Monday 29 October 2007

the Ipswich phenonema

One minute you're singing "we are the tractor boys", or something inane like that, and pulling one over Milan in the UEFA cup, then before you know it you are staring the championship playoffs right in the face. Bolton could well prove to be this year's Ipswich.

There are two crucial differences of course. The first taking the sullen, sulky, profile of Nicholas Anelka. Ipswich were not blessed with an embarresment of riches up front. But if Anelka turns out and plays week in week out, and "does what everybody knows he can do" then things might not appear so bleak after all.

On the other hand the second difference is the coach. Ipswich were guided by the reliable, occaisonally brilliant, George Burley, Bolton are lumped with Gary Megson. Megson's problem is not that he's a "ginger headed twat". That is just gingerist prejudice. It is more that, statistically, he only wins roughly 2 out of every 3 games. Reduce that by half for the premiership. That makes Bolton relegation fodder, or thereabouts, after the start they have had to the season. Given this record it seems that lots of Bolton's hopes rest with Nicolas Anelka this season.

The other big difference between the two teams, that will have no bearing on where they finish this season, is that Ipswich in their day attracted lots of neutral support. They are rural, and little, and nice, and play 'good' football. They even won the fair play league. Only Norwich saw fit to hate them. None of these could be accurately levelled at Bolton.

Ugh! while typing this just imagined Delia Smith and Sam Allardyce in the sack. I need to go and bleach my brain now.

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