Home
Ankle ligament damage sustained by Sammy Ameobi, likely to keep the winger side-lined for six weeks, placed an exclamation mark on a pretty rotten week at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Faced with trips at Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town, there will be little time to sit back and mull over his replacement in a system which actually seems to suit the parry and riposte of playing away from home.
Ameobi’s pace and ability to carry the ball to relieve pressure has been an important factor in what still remains a decent start to the Championship campaign.
Wanderers have shown they can win without the former Newcastle United man, beating Reading with a goal from Yanic Wildschut in mid-August.
Now Parkinson must decide whether to try the same formula again at the Riverside, and insert Wildschut or Will Buckley into the right side of the attack, or whether to try and match up formation with Tony Pulis, who has employed a back three for most of his home games thus far.
The 4-5-1 system, with wide players pushing up to make a 4-3-3 in possession of the ball, has worked well for Parkinson this season on the road. But for the Carabao Cup at Leeds United with a much-changed line-up his team are undefeated, which is some feat considering the issues of last season.
Wildschut’s electric pace and power make him an obvious choice to come into the side but while the Dutchman has added two important goals to the cause since arriving from Norwich City, he has yet to look completely settled in a Bolton shirt.
The winger was only able to show fleeting glimpses of his quality against QPR at the weekend as he came on to replace Ameobi midway through the first half and Craig Noone was moved on to the right.
Parkinson faces a similar coaching challenge with Wildschut as he did with Ameobi when he first arrived at Bolton. Viewed by many in his career as an impact sub, rather than a regular starter, the 26-year-old could get a chance to start proving people wrong on Wednesday night.
Will Buckley, who like Noone can operate on either wing quite comfortably, would be another experienced option for the Bolton boss.
He scored to signal the fightback against Bristol City and has been involved from the start in two away wins at West Brom and Reading from the off. The victory at the Madejski – where Buckley was substituted for Wildschut at half time – makes this a difficult one to call.
Clayton Donaldson, who was excellent at Leeds in a right-wing role, may also come into the equation and Josh Magennis has also shown he can play on the right during international duties with Northern Ireland.
Wanderers face five games in 17 days before the October international break, which means Parkinson will have to use all the options available to him.
The final 10 minutes against QPR provided a taster of how Erhun Oztumer could be used as the team switched to 3-4-1-2 to chase the game late on.
The playmaker has started only once in the league this season, in the home win against Birmingham, and also scored on his debut at Leeds in the cup. Fans are clamouring to see more of a player who, like Ameobi, is capable of adding a different dimension to the Bolton attack.
Wanderers’ midfield came in for some criticism on Saturday and stats on pass accuracy suggest Jason Lowe (88 per cent), Gary O’Neil (75) and Joe Williams (77) did not waste the ball, rather they played in front of the QPR defence with little getting in beyond.
Source
Faced with trips at Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town, there will be little time to sit back and mull over his replacement in a system which actually seems to suit the parry and riposte of playing away from home.
Ameobi’s pace and ability to carry the ball to relieve pressure has been an important factor in what still remains a decent start to the Championship campaign.
Wanderers have shown they can win without the former Newcastle United man, beating Reading with a goal from Yanic Wildschut in mid-August.
Now Parkinson must decide whether to try the same formula again at the Riverside, and insert Wildschut or Will Buckley into the right side of the attack, or whether to try and match up formation with Tony Pulis, who has employed a back three for most of his home games thus far.
The 4-5-1 system, with wide players pushing up to make a 4-3-3 in possession of the ball, has worked well for Parkinson this season on the road. But for the Carabao Cup at Leeds United with a much-changed line-up his team are undefeated, which is some feat considering the issues of last season.
Wildschut’s electric pace and power make him an obvious choice to come into the side but while the Dutchman has added two important goals to the cause since arriving from Norwich City, he has yet to look completely settled in a Bolton shirt.
The winger was only able to show fleeting glimpses of his quality against QPR at the weekend as he came on to replace Ameobi midway through the first half and Craig Noone was moved on to the right.
Parkinson faces a similar coaching challenge with Wildschut as he did with Ameobi when he first arrived at Bolton. Viewed by many in his career as an impact sub, rather than a regular starter, the 26-year-old could get a chance to start proving people wrong on Wednesday night.
Will Buckley, who like Noone can operate on either wing quite comfortably, would be another experienced option for the Bolton boss.
He scored to signal the fightback against Bristol City and has been involved from the start in two away wins at West Brom and Reading from the off. The victory at the Madejski – where Buckley was substituted for Wildschut at half time – makes this a difficult one to call.
Clayton Donaldson, who was excellent at Leeds in a right-wing role, may also come into the equation and Josh Magennis has also shown he can play on the right during international duties with Northern Ireland.
Wanderers face five games in 17 days before the October international break, which means Parkinson will have to use all the options available to him.
The final 10 minutes against QPR provided a taster of how Erhun Oztumer could be used as the team switched to 3-4-1-2 to chase the game late on.
The playmaker has started only once in the league this season, in the home win against Birmingham, and also scored on his debut at Leeds in the cup. Fans are clamouring to see more of a player who, like Ameobi, is capable of adding a different dimension to the Bolton attack.
Wanderers’ midfield came in for some criticism on Saturday and stats on pass accuracy suggest Jason Lowe (88 per cent), Gary O’Neil (75) and Joe Williams (77) did not waste the ball, rather they played in front of the QPR defence with little getting in beyond.
Source
