Bolton Holden out hope

Wednesday, 14/09/2011

by Emma Norris, Shoot's Bolton blogger

Following THAT result last Saturday, pundits and fans are already dubbing our clash with the newly promoted Canaries this weekend as must-win.

In all honesty, not many would disagree with that theory. Since our opening day demolition of Queens Park Rangers, we have failed to pick up a single point.

With those games coming against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United, it seems safe to say any level headed supporter would have gone into those matches hoping for a case of damaged limitations.

Against Roberto Mancini’s City side, we could have counted ourselves fairly unlucky not to have snatched a point. In the games that followed however, we just didn’t seem to be at the races for much of the time.

The transfer window came and went, and Coyle managed to bring in eight new faces in total. The signing of David Ngog from Liverpool could prove to be a masterstroke – a player who has never really been given a chance to prove himself at Anfield, it looks as though it could be his time to shine.

The Frenchman starred in the reserves’ 3-3 draw with Arsenal on Tuesday evening, notching an impressive brace alongside a strike from fellow summer signing Tuncay Sanli.

The most promising factor from the game however was that talismanic midfielder Stuart Holden completed a full 90 minutes for the first time since March. The USA international has played in a number of fixtures for the second string in previous weeks, but saw the game out under the watching eye of first team manager Owen Coyle.

A player who has been sorely missed since sustaining a serious knee injury six months ago, Holden’s return to the first team cannot come sooner. The 26-year-old’s infectious personality and general enthusiasm for the game makes him an instrumental part to Coyle’s plans for the current season, with many praying that he is back in the squad sooner rather than later.

The manager has stressed that he will not rush him back into action, but completing a full game is most definitely a giant step in the right direction. His timely return will give everybody a huge lift following an unfortunate start to the campaign, with Coyle comparing his impending return to that of signing a new £10m player.

Whether or not he makes his return this weekend remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – Holden himself will certainly be looking to make up for lost time.

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