Despite the extremely disappointing 4-2 defeat away to relegation threatened Rotherham mid-week, the goalless draw at Anfield to Liverpool on Saturday night shows signs of optimism for Bolton Wanderers.
Overall however, it has been a poor season in the Championship with the Trotters currently sitting in 16th position. They are in no danger of relegation but are too far away for a late play-off push.
That wasn’t the case when Dougie Freedman was in charge, as he left the club second from bottom after 10 matches before being sacked in early October. Neil Lennon has managed to galvanise his troops moving them to the comfort of mid-table with a rebuilding job on his hands before challenging for promotion, probably as early as next season. Lennon has a 50% win rate since taking over from Freedman in October and has added a couple of familiar faces to help the team steer clear of any trouble.
It has been a troubled past few years for the club, which included relegation from the Premier League in 2012. Several mediocre years in the top flight culminated in relegation, but things haven’t improved at a level down in the Championship. Bolton narrowly missed out on a play-off place in the 2012/13 season, with just goal difference separating themselves and Leicester who finished in 6th position. Last season was very disappointing, ending up 14th, which has seemingly started the trend with another below par mid-table finish on the cards this season.
But drawing 0-0 to a very strong Liverpool side on Saturday evening suggested to fans that Bolton can be challenging for promotion in the next season or two. They were extremely impressive throughout the 90 minutes, with a defensive display of a high quality. Adam Bogdan has found himself to be the second choice goalkeeper behind Andy Lonergan, but put in an exceptional display to take the game to a replay. After that performance, there is now a case to be made for Bogdan to win back the number one shirt again especially after the dismal defeat to Rotherham in which he was dropped for.
In defence,Matt Mills put in a captain’s display to help deny Liverpool, with Dorian Dervite and American international Tim Ream also impressing. The old guard of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey – who were both signed in December – added experience and quality to the team, and it showed against Liverpool. Gudjohnsen could have won it for the visitors, missing two clear cut chances in the second-half.
The draw against Liverpool and the win away to Sheffield Wednesday in the previous match were both terrific results for the club. But the mid-week display reinforces the fact that Neil Lennon still has a massive job on his hands to turn this team around. Rotherham who are in 21st position fighting for their lives, comfortably defeated Bolton 4-2 after going 4-0 up before the hour mark.
Two late goals brought back some respectability to the score but Bolton will be hugely frustrated with this result, especially after proving that they can be a decent side. The change of goalkeeper from the Liverpool game didn’t help but Wanderers simply have to be winning matches against teams such as Rotherham.
Manager Neil Lennon has been astute in the transfer market with the signings of Heskey and Gudjohnsen. The recent loan addition of Cardiff striker Adam le Fondre reinforces that point and is an excellent acquisition for a side that have struggled to score goals for much of the season so far.
Le Fondre has been a goalscorer throughout his career, netting over 150 times. Although around half of his appearences for Reading came from the bench, he still managed a healthy return of 39 goals from 104 league matches. He scored 12 goals in his only season in the Premier League and 15 goals last season for Reading.
Le Fondre will be sure to get many more starts at Bolton and could be what they need to claw back some respectability to an otherwise frustrating season.
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