Supera Moras

Bolton Wanderers Opinion

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Parkinson appointed

The long wait is over. After an exhausting 12 week wait, Bolton have finally appointed a manager in Phil Parkinson.  New owners Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth selected the Bradford City man to lead the club into next season, after a lengthy search which featured interviews with the likes of Steve Cotterill and Nigel Adkins.

There seems to be a wave of cautious optimism following Parkinson’s appointment.  He has vast experience at League One level and the qualities he showed while at Bradford will definitely be needed, as he looks to turn round a club which has been on a downward spiral for a number of years.  He took over a Bradford side struggling in League Two after a financial crisis saw the club fall through the divisions after a spell in the Premier League – sound familiar?  Parkinson improved Bradford’s league position each year he was in charge and also led them to a number of memorable cup runs despite having limited funds to spend on players.  His past performance at the Yorkshire club suggests this is an entirely logical appointment, although this is of course no guarantee of success at Bolton.

Parkinson’s departure has come as a shock to Bradford fans and most seem massively disappointed at his exit, which is a good sign for Bolton.  Judging by the various online comments from Bradford fans, the majority seem to mention the level of discipline and organisation he brings. 27 clean sheets in league and cup last season is impressive and this is certainly an area that needs improvement at Bolton.  Some Bradford fans believe he favours a long ball game but it remains to be seen if that is his preferred style and not just a case of Parkinson just best utilising the qualities of the players he had at his disposal at Bradford – players such as James Hanson.  If Parkinson brings successful results I believe most Bolton fans will care little about the style in which those results are achieved, especially given what the club has gone through in recent times.  By far the most important thing Parkinson needs to change at Bolton is the losing mentality that has surrounded the place for far too many years.

The hard work for Parkinson begins today and there is clearly a lot of work to do.  It’s vitally important that Bolton fans contain their expectations as there is so much that needs to be done to turn the club round. It would be harsh to expect Parkinson to be able to solve all the current issues in the space of a few weeks this summer.  The transfer embargo needs to be lifted; the current squad is incredibly lopsided in terms of strength in depth in certain positions and there is an abundance of highly paid individuals who currently aren’t pulling their weight.  Parkinson will be expected to fix all these issues and he is unlikely to be given a massive amount of cash to do so.  As we will soon see, League One won’t be easy and this turnaround could take a couple of seasons.  Bolton fans will need to be patient with their new man and hope that the club’s ownership provides Parkinson with the tools he needs to do the job.

Despite all the issues that have affected the club over the last 12 months, it should be some consolation for Bolton fans that they can still poach a manager from one of the larger sides in the division.  Bolton is still a big club and if the off field issues can be fixed, there is enormous potential for a successful manager to get promotion back to the Championship, given the facilities, profile and tradition on offer.

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The season in numbers

Goals

Bolton: Average Goals Per Game – 0.89 Opposition: Average Goals Per Game – 1.76

Possession

Bolton: Average Possession Per Game – 47.17% Opposition: Average Possession Per Game – 52.83%

Shots

Bolton: Average Shots Per Game – 11.76 Opposition: Average Shots Per Game – 14.46

Shots on target

Bolton: Average Shots on Target Per Game – 3.61 Opposition: Average Shots on Target Per Game – 5.13

Corners

Bolton: Average Corners Per Game – 4.91 Opposition: Average Corners Per Game – 5.89

Fouls

Bolton: Average Fouls Per Game – 12.02 Opposition: Average Fouls Per Game – 12.3

First Half Goals

Bolton: Average First Half Goals Per Game – 0.37 Opposition: Average First Half Goals Per Game – 0.76

Second Half Goals

Bolton: Average Second Half Goals Per Game – 0.76 Opposition: Average Second Half Goals Per Game – 1

Points

Bolton: Average Points Per Game – 0.65

Goal Scorers

Clough – 7 Madine, Feeney – 5 Dobbie – 4 Seven Players – 2 Six Players – 1

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Reasons to be cheerful

After a wretched season with post after post bemoaning everything from a lack of organisation to a lack of application, have we started to see some grounds for optimism in recent performances which could be evidence of the first green shoots of recovery?

While one win in eight games is hardly reason to bring out the bunting or start reversing the open top bus out of the garage, recent performances have demonstrated that the work being done by Jimmy Phillips and Peter Reid on the training ground is beginning to bear fruit.  Two clean sheets in the past three games following a run of only two clean sheets in the previous 20+ games is testament to the work done on defensive shape when the team is out of possession.  Perhaps most encouraging is that the recently improved performances have been achieved while fielding a number of inexperienced players in defensive positions. The key to this new found solidity is perhaps the deployment of Derik in a holding role in front of the central defenders.  He has been able to use his ability to read the game to anticipate danger and snuff out opposition attacks, thus reducing the number of goals conceded from long range and the previous problems seen where opponents were allowed to run unchallenged through midfield.

In some ways getting relegated so early could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  It has given the supporters’ time to get over that initial disappointment – much more than a last gasp relegation on the final day would have done.  The early relegation has focussed minds on planning for next season already.  Jimmy Phillips has been able to try out lots of young players to give them valuable experience with these dead rubbers giving opportunities to make mistakes in the first team without it dramatically impacting the club. For instance, Niall Maher will learn from his red card and Tyler Garrett will learn to stay on his feet in the penalty area.  Making these mistakes now should reduce the chance of them making similar mistakes next season when results will matter.

The emergence of youth has probably been the one saving grace of the season.  I can’t think of another season when so many young players have been given their debuts.  While Rob Holding is perhaps the only player to really show that he is ready to play consistently at first team level, we have seen enough from Threlkeld, Woolery, Maher, Garrett and Newell to suggest that they certainly will have a part to play at squad level, although their youthful exuberance should be tempered with incoming players who have suitable experience at League One level.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing for the future is that there is a lot more to come from certain players in the squad.  Players like Clough, Vela and Holding are only going to get better with experience, which is probably obvious. However, there are quite a number of players within the squad who have massively underperformed compared with their previous achievements at other clubs.  If the new manager can start to get these players playing to their full potential and with confidence, I think we could be surprised at what some of the more maligned squad members could achieve, if they survive the likely budgetary cuts come the close season.  

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Runners and riders

The contenders for the Bolton managerial vacancy have been jockeying for position ever since Neil Lennon left the club, which already seems like a lifetime ago.  If you believe current reports, the field of candidates has narrowed to four possibilities – Chris Wilder, Kevin Nolan/Peter Reid, Steve Cotterill and Phil Brown.  I will treat the rumours of interest in John Carver with the contempt they deserve.

Chris Wilder, the current boss of Northampton Town, is a manager with a rapidly expanding reputation. The 48 year old has already been a manager for over 700 games and boasts a win ratio of greater than 40%.  Wilder’s speciality appears to be one of a turnaround specialist having led Northampton from bottom to top of League Two and Oxford United from the Conference back into the Football League.  The job Wilder has done at Northampton will be of particular interest to Bolton fans, as The Cobblers have achieved success despite finding themselves in financial difficulties off the field.  If anything goes against Wilder, it is that he has never managed at a level higher than League Two.

Steve Cotterill is perhaps the candidate with the most relevant recent experience for the job we are looking for someone to do.  Cotterill has over 650 games of experience in management and like Wilder also boasts a 40%+ win ratio.  In his most recent job he took over a Bristol City team suffering from a recent relegation to League One and turned them around to become champions of the division within two seasons.

The other reputed choice is a managerial team of Kevin Nolan and Peter Reid. Nolan and Reid would certainly provide some much needed leadership and energy in the dressing room but one wonders if Nolan is just too inexperienced, while Reid’s best days are possibly well behind him.  While Nolan and Reid would be a popular choice due to both their connections to the club, it would represent a massive gamble, especially considering the amount of work to be done with the current squad to turn them into something more closely resembling a football team.  For what it’s worth, I think Kevin Nolan will be a future manager of Bolton Wanderers, just not yet.

Meanwhile, the Bolton job continues to prove elusive for Phil Brown.  With a rumoured £500,000 compensation clause, the early favourite has fallen by the wayside in recent days as it looks like Bolton will look elsewhere for cheaper alternatives.  It looks like the only way Brown can get back into the running is by forcing the issue with Southend.

One worrying aspect of the whole managerial chase is that Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth appear to favour different options with Anderson after Wilder and Holdsworth preferring the ex Bolton player option.  It will be interesting to see who finally gets appointed but we could certainly do without any fall outs at boardroom level before most of them have even got their feet under the table – hardly the stability that all Bolton fans are looking for at the moment.

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7 games to go

The latest defeat in this most miserable of seasons came in Saturday’s home game with Reading when Bolton succumbed to an injury time winner from Ola John.

Although the narrow 1-0 defeat may suggest some kind of fight back from the 6-0 drubbing in the previous game at Bristol City, the fact is that only Reading’s profligacy in front of goal saved Bolton from yet another hiding.  The away side missed a penalty and a host of other chances, hitting the woodwork twice and seeing a further two efforts hacked off the line.  Just when it looked like Bolton may scrape an incredibly lucky point, Ola John struck a fierce effort from distance as the Bolton midfield again failed to put any pressure on attackers lurking at the edge of the box.  Ben Amos again struggled to keep out another long range effort but in this instance, it’s difficult to apportion any blame in his direction, with the ferocity and accuracy of John’s effort being such that it left the Bolton goalkeeper with no chance.  Indeed, the return of Ben Amos to the team was one of the few bright spots from the game.

In what was another abject Bolton performance, it was difficult to see any semblance of a game plan with players employed in a number of roles with which they looked totally unfamiliar.  The sole tactic appeared to be to defend deep and punt the ball into the channels with Kaiyne Woolery employed to chase down the lost causes – all of this was reflected in the terrible ball retention stats seen at the end of the game.  In summation, the whole performance was a disjointed mess.  Since Liam Feeney’s departure to Ipswich, Bolton have completely disintegrated as an attacking unit, highlighting just how reliant they were on the winger. Without Feeney, it’s difficult to see where any pace or creativity is going to come from for the rest of this season.

Bolton have two chances this week to record their first away victory since Moses was a lad with games at Brentford and Derby.  It will be exactly one year since Bolton’s last away win this coming Wednesday.

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6 (Six) - 0

Where to begin? Bolton continue to plumb new depths during this most wretched of seasons with Saturday’s 6-0 defeat to 19th place Bristol City being the latest low, surpassing even the Boxing Day horror show at Rotherham.

The Trotters went into the game shorn of their top goalscorer following Liam Feeney’s departure to Ipswich, meaning that interim boss Jimmy Phillips was forced to make a number of changes to the team that lost so dispiritingly against Preston. Maybe the departure of Feeney signalled to the squad that the new owners believe that the club is certain to be relegated.  If this was the case, it certainly looked like the squad took Feeney’s departure as a sign not to put any effort in based on Saturday’s game.

Besides the six goals, the most staggering statistic from the game was that the back four registered just one tackle in the entire 90 minutes.  Quite how that is possible in a game of professional football, I’m not too sure, although it would be wrong to pin the entire blame on the defence.  The midfield did not show any kind of desire to impose themselves on the game and retreated back into their shells once they found themselves behind early in the game.  Up front, Gary Madine was a spectator, although Kaiyne Woolery did at least make some attempt at causing Bristol some problems with some purposeful running. Meanwhile, Paul Rachubka continues to look completely out of his depth in goal and the swift return of even an injured/out of form Ben Amos would be most welcome.

Some of the selection decisions made by Jimmy Phillips backfired spectacularly.  Breaking up the Derik/Holding centre back pairing to select an unfit David Wheater was folly, as was deploying Derik in the right back position he has previously struggled in.  Josh Vela and Darren Pratley were unable to stem the tide of Bristol City attacks in central midfield, while Mark Davies was withdrawn at half time from his right wing role.  Such is the fragility of the current Bolton side, it looks impossible that you can set the side up in a 4-4-2 formation.  The central midfield is so spectacularly lightweight that they always need the added security of an extra body in a five man midfield.  The problem with this is that it stifles a woeful attack now missing its top goalscorer/assist maker.  Jimmy Phillips must attempt to solve this quandary in the remaining games he has in charge, although it’s hard to believe that the answer can be 4-4-2 with the current squad and its weaknesses.

One of the more disappointing aspects of a miserable day was that none of the Bolton players had the balls to front up to the media.  Darren Pratley’s weak apology two whole days after the event will not cut it with most of the fan base. Like most of Saturday, the apology was just not good enough.

With 8 games to go, the agony is almost at an end.  One hopes that a performance like Saturday’s will not be repeated between now and the end of the season, regardless of how hopeless the cause must now seem.  We must now start to build for League One and the players should see the upcoming games as a dress rehearsal where they are playing for places in next season’s squad.  Hopefully these games will enable the BWFC hierarchy to weed out the shirkers and idlers who blight the club.  However, if Saturday’s level of performance is repeated against sides such as Middlesbrough, Hull or Derby, we could well be talking about further heavy defeats.

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Neil Lennon 2014-2016

Neil Lennon has today left his position as manager of Bolton Wanderers by mutual consent.  The ex-Celtic manager’s tumultuous 17 months in charge now sees the club on the brink of relegation to League One.

While it is no shock that Lennon has been relieved of his duties, there is perhaps some surprise with regards to the timing of the decision.  Many had thought the club would wait until the end of the season before making their move, with Bolton unlikely to avoid relegation and Lennon due a reported £650,000 payout.  Lennon’s record in charge was dreadful with only five wins in all competitions this season (41 games) – it took him just his first eight games in charge last season to record a similar number of wins.

In some respects it is easy to feel sorry for Lennon as he was clearly sold a pup.  If he had known of the constraints he would face, it would have been highly unlikely that he would have taken the job and risk the reputation he had built up as a title winning manager of Celtic.  Lennon has had to battle his better players being sold to keep the club afloat, while not being given sufficient cash to replace them with players of similar quality.  Keeping morale high while the playing squad went unpaid also proved to be an impossible job.

However, the sign of a good manager is to maximise what resources you do have and this is something that Lennon has failed miserably at.  Tactically it was difficult to see what plans Lennon had, as he was unable to set up his teams to either attack or defend – the only consistent tactical plan appeared to be zonal marking at corners.  There was also precious little evidence of tactical work done on the training ground as the team continually made the same errors game after game – think the number of goals conceded from distance or the number of occasions opposition players were allowed a free run through the centre of the pitch at the back four.  It maybe uncharitable to say it but it did look like Lennon made a lot of his tactical approach up as he went along.

In terms of the current season, Lennon’s undoing was the little recruitment he was allowed to do.  What little budget he did have, he did not use wisely with too much money spent on squad players who would have little impact on the first team – Heskey, Pisano, Casado, Wilson, Twardzik for example. All of these players took up budget but contributed little in terms of first team appearances.  It would be safe to assume that the squad wouldn’t have been negatively impacted if these players hadn’t been signed at all.  If Lennon hadn’t signed these players he could have used the cumulative budget saved to invest in a striker that might have made all the difference in turning some of Bolton’s 14 draws into victories.

Lastly, Lennon did not get the best out of the players he did have at his disposal.  He was unable to find a position to suit either Mark Davies or Zach Clough, while despite signing two right backs in the summer, neither was good enough to supplant an out of position Josh Vela from the role. Rumours of training ground bust ups with Gary Madine and Josh Vela in recent weeks hint at an uneasy relationship with some of the players which would also not have helped Lennon’s cause.

Ultimately, Neil Lennon was wholly unsuitable for the role of manager at Bolton Wanderers with the club in its current state.  In his previous role at Celtic, he had only experienced success and was therefore ill equipped to know how to change things for the better in the situation he found himself at Bolton when so many things were going against him.   In some respects this was also true of Lennon’s predecessors Owen Coyle and Dougie Freedman.  Maybe Lennon will become a better manager in future due to this experience.

Looking ahead it would take a brave person to bet on anyone other than Phil Brown being the next Bolton manager.  Brown has had an up and down managerial career, experiencing highs at Hull and Southend and lows at Preston and Derby.  Southend would be due compensation but one could assume that this will be found if Bolton have mustered up enough cash to pay off Lennon and his backroom team.  If Bolton don’t manage to land Phil Brown, they should look for a steady pair of hands with lots of experience at League One level – think Steve Cotterill or Nigel Clough.  Some of the names that fall into this category may not immediately appeal but now is not the time to hire a managerial novice or a highly paid ‘name’ appointment.

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Bolton lose......again

It was a case of another day, another defeat for Bolton as they crashed 2-1 at home to Preston, as they conceded goals to their Lancashire rivals for the first time since 1992.

Things started brightly and Bolton were in control for the entire first half as they bested an organised but workmanlike Preston side.  The Trotters took a deserved lead when Liam Trotter curled home his first of the season from the edge of the box.  However, most observers knew full well what to expect and so it proved as Bolton again struggled to back up an encouraging first 45 with a positive performance in the second half.

Simon Grayson is an excellent manager and fortunately for him he was up against a manager who is the exact opposite of that.  Grayson rallied his troops in the half time break and with some astute tactical adjustments, (namely pushing his full backs further up field) turned the game on its head in the second half.  Lennon on the other hand looked a beaten man as he sat slumped on the bench for most of the half, only rising to rightly berate yet another inept refereeing display. He had no answer to Grayson’s changes and another game was lost after some truly epic ball watching from the Bolton defence allowed Preston to score goals through Hugill and Vermijl.  Time is running out for Lennon and he knows it. He looks like he would rather be anywhere else but on the Bolton bench.

In what was a dreadful second half performance, any positives that could be taken from the game were worryingly absent.  The game passed Mark Davies and Darren Pratley by, Zach Clough again missed some gilt edged chances, while the non entity that is Gary Madine continues to frustrate all who pay to watch.  Bolton’s previously ‘decent’ home form is beginning to collapse, (‘decent’ in comparison to away form) with no home wins in four and promotion chasing Middlesbrough and Hull yet to visit in the last four home games.

Bolton’s season continues to limp on towards its inevitable conclusion.  With nine games to go and no chance of salvation, the season now has begun to resemble an asthmatic, pensionable dog looking longingly at its owner to be put out of its misery.  It may continue to stumble on, wheezing from day to day but the dog is very much looking forward to the time when it all ends.  Bolton will finish bottom and deservedly so.  Hopefully they will eclipse Blackpool’s points total from last season and record at least one victory away from home but no-one is holding their breath waiting for that to happen.  Nine games to go.

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All change

The saga is over.  The takeover is complete.  The never ending story, which nearly saw Bolton Wanderers become a footnote in the history books, has reached its conclusion with the Sports Shield/Inner Circle acquisition of the club.

The takeover should ensure the club’s short term survival even if doubts remain about the consortia’s access to the kind of serious finance needed to turn the fortunes of the club around, in particular if the club is forced to ‘enjoy’ an extended stay at League One level with the reduced gate and broadcasting income that would bring.  Most supporters seem to have cautiously welcomed the takeover, although in time many will want to know more about the shadowy backers of Sports Shield/Inner Circle who currently hide behind various NDA’s and confidentiality clauses.  

The takeover will see Dean Holdsworth become club CEO with Ken Anderson becoming club chairman. Holdsworth will of course need no introduction to Bolton fans.  Despite many people’s impressions of him being some kind of Cockney spiv, Holdsworth has spent enough time at the club to know how to treat the old lady well. Indeed, hearing him speak to the various media outlets in recent days, he has certainly demonstrated the warmth and depth of feeling that he has for the club.  It will be interesting to see how he gets on in the CEO role.  Many within the game have long lamented the lack of ‘football people’ at board level and Holdsworth’s new role echoes the successful German model of having an ex player as a sporting director.  

Ken Anderson is much more of an unknown quantity.  Various Google searches seem to hint at someone with great experience within football as an agent but also someone with something of a colourful past.  The EGM statement of Southampton FC from June 2006 makes particularly interesting reading.  Time will tell what kind of impact Anderson will have at Bolton – a positive one hopefully.

The new owners have many issues to address in order to turn the club around both on and off the field. Many difficult decisions will need to be made but the new owners will need to act fast to tie up some of the young and promising players to longer deals – with other clubs sniffing around, the likes of Rob Holding, Kaiyne Woolery and Alex Samizadeh need to be signed up as soon as possible.  With the club rock bottom, there will be questions asked over the long term of future of Neil Lennon.  In all honesty it does look like Lennon will leave whether Bolton stay up or not, although the new owners may decide it might be more expedient to pull the trigger after relegation to cut down the size of any severance package.  However, the most important thing for the new owners will be to improve the communication channels with supporters. Holdsworth and Anderson need to be honest and upfront and skilfully manage expectations.  If money is still tight, this needs to be communicated.  More importantly, they need to communicate a vision of the club’s future that the supporters can buy into.  They must set out where they expect to see the club in three, five, ten years time and what they are planning to do to hit these goals.

The takeover also means that Eddie Davies will now step aside from day to day involvement with the club.  Davies did preside over some of the most successful seasons seen in the club’s long history and for that we should be thankful for the finance he provided to enable that to happen.  However, the club is without doubt in a far weaker position now than it was when he initially took over both in a football and business sense.  His decision to remove funding almost cost the club its very existence and all the recent off field shenanigans with tax bills and non payment of staff will tarnish his legacy for many supporters.

Back on the field, the defeat to Leeds and the home draw with Ipswich means that Bolton are 10 points from safety with 10 games to play.  Any short term bounce from the takeover is unlikely to galvanise the sort of run of form required to generate the minor miracle needed to stay up, even if performances on the whole remain largely positive.  

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Gray day

A late Andre Gray goal consigned Bolton to yet another defeat as the home side were edged out 2-1 by promotion chasing Burnley at Macron Stadium.

In what was arguably Bolton’s best performance of the season, they matched Burnley toe to toe for the full 90 minutes.  Liam Feeney was outstanding while there were numerous solid performances across the park. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that despite the creditable performance, Bolton still lost.  The Whites took a deserved lead in the game when Gary Madine’s low cross was finished from close range by Liam Feeney. In an all too familiar tale repeated on so many occasions this season, Bolton were undone by not capitalising on chances when they were on top in the game with Zach Clough and Josh Vela both needing to do better with the opportunities they had.  Once these chances had been missed, the game’s denouement was all too predictable.

The difference between the two sides on the day was £9 million Andre Gray. The Burnley striker’s double representing the third and fourth goals he has scored against Bolton this season.  His clinical finishing brought victory for Burnley as he ruthlessly dispatched his only real chances on goal with aplomb. The first was a scuffed effort from close range after he reacted first following a fine Paul Rachubka save.  The second was classic centre forward play as he lurked on the shoulder of the Bolton defenders to outpace them and finish, after Jay Spearing was dispossessed after dwelling on the ball for too long in centre midfield.

With 12 games to go Bolton still find themselves seven points adrift of safety. As a thoroughly depressing season reaches its inevitable conclusion, calls from the stands to sack Neil Lennon will grow louder.  With a reputed cost of £650,000, the sacking of Lennon would be a costly exercise for a club so strapped for cash.  With relegation a certainty it would make little sense to spend this sum of money – especially when the cost to sack the manager reduces significantly on relegation.  It is also highly unlikely that another manager would be able to turn things round sufficiently with 12 games remaining.  Similarly, it would not make much sense to bring in loan players for the rest of the season if the long anticipated Sports Shield takeover actually happens and the current transfer embargo is lifted.  The sooner the club accepts the prospect of playing in League One next season, the sooner they can come up with a plan to stabilise the club and move forward.  The remaining games this season should be used to give as much as experience as possible to younger players such as Woolery, Holding, Clough etc. to prepare them for next season.  Players such as Oscar Threlkeld and Conor Wilkinson should also get game time when they return from their loan spells.

Despite the protestations of the players that there is still time to turn things round, it is clear that there will be no escape from relegation for Bolton. League One awaits.

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Late heartbreak

A Matt Phillips goal broke Bolton hearts as three crucial league points were cruelly snatched away in stoppage time at the end of the second half of Saturday’s game with QPR.

In a largely dour game where both teams struggled to create goalscoring opportunities in testing conditions, it was left to Zach Clough to provide the game’s two sole moments of real quality. Late in the first half he went mightily close to scoring a sublime overhead kick with an acrobatic effort from a Josh Vela cross.  Unfortunately for the Macron Messi, his effort went agonisingly wide of the post with Alex Smithies beaten all ends up.  Clough went one better in the second half with a goal of the season contender - an inch perfect curling shot from outside the area which rocketed into the top corner of the net and in off the crossbar.  On the evidence of recent games Clough is still trying to find his feet following his long injury lay off.  He can drift in and out of games but he has an uncanny ability to provide moments of genuine class that few players in the Championship can provide.

It looked for all the world that the Clough rocket would seal all three points for the home side. However, it wasn’t to be as Bolton failed to see out the game. Remarkably, given that the game was two minutes into stoppage time, The Whites were caught on the break.  With central midfielders caught in front of the ball and little evidence of any defensive shape, a cross field pass exposed Dean Moxey who got himself in a terrible position against the tricky Phillips. Despite this, Phillips only managed to get away a fairly weak effort on goal from outside the area.  Unfortunately for Bolton, this weak effort squirmed underneath Ben Amos and dribbled over the line.

The late QPR goal was the latest in a series of errors from Ben Amos over the last few weeks and criticism of him is growing among supporters.  For whatever reason, the stopper does seem to have a major weakness when it comes to saving shots from distance.  After a number of high profile mistakes it does seem possible that Neil Lennon might choose to take his number one out of the firing line for a while. However, with only the veteran Paul Rachubka offering any kind of plausible back up, it would be a big risk for the Bolton boss. Despite Amos’ recent struggles, he does have the makings of a good goalkeeper and has saved us points on a number of occasions this season with some top saves and for this reason  I would be reluctant to write him off.   His recent struggles have been reminiscent of the early Bolton career of Jussi Jaaskelainen when doubts over his kicking and command of the area led to him being dropped when the club bought Steve Banks.  Jaaskelainen was taken out of the side, went away and worked hard at his game with the help of Fred Barber and rebuilt his confidence.  Hopefully Ben Amos can do something similar.

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Bolton 2-1 Rotherham

Bolton registered their second win in three games in Saturday’s game with fellow relegation strugglers Rotherham United, gaining some revenge for the 4-0 Boxing Day hammering inflicted by the South Yorkshire club.

The home side earned their slender 2-1 victory with goals coming right at the start and right at the end of the game.  The Wanderers took an early lead through Jay Spearing’s first goal of the season after the visitors failed to clear a corner.  After this early boost, it was hoped that Bolton would go on to manufacture a solid performance as they did in the last home game against MK Dons. However, they struggled to gain any sort of foothold and were largely on the back foot for most of the first half. It came as no surprise when Rotherham levelled through Chris Burke after he dispatched a cut back from ex Wanderer Danny Ward just before half time.

The second half continued in a similar vein with Rotherham doing the bulk of the pressing.  Bolton were indebted to Ben Amos who repelled the visitors on a number of occasions in the second half with a string of fine saves. The game marked a return to form for Amos after recent struggles.  With the game looking like it would peter out into a draw neither side wanted, Neil Lennon made a couple of substitutions which changed the game.  Liam Trotter entered the fray for Emile Heskey with the rejuvenated midfielder being initially unlucky to lose his place in the starting line up.  A little later, Kaiyne Woolery replaced Wellington Silva and it was the youngster who grabbed the injury time winner after following up Camp’s parry from a Mark Davies shot.  The goal was Woolery’s first for Bolton and his first in professional football.

The result was harsh on Rotherham as they had been the better team for large spells in the game but they were ultimately punished for failing to take their chances.  In a role reversal for Bolton, they managed to take all three points in a game that they didn’t play particularly well in.  Bolton have certainly played better and lost on many occasions this season.

The win now means that Bolton have taken seven points from nine and are now off the bottom of the table for the first time since mid November.  It remains to be seen if Bolton can maintain this run of form with league games against high flyers such as Brighton and Burnley coming up this month.

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Late drama

A dramatic late comeback earned Bolton a 2-2 away draw against Wolves last night – only their fourth away point of the season.

Many would have been forgiven for expecting the worst when Wanderers went behind early on to a goal from ex-player Joe Mason.  Once again, an opposition player was allowed to run straight through the heart of midfield with the ball unchallenged, before a fortuitous deflection wrong footed a Bolton defence playing a high line. This took the ball into the path of a Wolves striker whose initial shot was parried by Ben Amos, before Mason made no mistake with the first time finish on the rebound.

Bolton showed more resilience than the recent game against Leeds and refused to lie down, even if it looked likely that a lack of cutting edge upfront would be their undoing. However, things looked decidedly bleak when Wolves added a second with thirteen minutes of the game remaining. Once again the common theme was that an opposition player was allowed to travel a long distance with the ball without any real pressure.  James Henry skipped through a weak Dean Moxey challenge before advancing on the area and placing a curling shot beyond Ben Amos.

At this stage Bolton had a mountain to climb.  A back post header from an unlikely source – Wellington Silva – gave them hope before a deflected Stephen Dobbie free kick with two minutes left completed the fight back. Bolton without doubt deserved at least a point from the game but there must be some disappointment again that they continually shoot themselves in the foot and make things more difficult than they need to be, instead of constructing much needed victories on the back of decent performances.

The optimists out there will hope that this late point can prove to be the cornerstone of an upturn in fortunes with which survival can be achieved – victory in Saturday’s game at Rotherham is certainly necessary.  However, with 17 games to go and 44 points looking like it might be the benchmark for safety, Bolton still require 23 points.  It does seem farfetched to think that a team that has won three games in 29 can suddenly go on to win at least seven games from the last 17 – especially when they are still to play nine of the current top ten teams in the league. We have seen on a number of occasions this season, what were thought to be turning points but I have my doubts as to whether this depleted squad can muster any amount of consistency to get the points required.  In my opinion, they have left themselves with too much to do.

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Cup dreams in tatters

Bolton’s dreams of FA Cup glory are over for another season as they crashed out of the competition after a 2-1 defeat to an unspectacular, yet well organised, Leeds United.  The performance marked an unwelcome return to form for Bolton, dispelling any hopes that back to back victories would propel the club to a more consistent run of results.

Despite fielding the same team that defeated MK Dons last weekend, Bolton failed miserably to match their previous performance.  The energy and determination seen in that win was completely absent from this performance as too many players simply did not turn up and put in a performance.  This Bolton team have for far too long been unwilling or unable to show any kind of consistency, whether that be from game to game or even half to half.

The home side’s lethargy was seen early on in this game in Leeds United’s eighth minute opener. Stuart Dallas was allowed to travel too far unchallenged through central midfield before placing a pass to Souleymane Doukara, whose tame effort squirmed under Ben Amos in what was a terrible goalkeeping error. The defending for the second goal wasn’t much better with Leeds getting in behind Dean Moxey too easily before allowing Toumani Diagouraga enough freedom to practically walk to ball into the net unchallenged.

Bolton only really mounted any kind of resistance in the final ten minutes, although it was too little too late at that stage.  A delayed Lennon substitution saw the ineffective Wellington Silva and Mark Davies replaced by Jay Spearing and Kaiyne Woolery.   With Woolery now up front with Gary Madine, the youngster’s pace helped Bolton to finally start asking some questions of the Leeds defence. Darren Pratley continued his recent run of goalscoring form with a scrambled effort from close range but Bolton were unable to find an equaliser that could have taken the game to a replay. Gary Madine came closest but he could only hit the post from six yards after Silvestri had palmed away a curling Pratley shot.

Bolton must now refocus on the league and the ongoing challenge of maintaining their Championship status.  Next up is a tough looking visit to Wolves before fellow strugglers Rotherham United visit Macron Stadium on Saturday.

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Bolton in back to back victories shocker

Bolton recorded their third league victory of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 win over fellow strugglers MK Dons.  The victory in what was by far the best performance of the season saw Bolton narrow the gap to safety to five points.

The home side, who dominated proceedings from start to finish, took an early lead when Rob Holding scored his first senior goal after bundling the ball home from close range. Rarely has a goal ever given a player such a visible lift as it did with Holding.  Following his goal, the youngster was the star of the show, impressing all with his interceptions and reading of the game.  Bolton’s first half dominance was further rewarded when Darren Pratley maintained his recent hot streak when he doubled the home side’s lead. Along with Holding, Pratley also impressed in this game together with Wellington who enjoyed one of his best games since his arrival from Arsenal.  It was also noticeable that Trotter, Pratley and Davies looked physically superior to their opponents in this game. There have been a number of occasions this season where Bolton have been out muscled and outnumbered in midfield which has caused them to lose games.  Has Neil Lennon now found a good balance in midfield to help Bolton register vital Championship points?

MK Dons tried and failed to get a foothold in the game.  Despite enjoying the lion’s share of the possession, the visitors did not look to possess any real threat up front and were restricted to long spells with the ball in non threatening areas of the pitch.  It wasn’t really until late on that the pacey Josh Murphy began to cause problems for Josh Vela and it was the winger who claimed a late consolation goal, after he took advantage of Bolton’s failure to close him down on the edge of the area to net a strike from distance.

Any possibility that Bolton would collapse inside injury time vanished when Shola Ameobi capped his final appearance in a Bolton shirt with a fine goal. The big striker latched on to Moxey’s long ball before cutting in between two defenders and calmly finishing past Martin in the MK Dons goal.

The result and performance provides the club with a big lift going into the next round of the FA Cup. However, uncertainties off the field continue to abound and it is still unclear if Neil Lennon will be required to sell players before the end of the transfer window thus affecting the likelihood of Bolton managing to stay up this season.

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Cup progress

Bolton squeaked past Eastleigh and into the fourth round of the FA Cup by defeating the non league side 3-2.  The win, just Bolton’s third of the season, was marked with rather muted celebrations but the victory means the club will be able to generate some extra cash with the impending visit of Leeds United in the next round.

The first half was a struggle for the home side and it did look like it could be a long night for Bolton at various stages of the game.  Eastleigh opened the scoring when full back Joe Partington was allowed to waltz through a couple of powder puff challenges from Wellington and Moxey before planting a curling effort past Rachubka.  Bolton’s response to going behind was initially very much laboured. Eastleigh were well organised and had a lot of men behind the ball and The Whites could not find a way through despite dominating possession.  As the half went on, the lack of pace and movement made the home side look very pedestrian in attack, with Bolton causing the visitor’s defence few, if any, problems.

Bolton eventually made the breakthrough with a two goal salvo at the very end of the first half. First Gary Madine shrugged off a challenge to control an excellent Josh Vela cross and volley home.  This was followed by an excellent Dean Moxey strike from the edge of the box.  Hopes that Bolton had now broken Eastleigh’s resistance proved to be misplaced as some more woeful defending allowed Kaid Mohamed to race clear through a sizeable gap in the defence and finish neatly.

At 2-2, the tie was very much in the balance.  However, Eastleigh visibly tired in the second half and started to give the ball away more frequently, while gaps began to appear in their previously well organised defence and midfield. Darren Pratley finished a fine move to put Bolton ahead following some good work from Wellington and Ameobi.  The score stayed at 3-2 as the home side saw out the game without any major scares or the need for Rachubka to make any saves.

Liam Trotter played well and seems to be benefitting from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest. Wellington, employed in a central role for much of this game, also impressed although it remains to be seen if he could have an impact in this kind of position in the hurly burly of a Championship game.  Liam Feeney continues to work hard but frustrate everyone with his inconsistent final balls.

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HMRC 0-1 Bolton

After the bleak results on the field, Bolton were at least given some temporary respite from their off-field problems after today’s seven minute appearance in the High Court.

The winding up order against Bolton Wanderers was adjourned until February 22nd, which gives the club some breathing space in which to sell more players, sell more assets or come to an agreement to sell the club with one of the interested parties who have been in negotiations for a considerable period of time.

Probably the most shocking aspect of today’s events was the zeal with which HMRC pursued the option of liquidating the club outright.  Repayment plans and documents showing expressions of interest in the club were all dismissed as the taxman sensed blood.  While I wouldn’t argue that companies who fail to pay their taxes should be brought to book, you do wonder if HMRC pursue various high net worth individuals, non-doms and multinational companies with the same vigour.  

It is certainly not hyperbole to say that 139 years of history could have ended in a heartbeat and left a community mourning the loss of the one thing that puts it on the map and in the national consciousness.  Thankfully, the appointed judges took a more sympathetic view, granting the adjournment and providing a 35 day window with which to find salvation.  If matters cannot be resolved in the intervening period, the judges may not prove to be as lenient next time.