All Bolton Wanderers Want for Christmas

Article by Alan Houghton

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Neil Lennon’s honeymoon period is over and this was a real test of the progress made under his management against a good, well coached and tough Ipswich Town side who deserve their second place in the Championship, challenging for automatic promotion. Mick McCarthy’s men have only lost once in the last ten matches, something Neil Lennon is aiming for. The result was a hard earned point won from the back by a resolute back four who put everything on the line to stop Ipswich running away with this match and when they were beaten, Andy Lonergan came to the rescue with a series of great saves to thwart Ipswich’s Irish in-form duo, Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick..

It will be lonely this Christmas playing up front for the Wanderers if this match is anything to go by. After Max Clayton’s early unfortunate injury, young Conor Wilkinson ploughed a lonely furrow against the Tractor boys, starved of a decent supply and desperately in need of a Fans Aid single to give him help. Bolton’s only other strikers, Craig Davies and loanee Joe Mason had been ruled out before kick-off. David Wheater came into the centre of defence with Dorian Dervite moved out to right back to counter the effects of promising and tall Ipswich left back, Tyrone Mings.

The weather was atrocious at times with frequent heavy showers of hail, as the fans who had bravely dodged Christmas shopping, tried to lift the team against the odds. The midfield worked their socks off to stem the unremitting Ipswich tide and Darren Pratley is probably still seeing stars after a nasty head collision. As Bolton players were going down like ninepins, Eidur Gudjohnsen came home to a great reception and showed a few touches of class and commitment, earning himself a booking from the referee, Mr Sutton who was giving cards out like it was Christmas.

It was a tough game and we fought well but we had nothing up front. A third consecutive clean sheet is good but with the injuries to Max Clayton, Craig Davies and Joe Mason, I’m looking in the attic for my old pair of football boots, just in case I get the call. Can you still get hold of ‘Dubbin’ for my boots? Or maybe, some of the stars returning for Kevin Davies’s testimonial might be willing to follow Eidur’s lead and help us in our time of need. Even Emile Heskey short term is appealing right now.

Neil Lennon has rekindled the fighting spirit at Bolton but he’s got rapidly diminishing resources to work with, particularly up front at the moment. He’s had chance to asses some of the players available but he’s got a real problem in that at least eight of his first team are out of contract at the end of the season. Adam Bogdan, Craig Davies, Andy Lonergan, Matt Mills, Chung-Yong Lee, Josh Vela, Neil Danns and Darren Pratley are among those whose contract expires at the end of the season. These need to be sorted in January, otherwise they will walk away for nothing, something Bolton Wanderers have allowed to happen too many times in the past. Johan Elmander, Gretar Steinsson and Marcos Alonso have left on free transfers in the last four years Some players may have to be sacrificed to allow Neil Lennon to bring in players that he wants. Common sense says that it is the better players who will attract interest and generate most money, which will be a problem in itself. It looks like we have passed the Financial Fair Play test as the Football League have imposed transfer bans on Blackburn rovers, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, although they have said that are still looking at five other clubs as well as last season’s promoted and relegated clubs. If we are in the clear, then this will be a massive boost.

Takeover talks seem to have gone quiet but I believe things are happening in the background. So, the next couple of months should prove to be busy off the pitch, whilst on the pitch I think there will be a few more rearguard actions until we get players in or back from injury. So, Dear Santa Claus, all I want for Christmas is a striker, financial stability and a safe position in the Championship to provide a springboard for a serious attempt at promotion next year.

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