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Wanderers have waited longer for a permanent manager than at any other stage in the last 56 years – but what tasks await when he finally walks through the doors of the Macron Stadium?
It is 12 weeks and counting since Neil Lennon stepped down, with the club still hanging on by a thread to their Championship status.
Nat Lofthouse was in temporary charge the last time Bolton spent this long finding a successor to the great Bill Ridding in 1968. And Nat got the job eventually.
Names have come and gone from the frame, interviews have been held, but the frustration continues for a fanbase which is desperate to shift the focus back on to football and preparations for the new campaign.
There have been suggestions within the Wanderers camp they have found their man and are simply waiting for his backroom team to become available. But very little has run smoothly in this manager chase so far, so will there be another sting in the tail?
Preparations have been made by Dean Holdsworth to make the new manager’s transition as easy as possible, with pre-season mapped out and the majority of contractual issues now sorted. But nevertheless, plenty of problems remain. Here we take a look at some of the key issues the new man at the helm must tackle quickly if he is to be a success with the Whites.
The embargo
Of course, ridding the club of a total transfer embargo, which has stood now for more than six months, is not the direct responsibility of the new manager but he will play a major part in the paperwork required to get it cleared.
Wanderers need to file their overdue accounts, first and foremost, but beyond that they need to provide an indication to the Football League and those responsible for Financial Fair Play of the staffing costs for the next 12 months. Although signings have been lined up for the next man, it is still difficult to assess how many, if any, he will want to bring in, and who he wants to stay at the Macron. Even the cost of the coaching team is an unknown factor.
It can be assumed any candidate who has expressed an interest in the job would come to Bolton expecting the embargo to be lifted. Otherwise, the problems encountered by his predecessor Neil Lennon will simply be transferred.
Who’s with us?
Everyone has a thought on which players should be shipped out after last season’s relegation, and 21 professionals have been told their contracts will not be renewed. That equates to a large saving on wages from July onwards but if the new manager wants any money to play with, more players will have to be moved on.
Wigan Athletic have indicated they would take captain Darren Pratley – more than likely on loan – but any serious interest in the midfielder, or any of the so-called “big-hitters” whose wages are such an issue, will most likely come at the end of the window. That could mean a long wait for the next manager to know what money he really has to work with, and he had better be prepared for every eventuality.
Holding on to Rob?
Wanderers are playing it cool with their highly-rated defender, who along with Zach Clough and Josh Vela are the only real assets which could be cashed in should an emergency occur.
Arsenal made a bid, which got knocked back, but his successful summer with the England Under-21s have already started to inflate his value.
The mood in the camp at the moment is that a season with Holding anchoring the defence could be more valuable than accepting the low offer which is currently on the table from the Gunners. Whether the new manager agrees, or even has a say, will make for interesting viewing.
Power of positivity
Ever since Owen Coyle’s team tipped out of the Premier League in 2012, Wanderers have won a miserly 55 times out of 203 games in all competitions. The winning mentality has been largely beaten out of the players and – save for a short spell in the sun for Dougie Freedman and Neil Lennon – the fans too. Transforming all that will be a difficult task for the new man in charge and personality is going to go a long, long way. His first press conference must give some hope for the future and, perhaps more importantly, get us talking about football once again.
Know your level
Wanderers are a League One club. That should have discounted rumours about Ryan Giggs from the very start – but the fact they were taken so seriously suggests the Whites faithful are still coming to terms with their team’s fall from grace. Both Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth want someone who knows how to be successful at this level of football. Their options may be slimming but there are still good candidates out there.
The new man has to get that through to his players too. So often last season we heard that Bolton “were too good to go down” or that there was “too much quality” to be in the mess they were in. It’s time we faced facts – League One takes a very different type of character than the Championship and the Premier League.
Source
It is 12 weeks and counting since Neil Lennon stepped down, with the club still hanging on by a thread to their Championship status.
Nat Lofthouse was in temporary charge the last time Bolton spent this long finding a successor to the great Bill Ridding in 1968. And Nat got the job eventually.
Names have come and gone from the frame, interviews have been held, but the frustration continues for a fanbase which is desperate to shift the focus back on to football and preparations for the new campaign.
There have been suggestions within the Wanderers camp they have found their man and are simply waiting for his backroom team to become available. But very little has run smoothly in this manager chase so far, so will there be another sting in the tail?
Preparations have been made by Dean Holdsworth to make the new manager’s transition as easy as possible, with pre-season mapped out and the majority of contractual issues now sorted. But nevertheless, plenty of problems remain. Here we take a look at some of the key issues the new man at the helm must tackle quickly if he is to be a success with the Whites.
The embargo
Of course, ridding the club of a total transfer embargo, which has stood now for more than six months, is not the direct responsibility of the new manager but he will play a major part in the paperwork required to get it cleared.
Wanderers need to file their overdue accounts, first and foremost, but beyond that they need to provide an indication to the Football League and those responsible for Financial Fair Play of the staffing costs for the next 12 months. Although signings have been lined up for the next man, it is still difficult to assess how many, if any, he will want to bring in, and who he wants to stay at the Macron. Even the cost of the coaching team is an unknown factor.
It can be assumed any candidate who has expressed an interest in the job would come to Bolton expecting the embargo to be lifted. Otherwise, the problems encountered by his predecessor Neil Lennon will simply be transferred.
Who’s with us?
Everyone has a thought on which players should be shipped out after last season’s relegation, and 21 professionals have been told their contracts will not be renewed. That equates to a large saving on wages from July onwards but if the new manager wants any money to play with, more players will have to be moved on.
Wigan Athletic have indicated they would take captain Darren Pratley – more than likely on loan – but any serious interest in the midfielder, or any of the so-called “big-hitters” whose wages are such an issue, will most likely come at the end of the window. That could mean a long wait for the next manager to know what money he really has to work with, and he had better be prepared for every eventuality.
Holding on to Rob?
Wanderers are playing it cool with their highly-rated defender, who along with Zach Clough and Josh Vela are the only real assets which could be cashed in should an emergency occur.
Arsenal made a bid, which got knocked back, but his successful summer with the England Under-21s have already started to inflate his value.
The mood in the camp at the moment is that a season with Holding anchoring the defence could be more valuable than accepting the low offer which is currently on the table from the Gunners. Whether the new manager agrees, or even has a say, will make for interesting viewing.
Power of positivity
Ever since Owen Coyle’s team tipped out of the Premier League in 2012, Wanderers have won a miserly 55 times out of 203 games in all competitions. The winning mentality has been largely beaten out of the players and – save for a short spell in the sun for Dougie Freedman and Neil Lennon – the fans too. Transforming all that will be a difficult task for the new man in charge and personality is going to go a long, long way. His first press conference must give some hope for the future and, perhaps more importantly, get us talking about football once again.
Know your level
Wanderers are a League One club. That should have discounted rumours about Ryan Giggs from the very start – but the fact they were taken so seriously suggests the Whites faithful are still coming to terms with their team’s fall from grace. Both Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth want someone who knows how to be successful at this level of football. Their options may be slimming but there are still good candidates out there.
The new man has to get that through to his players too. So often last season we heard that Bolton “were too good to go down” or that there was “too much quality” to be in the mess they were in. It’s time we faced facts – League One takes a very different type of character than the Championship and the Premier League.
Source
