Papa John’s Trophy exit leaves Bolton Wanderers pondering over what lies ahead in near future

A campaign which began so promisingly for Bolton Wanderers now looks concerningly bleak after defeat at Hartlepool United in the Papa John’s Trophy.

Fielding a strong starting eleven and going up against a side from a division below who had made eight changes to their own team respectively, Bolton went into the tie as strong favourites. In spite of that, a late blunder from goalkeeper Joel Dixon gifted Pools striker Matty Daly the only goal of the evening and saw the Trotters crash out of the competition at the round of 16 stage.

Also crashing out of the FA Cup after a humiliating 5-3 loss against National League outfit Stockport County in November and losing their place in the Carabao Cup back in August with a penalty shootout defeat to local rivals Wigan Athletic, the Whites now have just the remainder of their League One season to focus on.

Promoted from League Two on the final day of last season at the first time of asking, Ian Evatt’s side were within one point of the play-offs in the third tier after a thumping 4-1 win at Charlton Athletic and a 2-1 home victory against Shrewsbury Town in early October.

Since then, there has been little to cheer about for team’s supporters though with failure in cup competitions added to by a worrying slip down the League One standings.

At the midway point of the campaign having played 23 league matches, the Trotters now sit 17^th in the division and some of the teams behind Evatt’s side have multiple games-in-hand. Winless in both October and December, the question remains – ‘what’s next?’ for the Wanderers.

January Signings

To gain promotion in the last campaign, Bolton made a whole host of new additions in the January transfer window and recovered from sitting 19^th in mid-February to finish third.

Some of those signings are still present in the side today, and though a turnaround of a similar nature isn’t at all likely given the quality on show from different clubs in the third tier this season, it is evident that the Whites squad requires further development.

Striker Dion Charles has already arrived from Accrington Stanley while young defender Marlon Fossey has also joined on loan from Fulham. Both of those players started at Hartlepool and showed glimpses of what they will be able to offer.

Manager Ian Evatt has already stated publicly that he is in the market for three more insertions by the time the transfer window slams shut, but the Papa John’s Trophy exit may well have brought more question marks over various positions which need strengthening. This includes a goalkeeper if not to take Dixon’s place, then to challenge the 28-year-old.

Survival

It’s also fair to say that Bolton’s main aim now should be to get enough points on the board to ensure they aren’t sucked into a relegation dogfight.

The last time they picked up three points against any team who currently sit above them in the league table was in fact that Shrewsbury game on October 2, which will be a worrying statistic for Evatt and his colleagues.

It’s not difficult to see where one of their main issues lie either and that’s putting the ball in the back of the net. Bolton netted 18 goals across their first ten league games of the season. In the 13 matches that have followed to date, they’ve managed just 12.

Overall, in League One action, they’ve failed to net on 11 occasions too, so either existing players must step up or reinforcements are needed.

A return to Ireland for forward Eoin Doyle has been heavily rumoured just five days into January, and new frontman Charles is also under investigation by the Football Association for historical tweets of both a homophobic & racial nature.

If Doyle does exit, and Charles receives a ban, then it must be said that options for Evatt will be thin on the ground in the final third.

Building blocks

For all the negativity surrounding Bolton now though, positives can be taken from this season providing that the Whites do start to pick up points and eventually survive the drop.

After nearly being liquidated in the summer of 2019, the club earned promotion to the third tier and would be planning for a second consecutive season there. Chairwoman Sharon Brittan has openly stated that she wants to help guide the club back to at least the Championship, and that’s no small order.

Slow progression may help the club in the long run to get back to where it wants to be, and a steady first campaign back in League One may not be the worst thing.

Though proving frustrating for Wanderers fans who travel the country to watch their side, including the 369 who made the long journey to Hartlepool, it could all be worth it in the end.

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ after all.

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