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No-one rates us, we don’t care – a slogan which has to ring true for Wanderers if they are to stand any chance of escaping their forecasted fate this season in the Championship.
While platitudes from the dressing room remain upbeat and both players and manager Phil Parkinson still insist results will turn around eventually, the lack of evidence thus far on the pitch has led to the erosion of faith on the terraces.
Support remains impressively steadfast, and many travelling fans stayed behind after the final whistle to show their appreciation for the players’ efforts at Villa Park before the international break. If history has taught us anything, however, the Macron Stadium may be a different prospect entirely.
Two home games against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR on the next two weekends represent a chance for Parkinson’s side to give the fan-base a bit of hope that the season is not – at less than a quarter of the way in – a dead rubber. Beyond that a tough trip to Fulham, one of the Championship’s real thoroughbreds, and a Halloween meeting with Sunderland, where any number of horrors could unfold.
While optimism inside the Macron may be waning, outside the stadium’s walls it has disappeared entirely. Few give Wanderers a snowball’s chance of avoiding the drop and they are not shy of showing it. Online gambling firm 10Bet offered supporters a ridiculous 1,000/1 ON that the Whites would make an immediate return to League One. Most other bookmakers also give Parkinson’s side no chance of staying up, albeit not with such extravagance.
As things stand, no club has ever recovered from the position Bolton find themselves after 11 games. And to beat those kind of odds would be a story in itself. Perhaps, then, Parkinson’s best hope could be to embrace the negativity and turn it into motivation?
Kevin Davies, the former Wanderers skipper, is among those holding out hope the early-season form can be remedied by whatever means necessary.
“They do need to find a result quickly,” he told The Bolton News. “Or otherwise they will find themselves too far adrift. But you have to try and stay positive.
“I think they have enough to win enough games and beat the teams in and around them. I think they will be okay.
“Managers say it takes about 10 to 12 games before you can get a rough idea of how the table will shape up, but the complexion of the table can change very quickly.
“Phil Parkinson has got a tough job and I just hope he can find a way to break this run and get in and amongst the teams above them quickly. It’s been difficult to watch, I had such high hopes for them going into this season. But the constraints have made things difficult.”
Wanderers have operated within an embargo for the last four transfer windows and remain in special measures as their convalescence from financial meltdown continues.
The signing of free agent Karl Henry and promotion of Jeff King to the first team squad suggests the rules have been relaxed yet it is only when the winter window opens in just under 12 weeks that we will see how how far Ken Anderson can, or to what extent he is willing to, strengthen.
Wanderers must be in touch with the safety zone for any serious money invested in January to be considered a wise investment. Few expect significant sums to be splashed around but should Parkinson manage to keep his side in contention it would be fitting reward for the Whites boss to be able to operate in the market without EFL shackles. The bookies can be beaten – just ask Leicester or Huddersfield – but they are not wrong often. How wonderful it would be for this to be one of those times.
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While platitudes from the dressing room remain upbeat and both players and manager Phil Parkinson still insist results will turn around eventually, the lack of evidence thus far on the pitch has led to the erosion of faith on the terraces.
Support remains impressively steadfast, and many travelling fans stayed behind after the final whistle to show their appreciation for the players’ efforts at Villa Park before the international break. If history has taught us anything, however, the Macron Stadium may be a different prospect entirely.
Two home games against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR on the next two weekends represent a chance for Parkinson’s side to give the fan-base a bit of hope that the season is not – at less than a quarter of the way in – a dead rubber. Beyond that a tough trip to Fulham, one of the Championship’s real thoroughbreds, and a Halloween meeting with Sunderland, where any number of horrors could unfold.
While optimism inside the Macron may be waning, outside the stadium’s walls it has disappeared entirely. Few give Wanderers a snowball’s chance of avoiding the drop and they are not shy of showing it. Online gambling firm 10Bet offered supporters a ridiculous 1,000/1 ON that the Whites would make an immediate return to League One. Most other bookmakers also give Parkinson’s side no chance of staying up, albeit not with such extravagance.
As things stand, no club has ever recovered from the position Bolton find themselves after 11 games. And to beat those kind of odds would be a story in itself. Perhaps, then, Parkinson’s best hope could be to embrace the negativity and turn it into motivation?
Kevin Davies, the former Wanderers skipper, is among those holding out hope the early-season form can be remedied by whatever means necessary.
“They do need to find a result quickly,” he told The Bolton News. “Or otherwise they will find themselves too far adrift. But you have to try and stay positive.
“I think they have enough to win enough games and beat the teams in and around them. I think they will be okay.
“Managers say it takes about 10 to 12 games before you can get a rough idea of how the table will shape up, but the complexion of the table can change very quickly.
“Phil Parkinson has got a tough job and I just hope he can find a way to break this run and get in and amongst the teams above them quickly. It’s been difficult to watch, I had such high hopes for them going into this season. But the constraints have made things difficult.”
Wanderers have operated within an embargo for the last four transfer windows and remain in special measures as their convalescence from financial meltdown continues.
The signing of free agent Karl Henry and promotion of Jeff King to the first team squad suggests the rules have been relaxed yet it is only when the winter window opens in just under 12 weeks that we will see how how far Ken Anderson can, or to what extent he is willing to, strengthen.
Wanderers must be in touch with the safety zone for any serious money invested in January to be considered a wise investment. Few expect significant sums to be splashed around but should Parkinson manage to keep his side in contention it would be fitting reward for the Whites boss to be able to operate in the market without EFL shackles. The bookies can be beaten – just ask Leicester or Huddersfield – but they are not wrong often. How wonderful it would be for this to be one of those times.
Source