How I would take Bolton Wanderers forward
So, call me delusional but I`ve always thought that relegation was never looming. I just never thought it would happen. Only recently has it dawned upon me that it looked an increasingly possibility and now almost certain.
When (if?) we do get relegated, we`ll need some sort of contingency plan. With our finances the way they are, I`d much much rather we focus on keeping the core of our infrastructure such as our stadium etc? maybe lose our training ground but remember that these are things that would negatively effect us if we sold them.
However when it comes to our senior playing squad, I would genuinely sell all of them bar a few.
Let`s look at goalkeepers. We have Ben Amos, Paul Rachubka and Ross Fitzsimons. Amos is a good Championship goalkeeper, though he has made some mistakes. That said, he is on high wages and is a saleable asset. I`d sell him. Rachubka`s contract expires soon, and we may potentially want to keep him as a first choice goalkeeper for League 1 if he`s good enough. If not release him and find a cheap alternative- I`d want one experienced ‘keeper for League 1. Keep Fitzsimons too as a second choice; he`s getting some regular game time at Bishop Stortford and while that`s not the highest of levels, he`s young and could probably provide decent League 1 backup.
Okay what about our defence. My answer to this is simple. Sell/release/give away all of the senior players, apart from perhaps Lawrie Wilson if he`s on low wages as I feel he`s a good League 1 standard right back. I feel that the likes of Rob Holding, Niall Maher and the returning Hayden White and Oscar Threlkeld could all do a job at League 1 level. We`d potentially have to invest in one or two experienced heads at League 1/2 level if available on the cheap including a left back. There`d probably be takers for the likes of Moxey, Casado, Derik, Dervite, Wheater and Pisano purely by their reputations and I`d honestly give some of them away for free if we have to in order to get names off the wages bill. Obviously, our transfer embargo will have to be lifted for us to replace them.
Now we move on to our massive midfield. Jay Spearing, Mark Davies, Liam Trotter and Rob Hall could get new clubs with little problem. Spearing and Davies have excellent CV`s and are admittedly quite talented. Trotter and Hall have been successful on loan at Nottingham Forest and MK Dons respectively and could return to those clubs or other Championship suitors could be interested. Darren Pratley could get a Championship club. Liam Feeney may find it a little harder, but could possibly get a move to a rich League 1 or Championship club too. Danns` contract will be up and, unless we renew it if he takes a massive wage cut (he`d be a decent player in League 1), he could go. Josh Vela will have to leave- that`s a given and hopefully we can get a little money for him though it will be hard as everyone knows that we have to sell. I think I`m right in thinking that Medo`s contract expires in the summer, too though it`s unlikely that he`ll last that long. I`d also look to offload Filip Twardzik too if anyone wants him, as I`ve seen little to make me believe he`s good enough. That literally leaves us with no one apart from Tom Walker who I think would be very good at League 1 level and hasn`t played enough games to attract significant interest. I would then look at using some of our young players if they`re good enough- Jon Ceberio and Jordan Lussey could make a first team break next season if they signed newies. The latter is on loan at York Town in League 2 so hopefully he can make his mark there and push on. It`s worth noting that he can also operate as a right back. Then we`d also need some experience and this would mainly be a case of trying to bring in released League 1/Championship players. There is good quality released every year by League 1 clubs and we`d need to keep an eye out for it. Trust me, since I also follow Crewe I`m always on the lookout for a bargain at League 1 level.
Okay now on to our attack. Zach Clough would have to go unless he really wants to stay which I wouldn`t put it past him but I think it`s unlikely. Max Clayton would be a real threat at League 1 level and since he hasn`t had a proper season at Championship level he could stay but given his reputation and the attention from big clubs he received as a teenager we may look to cash in on him though I`d like him to stay as long as he can stay injury free. Gary Madine is reportedly on low wages and I`d actually be inclined to keep him- this is an unpopular decision but he certainly can score at League 1 level. We`ve seen it at Sheffield Wednesday and we saw it when faced upon that level of opposition during pre-season last summer. Heskey and Ameobi would go. I`d look to integrate the likes of Jamie Thomas and Kaiyne Woolery for sure. Next season I`d be confident that they could fit in at League 1 level. We`d also have to look for more bargains in this department- probably a more physical striker and some experience.
This could leave us with a team looking like this:
New Keeper
Hayden White/Oscar Threlkeld Oscar Threlkeld/Niall Maher Rob Holding New left back
New winger New centre midfielder Jordan Lussey/Jon Ceberio/New centre midfielder Tom Walker
Gary Madine/Max Clayton/New striker Kaiyne Woolery/Jamie Thomas
I genuinely think that this whole, (let`s call it) ‘restructuring programme` would serve us well. I`d probably take a mid table finish in year one, then push on for the play-offs after. I know that`s depressing to hear given that we were once a big Premier League club but we have to accept compromises. We`ve lost so much money.
This is also somewhat of an idealistic situation and it requires takers for so many players, but I believe that it is fairly realistic. Wigan would happily take half of them and such is the nature of Championship football that one good season in the Championship can stand you in very good stead in the future- look at Wigan- the likes of Ali Al-Habsi, Emyr Hughes and Andrew Taylor were all part of the reason that they got relegated however they`ve all gone out on loan to Championship clubs- Reading, Huddersfield and Reading again respectively this season so I believe that that is something that we could look to exploit.
Congratulations, by the way, if you`ve made it this far down the article. There is also the worry that there are too many young players featuring with little experience but we`ve seen the Andy Kellett flourish in this division this year and I feel that the likes off Oscar Threlkeld and Rob Holding could hold their own for us in the starting XI regularly in League 1.
Another big change that I would make is that I would replace Neil Lennon as manager. Bring in someone hungry to turn the team around. I wouldn`t go quite so far as Wigan did with Gary Caldwell but I`d look at the likes of Jimmy Phillips or someone else who may not have a proved track record (basically because we can`t afford someone who does) or even someone like Steve Walford our assistant manager? He`s got a lot of experience as a coach at a high level.
I believe that this is the best way forward for our club to eventually get back to the top.