Bolton Wanderers do justice to the second half of their name by wandering around in mid-table every season. They're just..there, causing some upsets once in a while. Last season, they started to play some good football and Johan Elmander seemed to have found some chemistry with the Bolton attack, scoring some good goals. But guess what? He's gone to Galatasaray on a free transfer. Well done, Trotters. A lot was expected from Owen Coyle, but to be honest, he failed to improve the squad.
Season 2010-2011: If we take a look at their home form, they seem well on course for Europa League, ranking 7th. But if the 7,280 Bolton fans on facebook (Wait, that's it?!) see their away form, they'll probably 'unlike' their page. They ranked LAST in the Premier League, winning only 11% (that's 2 out of 19) of their away games.
Verdict: To be honest, Bolton are a very well organised side. But you need that quality to challenge for European football. I personally think it's gonna be just another season for the Trotters, with Kevin Davies fouling every centre-back in the Premier League. But we should give some credit to them for landing ex-United winger Chris Eagles, who has the potential to bring some spark to the side. Also, Nigel Reo-Coker could bring some stability to their midfield. They managed to keep Gary Cahill, which is another positive going into the season. Unfortunately for them, their star player Chung Yong-Lee has suffered a double leg fracture and new signing Tyrone Mears also suffered a leg break and will be out for 6 months.
Transfers:
Players in: Darren Pratley (Swansea, free), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, free), Chris Eagles (Burnley, undisclosed), Tyrone Mears (Burnley, undisclosed).
Players out: Ali Al Habsi (Wigan, £4m), Matt Taylor (West Ham, undisclosed), Danny Ward (Huddersfield, undisclosed), Joey O'Brien (West Ham, free), Johan Elmander (Galatasaray, free), Sam Sheridan (Stockport, free), Andrew Burns (Bradford, free), Jlloyd Samuel, Tamir Cohen, Maison McGeechan, Tom Eckersley (all released)
2010-2011 Position: 14th
Football Finesse Predicition: 15th, 16th
Men to Watch: Chris Eagles, Nigel Reo-Coker, Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Gary Cahill.
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