve Bruce before sacking him just a few days later. However I like Owen Coyle and I believe he is trying to play the right way with a club who were famed for their physical approach to the game.
A lot of the Wanderers fans are blaming the board and chairman for the clubs slump this season because Coyle hasn’t been given funds to strengthen his very small squad. I think that’s quite a fair point of view to be honest. Coyle lost Elmander, who was just hitting form, for nothing in the summer and wasn’t given any money to replace him.
If the Bolton want Coyle to be successful they need to start backing in the transfer market. He has been quite shrewd in the transfer market bringing in the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker and Stuart Holden both on free transfer.
However you can’t build a successful Premier League team on free transfers anymore. You need financial muscle behind you. Unfortunately it seems that Bolton are unable or unwilling to provide Coyle with funds, which is sad for Coyle and the club.
Survival
I have to say some Bolton fans are acting like the club is bottom of the Premier League table and cut adrift. Bolton are second from bottom but they are just two points away from safety. I think Owen Coyle should be allowed a bit more time in charge of the club to try to turn things around.
If the results don’t improve then I think the club will probably dispense with his services. However if they do sack Coyle I’m sure there will be a line of clubs waiting to appoint him. He won’t be out of a job for long and I believe he will be successful in the future.
Should Bolton Wanderers sack Owen Coyle?
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