Owen Coyle’s homecoming ended in a slightly deflated atmosphere, as Arsenal spoiled the party and kept themselves firmly in the race for the title. Despite a spirited performance, the hosts were undone by two sublime moments of skill from Arsene Wenger’s team, boosted by the return to Premiership action of Cesc Fabregas.

With the Bolton fans so determined to rid their club of Gary Megson, yesterday was a chance to start afresh. So how did their approach differ from the old regime? Here’s a few pointers…

Same Old Faces

Perhaps to the chagrin of many a Bolton fan, Coyle’s first starting XI was exactly the same as Megson’s final team selection. The new boss clearly needs time to change the team’s style and personnel, so in the meantime, with the team beginning this game in second bottom place, the new boss went with familiar faces. The Scotsman still has plenty time to wheel and deal in the transfer window, however, with two weeks of the transfer window still left.

Most of Bolton’s play yesterday came down the right hand side, with Lee and Steinsson seeing a good amount of the ball and combining well together for much of the game, but as this chalkboard comparison with Gary Megson’s last game at Hull shows, this pattern was the complete reverse of their play that day.

Direct Approach

It’s not just the Bolton fans who expect a change in style; Arsene Wenger has recently mentioned he anticipates a more studied approach under Owen Coyle. There were occasional passages of play where the hosts kept the ball well yesterday, but at times, Coyle’s tactics were more in line with Gary Megson’s predecessor Big Sam than many a fan could have envisaged.

As this chalkboard shows, Kevin Davies, so emblematic of Allardyce’s tenure and resultant style, was involved in 21 aerial battles yesterday, as Bolton looked for knockdowns from the big centre forward. Ironically, in Megson’s final game, he was involved in only 8 such challenges.

Compared to Burnley…

Coyle’s last home game against Arsenal was a one-all draw at Turf Moor a month ago, when a Graham Alexander penalty earned Burnley a draw. In a post-match interview yesterday, the new Bolton boss seemed upbeat despite a losing start, claiming the result was “very harsh”.

This chalkboard certainly backs that up; Burnley earned a draw with nine attempts at goal, whereas Bolton had almost double that yesterday, but due to some woeful finishing (from Matt Taylor in particular, who snatched at several chances) failed to find the net. Taylor and Klasnic had eleven attempts between them, perhaps a sign of things to come.

Star Man Lee

The new boss was given a good idea yesterday as to who his better performers are, and Coyle must have been impressed with Chung-Yong Lee (just 5.0m in FPL), whose all-round game was excellent.

Playing on the right side of midfield, as these chalkboards show, his passing, was always incisive and a threat to the Gunners in the final third, and with regards to the defensive side of his game, his tackling and interceptions were indicative of a real eye-catching performance.

Bolton have a mixed bag of fixtures coming up between now and Gameweek 30 (BUR, liv, FUL, mcy, wig, bla, WLV, whm, WIG), including a Double Gameweek 26, where they travel to Man City and Wigan.

If they can emulate Burnley’s Turf Moor form under Coyle, however, their home games all look winnable, with the away fixtures, on the other hand, being rather hit and miss. After this midweek return at the Emirates as part of the ongoing gameweek, it’s the small matter of a home fixture against none other than Burnley, as Coyle looks to replicate that fantastic home form at the Reebok, beginning with his ex-employers.