Even their crest is ugly.
Last Year’s Record: Ten wins, nine draws, and nineteen losses saw Bolton finish 14th in the table. That’s one spot worse and two points fewer than they finished 2009-10 in.
Transfers In: Marcos Alonso (Real Madrid, £2.16m); Robbie Blake (Burnley, free); Ivan Klasnic (Nantes, free); Martin Petrov (Manchester City, free)
Transfers Out: Ali Al Habsi (Wigan, loan); Nicky Hunt (Bristol City, free); Ricardo Vaz Te (Panionios Athens, free)
Season Outlook: For all the handwringing over Gary Megson and Owen Coyle last season, it’s worth mentioning that Bolton did only marginally worse last season than they did the season before. In fact, one might think that Bolton has stagnated at their current spot; this is a team that’s probably got about 37-43 points in them in a given season. No more, no less.
This season, however, might actually see an improvement in Bolton’s form. For one, this year will be Korean starlet Lee Chung-Yong’s second at the Reebok, which could see him settled in more than usual. American winger Stuart Holden will similarly get the chance to prove his worth after coming back from that nasty Nigel de Jong inflicted injury. The real star signing here, however, is Martin Petrov.
Last season, Manchester City only lost once (the 2-0 loss to Everton) when Petrov started; he also showed up in every game for Roberto Mancini until mid February, when his knee injury flared up again and caused him to miss the rest of the season.
The thing is, Petrov – at 31 – offers Bolton a really nice option on the left hand side. He can score, he can cross, and he can give Bolton an added dimension that they’re currently lacking. There are questions about his fitness, and he’s certainly only an option for a couple of years; this isn’t a perfect player. This is, however, a player that may be perfect for Bolton; he offers them a lot of options on the left wing to support Kevin Davies and score on his own. If his knee holds up – which may be a big “if” – he could be a very interesting player for Bolton, especially if Owen Coyle emulates the attacking style he played at Bolton and not the Sam Allardyce-esque play that Megson used.
Another thing that works in Bolton’s favor is the fact that, outside of Manchester City, nobody’s really spent any money this season. Outside of managing talent, money (and the ability to spend said money on players) is the biggest thing that separated the Big Four from the rest of the league. As the Big Four crashes back to earth financially (and as squad registration rules prevent them from stockpiling talent), teams that buy smart and manage well will see a boost in performance. Bolton’s only spent money on Marcos Alonso; the rest of their transfers in (including Stuart Holden last season) were all free. That’s smart buying. If Bolton has managed to buy and sell well, they may actually surprise some people.
Still, even with good management, I don’t see Bolton advancing much past 12th or 11th place this season; they’ll still need to eventually spend some cash on players if they want to break into the top half. But these opening Owen Coyle signings are encouraging, and Bolton may be a tougher team than they’ve been in season’s past.
