Bolton Wanderers 2017-2018 vs BW 2018-2019

I genuinely thought we had improved our roster this season.  But, alas, this may not be true.  Have we improved or are we worse than last season?   Or has Parky outstayed his welcome?  Very troubling to start the season on fire and to be in the relegation zone now. Did losing Morais, Henry and ALF make us weaker?

Two main problems, none of the central midfielders are as good as Henry and Madine was a class above any of the 3 strikers signed.
Lowe and Williams won't have careers at clubs as good as Henry did, and although Madine is only a half decent Championship striker none of Magennis, Donaldson or Doidge will ever be that.
It's a bit of a laugh to say we haven't replaced the quality of Henry and Madine because they'd have got nowhere near a Bolton team not long ago but thats how it is this season

Growler wrote:Two main problems, none of the central midfielders are as good as Henry and Madine was a class above any of the 3 strikers signed.
Lowe and Williams won't have careers at clubs as good as Henry did, and although Madine is only a half decent Championship striker none of Magennis, Donaldson or Doidge will ever be that.
It's a bit of a laugh to say we haven't replaced the quality of Henry and Madine because they'd have got nowhere near a Bolton team not long ago but thats how it is this season

Seems fair comment but we couldn't afford not to sell Madine for £6 million - it kept us financially afloat for that much longer - and Henry is 36 years old and no club fancied him enough to offer him a contract after we released him, until bottom of the third division Bradford took a punt on him just a couple of weeks ago.

I would even suggest that the Henry and Madine of last season were much better players than the Henry and Madine of this season - even if we had managed to keep them both.

I still think that we have enough quality in the squad to stay up this season and hope that we somehow manage to find a goal scorer from somewhere in the January window to make the job that more easier.

Just out of curiosity I've had a quick look at how our two seemingly first choice striker targets have worked out at the clubs they signed for - Charlie Wyke played just 3 games for Sunderland and seems to have been out injured for most of the season with a dodgy knee and Joe Garner has got just one goal in eleven appearances and as yet to play the full ninety minutes of a game.

Maybe Anderson's reluctance to pay more than he thought they were worth as turned out to have been proved right.

Sluffy wrote:

Growler wrote:Two main problems, none of the central midfielders are as good as Henry and Madine was a class above any of the 3 strikers signed.
Lowe and Williams won't have careers at clubs as good as Henry did, and although Madine is only a half decent Championship striker none of Magennis, Donaldson or Doidge will ever be that.
It's a bit of a laugh to say we haven't replaced the quality of Henry and Madine because they'd have got nowhere near a Bolton team not long ago but thats how it is this season

Seems fair comment but we couldn't afford not to sell Madine for £6 million - it kept us financially afloat for that much longer - and Henry is 36 years old and no club fancied him enough to offer him a contract after we released him, until bottom of the third division Bradford took a punt on him just a couple of weeks ago.

I would even suggest that the Henry and Madine of last season were much better players than the Henry and Madine of this season - even if we had managed to keep them both.

I still think that we have enough quality in the squad to stay up this season and hope that we somehow manage to find a goal scorer from somewhere in the January window to make the job that more easier.

Just out of curiosity I've had a quick look at how our two seemingly first choice striker targets have worked out at the clubs they signed for - Charlie Wyke played just 3 games for Sunderland and seems to have been out injured for most of the season with a dodgy knee and Joe Garner has got just one goal in eleven appearances and as yet to play the full ninety minutes of a game.

Maybe Anderson's reluctance to pay more than he thought they were worth as turned out to have been proved right.

It's all a crapshoot... nothing in the marketplace is priced well... and a striker is only as good as his service. I think the players have a right to be upset over the untimeliness of their payments... and I think the fans have a right to be upset... well, over everything!  I'm giving KA the benefit of the doubt... but his lack of prompt payment is more than worrisome.  How will we finish the season without picking up a player or two in January?  How can we pay for the players we bought whose teams are owed money in January?  Can we avoid administration?  Apparently no buyers out there... Eddie tried... DeanO tried... and KA wants to find someone... who knows what the truth is... we certainly don't know.  The Madine deal was prudent... and ALF wanted to leave.  Sluffy is right about the advancing age of Henry... but we sure miss him, as we do Antoine Robinson.  The question is how we can put points on the board when we lose to the lower teams in our division... even worse is putting on a bad effort at home.  I hope we get some points as a Christmas gift, but the usual one shot on target is a glaring hole in our armor.  I also hope Parky finds a starting eleven that he can stick with.  Is that too much to ask for?

Signing players is always a gamble at any level but I reckon that signing unattached players and players from lower leagues is even more so if you are depending on them coming good as opposed to them being a “nice to have” addition to a squad where you have alternatives if they don’t hack it.

Madine had to go for obvious reasons - we needed the money and the offer was way over the odds.

But the loss of Henry, Le Fondre and Morais is the biggest factor as to why we are almost certain to go down.

Henry ran the show. And often on his own because his usual partner of Pratley/Derik/Vela was usually anonymous. He broke up attacks with a tackle or a foul (usually a foul) but not many teams ran straight through the middle. He might be knocking on, but he's better than Lowe, Murphy, O'Neill and Williams playing the defensive midfield role. Letting him go when he was probably earning half of what Lowe, Murphy etc are on just makes it all the more ridiculous.

Le Fondre was a game changer, whether that be a goal or an assist. We don't have any game changers in the squad right now. Letting him go for free when he was under contract is possibly the most ridiculous decision ever.

And while Morais was injured for a lot of last season he was often the heartbeat of the team when he did play. When he played with Little down that right we actually had a limited amount of attacking flair. And he could cross. There isn't a player in this team who can cross a ball into the box without hitting the first defender. The supply from the wings is extremely poor. Again, Morais was probably on half of what Noone, Buckley & Wildschut are on.

So no, the squad isn't any better. Parky has let players go and replaced them with more expensive flops.

observer wrote:I genuinely thought we had improved our roster this season.  But, alas, this may not be true.  Have we improved or are we worse than last season?   Or has Parky outstayed his welcome?  Very troubling to start the season on fire and to be in the relegation zone now. Did losing Morais, Henry and ALF make us weaker?

1. Madine is a big miss, replacing a £6 million striker is not easy with no budget.

2. Henry needed replacing, think Lowe is fine for that job but Williams not good enough at the box to box role imo.

3. Morais not a miss at all. Oz is a better player, don’t know what Parky is doing not starting him every week when the rest of the midfield are so poor on the ball.

4. I’d ban you for using the word roster.

T.R.O.Y wrote:Oz is a better player

Based on what, because he's done feck all for us.

He creates chances, and should have at least 4 assists - that’s why stats are only half the story. I’d have kept Morais as an option off the bench, but he clearly wasn’t up to starting every week at this level.

T.R.O.Y wrote:He creates chances, and should have at least 4 assists - that’s why stats are only half the story. I’d have kept Morais as an option off the bench, but he clearly wasn’t up to starting every week at this level.

I see Morais as a right winger, he is better than Noone, Buckley and Wildshut because he can cross. He also runs at players, something none of our wingers do. We have absolutely no drive from midfield or the wings.

I still have hopes for Oz, but judging him purely on his Bolton form, he has been pretty rubbish.

Disagree, he’s been let down by those around him whenever I’ve seen him - aside from his shooting. Parky needs to get him back in the team ASAP.

T.R.O.Y wrote:Disagree, he’s been let down by those around him whenever I’ve seen him - aside from his shooting. Parky needs to get him back in the team ASAP.

Poor excuse. Good players will rise to the top, even if their colleagues are rubbish.

There have been one or two decent passes, but his play inside the area has been pisspoor, and considering we were told he had an eye for goal, he's been a major let down.

Not saying he can't make it, and he's obviously been a victim of Parky's crazy rotation, but I can see why Parky leaves him out. With Ameobi in the team he can't afford to have two luxury players who produce very little.

Needs to score for sure. But if the chances he’s related we’re finished it would be a different story. 

I don’t think he’s a world beater but he offers far more on the ball compared to the other players in this squad. 

I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s a better player than Morais.

T.R.O.Y wrote:I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s a better player than Morais.

Morais is a right winger, not sure why you're trying to compare the two.

But until Oz actually provides a few assists, he's going to go down as a flop.

Fair, just thinking in the context of summer transfer business.

Oz has potential as does Doidge, if Parky doesn’t pull his finger out and get them playing to it the squad will definitely be poorer and we will go down with a whimper.

Alf and Morais were poor last year and the stats prove it. Madine was never and never will be a £6 mill striker but if they were daft enough to offer the money to a soon-to-be bankrupt club then of course he would be cashed in. But whilst Anderson is around there will never be the money available to make the requisite signings.

wanderlust wrote:Alf and Morais were poor last year

We'd have gone down without Le Fondre, that's for sure.

But I'm sure things look different down in Norfolk.

Alf, Morais and Henry all over 30 had to be replaced and on a tight budget you’re restricted in terms of squad size. Don’t blame KA for letting any of them go.

T.R.O.Y wrote:Alf, Morais and Henry all over 30 had to be replaced and on a tight budget you’re restricted in terms of squad size. Don’t blame KA for letting any of them go.

No, it was ridiculous to let Le Fondre go for free, regardless of his age.

If Doidge scores as many goals for Bolton as Le Fondre I'll buy you an ice cream.

I would have kept Henry but ALF as much as i loved him, knew he wouldn't play much and got a great offer to earn good money in Oz. Morais was in and out and is now playing in league 2 so not sure he would get much of a look in.
On paper the squad this season (apart from the strikers) looks better but they just aren't performing as if they are better than last years team. The likes of Buckley and Noone have been poor overall and Wildschut and Oztumer haven't lived up to expectations as yet.