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MJ Williams may be one of the more unheralded members of the Wanderers dressing room – but Ian Evatt reckons he could prove to be one of the most important.
The former Blackpool enforcer was one of the star performers in victory against Scunthorpe United and now looks to have cemented a place in Evatt’s plans as a holding midfielder.
Deadline day signing Williams has added some defensive grit to the Bolton side, with three clean sheets in his five appearances to date.
“He really helps the team function doing the ugly side of the game,” Evatt agreed. “He’s not going to be a supporters’ favourite because it’s not pretty but it’s effective for me and it’s effective for the team. And he’s got an excellent passing range.”
Even the top teams in the land have players who work between the spotlights and Evatt believes Williams’ role enables some of his flair players the licence to attack.
He said: “At the top, top clubs you’ve got Fabinho, Fernandinho, Jordan Henderson does it at times, Fred and Scott McTominay at Man United. I’m talking about the best players here and I’m not comparing MJ to those, but every team has to have one of those and we haven’t had it. Add to that he’s six foot two, six foot three which helps us from set pieces, helps us in the middle of the pitch, I think he’s been excellent so far.”
Evatt dropped another deadline day signing, Marcus Maddison, to the bench in midweek but believes the on-loan Charlton man understands the current clamour for places in the starting 11.
“Marcus has been unlucky because I thought that Saturday was his best game for us, especially first half, but he knows and understands that we’re in a really good place and a competitive squad so when it’s your turn, make sure you play well.”
Wanderers host Barrow on Saturday looking to put five wins together for the second time this season.
“At the moment we’re looking up but we all remember what happened after November when we won four or five on the spin and then after that, I went from manager of the month to the worst manager in the league,” Evatt said. “We’re not going to get carried away. Yes, we’ve won a game, we’re going to enjoy tonight, but we’ll refocus and get ready for Barrow on Saturday, which obviously is a game close to my heart.”
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The former Blackpool enforcer was one of the star performers in victory against Scunthorpe United and now looks to have cemented a place in Evatt’s plans as a holding midfielder.
Deadline day signing Williams has added some defensive grit to the Bolton side, with three clean sheets in his five appearances to date.
“He really helps the team function doing the ugly side of the game,” Evatt agreed. “He’s not going to be a supporters’ favourite because it’s not pretty but it’s effective for me and it’s effective for the team. And he’s got an excellent passing range.”
Even the top teams in the land have players who work between the spotlights and Evatt believes Williams’ role enables some of his flair players the licence to attack.
He said: “At the top, top clubs you’ve got Fabinho, Fernandinho, Jordan Henderson does it at times, Fred and Scott McTominay at Man United. I’m talking about the best players here and I’m not comparing MJ to those, but every team has to have one of those and we haven’t had it. Add to that he’s six foot two, six foot three which helps us from set pieces, helps us in the middle of the pitch, I think he’s been excellent so far.”
Evatt dropped another deadline day signing, Marcus Maddison, to the bench in midweek but believes the on-loan Charlton man understands the current clamour for places in the starting 11.
“Marcus has been unlucky because I thought that Saturday was his best game for us, especially first half, but he knows and understands that we’re in a really good place and a competitive squad so when it’s your turn, make sure you play well.”
Wanderers host Barrow on Saturday looking to put five wins together for the second time this season.
“At the moment we’re looking up but we all remember what happened after November when we won four or five on the spin and then after that, I went from manager of the month to the worst manager in the league,” Evatt said. “We’re not going to get carried away. Yes, we’ve won a game, we’re going to enjoy tonight, but we’ll refocus and get ready for Barrow on Saturday, which obviously is a game close to my heart.”
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