ONCE MORE, the January window looms as a source of comfort for Ian Evatt and Bolton Wanderers, but will the money follow?
Following a hit-and-miss start to the League One season, rumblings from the Toughsheet Stadium indicate that the embattled boss is looking to shuffle up his squad.
Though some fans have expressed their dissatisfaction, particularly since the play-off final in May, it appears like Bolton’s board will stick with the man who won his 200th league game at Cambridge United on Tuesday night.
Evatt has previously saved seasons in the middle of the season, most notably in the memorable late dash for League Two promotion in 2021, but with some of his recent transfer activity yet to bear fruit and the relationship between dugout and terraces strained, can Wanderers afford to divert more funds towards the promotion push?
Former CEO Neil Hart viewed the £750,000 acquisition of Aaron Collins from Bristol Rovers as a “risk worth taking” as the team competed for first place with Derby County and Portsmouth a year ago.
After the pursuit of Championship football ended so ignominiously at Wembley, chairperson Sharon Brittan made a rare public pledge that not only was the boardroom behind the manager, but that they would devote everything they could to recruitment in the coming months.
Wanderers are believed to have broken the seven-figure barrier at least once in the summer during a difficult and protracted pursuit of Luton Town’s John McAtee, but significant upfront fees were also paid for Szabi Schon (Hungarian reports claimed £840,000) and Klaidi Lolos, as well as contracts for Jordi Osei-Tutu from Bochum, Scott Arfield from Charlotte, and a loan fee for Jay Matete from Sunderland.
Though Bolton’s spending came nowhere near that of Birmingham City nor Wrexham, the money which has been paid out in the last 12 months is way beyond anything seen at the club in many years. Expectation – which was already sky high – has increased further as a result.
Wanderers were 90 minutes away from promotion in May and though Evatt worked hard to refurbish over the summer, adding fresh unincumbered players to his squad, the “dark clouds” have been hard to shift, not least from the folk who watched on from the East End.
The quest for reinvention was abandoned following September’s defeat against Huddersfield, and while the black-and-white data show that Bolton’s fortunes have improved since then, this does not reflect the overall attitude among most of the fanbase.
January provides Evatt with an opportunity to generate excitement with the prospect of new recruits, and one spot on the 25-man EFL squad was left open from the summer when a pursuit of ex-Leeds United captain Liam Cooper proved unsuccessful.
Bolton have assets on loan, like Aaron Morley, Dan Nlundulu, Nelson Khumbeni, and Max Conway, who are all doing well, and a few of first-team players, such as Nathan Baxter, Ricardo Santos, and Josh Dacres-Cogley, who have yet to agree on a contract extension beyond next summer.
Aside from Dapo Afolayan’s move to German side St Pauli over two years ago, the amount of money earned from exiting deals has been negligible, and it is possible that the club will attempt to return a fraction of the money spent before allowing any additional big spending.
No recruitment policy is perfect, regardless of the facts or expertise available. And, while Evatt’s collaboration with sporting director Chris Markham has produced more hits than misses, it’s fair to assume that both of them would appreciate a few simple transfer wins.
It has also been 12 months since the club formed a formal share-based partnership with sports advice agency Ludonautics, the inner workings of which are unclear.
Six league games left in 2024, which has been a terrible year for the team from top to bottom. If Wanderers can finish the year on a positive note, particularly with a win over Wigan in a few weeks, there will be plenty of time for worries to dissipate and Evatt and Co. to resume normal service in time for the transfer window.
But, as we enter a busy December, and the statistics continue to feel out of sync with the emotional climate surrounding the club, it’s difficult to shake the impression that this is one of the most significant months for the manager in a four-and-a-half-year reign.
