Bolton Wanderers v Watford Match Preview
Sep 8, 2006
Author: Paul Wilson

Reebok Stadium, Saturday 9th September, kick-off 3pm

Actions and Words

Aidy Boothroyd says a lot of things. Often what he says is quite interesting. Usually it is very insightful. And on more than the odd occasion, it’s a bit bonkers. But whatever he’s saying, you tend to listen. You tend to take notice. You tend to believe. So when he says Watford won’t be relegated, you accept it. After all, the man’s a genius, right? But the longer Watford go through this Premiership campaign without a win, the less credibility those comments will retain. Watford might be in the Premiership, but we haven’t really ARRIVED yet. One point from three games, whatever the controversies and misfortunes, is not the start we were hoping for. So it’s time for the talking to stop. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Talking of action, our three games so far have provided plenty of that. Terrible officiating, frequent use of the woodwork, and no shortage of goals have all contributed to an eventful opening to the season. The BBC have hardly been struggling to find enough highlights to fill Match of the Day. And the performances haven’t been too bad either. A spirited second half at Everton and a high quality showing at home to West Ham have demonstrated our ability to mix it at the top level. Even Man United were forced to grind out a narrow victory in a game where we didn’t perform anywhere near our best. So now we’ve somewhat tentatively felt our way into this division, it’s time to make some waves, to rattle a few cages and show the elite what we’re all about. There are few sides more adept at this than Bolton Wanderers.

The boys from Bolton started the season in typical fashion. Much-fancied Tottenham were sent packing from the Reebok Stadium after a very comfortable 2-0 victory for the home side, with the early goals provided by Kevin Davies and that renowned goal scorer Ivan Campo. However, successive away trips have been less fruitful. A tale of two penalties saw Wanderers pick up a 1-1 draw at Fulham, and a tale of many elbows saw them fall 2-0 to a Bent double at Charlton. As a result, troublesome target man Davies will miss out on facing the Hornets as he begins a 3-match ban, coupled with a fractured cheekbone. His replacement in the Bolton frontline? Only the £8m capture Nicolas Anelka, set to make his debut for his latest Premiership club. I still think Marlon King was better value at £500k, mind…

Bolton’s choice formation of recent times, 4-5-1, is under threat following the arrival of Anelka. However, with Davies now missing for some time, Sam Allardyce may bide his time before implementing the change in shape. Jussi Jaaskelainen remains the number one choice between the posts, keeping former England man Ian Walker on the bench. Ali Al Habsi and young custodian Chris Howarth provide further back up. The back line should feature Nicky Hunt, Abdoulaye Meite and Tal Ben Haim, but there are doubts over who will fill the left back spot after Henrik Pedersen suffered a recurrence of an Achilles injury. He is rated as very doubtful for this weekend’s game, and with Ricardo Gardner already on the sidelines, Quinton Fortune may return. Campo will fill the holding role in front of the back four, allowing veteran Gary Speed and captain Nolan to get into the box with every attack. The wide positions will likely be filled by the tricky and unpredictable pairing of Ricardo Vaz Te and El-Hadji Diouf, with Anelka taking up the central attacking role. Stelios Giannakopoulos misses out after suffering a groin injury whilst on international duty with Greece. Abdoulaye Faye and new signings Idan Tal and Andranik Teimourian may have to settle for bench duty. Youngsters Jaroslaw Fojut and Johann Smith have also been unused substitutes this season, but Joey O’Brien remains sidelined with a knee injury. As ever, Allardyce’s side remains one of the most multicultural in the Premiership, with the miraculous way they all blend together being one of the secrets of Bolton’s recent success.

For Watford, it is likely only Clarke Carlisle and Sheku Kamara will be unavailable for selection as they work back from knee injuries. With Ben Foster, Ashley Young and Tamas Priskin on international duty this week, Boothroyd will be hoping they all return unscathed. Tommy Smith is in line to make his second debut for the club after returning in a £500k deal from Derby just before the close of the transfer window. Much will be expected of the winger after he vowed to win over his doubters following an acrimonious departure in the summer of 2003. Assuming Aidy sticks by his attacking 4-4-2 formation, Smith and Young will take up the wide positions, switching flanks during the game. King and Darius Henderson will continue to lead the line, with Gavin Mahon, Damien Francis and Matthew Spring battling for the two central midfield slots. The defence should remain unchanged, whilst Foster will return between the sticks after being ineligible to face his parent club Manchester United two weeks ago.

A bit of stick for…NICOLAS ANELKA. It’s always nice to welcome a familiar face back to the Premiership. But will Nic make it into the second half before the toys leave the pram? And even if Anelka is behaving himself, the chances are EL-HADJI DIOUF won’t be.

Man to watch – KEVIN NOLAN. Continually overlooked for England duty, Nolan will be keen to show his international credentials. The heartbeat of the Bolton midfield, he has a real eye for goal and causes endless problems with his Spring-like surges into the opposition box.

It’s a fact – The 24-man senior Bolton squad contains no fewer than 17 nationalities. There are players from all of the following countries: Denmark, England (6), Finland, France, Greece, Iran, Israel (2), Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Senegal (2), South Africa, Spain and Wales.

Man in the middle – Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)

Expected line-ups:

Bolton (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Hunt, Meite, Ben Haim, Fortune; Diouf, Nolan, Campo, Speed, Vaz Te; Anelka.
Subs: Walker, Faye, Teimourian, Tal, Smith.

Watford (4-4-2): Foster; Doyley, DeMerit, Shittu, Powell; Smith, Francis, Mahon, Young; King, Henderson.
Subs: Lee, Mackay, Stewart, Spring, Bouazza.

Verdict – As much as I’d like to see Watford register their first mark in the win column, the Reebok Stadium will be a tough place to do so. Bolton are a far more elegant side than the media would have us all believe, as they demonstrated with a highly competent trouncing of us at the Vic last season. The absence of Davies is a bonus, but the filling of his vacancy with a player whose career transfer fees are pushing £100m just goes to show the financial chasm between established sides and the newly promoted. However, Watford will have had a full two weeks of preparation for this game, and, boosted by the arrival of Tommy Smith, should be able to pose enough problems of their own to force a draw.

COME ON YOU ‘ORNS!