‘Still an air of inconsistency about them which makes Bolton a hard team to read’
What’s left: Stevenage (A), Reading (H), Bristol R (A), Portsmouth (H), Shrewsbury (H), Port Vale (H), Peterborough (A).
How it started: Wanderers made no secret of wanting automatic promotion this time around, in fact manager Ian Evatt had declared it before he left Oakwell in May after losing the play-off semi-final. That was always going to need investment – and without spending the daft sums some clubs have in League One in recent years, the Bolton board backed their man. All the notes are there - it seems, to quote Eric Morecambe, they just need to be played in the correct order.
How it’s going:
Bolton have been there or thereabouts all season and were very handily placed at the turn of the year, tucked in behind Pompey with games in hand. They have had some stinking luck with injuries and a relentless schedule of 22 league and cup games in 76 days, but they now find themselves chasing a daunting gap to Derby in second and simply haven’t taken enough points in the high-pressure games. They lost at Pompey and Derby and came from 0-2 down to grab a point at Barnsley.
Gut feeling:
If Wanderers can get top scorer Dion Charles and keeper Nathan Baxter back fit and firing, I think they can keep the pressure on Derby in case they slip up. If they are destined for the play-offs then I’d back them against anyone at Wembley. Getting there over a two-legged semifinal is the hard part.
Star and saviour:
Wales international Josh Sheehan has risen to the fore as Bolton’s chief playmaker and, quite frankly, he’s a gorgeous player to watch. At his best, he knits things together effortlessly, and even though he gets kicked up in the air half a dozen times each week, keeps on coming back.
Worry lines:
Results have been patchy in 2024 and Bolton haven’t won enough games against the teams around them to make folk feel easy about the run-in. When they are at it, they are sublime, but there is still an air of inconsistency which makes them a hard team to read.