The Bolton Wanderers were promoted to the Premier League in 2001, but it by no means has made their introduction to the Premier League easy. They are currently in fifteenth place and are regaining momentum with wins and a new coach. Owen Coyle, replaced Gary Megson in January, and brings with him a lot of experience that he acquired while bringing his former club Burnley into the Premier League last year. He also once played for the Wanderers in the mid 1990′s, according to premierleague.com. Also, Bolton is known to have one of the most hated men in English soccer, Kevin Davies. He began playing for Bolton in 2003, when he was onloan from the middle of the pack, Southampton. With the next match scheduled for March 6, the Wanderers will be facing the infamous West Ham United as they battle it out for three points.
Latin Latics: Wigan Athletic
Since the Wigan Athletic Latics were promoted to the Premier League in 2005 they have been struggling to be a major force in the Premiership. With their coach Roberto Martinez, the Wigan starting line up has gradually become more Latin American. Martinez, the former Wigan Athletic and Real Zargoza player himself, acquired players like Antonio Amaya, Hugo Rodallega, Maynor Figueroa, and Marcelo Moreno. The Wigan Athletic squad is becoming more and more predominantly from South America. Unfortunately, Wigan are only in Sixteenth place, but this could be because the star midfielder, Antonio Valencia, was traded to Manchester United and now Wigan have no offensive support. According to wiganlatics.co.uk, the dissapointing loss to Birmingham last week was caused by haunting decision by the referee. With the next match sheduled for March 8, Athletic hope to gain some of the three possible points against the premier league giants, Liverpool.
The New Wolf Pack
The newest addition to the premier league, Wolverhampton Wolves, has not been welcomed very warmly to the top English level. After winning the Coca Cola Championship, the Wolves were promoted once again since the upsetting season in 2004 when Wolverhampton was forced to move down. Their coach, Mick McCarthy, a former Manchester City and Celtic midfielder has a lot experience in top flight soccer. He was a Sunderland manager for a short time, until he took the lead role for Wolverhampton in March 2006. According to wolves.co.uk, McCarthy also was the head coach for the Republic of Ireland in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Currently the club has been having major problems gaining points away from home and with the next match scheduled for March 6, the Wolves will have an exhausting time against the league champions, Manchester United.
Where Is The Hole In Hull City?
The Hull City Tigers entered the Premiership in May 2008, and the have been one of the most inconsistent teams to date. Before their promotion, the Tigers had once been in the premier league and according to premierleague.com, Hull’s “ascent from the bottom of the football league to the top in just five seasons is the third fastest ever”. So how could such a successful club be so close to the relegation zone and ultimately end up descending to the Coca Cola Championship League? Even with the enthusiastic manager Phil Brown, the Tigers are losing at an alarming rate and this could be due to the number of injuries and inexperience. Jimmy Bullard, a key midfielder, unfortunately has experienced a trail of injuries and has still yet to prove he can play matches without injury. Also, the Tigers signed the American youngster, Jozy Altidore, but with only one goal in twenty matches his goal scoring form has much too be desired. With the next match against the everstronger Everton, Hull will battle for every opportunity to obtain three points.
The Burnley Clarets Cling
This is the first introduction to the premier league that Burnley has had in thirty three years. There rise to success was because of the charismatic coach, Owen Coyle, who left the club in January for a head coaching position with the Bolton Wanderers. Since then, the club has played worse with their new coach, Brian Laws. Burnley is deep into the relegation zone and is in second to last place, but they have had some success against the top four clubs like Manchester United. According to burnleyfootballclub.com, Burnley has given away too many points including last weeks loss to the last place team, Portsmouth. With the next match scheduled for March 6, the Clarets will be taking on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to obtain a possible three points against the soccer powerhouse.
Portsmouth: Start Climbing
Since their promotion to the premier league in 2003, Portsmouth has been one of the most inconsistent teams in English Football. For instance, now the club is in rock bottom last, but in 2008 they won the FA Cup and were allowed to participate in the Uefa Cup. Also, stars like Sol Campbell, David James, and Jermain Defoe were key players, but only David James is remaining because the others have been traded off. Additionally the club invested in the ex-Chelsea coach, Avram Grant, but things have only been worse according to premierleague.com. Last year Portsmouth finished the season far from the relegation zone, whereas now the are the first to enter the lower league, the Coca Cola Championship. With the next match scheduled for March 9 against the middle of the pack, Birmingham, Portsmouth will hope to earn all three points and begin to move away from the relegation zone.
