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Whether or not Owen Coyle’s Bolton side can maintain their push for a Champions League place, the Trotters’ achievements thus far this season are not to be laughed at. They are this season’s surprise packet and their rise up the Premier League table has come as a result of a new footballing philosophy at the Reebok Stadium.

Ex-Bolton Boss Sam Allardyce imbued his players with toughness and a steel that brought Bolton years of success, but his tactics also brought with them complaints from opponents that his team was too ‘dirty’ or not a proper footballing side. I do not mean to belittle Allardyce’s achievements with the club, but if I had to pick between watching Sam’s Bolton or Owen’s Bolton, then it would be a no-brainer.

Bolton are an aesthetically pleasing team this season. Their passing and moving is a joy to watch and their focus on free-flowing attacking football is reaping dividends. That Coyle has managed to impart his own attacking philosophy unto the club in such a short period of time is nothing short of miraculous.

Coyle knows exactly how he wants his team to play and will no doubt be extremely proud of what his team has managed to achieve thus far. The old Bolton tended to focus too much on the physical side of the game. The new Bolton is tough, but they aren’t overly physical. This side is more likely to pass you off the pitch than kick you off the pitch.

Bet on Bolton at 6/1 to draw 1-1 at Manchester City

The atmosphere in Coyle’s dressing room also seems to be significantly more light-hearted than what you might expect in a dressing room patrolled by Sam Allardyce. Coyle has even gone so far as to suggest that the secret behind Bolton’s recent success is a dressing room prank. It turns out the Trotters pass time in the changing rooms with games of rock, paper, scissors. Who’d have thought?

Coyle told the Press that changing room antics like this were indicative of the “great spirit in this group.” He went on to say, “It is clear that the team are enjoying each other’s company, as this shows in their recent results.”

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There’s a real spirit and sense of unity about this Bolton side. Whilst players like Johan Elmander have stuck out this season, it’s their performances as a team that has seen them on their way to success this season. Bolton’s transformation has been remarkable and their style of play should be encouraged and respected.

If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter

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After 36 games of the season, Dagenham and Redbridge FC were languishing on just 31 points, four adrift of safety and rock bottom of the Football League.

However since then, a revival has seen us safe in 19th place in the table and what a rollercoaster of a season it has been.

Losing just one of the last 10 games has certainly felt like watching a different team in a different season, epitomised by our biggest win of the season on Saturday, a 4-0 victory over Bristol Rovers.

Why has this happened? The biggest issue has been injuries. Nine operations have besieged the Daggers squad. That’s a challenge for any club let alone one of the smallest in the Football League.

The amazing promotion form in the last 10 games of the season has coincided with the return of players capable of forming a genuinely competitive squad, giving John Still options not only on the pitch but from the substitute bench as well.

One other reason I can give, perhaps controversially, is a bit of a hangover from missing out on a 2nd season in League One by a single point. Such a fantastic effort by the players when the critics had dismissed any hope of survival deserved a higher placed finish. The third and final difference is improvement in both boxes. Too many times this season the Daggers have been the better team in a match, only to succumb to defeat by missing chances or stupid mistakes at crucial times.

Whilst all players deserve credit, the spine of the team in the past 10 games has been fantastic. Chris Lewington, playing his first season as number one goalkeeper in the football league has been immense. I haven’t seen a better shot-stopper in the entire league. Mathieu Baudry has come in from Bournemouth on loan and frankly looked two levels too good for League Two, let alone one. Without doubt the best defender I’ve seen to have put on the beloved red and blue shirt.

In midfield, probably our most high profile player: Michael Spillane. He has shown since he joined he is more than technically able to unlock defences and score goals himself, despite coming here primarily as a defender. While in attack, former forklift truck driver Brian Woodall has scored some great goals, his attitude on the pitch represents the sort of spirit John Still looks for in a player. Great credit should go to the manager for these performances. Despite taking a lot of criticism this season the club did the right thing in my opinion by sticking with him, bucking the trend in the Football League. He discovers players with little to no resources, and moulds them into better ones.

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The summer will see the age old problem for the Daggers: keeping hold of our best players. Brian Woodall has already been linked with a string of Championship clubs. I for one hope he doesn’t go. For clubs like ours, September 1st and the end of the transfer window cannot come quick enough. If (and it’s a big if) this squad can be kept together I see no reason why we can’t be challenging for the play offs next season. Bright times are ahead.

You can follow me on Twitter @scottycrowe92 for even more Daggers discussion

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Federico Macheda ’s return from Italy and recent statement of his determination to ‘prove his worth to Fergie’ should have been exactly what most United fans wanted to hear.

A young striker with bags of potential, who’s already proven he has the raw ability to be a future star, declaring his eagerness to fight for his place would be welcomed with open arms at most clubs.

Manchester United isn’t most clubs and the simple facts are that Macheda could well find himself number six in the Old Trafford striking pecking order. Danny Welbeck ’s recent brace at the European Under 21 Championships in Denmark showed that he’s put his injury problems behind him and is now back to full fitness.

Despite all the rumours and conjecture surrounding Dimitar Berbatov the Bulgarian still remains a United player and after finishing last season with the Premier League Golden Boot, who’s to say that he won’t be at Old Trafford come the start of the next campaign.

Michael Owen took time off winning me money at Ascot to put pen to paper on a new one year deal and it’s pretty safe to assume that Wayne Rooney will be flexing his new barnet at United come August.

Oh and let’s not forget about Mame Biram Diouf who managed six goals in just under 30 appearances for Blackburn last season and is still a Manchester United player.

That just leaves Chicharito who’s taken time off from scoring a ridiculous amount of goals for United to score a ridiculous amount of goals for Mexico in the Gold Cup.

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That makes seven strikers at Sir Alex’s disposal next season, all with a reason to expect some form of consideration for the first team.

Admittedly with no goals in his 14 Sampdoria loan spell, Macheda may have a bit of hope rather than any expectation but with a good pre-season he may just gatecrash the striker party.

The question is “how can Sir Alex realistically expect to juggle so many attackers without either losing any form of continuity or upsetting certain players to the degree it has a negative affect on the team?”

Last season United were lucky in the fact that Dimitar Berbatov’s purple patch coincided with Wayne Rooney’s cabbage one, plus there was still a degree of uncertainty as to exactly how awesome Chicharito was.

Then there was Owen’s injury problems coupled with the fact he was more than willing to play practically any role asked of him, regardless of minimal it was.

Last season United’s most effective strike force- at least towards the business end was Chicharito up top with Rooney playing a deeper role.

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If Sir Alex was to use this partnership for the big games then that would still leave five strikers with only cameo roles to keep them happy. Of course it’s a long season and let’s not forget in 1999 Andy Cole Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all played their part.

Then there’s the likelihood that Macheda will be loaned out again at some point, probably to a Premier League side, ditto Diouf if he’s not sold on a permanent deal.

Even if Macheda and Diouf are sold/loaned Fergie will still have a job keeping everyone happy, but when it comes to a problem facing the United boss, it’s a better one than worrying about how to accommodate a £50 million flop.

Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High

Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney insists that his long-term future lies at Old Trafford, having recently put pen to paper on a new five-year contract after threatening to leave the club.

The 25-year-old England striker has had to live with suggestions that he only signed on to ensure that United would get a good price for him when he quits the Red Devils, but Rooney says that that is not the case.

He told the club's official website:"I read that I've agreed a new deal so that the club can agree a higher price with a different team somewhere down the line, which was a load of rubbish.

"I signed a new deal to stay here for the long-term future with United. I always made it clear I wanted to be at this club.

"I had my concerns and voiced my opinion, but at the end of the day I'm delighted that my long-term future is at United.

"I want to help the young players the way Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes have helped me. I want to be here and to continue to make this club successful.

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"I can understand fans' frustrations with the contract negotiations, obviously it happened in the public eye which made it difficult, but at the end of the day the main thing is for myself and the club was that we managed to agree that deal.

"I've signed a new deal to stay here and my long-term future is at United."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has admitted that the Merseyside club are in crisis, and feels the side are becoming a laughing stock due to poor form.

Kenny Dalglish’s men have only won two Premier League games out of 12 in 2012, with six defeats in their last seven matches a new record low for the team.

Aldridge feels that the situation is dire, and that a solution must be found.

“There is no getting away from the fact that Liverpool are now in a crisis,” Aldridge is quoted as saying in Mirror Football.

“The eyes of the world are on Liverpool and the critics are having a field day. We’re becoming a laughing stock.

“To lose six out of seven in the league is something the club won’t ever tolerate – we can’t tolerate that. To have picked up just eight points out of 36 since the turn of the year is shambolic – that’s relegation form.

“The fact that this is the worst run in the league since 1954 speaks volumes. Questions are being asked and they need to be answered.

“We’re all proud to be associated with the club and everything it has achieved over the years.

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“But at the moment being a Liverpool fan is just embarrassing and that’s something I haven’t had to say before. We all know that we’re not the finished article but we’re better than what we’ve seen recently,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Upon signing Javier Hernandez I’m sure Sir Alex Ferguson thought he had uncovered a diamond for the future, with the expectation that Little Pea would start to show his potential in the following years. I doubt though even the great man himself could have anticipated Hernandez exploding onto the scene with the verve he has shown. The former Chivas man has made his transition from Mexican Primera División to the Premier League so effortlessly. Well it seems Fergie isn’t satisfied with just one Mexican starlet and United are rumoured to be sniffing round Chicharito’s old club Chivas de Guadalajara again, this time eyeing his replacement at Chivas Erick Torres. Surely United can’t delve into the Mexican market again to find another hidden gem, can they?

Torres is only eighteen years old but he has already established himself in the Chivas side scoring six goals in nineteen games for the club. United are not the first big European club to have tabs on the highly rated youngster though, PSV Eindhoven have already scouted the player and are likely to be the main competition for his signature at present. If United do manage to snare the Mexico U-20 star this summer, surely hoping he will blossom in the same way Hernandez has is wishful thinking?

Torres has not long broken into the Chivas first team from their reserves so any move to Europe could be too soon for him at this early stage in his career. He is already being hyped up as the next Chicharito due to his similar size and predatory instinct in the box, but with little experience under his belt a move to England could be detrimental at this stage in his progression. Being dubbed the next Chicharito already is only setting him up for failure as far as I’m concerned, players are all different and need to create their own reputation. Often when players are called the next Zinedine Zidane or Diego Maradona they never realise their potential and fade into obscurity.

There is clearly potential in Torres that has alerted the Manchester United scouts and if they watch him and see what he is about, it may become clear that he is a player they should look to sign. However, being inexperienced and a lot younger than Chicharito suggests to me that if United do sign Torres over the summer, he is unlikely to feature for United and be the instant hit that Hernandez was. I think Torres would probably benefit from being loaned back to Chivas if any deal is struck up between the two clubs so he can develop in Mexico before taking on the Premier League.

Personally, I see Chicharito as a one off and no matter how good Torres turns out to be, he is a different player to Chicharito and deserves to forge his own legacy rather than being compared to his compatriot. It’s not every day that finds like Chicharito come along and we only have to look how Bebe has turned out so far to confirm we shouldn’t always believe the hype generated around young players. So while lightning may well strike twice at Old Trafford in terms of signing another Chivas youngster, I’d rather wait to be proved wrong than to say Torres will go on to be an instant hit like Hernandez.

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They say Premier League footballers are getting much lazier these days, but against Wolves Chelsea’s Didier Drogba took it to a whole new level. Chelsea have been cruising through their Premier League matches this season and their Ivorian striker decided it was time for a rest and a sit down. Much football news surrounding Drogba has been about his tendency for simulation, but this is a whole new matter. Here are Wolves defenders Jelle van Damme and Stephen Ward helping Drogba to his feet at Stamford Bridge last weekend, but is this the secret to his success?

Leave your caption suggestions below…

This week you can win a copy the new Sir Alex Ferguson biography.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the most controversial and compelling figure in football today. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful. His twenty-five year reign at Manchester United has seen him win every major footballing honour. And then win them again. Award-winning journalist Patrick Barclay has been pitch-side and spoken to all those who know Ferguson best: fellow managers, former players, colleagues and commentators. In Football – Bloody Hell! the game’s biggest living legend is finally laid bare.

Football – Bloody Hell!: the biography of Alex Ferguson is published by Yellow Jersey Press.

For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here

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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.

Last week’s winner: Sai Harrington – click here to see all entries

Whether it’s the long term revival of Borussia Dortmund or the shorter term resurgence of Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Bundesliga is becoming accustomed to comebacks. Looking on a smaller scale, Freiburg and Augsburg can be proud of their resurgence in 2012. Neither club has the history or the tradition of Dortmund or Gladbach but nevertheless, their recent runs of form have been impressive.

Let’s not be too cliché – all was not lost after the first half of the season. However, both occupied the two automatic relegation spots and hadn’t illustrated much to think this would change radically in the second half.

This is slightly harsh on Augsburg who flickered into life before Christmas after a solitary win in their first fifteen Bundesliga games. Mainz was the scene of that victory. After visiting Bavaria on Saturday, they became the only side so far this season to be beaten home and away by Augsburg.

The 2-1 victory over Mainz meant Jos Luhukay’s side had only lost one of their last eight games. Having gone behind to a Sami Allagui strike, Augsburg struck back through Ja-Cheol Koo with the winner  then coming from Sebastian Langkamp. He has also been superb for the Bavarians at the back recently contributing to a defence which has conceded three goals in their last four.

Strong defence isn’t something Freiburg have been synonymous with this season – they have the Bundesliga’s worst in fact. However, since the turn of the year, there have been marked improvements under new coach Christian Streich. This looked improbable too when their main attacking outlet, Papiss Demba Cissé, left for Newcastle having been an integral part of the team since his arrival in 2009.

In 2012 though, Freiburg have nearly doubled the amount of points they gained in the first half of the season. This was helped by picking up another three at Hamburg on the weekend. Goals from Johannes Flum, Daniel Caliguri and Cedric Makiadi ensured the third win of the Streich era.

Now as much as Freiburg and Augsburg deserve credit for their recent upturn in form, it needs to be put into perspective – the teams around them have been abysmal. Below, Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern are having scoring difficulties. That’s being very kind. Between them in 2012, Hertha and ‘Lautern have managed a pitiful six goals in eighteen games. Together they shipped ten at the weekend against Bayern Munich and Schalke respectively.

More confidence can be taken by the two teams above the resurgent pair also. Cologne and Hamburg are panicking. Hannover thumped the Billy Goats 4-1 on Sunday afternoon whilst Freiburg saw HSV’s problems up close on Saturday in their 3-1 victory.

It doesn’t matter then whether Freiburg or Augsburg glance up or down – the signs are good in both directions. They can take encouragement from being the most in-form sides in the bottom six of the Bundesliga. Better organisation has unsurprisingly led to both sides playing with greater confidence. Having been favourites to go down just over three months ago, they’re certainly best set to escape from the relegation battle.

For more on the Bundesliga, follow @arhindtutt

Matchday 26 Results:

Hoffenheim 1-2 Stuttgart

Augsburg 2-1 Mainz

Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Gladbach

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Werder Bremen

Hamburg 1-3 Freiburg

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Hertha Berlin 0-6 Bayern Munich

Kaiserslautern 1-4 Schalke

Hannover 4-1 Cologne

Bundesliga Table

Rank

Club

Matches

W*

D*

L*

G*

GD*

PTS*

1

Borussia Dortmund

26

18

5

3

53:16

+37

59

CL*

2

FC Bayern Munich

26

17

3

6

64:17

+47

54

CL*

3

Borussia Mönchengladbach

26

15

6

5

39:16

+23

51

CL*

4

FC Schalke 04

26

16

2

8

58:34

+24

50

CL* Qual.

5

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

26

11

7

8

39:34

+5

40

EL* Qual.

6

SV Werder Bremen

26

11

6

9

40:39

+1

39

EL* Qual.

7

Hannover 96

26

9

11

6

34:36

-2

38

8

VfB Stuttgart

26

10

6

10

43:34

+9

36

9

VfL Wolfsburg

26

10

4

12

34:47

-13

34

10

1. FC Nuremberg

26

9

4

13

25:37

-12

31

11

1. FSV Mainz 05

26

7

9

10

38:41

-3

30

12

1899 Hoffenheim

26

7

9

10

29:37

-8

30

13

1. FC Köln

26

8

4

14

33:50

-17

28

14

Hamburger SV

26

6

9

11

30:48

-18

27

15

FC Augsburg

26

5

11

10

27:40

-13

26

16

SC Freiburg

26

6

7

13

33:53

-20

25

Play-offs

17

Hertha BSC Berlin

26

5

8

13

26:47

-21

23

Relegation

18

1. FC Kaiserslautern

26

3

11

12

17:36

-19

20

Relegation

Table from Official Bundesliga Website

Lovech took another step towards clinching the Bulgarian A-League after a 4-1 win over Montana on Wednesday.Lyuboslav Penev’s team maintained their five point lead at the top and were untroubled by their 11th-placed opponents.

A brace from Brazilian attacker Doka Madureira had Lovech 2-0 up after half an hour and when defender Alexandre Barthe made it three early in the second half, the points were sealed.

Forward Georgi Ivanov pulled a goal back for Montana, but full-back Petar Zanev responded five minutes later to make it 4-1.

Lovech would have wrapped up the title if not for Levski Sofia’s 3-0 derby win over Slavia Sofia.

A brace from midfielder Hristo Yovov, either side of a Vladimir Gadzhev strike, kept Levski’s hopes of winning the title alive with two games to go.

In the relegation battle, none of the bottom three were able to record a win.

Rakovski, who sit in the relegation play-off spot, managed a 2-2 draw at home to Minyor Pernik.

Aleksandar Branekov and Atanas Ivanov had given them a 2-0 lead after an hour, before conceding twice to settle for a point.

Fares Brahimi struck first on 67 minutes and Tomislav Pavlov hit a 92nd-minute equaliser for Pernik.

Akademik Sofia lost their sixth-straight game after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

Zdravko Lazarov opened the scoring for Plovdiv from the penalty spot, before Asparuh Vasilev equalised for Akademik.

But Sergio Organista scored an own goal to hand Lokomotiv three points and leave his team in second-last.

Bottom-placed Sliven’s struggles continued as they suffered a 2-0 loss against Lokomotiv Sofia, following goals from Marco Dafchev and Vladislav Romanov.

In other games, Georgi Iliev and Rumen Nikolov struck in the first quarter of an hour as Cherno More beat Kaliakra 2-0.

Beroe struck twice in the first half through Simeon Mechev and Vladislav Zlatinov in their 2-0 win at Chernomorets Burgas.

CSKA Sofia ensured their Europa League place after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Pirin Blagoevgrad.

Rumen Trifonov and Apostol Popov struck for CSKA, but Dimitar Iliev and Ivan Tsvetkov were also on the scoresheet as the teams shared the spoils.

Going into Sunday’s clash with the champions, Liverpool fans were feeling far from optimistic, and rightly so. The jubilation surrounding the club since the final whistle of an important victory is completely understandable. However, despite a suspicious amount of positivity coming out of Anfield in the last few weeks, there is still a long way to go before the gloom that has plagued England’s most decorated club over the last eighteen months is lifted.

There is a renewed air of optmisim surrounding Anfield since Liverpool fans are now waking up from the nightmare that was Hicks and Gilletts reign of terror, which has also coincided with Liverpool stringing together three consecutive Premier League wins and emerging from the unknown waters of the relegation zone. This must have undoubtedly breathed new life into fans and players alike, though the mess the club was left almost became irrepairable, and there isn’t going to be a quick fix. Liverpool’s rise up the table was in someway inevitable, given the talent at Hodgson’s disposal, and as Fernando Torres is beginning to look more and more like the player we all know he is, it would be a quite spectacular failure for the reds to stay floating around the bottom half of the table.

However, a little perspective is needed. The three wins Liverpool have accumulated in the last three weeks have come against weak Blackburn and Bolton sides, and a very much below par Chelsea lacking that bit of luck champions usually take with them to difficult away games like this. Along with their lack of luck, their starting line up was also lacking Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba. Despite this, Liverpools first half performance was undeniably the best half of football the reds have seen since Hodgson’s arrival on Merseyside. And a Liverpool team with an on form Torres are capable of beating anybody, and that was proved Sunday with two expertly taken goals. Liverpool’s number nine has now scored six goals in five games against Chelsea, a remarkable record given the gulf in class between the two sides, and the strikers injury problems.

Regardless of the home sides first half display, it was the second half performance that should concern Liverpool fans. It was a reminder of Hodgson’s insistence on giving the opposition an undeserved amount of respect, and was remarkably similar to the manner in which Stoke or Wolves would cling on to a goalless draw at Old Trafford; not the Liverpool way. Although the majority of the nations football fans may see Liverpool fans as being spoilt, it won’t be acceptable for Liverpool to sit back in such timid and fearful fashion, especially given the wealth of attacking talent the squad boasts. With Maxi, Miereles, Gerrard, Torres and Lucas all having their best games in a red shirt for quite some time, it is worrying that much of their best work was done in their own half, instead of going for the jugular at the roaring Kop end, as Liverpool fans are maybe too used to.

Without taking anything away from a great victory, every point that Hodgson’s side earns, will give the wrong man that little bit more time.

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