by Liam Hatton
As far as straight forward starts go, Bolton Wanderers have enjoyed a relatively stress free opening to proceedings in the 2023/24 League One campaign.
A comfortable 3-0 victory over Lincoln City on the opening day (regardless of what their manager may want you to believe of course) was followed up by a slightly uneventful 1-0 win over Barrow in the cup.
However, the wins all count. You can look at other teams such as fellow promotion favourites in Derby County, who have lost their opening two games, their manager stating that he feels like some players have had their heads turned and we can appreciate what we have going for us right now.
Of course it is very early days, but as Bolton travel on the road for the first time this season to face Cheltenham Town, it promises to be a game in which nothing is a given, even with the loss of star man Alfie May.
Ian Evatt has brushed aside concerns that Cheltenham represents a ‘bogey ground’, but acknowledged that playing on a tighter and more compact pitch does not exactly suit the way Bolton like to play.
After starts were handed to a number of new signings in midweek, including Carlos Mendes Gomes, Paris Maghoma and Zac Ashworth, it remains to be seen whether any will feature from the off, but you would figure it will be large and part the same team from last weekend.
As the game may call for a more physical approach in midfield, man of the moment George Thomason is a prime candidate to start. He made an immediate impact with a Pirlo-esque pass for Bolton’s third against Lincoln and with rumoured interest from Bristol City, he is a man firmly in the thoughts of not only Evatt, but seemingly others as well.
No game is a dead cert, but Bolton’s run of fixtures to start the season does look favourable if they want to be considered amongst the division’s best teams. With two home fixtures within the next week, a win against Cheltenham would continue that positive momentum.
I noticed from the opening game that Bolton seem to have picked up where they left off last season, namely in terms of their style of play and intensity. Losing James Trafford and Conor Bradley is something we do not need to keep repeating, but their replacements have stepped in so far and look to be solid fits.
There are options across the pitch in terms of depth, Victor Adeboyejo scored his first goal of the season and Jack Iredale might just mitigate the loss of George Johnston. Again, it is hard to take too much away after one league game, but the signs are there for this Bolton team to punish teams with their possession based style of play and to become even more ruthless in terms of goals.
One thing is for sure, how good is it to have football back?
Not up for the cup
by Tony Thompson
CAN you imagine driving two hours from Barrow to Bolton on a Tuesday night to watch your team refuse to leave the penalty box?
I get that everyone has their own view on how the game should be played, different strokes and all that, but if I was a supporter of the Bluebirds I’d have rather slapped a tin of emulsion on the bedroom wall and sat watching it dry than what the team served up in the Carabao Cup.
I don’t think I saw Barrow touch the ball in the Bolton half during the first 45 minutes of the game, their defenders more resembling Roman Centurions guarding the city gates than anything else.
What happened to the spirit of the cup, where anything can happen?
When Zac Ashworth made it 1-0 before half time you thought: ‘Surely now they have to attack with something?’ But no. The game continued to be snooze-fest and all the people moaning about not being able to watch it on Wanderers TV were suddenly the lucky ones.
I swear I saw a woman sat in front of me start watching a catch-up episode of Hollyoaks. And at one stage I was tempted to see if she would turn up the volume and let me listen too.
I am not going to Cheltenham and I tip my hat to anyone that is willing to voluntarily make that journey. My only experience of the town is as a racegoer and I don’t think there will be as many ladies in posh hats at the Completely Suzuki Stadium, which is the only place that could possibly rival the Toughsheet’s name for comedy value. How Suzuki? Is there a sliding scale? Can you be a little bit Suzuki?
I hope Bolton come back with the points because with home games against Fleetwood and Wigan to come, I can honestly see them topping the table by the end of the month. And when was the last time that happened?