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Boyhood Blade Kevin Davies believes Wanderers have landed the perfect opponent to start life in League One.
Nobody quite sums up the difficulties of life at this level of football than Sheffield United – a traditional club with a massive fanbase and a budget to match.
Yet the South Yorkshiremen are preparing this summer for their sixth season trying to return to the Championship and Ex-Whites skipper Davies thinks it will be a very early indicator for what Wanderers can expect.
“It will be a lesson for Bolton,” he said. “They (Sheffield United) have been down there for five years now and Preston North End were down there for four – so that shows you, it is a very tough league to escape.
“It’s a great game to start with because you know they will bring a lot of fans. If fact, that might make the match feel a bit more important than it actually is.
“At any level of football you want to get off to a good start but for Bolton it’s especially important to get going right away.
“They will want to put last season in the past. Start afresh. A few good results early on will do everyone the world of good.”
The season opener will pit two new managers against each other – Phil Parkinson in the home dugout, and Chris Wilder in the away.
Wilder is also excited at the prospect of starting life as the Blades boss with such a high-profile fixture and knows the men in the opposite camp well already.
“There’s not a lot of travelling for the fans and it’s against a real big hitter” he told The Sheffield Star. “(It is) two of the biggest clubs in the division going head-to-head on the opening day. There’s two new managers and sets of staff, too, and it’s one we can really look forward to.
“I’ve known Phil since I was 15, so we go way back; Alan Knill, my assistant, knows him well, too. I also played with Lee Butler, who’s their goalkeeping coach, and Phil’s assistant Steve Parkin is a mad Blades fan. So there’s lots of connections.”
Davies has his own history with United, the club who released him as a teenager before he found a home at Chesterfield, launching a 22-year career which eventually spanned 800 games.
A large chunk of that was spent at Bolton – and the club legend believes there are brighter times on the horizon at the Macron despite a few uncertainties which still hang over the club.
“I think appointing Phil Parkinson was a great move,” he told The Bolton News. “He’s a no-nonsense type, can bring some discipline into the place, some organisation that has maybe been missing.
“He knows this level of football and has a good record so as soon as I saw he was coming in I thought ‘that’s the right one.’
“I’m sure he’ll be aware of what he is up against but to bring him in from Bradford City was a very good move in my view.”
All eyes are now on whether Wanderers can back their manager with signings, and that will hinge entirely on the Football League and Financial Fair Play authorities lifting the transfer embargo which has shrouded the club for several months.
Like the Wanderers fans, Davies is keeping his fingers crossed.
“I’m certainly a bit more optimistic about things than I was a few weeks ago,” he said. “Of course the big thing is getting the embargo lifted and start building a squad which is capable of getting out of this league.
“I think it is achievable. Other clubs in recent years have bounced straight back and with the right planning and management it can happen.
“Obviously it isn’t easy and Sheffield United have shown us that but I’m looking forward to seeing how they get on.”
Wanderers begin their pre-season training next week although a Monday start has yet to be officially confirmed with work still going on at Lostock.
They face Atherton Collieries in their opening friendly next Saturday (July 2) before flying out to Malmo in Sweden for a training camp which is currently scheduled to include two practice games against HB Koge and FC Helsingor.
The Whites return to play their next first-team friendly at Mansfield Town on July 16.
Source
Nobody quite sums up the difficulties of life at this level of football than Sheffield United – a traditional club with a massive fanbase and a budget to match.
Yet the South Yorkshiremen are preparing this summer for their sixth season trying to return to the Championship and Ex-Whites skipper Davies thinks it will be a very early indicator for what Wanderers can expect.
“It will be a lesson for Bolton,” he said. “They (Sheffield United) have been down there for five years now and Preston North End were down there for four – so that shows you, it is a very tough league to escape.
“It’s a great game to start with because you know they will bring a lot of fans. If fact, that might make the match feel a bit more important than it actually is.
“At any level of football you want to get off to a good start but for Bolton it’s especially important to get going right away.
“They will want to put last season in the past. Start afresh. A few good results early on will do everyone the world of good.”
The season opener will pit two new managers against each other – Phil Parkinson in the home dugout, and Chris Wilder in the away.
Wilder is also excited at the prospect of starting life as the Blades boss with such a high-profile fixture and knows the men in the opposite camp well already.
“There’s not a lot of travelling for the fans and it’s against a real big hitter” he told The Sheffield Star. “(It is) two of the biggest clubs in the division going head-to-head on the opening day. There’s two new managers and sets of staff, too, and it’s one we can really look forward to.
“I’ve known Phil since I was 15, so we go way back; Alan Knill, my assistant, knows him well, too. I also played with Lee Butler, who’s their goalkeeping coach, and Phil’s assistant Steve Parkin is a mad Blades fan. So there’s lots of connections.”
Davies has his own history with United, the club who released him as a teenager before he found a home at Chesterfield, launching a 22-year career which eventually spanned 800 games.
A large chunk of that was spent at Bolton – and the club legend believes there are brighter times on the horizon at the Macron despite a few uncertainties which still hang over the club.
“I think appointing Phil Parkinson was a great move,” he told The Bolton News. “He’s a no-nonsense type, can bring some discipline into the place, some organisation that has maybe been missing.
“He knows this level of football and has a good record so as soon as I saw he was coming in I thought ‘that’s the right one.’
“I’m sure he’ll be aware of what he is up against but to bring him in from Bradford City was a very good move in my view.”
All eyes are now on whether Wanderers can back their manager with signings, and that will hinge entirely on the Football League and Financial Fair Play authorities lifting the transfer embargo which has shrouded the club for several months.
Like the Wanderers fans, Davies is keeping his fingers crossed.
“I’m certainly a bit more optimistic about things than I was a few weeks ago,” he said. “Of course the big thing is getting the embargo lifted and start building a squad which is capable of getting out of this league.
“I think it is achievable. Other clubs in recent years have bounced straight back and with the right planning and management it can happen.
“Obviously it isn’t easy and Sheffield United have shown us that but I’m looking forward to seeing how they get on.”
Wanderers begin their pre-season training next week although a Monday start has yet to be officially confirmed with work still going on at Lostock.
They face Atherton Collieries in their opening friendly next Saturday (July 2) before flying out to Malmo in Sweden for a training camp which is currently scheduled to include two practice games against HB Koge and FC Helsingor.
The Whites return to play their next first-team friendly at Mansfield Town on July 16.
Source