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Have Mavies and Tuncay Killed Coyle's Puppy?

BOLTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10:  Mark Davies of  Bolton Wanderers during the Barclays Premier League at the Reebok Stadium on September 10, 2011 in Bolton, England.  (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
BOLTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Mark Davies of Bolton Wanderers during the Barclays Premier League at the Reebok Stadium on September 10, 2011 in Bolton, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
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What other explanation is there for why Mark Davies and Tuncay Sanli haven't seen much (if any) action in the last few games? Bolton lost 0-2 to Sunderland at the Reebok this weekend and while there were many areas of this Bolton side to lay the blame on, for me it was the distinct lack of anything resembling a center midfield or strike force. This begs the question: where are Mavies and Tuncay?

While Mark Davies has had his lukewarm appearances, he has been known to enter a match and change Bolton's offensive make-up. Sparky's last start came against Manchester United where he earned a yellow card and had only one shot. Do keep in mind that it was a poor game for everyone. After that match, his appearances came as follows:

Opposition Date Result Time On
Norwich City September 17 1-2 Loss 73rd minute
Arsenal September 24 3-0 Loss 70th minute
Chelsea October 2 1-5 Loss Unused
Wigan October 15 3-1 Win 90th minute
Sunderland October 22 0-2 Loss Unused

Cute little chart that, isn't it? The point is that Mark Davies hasn't had useful minutes in over a month to prove what he is capable of in Stuart Holden's absence. The same thing can be said about Tuncay too.

Opposition Date Result Time On
Norwich City September 17 1-2 Loss Started, subbed off at half
Aston Villa September 20 0-2 Win Unused
Arsenal September 24 3-0 Loss Unused
Chelsea October 2 1-5 Loss 74th minute
Wigan October 15 1-3 Win Unused
Sunderland October 22 0-2 Loss Unused

Save for Tuncay's start against Norwich city, the minutes that these two players have seen in Premier League action have come at points where Bolton were already losing by large margins. Solving the Bolton problem is a big ask but maybe giving these two more chances could change the fortunes.