Bolton Wanderers fan columns - Ian Evatt means business

The transfer window opens twice a year - during the month of January and also over the summer period. It causes a mini-hysteria amongst fans, leaving them to ask the important questions 24 hours after it starts such as ‘why haven’t we signed anybody yet?’  

Forget that signings take time, or that clubs identify their targets before competing with other teams for their signature. You then have the small issue of agreeing fees or nailing down personal terms.  

It is not as simple as Career Mode on FIFA by pressing the ‘X’ button a couple of times, submitting an unrealistic bid and then lowballing players with ludicrous wages whilst adding in a 30-goal-a-season bonus, for example.  

However, this week, at the time of writing (another new face may be announced by Friday), Bolton have signed three new players in goalkeepers Nathan Baxter from Chelsea, Joel Coleman of Ipswich and defender Joshua Dacres-Cogley, after his contract with Tranmere Rovers expired.  

Right off the bat, the intent of Ian Evatt, Chris Markham and the recruitment staff in place is apparent - to replace the big gaps left by last season’s star loanees in James Trafford and Conor Bradley. 

If you base it purely off the eye test, it looks like shrewd business. I mentioned in last week’s column how goalkeeper is probably the most important position to fill and how important it is to bring in new faces early doors. 

Baxter is undoubtedly the number one and he said as much in his interview. Listening to him speak, he carries himself well and you can appreciate his desire to progress with the club. At 24 years of age, he has compiled 164 appearances at senior level, with his progression following an upward curve by playing at a higher standard each year.  

He has been at Chelsea for 16 years, joining at the age of eight and has recently spent his last two years on loan at Hull City in the Championship. There are questions about his injuries and how comfortable he can be with his distribution from the back, but Evatt obviously feels confident enough with his pursuit.  

Coleman is the back-up but holds experience across all four levels of the English Football League. A Bolton lad born and bred, you would expect him to feature in cup games, with the importance of a solid backup keeper not to be understated.  

Dacres-Cogley is an interesting signing indeed. Playing every single minute for Tranmere last year showcases his reliability and he fits the exact model Evatt craves with his wing backs - Loves to push forward, gets in dangerous areas and puts the ball in the box.  

Kane Wilson is expected to follow for a six figure fee, so that in itself represents healthy competition for the right wing back position.  

So, with those two key areas now addressed, it leaves us asking who is next? Reports are linking us with Australian World Cup midfielder Keanu Baccus from St Mirren but aside from that, it is all guesswork.  

But you can be sure that Bolton’s summer preparation has now kicked into gear and with preseason just around the corner, a few more incomings are to be expected.  

Whether that is a couple of midfielders or perhaps another striker, one thing is for sure - business is certainly picking up. 

Should we be worried? 

By Tony Thompson 

I don’t know why we should reign surprise anymore when news of a managerial sacking hits our laptops and TV screens. 

Managers have become the most expendable piece on the chess board for most clubs and the embarrassing thing is that changing them, like most people change socks, no longer means failure as a club. Just look at Watford, who have bounced back and forth from the Premier League to the Championship and made plenty of money. 

Italian football was built on volatile chairmen and owners and though you can point to the dynasties created by Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp, Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger, for the vast majority of clubs change is just part of the routine. 

Bournemouth sacked former Bolton midfielder Gary O’Neil because they wanted to sign a ‘different kind of head coach’ and brought in the respected Spanish coach Adoni Iraola, who has done some good work with a smaller club in Rayo Vallecano in Spain, among others. 

O’Neil had done a great job to keep them up last season when most of us thought they were gonners, but there is a snobbery about where some Premier League clubs think they should be and what style of football they think they should play, and he paid the price. 

That may be the case for football’s Mr Nice, Darren Moore, who took 96 points in the regular season in League One but somehow did not get automatic promotion. Their place in the Championship was only taken via an amazing play-off semi-final turnaround against Peterborough and then an equally dramatic final win against Barnsley with virtually the last touch of the game. 

To dump him after that was cold and heartless but if you are the Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri, you will be asking the same question as those in charge at Bournemouth - can this man attract players of the standard you will need to succeed in the Championship, or will you be making a change anyway? 

I have seen a lot of concerned Bolton fans after the Sheffield Wednesday news, knowing that our own manager, Ian Evatt, lives close to the Steel City and would play a style of football which could attract players who are apparently ‘better’. 

Should we be worried? They say there is no smoke without fire and I haven’t seen a single bit of smoke yet, so maybe we are in the clear? 

I do think Evatt has got a job to finish this season before we should be genuinely concerned that clubs higher up the pecking order could take him away.