Who is next then? Who becomes the 28th permanent manager of Bolton Wanderers?
We’ve had a look at one prominent bookie and analysed the top seven names on the list.
Richie Wellens
Current club: Swindon
Currently this bookies’ favourite, Wellens managed Oldham in 2017-18, unable to stop them being relegated from League One. His stock is currently high though, after winning League Two in his first full season at Swindon. Are we in a position to take someone from a club now in a higher league than us? Almost certainly not, unless he wants to be close to his native Manchester. Would I take him? Yes.
Gary Bowyer
Current club: Unemployed
Bowyer’s first managerial roles were two spells as caretaker boss, providing some calmness amongst the chaos that was the early Venky’s era at Blackburn. Eventually, he got the role on a permanent basis, just missing out on the Championship playoffs in 2014, but was sacked halfway through the 2015-16 campaign, although Paul Lambert and Owen Coyle didn’t exactly take the club forward. He then ended up at Blackpool, who he got promoted from League Two before leaving at the start of the following season. His last job wasn’t as successful, not being able to keep Bradford in League One before not really ever looking like taking them back up. While not an exciting name, he has form in this league and has worked in our part of the world. Would I take him? Yes.
Ian Evatt
Current club: Barrow
Evatt, a former Premier League player (well, he had a season in it with Blackpool) suffered relegation from the EFL when caretaker boss at Chesterfield, but his first proper managerial job has gone well. Barrow were top of the league in his second season as boss, playing good football in the process, when the season was curtailed. Promotion to League Two should be confirmed next week nonetheless. Evatt would sound like an exciting appointment but Barrow would want some sort of compensation for him to be brought down the M6.
David Lee
Current club: Bolton (under-23 side)
No such list would be complete without David Lee, he’s always in these conversations after years of service, but has never been even given the caretaker reigns, nor has he ever decided try and go it alone elsewhere. While ‘he knows the club’ and all that, the best time to see if Lee would be up to it would be if he had to take the temporary reigns mid-season and call it an audition. At this point in the year, I’d rather someone who is a bit less of a gamble.
Kevin Nolan
Current club: West Ham (backroom staff)
Nolan was touted a year ago but Keith Hill got the gig in the end. Since February Nolan has working under David Moyes at West Ham but this deal is only until the end of the season. Nolan combines the sentimental angle (although Nolan knows the club we were, not the club we are now) with reasonable League Two success. He had a short player-manager spell at Leyton Orient which he led close to the playoff spots before relieved of his managerial duties, while he took Notts County to the playoffs in the 2017-18 season. Again, this wouldn’t be the worst appointment in the world.
Michael Beale
Current club: Rangers (first-team coach)
I don’t know a great deal about Beale’s history, but he’s currently the first-team coach at Rangers, having being brought there by Steven Gerrard, after they worked together in Liverpool’s academy. Beale has also spent time in Brazil with Sao Paulo. He does seem an intelligent coach and undoubtedly well connected. He could also fit into the new structure under Tobias Phoenix. The one big question mark is he has no managerial experience. I wouldn’t not want him, but it would feel like a gamble.
Mark Kennedy
Current club: Macclesfield
Kennedy took over the Silkmen in January. Presumably his name has come up down to him working with Phoenix, who was his director of football at Moss Rose. Kennedy won just one of 12 games prior to the season’s curtailment though. Macclesfield is a difficult job, I can imagine, but Kennedy doesn’t seem like a good option. An absolute no from me.