2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Bolton Wanderers 10th season in the Premier League, and their eighth consecutive season in the top division of English football and covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. As they failed to win the 2008–09 Premier League title it was the 70th time that they have competed at the top level without winning the title, the most of any club.

Bolton Wanderers
2008–09 season
ChairmanPhil Gartside
ManagerGary Megson
StadiumReebok Stadium
Premier League13th
FA Cup3rd round
League Cup2nd round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Kevin Davies (12)
All:
Kevin Davies (12)
Highest home attendance26,021 v
Manchester United
(17 January 2009)
Lowest home attendance19,884 v
Portsmouth
(20 December 2008)

The team kit for the 2008–09 season was produced by Reebok who were also the shirt sponsor. Unlike previous seasons, the new kit did not debut in the final home game of the 07–08 season. The new home kit is predominantly white with a blue upper third going over the shoulders. The new away kit is predominantly yellow with the same style over the shoulders, this time green. Due to no other club playing in a kit similar to the away design, no third choice kit was needed.

Pre-season

Bolton signed Fabrice Muamba from relegated Birmingham City for £5m and broke the club transfer fee record to sign Johan Elmander from Toulouse FC for £8.2m in a deal which saw Daniel Braaten move the other way as a makeweight. Riga Mustapha and Danny Shittu were also signed for undisclosed figures. Both Iván Campo and Stelios Giannakopoulos did not have their contracts renewed, leading Campo to write a public letter to Bolton fans on a website, expressing his regret at not being able to say goodbye to them.[1] He would later join Ipswich Town whilst Stelios joined Hull City. Andranik Teymourian also left on a free, joining Fulham, Abdoulaye Méïté joined recently promoted West Bromwich Albion for £2m and El Hadji Diouf made good his promise that he would leave the club[2] by joining Sunderland for £2.6m.

Bolton kicked off their pre-season programme by drawing 0–0 at local rivals Rochdale. Their next pre-season friendly, away to Tranmere Rovers was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. A convincing 5–0 defeat of Doncaster Rovers by a mostly first team squad was followed the next day by a mostly reserve squad beating local team Chorley 2–0. Pre-season was completed by a mini-tour of Greece, drawing 1–1 against previous UEFA Cup opponents Aris Thessaloniki before losing to AEK Athens 1–0.

25 July 2008 Rochdale0–0Bolton WanderersSpotland Stadium
Report Attendance: 2,576
Referee: K. Hill
26 July 2008 Macclesfield Town1–0Bolton WanderersMoss Rose
Hessey  70' Report Attendance: 1,023
Referee: Andre Marriner
29 July 2008 Tranmere RoversA – ABolton WanderersPrenton Park
Report
1 August 2008 Doncaster Rovers0–5Bolton WanderersKeepmoat Stadium
Report K.Davies  5'
Elmander  11', 72'
Muamba  33'
J.O'Brien  35'
2 August 2008 Chorley0–2Bolton WanderersVictory Park
Report Džemaili  56'
Riga  85'		 Attendance: 949
4 August 2008 Aris F.C.1–1Bolton WanderersKleanthis Vikelidis Stadium
Javito  90+2' Report McCann  81'
8 August 2008 AEK Athens1–0Bolton WanderersOlympic Stadium
Hetemaj  19' Report

Premier League
Main article: 2008–09 Premier League

Bolton got off to a winning start in the league opener at the Reebok Stadium against newly promoted Stoke City on 16 August, Gretar Steinsson and Kevin Davies scoring before Johan Elmander scored a debut goal in a 3–1 victory.

A week later Bolton travelled to Newcastle United but left with a 1–0 defeat. This was followed four days later by a home 2–1 Carling Cup defeat to League One side Northampton Town, a result not helped by the sending off of Gary Cahill. Bolton's first goalless draw of the season followed when West Bromwich Albion visited The Reebok.

After an international break, Bolton returned to action by facing Fulham at Craven Cottage but performed poorly in another 2–1 defeat, Kevin Davies scoring late on. Davies scored again a week later when Arsenal visited the Reebok Stadium but it was not enough in a 3–1 defeat. A third consecutive defeat came at Premier League champions Manchester United, a converted penalty, given in controversial circumstances, one of the goals in a 2–0 defeat.[3]

Bolton's second victory of the season came in the live game at West Ham on 4 October, Gary Cahill and a thirty five-yard free kick from Matthew Taylor adding to Kevin Davies' fourth goal of the season. A week later the local derby against Blackburn brought Bolton their second goalless draw.

The first reported murmurings of discontent amongst the fans against the manager followed a 2–0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in Harry Redknapp's first game in charge of the home team on 26 October.[4] and the team were jeered off after a last minute goal consigned them to another defeat on 29 October, 1–0 at home to Everton.[5]

The pressure was eased somewhat with a 2–0 derby victory over Manchester City on 2 November, a Richard Dunne own-goal adding to Ricardo Gardner's first league goal in six years. The match marked Jussi Jääskeläinen's 400th game for the club. A second successive win followed the week after, 1–0 away at Hull City and although a 2–0 followed at home to Liverpool, two more victories away at Middlesbrough and Sunderland brought the manager his first manager of the month award in the Premier League.[6]

Winning the award seemed to have a detrimental effect on the team as two successive defeats followed to high flying Chelsea and Aston Villa. The club's only victory of the month, 2–1 at home to Portsmouth was followed by two more defeats, a Boxing Day loss away to Liverpool and two days later at home to local rivals Wigan Athletic.

The New Year commenced with an early FA Cup defeat away to Sunderland. A week later Bolton held out for 84 minutes before losing 1–0 away at Arsenal. Another conceded late goal at home to Manchester United, this time in the 90th minute, made it four losses in a row but the run halted in the next game, a 2–2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers, now managed by former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce, although Bolton had been two goals up with half an hour left. A similar fate almost befell the team in the next home game against Tottenham Hotspur, Darren Bent scoring twice in two minutes to cancel out early goals from Sébastien Puygrenier and Kevin Davies. However, a late Davies goal gave Bolton their first win in more than a month.

The January transfer window saw three new players arrive and one player leave. Kevin Nolan, the team captain for three years, was sold to Newcastle United for £4,000,000. Kevin Davies replaced him as captain. Mark Davies arrived from Wolves for £1,200,000 and two loan signings, Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula arrived from Zenit St. Petersburg and Benfica respectively.

Due to international fixtures and the club's early departure from the FA Cup, only two games were played in February, a 3–0 away defeat to Everton and a 2–1 victory over West Ham, Bolton completing a double over the London side. Kevin Davies' goal in this game gave him his best ever goal haul for the season in league games in the top flight. He would go on to score twice more and finished the season as the club's leading marksman.

March saw four points collected, through a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United and a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich. These results bookended two successive defeats, a 2–0 away defeat to Stoke City and a 3–1 reverse to Fulham.

In April, a 4–1 win over Middlesbrough at the Reebok Stadium at the very beginning of the month would prove to be Bolton's last victory of the season. The week after, a visit to Chelsea saw Bolton recover from four goals down to almost snatch a draw, an injury time shot by Gary Cahill being cleared off the Chelsea line. A 1–0 result at Portsmouth was then followed by four successive draws stretching into May, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Hull City taking points at the Reebok whilst a local derby at Wigan Athletic. The season finished with a 1–0 derby defeat at Manchester City

Matches

Results by matchday
Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHAHAAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHHA
ResultWLDLLLWDLLWWLWWLLWLLLLDWLWWLLDWLLDDDDL
Position3991416171615161917101312991191011131416121412101112121212131312131313
Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
16 August 2008 Bolton Wanderers3–1Stoke CityReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Steinsson  34'
K.Davies  41'
Elmander  45'		 Report Fuller  90+3' Attendance: 22,717
Referee: Chris Foy
23 August 2008 Newcastle United1–0Bolton WanderersSt James' Park
15:00 BST Owen  71' Report Attendance: 47,711
Referee: Steve Bennett
30 August 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–0West Bromwich AlbionReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Report Attendance: 20,387
Referee: Keith Stroud
13 September 2008 Fulham2–1Bolton WanderersCraven Cottage
15:00 BST Gera  15'
Zamora  41'		 Report K.Davies  82' Attendance: 23,656
Referee: Steve Tanner
20 September 2008 Bolton Wanderers1–3ArsenalReebok Stadium
17:30 BST K.Davies  14' Report Eboué  26'
Bendtner  27'
Denílson  87'		 Attendance: 22,694
Referee: Steve Bennett
27 September 2008 Manchester United2–0Bolton WanderersOld Trafford
15:00 BST Ronaldo  60' (pen.)
Rooney  77'		 Report Attendance: 75,484
Referee: Rob Styles
5 October 2008 West Ham United1–3Bolton WanderersBoleyn Ground
13:30 BST Cole  69' Report K.Davies  30'
Cahill  34'
Taylor  86'		 Attendance: 33,715
Referee: Mike Dean
18 October 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–0Blackburn RoversReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Report Attendance: 24,778
Referee: Howard Webb
26 October 2008 Tottenham Hotspur2–0Bolton WanderersWhite Hart Lane
15:00 GMT Pavlyuchenko  17'
Bent  76' (pen.)		 Report Attendance: 35,507
Referee: Andre Marriner
29 October 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–1EvertonReebok Stadium
20:00 GMT Fellaini  90' Report Attendance: 21,692
Referee: Phil Dowd
2 November 2008 Bolton Wanderers2–0Manchester CityReebok Stadium
16:00 GMT Gardner  77'
Dunne  88' (o.g.)		 Report Attendance: 21,095
Referee: Mike Riley
8 November 2008 Hull City0–1Bolton WanderersKC Stadium
15:00 GMT Report Taylor  50' Attendance: 24,903
Referee: Alan Wiley
15 November 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–2LiverpoolReebok Stadium
13:30 GMT Report Kuyt  28'
Gerrard  73'		 Attendance: 24,893
Referee: Rob Styles
22 November 2008 Middlesbrough1–3Bolton WanderersRiverside Stadium
15:00 GMT Pogatetz  77' Report K.Davies  8'
Taylor  10'
Elmander  78'		 Attendance: 24,487
Referee: Martin Atkinson
29 November 2008 Sunderland1–4Bolton WanderersStadium of Light
15:00 GMT Cissé  11' Report Taylor  18'
Cahill  21'
Elmander  39', 55'		 Attendance: 35,547
Referee: Chris Foy
6 December 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–2ChelseaReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT Report Anelka  9'
Deco  21'		 Attendance: 22,023
Referee: Howard Webb
13 December 2008 Aston Villa4–2Bolton WanderersVilla Park
15:00 GMT Agbonlahor  25', 67'
K.Davies  40' (o.g.)
Young  78'		 Report Elmander  17'
K.Davies  86'		 Attendance: 35,134
Referee: Alan Wiley
20 December 2008 Bolton Wanderers2–1PortsmouthReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT Taylor  1'
Gardner  3'		 Report Crouch  20' Attendance: 19,884
Referee: Martin Atkinson
26 December 2008 Liverpool3–0Bolton WanderersAnfield
15:00 GMT Riera  26'
Keane  53', 58'		 Report Attendance: 43,548
Referee: Alan Wiley
28 December 2008 Bolton Wanderers0–1Wigan AthleticReebok Stadium
14:00 GMT Report Zaki  44' (pen.) Attendance: 23,726
Referee: Phil Dowd
10 January 2009 Arsenal1–0Bolton WanderersEmirates Stadium
15:00 GMT Bendtner  84' Report Attendance: 60,068
Referee: Chris Foy
17 January 2009 Bolton Wanderers0–1Manchester UnitedReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT Report Berbatov  90' Attendance: 26,021
Referee: Andre Marriner
28 January 2009 Blackburn Rovers2–2Bolton WanderersEwood Park
20:00 GMT Warnock  66'
McCarthy  87'		 Report Taylor  15'
K.Davies  35'		 Attendance: 25,205
Referee: Mike Dean
31 January 2009 Bolton Wanderers3–2Tottenham HotspurReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT Puygrenier  31'
K.Davies  64', 87'		 Report Bent  73', 75' Attendance: 21,575
Referee: Phil Dowd
7 February 2009 Everton3–0Bolton WanderersGoodison Park
15:00 GMT Arteta  40' (pen.)
Jô  49', 90+4'		 Report Attendance: 33,791
Referee: Peter Walton
21 February 2009 Bolton Wanderers2–1West Ham UnitedReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT Taylor  10'
K.Davies  11'		 Report Parker  66' Attendance: 21,245
Referee: Steve Tanner
1 March 2009 Bolton Wanderers1–0Newcastle UnitedReebok Stadium
13:00 GMT Gardner  47' Report Attendance: 20,763
Referee: Alan Wiley
4 March 2009 Stoke City2–0Bolton WanderersBritannia Stadium
19:45 GMT Beattie  14'
Fuller  73'		 Report Attendance: 26,319
Referee: Mike Dean
14 March 2009 Bolton Wanderers1–3FulhamReebok Stadium
15:00 GMT K.Davies  45+1' Report Johnson  42'
S.Davies  56'
Kamara  88'		 Attendance: 22,117
Referee: Rob Styles
21 March 2009 West Bromwich Albion1–1Bolton WanderersThe Hawthorns
15:00 GMT Shittu  82' (o.g.) Report Taylor  67' Attendance: 25,530
Referee: Howard Webb
4 April 2009 Bolton Wanderers4–1MiddlesbroughReebok Stadium
15:00 BST K.Davies  8'
Cahill  44'
Taylor  78'
Gardner  84'		 Report O'Neil  38' Attendance: 20,819
Referee: Alan Wiley
11 April 2009 Chelsea4–3Bolton WanderersStamford Bridge
15:00 BST Ballack  40'
Drogba  48', 63'
Lampard  60' (pen)		 Report A.O'Brien  70'
Basham  74'
Taylor  78'		 Attendance: 41,096
Referee: Peter Walton
18 April 2009 Portsmouth1–0Bolton WanderersFratton Park
15:00 BST Kanu  78' Report Attendance: 20,158
Referee: Phil Dowd
25 April 2009 Bolton Wanderers1–1Aston VillaReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Cohen  60' Report Young  43' Attendance: 21,709
Referee: Lee Probert
2 May 2009 Wigan Athletic0–0Bolton WanderersJJB Stadium
15:00 BST Report Attendance: 18,655
Referee: Mike Jones
9 May 2009 Bolton Wanderers0–0SunderlandReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Report Attendance: 24,005
Referee: Rob Styles
16 May 2009 Bolton Wanderers1–1Hull CityReebok Stadium
15:00 BST Steinsson  78' Report Fagan  47' Attendance: 25,085
Referee: Peter Walton
24 May 2009 Manchester City1–0Bolton WanderersCity of Manchester Stadium
16:00 BST Felipe Caicedo  8' Report Attendance: 47,202
Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Wigan Athletic 38 12 9 17 34 45 −11 45
12 Stoke City 38 12 9 17 38 55 −17 45
13 Bolton Wanderers 38 11 8 19 41 53 −12 41
14 Portsmouth 38 10 11 17 38 57 −19 41
15 Blackburn Rovers 38 10 11 17 40 60 −20 41
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

FA Cup
3 January 2009 Sunderland2–1Bolton WanderersStadium of Light
15:00 GMT Jones  57'
Cissé  67'		 Report Smolarek  79' Attendance: 20,685
Referee: Steve Bennett

League Cup
26 August 2008 Bolton Wanderers1–2Northampton TownReebok Stadium
20:00 BST Nolan  82' Report Akinfenwa  22' (pen.), 28' Attendance: 7,136
Referee: Graham Laws

Squad statistics
No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1GK Ádám Bogdán 0000000000
2DF Nicky Hunt 0000000010
3DF Jlloyd Samuel 380101040030
4MF Kevin Nolan 2001011221100
5DF Gary Cahill 323100033311
6MF Fabrice Muamba 380101040060
7MF Matthew Taylor 34101000351040
8U Joey O'Brien 7000108010
9FW Johan Elmander 29510030510
10FW Euzebiusz Smolarek 130110014010
11MF Ricardo Gardner 284101030410
12GK Ian Walker 0000000000
14FW Kevin Davies 38121010401240
15DF Grétar Steinsson 373101039380
16MF Mark Davies 10000000030
17MF Riga Mustapha 180101020010
18FW Heiðar Helguson 1000100000
18DF Sébastien Puygrenier 7100007110
19MF Gavin McCann 330001034081
20FW Ricardo Vaz Tê 2000002000
21FW Ariza Makukula 6000006010
22GK Jussi Jääskeläinen 380101040030
23MF Blerim Džemaili 0000000000
24DF Danny Shittu 90101011020
25MF Tamir Cohen 4000004010
26GK Ali Al-Habsi 0000000000
27DF James Sinclair 0000000000
28DF Jarosław Fojut 0000000000
29FW Zoltán Harsányi 0000000000
30U Chris Basham 110000011100
31DF Andy O'Brien 341101036150
35FW Tope Obadeyi 3000003000
43FW Nathan Woolfe 0000000000
––Own goals –1–0–0–1

Statistics accurate as of match played 24 May 2009

Transfers

In
Date Pos. Name From Fee
1 July 2008 MF Fabrice Muamba Birmingham City £5,000,000[7]
1 July 2008 FW Johan Elmander Toulouse near £10,000,000[8]
28 July 2008 MF Riga Mustapha Levante Undisclosed[9]
6 August 2008 DF Danny Shittu Watford Undisclosed[10]
26 January 2009 MF Mark Davies Wolverhampton Wanderers Undisclosed[11]

Out
Date Pos. Name To Fee
1 July 2008 DF Mark Ellis Torquay United Free
1 July 2008 FW Johann Smith Toronto FC Free[12]
1 July 2008 MF Stelios Giannakopoulos Hull City Free[13]
1 July 2008 MF Iván Campo Ipswich Town Free[14]
1 July 2008 MF Andranik Teymourian Fulham Free[15]
1 July 2008 MF Daniel Braaten Toulouse p/x[16]
28 July 2008 MF El Hadji Diouf Sunderland £2,500,000[17]
10 August 2008 DF Abdoulaye Méïté West Bromwich Albion £2,000,000[18]
11 December 2008 GK Ian Walker Released Free[19]
2 January 2009 FW Heiðar Helguson Queens Park Rangers Undisclosed[20]
30 January 2009 MF Kevin Nolan Newcastle United £4,000,000[21]
12 February 2009 DF Jarosław Fojut Śląsk Wrocław Undisclosed[22]

Loan in
Date from Date to Pos. Name From
29 August 2008 30 June 2009 FW Ebi Smolarek Racing de Santander[23]
9 January 2009 30 June 2009 DF Sébastien Puygrenier Zenit Saint Petersburg[24]
16 January 2009 30 June 2009 FW Ariza Makukula Benfica[25]

Loan out
Date from Date to Pos. Name To
1 September 2008 30 June 2009 MF Blerim Džemaili Torino[26]
3 November 2008 31 December 2008 DF Nicky Hunt Birmingham City[27][28]
13 November 2008 15 February 2009 FW Nathan Woolfe Wrexham[29]
28 November 2008 1 January 2009 FW Heiðar Helguson Queens Park Rangers[30]

Kit Profile

Supplier: Reebok
Sponsor(s): Reebok

Home Strip
Away Strip

References
  1. An Open Letter To The Fans Of Bolton Wanderers by Ivan Campo
  2. "I am definitely leaving Bolton – Diouf". BBC Sport. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  3. "Ref Styles admits penalty mistake". BBC Sport. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  4. "The dream fixture that turned into a nightmare". The Bolton News. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  5. Smith, Mason (30 October 2008). "'Criminal' Bolton allow Fellaini to steal the spoils". London: Guardian Online. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  6. "Megson Lands First Monthly Award". www.bwfc.co.uk. 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  7. "Bolton splash out £5m on Muamba". BBC Sport. London. 16 June 2008.
  8. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/jun/27/bolton.elmander
  9. "Trotters strike Riga deal". Sky Sports. London. 28 July 2008.
  10. "Trotters complete Shittu deal". Sky Sports. London. 6 August 2008.
  11. "Davies joins Bolton from Wolves". BBC Sport. London. 26 January 2009.
  12. "Toronto FC Signs Young Striker Smith". The Sports Network. 15 August 2008.
  13. "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  14. "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  15. "Campo goes as Bolton release trio". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008.
  16. "Bolton sign £10m-rated Elmander". BBC Sport. 27 June 2008.
  17. "Diouf completes Sunderland switch". BBC Sport. 28 July 2008.
  18. "West Brom take Meite from Bolton". BBC Sport. 10 August 2008.
  19. "Keeper leaves Bolton". Sky Sports. 11 December 2008.
  20. "Helguson seals permanent QPR deal". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009.
  21. "Nolan completes Newcastle switch". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009.
  22. "Fojut heading home". Sky Sports. 12 February 2009.
  23. "Bolton seal Smolarek deal". SkySports. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  24. "Defender Puygrenier joins Bolton". BBC Sport. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  25. "Makukula secures Bolton loan move". BBC Sport. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  26. "Dzemaili leaves Bolton for Torino". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008.
  27. "Birmingham sign Hunt in loan deal". BBC Sport. 3 November 2008.
  28. "Bolton end Hunt's Birmingham loan". BBC Sport. 30 December 2008.
  29. "Midfield duo tie up Wrexham loan". BBC Sport. 13 November 2008.
  30. "Helguson seals QPR move". Sky Sports. 28 November 2008.
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