Bored at work, let’s continue the season by season restrospective.
I really liked that team, should never have been relegated imo. Mauro Zarate, dramatic win at Spurs, Mikael Forssell’s hat-trick at home to Spurs.
One of my favourite kits.
We might have nabbed a point at Stamford Bridge on the opening day if it wasn’t for Colin Doyle’s paper wrists.
Was weak as piss at the back sadly, very error prone
Some exciting players mind
Seb's last gasp screamer at Spurs to win Mc'Leish's first game at Blues.
However, the one thing that drove me mad about that team was its inability to keep clean sheets. For instance allowing Derby a last minute equaliser at St Andrew's when every other team only had to turn up to beat them that season. Also, losing 5-1 at vile was unforgiveable.
To think we spanked Man City 3-1, Spurs 4-1 and Blackburn 4-1 on the last day, but still managed to get relegated. The fans turned their anger on Sullivan and Gold after that Blackburn game.
I didn't like that team, it got relegated.
Bar the two Tottenham games for the most part it was effing dogshit to watch. Liam Ridgewell at centre-half for most of it, had a ricket in him every game that bloke.
Didn't McLeish completely abandon away games?
A big reason why we went down.
Edit: We lost at Fulham, Wigan, Reading and Portsmouth in the last couple of months of the season.
It was Bruce in 2005-6 who abandoned away games. We scored 3 under SB after Christmas away from home and 1 of those was an own goal.
We were still terrible under McLeish away. You can't lose every game to the rest of the strugglers.
There was no experience in that defence at all, Ridgewell was awful that year, Djourou not much better, Schmitz (sp?) was pony . Wasn't a massive fan of Parnaby either, though Stephen Kelly was solid enough.
A few big, commanding, reliable centre backs and we might have been ok, but it always felt like we needed 2 or 3 goals to win a game
Exactly this, we were surprisingly free scoring for a McLeish team.
Yeah I think Djorou had the hump at the time because he wanted to play central midfield (was never going to happen).
Just surprised we didn't recruit better under the best owners we'd ever had.
Nikola Zigic- FEAExactly this, we were surprisingly free scoring for a McLeish team.
It was mad when he went to Villa Park and put Jerome right wing in a 442, with McFadden and Zarate up front. They ripped us to pieces. I think he had no faith in the defence at all. We went for Cahill in the Jan window and failed, then didn't get anyone else, it cost us badly.
Some good memories for me, started to go to most away in that season, worst one being losing to L1 Hudds in the FA Cup.
Spurs that season still in the top 10 of my away games
Bolton away with the Blue penguin, red shorts and socks combo.
That 5-1 game away at villa was the start of me knocking the 'you need to stay to the end and support the team' rule firmly on the head.
Haven't really looked back since. 😕
Le ModThere was no experience in that defence at all, Ridgewell was awful that year, Djourou not much better, Schmitz (sp?) was pony . Wasn't a massive fan of Parnaby either, though Stephen Kelly was solid enough.
A few big, commanding, reliable centre backs and we might have been ok, but it always felt like we needed 2 or 3 goals to win a game
Yep.
Stephen Kelly was fantastic that year, when I was actually pretty underwhelmed with him in 06/07. Ridgewell was utter garbage until Eck moved him to LB permanently.
If we'd signed Gary Cahill like we were meant to we'd never have gone down. If Bolton hadn't got a manager in as effective as Megson (no matter what their fans and people in general thought of him) we'd never have gone down, 'cos as much as anything those three points they took off us in December 2007 at the Reebok when they did us by three (it was nil all with about ten mins to go) were massive.
That Fulham team on paper should never have been in the relegation scrap, as Woy proved the following year.
TrialistBolton away with the Blue penguin, red shorts and socks combo.
We were about ten minutes away from getting what would have been a massive point that day mind.
The first eighty minutes (or thereabouts) were absolutely honking mind, and the weather was horrific.