Bolton Wanderers Season 2009/10 Preview

17Aug09

Bolton boss Gary Megson has been busy during the summer and has so far brought five new faces to the Reebok but he isn’t finished there. Megson is still looking to strengthen his midfield and is also hoping to bring in a new striker before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

The ginger haired gaffer has upped competition for places in the Bolton defence with new recruits for both full back positions and a central defender. Six foot six tall former Villa man Zat Knight is set to shore up the centre of Boltons defence alongside Gary Chaill who has just signed a new 3 year deal, whilst versitile right back Sam Ricketts, signed from Hull, and Megson old boy Paul Robinson will provide competition on either side of the defence.

Midfielders Sean Davis and Lee Chung-Yong will add depth to the centre of the park along with Mark Davies who signed in January. South Korean wide man Lee should provide some much needed flair and pace on the right hand side while Sean Davis is a solid centre mid with a good passing range.

Megson feels the sumer has gone well so far but the ever elusive striker is not going to be signed before the opening fixture at the Reebok where Bolton will take on North East side Sunderland. Megson has once again talked up 8 million pound man Elmander after a less than impressive first season in a white shirt and has high hopes for the striker. Elmander has been told “play more like (captain) Kevin Davies and you’ll succeed”.

Hot prospect, Obedayi has just signed for Swindon Town on loan, perhaps Megson is hoping to warm him up to fight for his place in the Wanderers attack. At the same time Vaz Te may be facing his last chance to impress the manager, the Portugeuse under 21 star has struggled with injury but showed a lot of promise a couple of seasons ago. Vaz Te is confident that he has the ability to break into the team if he is given the chance.

With the arrival of Lee and return of Vaz Te, sometimes fan favourite (maybe because he is black and has dreadlocks) Mustapha Riga may struggle to squeeze his way into Megsons plans. Riga’s recent comments to a journalist during Wanderers pre season tour of the Netherlands won’t have helped his cause where he is said to have accused Megson of playing him out of position, not giving him a chance and “not knowing what a striker is”!

Bolton fans seem to be adopting a wait and see policy about the new season, most think Megson will last the distance but still don’t think he is the right man for the job. His defensive approach and uninspiring tactics have disillusioned many fans and many are hoping for a change. Most feel Megson has had enough time now to turn things around and understand the period of transition the club have been through since Megson took over. He has brought down the average age of the squad, brought in some quality players and kept them in the Premiership for two seasons. On paper it looks good but on the field it often looks poor, boring and is often embarrassing.

But for a lot of luck last season Wanderers could have easily gone down. There are more effective ways of getting results and if the man with the red hair continues to rely on Kevin Davies to get the goals Wanderers could find themselves floundering come the end of the year.

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