How will we line up after our transfer activity?
One question Bolton fans have been asking is whether our January signings mean we will change our approach going forward.
We’ve been a fairly conservative outfit this season. We’ve always played with a target man in Gary Madine, and after experimenting with a diamond and some other systems, we changed to a 4-2-3-1 in October and not long after that the team became so settled the starting lineup that rolled off the tongue.
But two of those left in the January window, with a loan for Sammy Ameobi unable to be extended, and Zach Clough moving on.
So what could a lineup, say, this weekend look like?
Certainly the goalkeeper and back four will remain the same. Lawrie Wilson is still the only fit right back, although it seems likely we’ll sign a defender. The Beevers-Wheater partnership has been strong, while Andy Taylor is better than Dean Moxey.
Jay Spearing will continue to keep his place, but I would like to see Tom Thorpe being replaced by Derik, who can do the defensive side but has a pass on him which could help break down teams who want to sit back.
Also, with a maximum of five loanees in a matchday 18, we have to drop one of our loanees. The two most likely to miss out, would be either Thorpe, or Viv Solomon-Otabor, who may not be used every week at his age.
Then, what do we do upfront? There could be more flexibility, with two top in a Madine and Le Fondre partnership. Expect Chris Long to come off the bench like Jamie Proctor has, hopefully with more effect. Although that wouldn’t be hard. If the formation was to remain the same, Le Fondre playing up top alone would almost mean a change in approach.
What would your team be now? Comment or tweet @VitalBolton.