Played three, lost three. No Bolton manager has started like that in over a century but Ian Evatt has already notched up that unwanted record.
Wanderers might yet motor on to promotion from this division but it looks like the key will need to be turned a few times to get the engine fired up. After defeats to Bradford and Crewe, Forest Green beat us today to give us a losing start to life in League Two.
It was a hard watch. To be honest, I don’t have too many grievances about the goal, I thought it was a good hit from Carl Winchester, in and off the post and little chance for Billy Crellin to do anything about it.
I do have grievances about the number of cheap fouls that were given away, the lack of shots and the lack of movement in midfield. Maybe things would have been different had Eoin Doyle took his early chance, but in truth there wasn’t really anyone in a white shirt that stood out this afternoon.
Still we only lost by the odd goal, so in theory, if things can be worked on and improved, we shouldn’t be far away from picking up results. And there’s no point in having a meltdown after one game, it may take time with a entirely new squad and new style of play, especially the type of football Evatt wants to play. But it’s also okay to call out a bad performance when you see one, and we saw that today.
Next week it’s a trip to Colchester, who drew today but have been tipped to be up there come the end of the season. It could be a good test for us.