Notlob Fred

First time doing this, so apologies if anyone feels I have hijacked their turn. Wrote some background to try and be helpful

Bolton Wanderers
One of the faded romantic names of English football. Had a long spell in the Premiership in the early 2000s, memorably managed by Sam Allardici and then went crashing down the leagues until saved by new owner Sharon Brittan in 2019. Ian Evatt has been in charge since the 20/21 season who has improved their league position year on year, starting with promotion from League 2 and now has a non-voting stake in the club. Finished third last year and lost in the play-off final to Oxford while not managing a shot on target despite over 60% of the possession. Fans on one of their boards seem, understandably, very upset and bitter about this. Will be looking to go one better this season but may struggle against Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and the sombrero led Rotherham Town, although they are viewed as one of the favourites for promotion.

They play a version of 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 with wingbacks. Rumour has it that there may be some tactical tweaks this year. Last year, Bolton were the second top scorers in League one, behind Peterborough with 86 goals. The work was shared around as the top scorer was Dion Charlies with 14, followed by Victor Adoboyejo with 10 (the latter being an Orient old boy having played for us between 2014 and 2017). Top of the assists was Josh Sheehan with 12 who made team of the season, as did Josh Dacres-Cogley who operates as a right wing back. The rest of the goals were shared out amongst the team.

The defence is marshalled by 196cm (6 foot 4 in old money) Portuguese club captain Ricardo who has been at Bolton since the 2020-21 season. He was very good in 2022-23 being in the PFA team of the year and EFL team of the season, although less good last season.

They say you have to run as fast as you can to stay in the same place and Bolton are trying to run faster. So far, they have released two old forwards and an unwanted left back and picking up eight players, three in the last two days, including 35-year-old Scott Arfield from the MLS, who will probably be on less than 400k of those Yankee dollars. They have added their first continental European player is Szabolcs Schön, a left sided Hungarian wingback or winger who has had a few international games and an unsuccessful spell in the MLS. They have poached Klaidi Lolos from Crawley, after a very successful season in League 2 which included 13 goals and Jay Matete has joined on loan from Sunderland, primarily as a defensive midfielder. Chris Forino has joined from Wycombe, probably as a reserve centre back. Jordi Osei-Tutu has arrived from Bochum and the Bundesliga, via a sojourn in Greece, having started at Arsenal and making Bolton his seventh club in nine years. John McAtee has joined from Luton, having scored 12 for Barnsley last year on loan. All this adds at least depth to an already strong squad.
They have an impressive majority owner in Sharon Brittan, who saved the club, supported by a consortium of Swiss commodity traders, who seem to have some personal connection. You can hear her views here, along with Ian Mather from Cambridge United: www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/24320604.bolton-wanderers-chief-sharon-brittan-hits-premier-league/

Bolton will be under some pressure to hit the ground running to make up for what was a very disappointing performance in the play-off final. If it doesn’t go well, Evatt could come under some pressure which will disrupt the approach the owner has put in place.

Players in: Chris Forino CB (Wycombe, free), Luke Southwood GK (Cheltenham, free), Klaidi Lolos CM (Crawley, undisclosed), Scott Arfield CM (Charlotte, MLS, free), Szabolcs Schön LB/LW (Vidi Hungary, £940), Jay Matete CM (Sunderland, loan), Jordi Osei-Tutu RWB (Bochum, undisclosed), John McAtee CF (Luton Town, undisclosed)
Players out: Cameron Jerome F, Jan Dodi Bodvarsson F, Declan John LB (all released), Luke Hutchinson GK (loan, Marine).

Previous results: Bolton 3 Leyton Orient 2 (23 December 2023)
Leyton Orient 1 Bolton Wanderers 0 (20 January 2024)