Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic - A star is Born

Article by Alan Houghton

Follow e-Bolton Wanderers on Twitter!

The first Saturday in January is still a special day in the football calendar. It’s the third round of the FA Cup. It’s when the big boys come into the tournament. It’s when dreams of Wembley start and or a chance to resurrect a disappointing season. Nowadays it’s mixed with the January sales in the transfer market. The big teams play their squad players and whinge about having to play so many matches over the festive period. Complaints of tiredness flow from the big teams humbled by lesser opponents. So, the crowded fanzone was buzzing, even more so when Stelios Giannokopolis put in an appearance.

Who would replace Chung-Yong Lee while he is away at the Asia Cup with South Korea, was the main topic of discussion? I asked Stelios if he had brought his boots as he would have been ideal but young Zach Clough got the chance and how he took it! This was one of the most impressive debuts for many years, completed by a superbly taken goal. He has confidence. He has pace and he looks to have a natural goal-scoring touch as well. The fans who go to watch the Development team have been singing his praises for ages, as they had been for Josh Vela. Neil Lennon has given them both a chance.

Adam Bogdan came in for Andy Lonergan and David Wheater replaced Matt Mills. This meant that Neil Danns was captain for the first time in his Bolton career.

Local rivals Wigan Athletic provided the opposition and guaranteed that this was going to be a full-blooded hard fought contest. A new manager, Malky Mackay and their recent cup history meant they would be a different proposition to the team that were hammered back in November. So, it turned out with the match swinging from end to end. Neither team were in control for long. We created more chances with ex-Wanderer Ali Al-Hasbi, again ‘claimed’ by both sets of fans, being the busier goalkeeper, although Adam Bogdan made the save of the match from James Perch. In the end, it was close but we squeezed through and can look forward to Monday’s fourth round draw.

January is going to be a critical month in which we need to maintain the upwards momentum if we are going to mount a challenge for the play-offs. Neil Lennon has the opportunity to add to his squad but must fight to keep the players he wants. Some players may have to be sacrificed to bring others in. Rumours abound that we might have seen the last of Chung-Yong Lee and Adam Bogdan, who did play today. Jay Spearing and Medo Kamara appear to be out of favour with Neil Lennon. With the confidence returning to the players, performances are improving and several players could attract bids from teams in the lower Premiership or the Championship as they seek to bolster their squads for their fight against relegation or push for promotion. None of our players will command big transfer fees. Neil Lennon is going to have to do like Big Sam did and that is to beg, steal or borrow players. It’s worked before and it can again. Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey are a good start. There are big decisions to be made but we can be encouraged by the emergence of another youngster.

Each youngster we can bring through is one less to have to buy. We’ve got several youngsters out on loan and there is a chance some of these could break through later in the season. Andy Kellett looks a good bet as he is impressing at Plymouth Argyle, while Joe Riley has played over 20 matches for Oxford United. Hayden White looks promising with fantastic pace for a full back but his problem seems to be staying on the pitch. Two red cards recently will not have done his chances any good. But let us rejoice in Zach Clough. A star is born.

© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football