Bolton Wanderers' dip in form prompts January transfer query

After a fine run of results through October and November, Ian Evatt’s side has suffered a wobble with defeats against Portsmouth and Bristol Rovers and have now fallen to fifth in the table.

They host Leyton Orient this weekend and then face away games at Lincoln City on Boxing Day and Fleetwood on December 29 as they look end 2023 back in the top two.

The festive period has often been a troublesome one for the Bolton boss in his three previous seasons, leaving fans looking anxiously towards the January window for solutions in the transfer market.

Wanderers have previously hinted that next month could be a quiet one, with the emphasis on keeping the current squad together rather than looking to expand it. As ever, at Bolton, there are no guarantees.

Carlos Mendes Gomes will be heading for the African Cup of Nations with Guinea Bissau, so temporary cover could be sought, and both Gethin Jones and Jack Iredale have been eyed by Australia for the Asian Cup, which could force Evatt and his recruitment chief, Chris Markham, to find more cover in defence.

The Bolton boss has said repeatedly that he has faith in the depth and quality of his current squad yet should form continue to falter over the next few weeks, there is bound to be added pressure from the fanbase to bring in new signings.

Here we look back at the last three seasons under Evatt, how Bolton did in the two games either side of Christmas Day, and what effect it had on the January window planning.

Groundstaff roll away the frost sheets at Shrewsbury for Wanderers' visit in December 2022 (Image: camerasport)

2022/23

Wanderers were in decent form in December but they lost club captain Ricardo Santos to a respiratory illness which temporarily put him in hospital, then vice-skipper Gethin Jones to injury, meaning defensive cover was thin on the ground.

The snow certainly wasn’t on their way over to Shrewsbury – but the big freeze didn’t stop the game going ahead in Shropshire. Bolton might have wished otherwise as they blew a 2-1 lead with 19 minutes to go, Christian Saydee and Chey Dunkley scoring in the final stages to earn the Shrews a 3-2 victory.

In the absence of Santos and Jones, Eoin Toal was given his big chance, and the Northern Irishman started to look the part in a 2-0 win against Exeter City just before Christmas, earned with goals from Conor Bradley and Dion Charles.

A goalless draw against Derby County followed on December 27, followed by another point at Lincoln – earned with Toal’s first goal in English football. Bolton had slipped 12 points behind the automatic promotion spots by the turn of the year and were two ahead of Peterborough United in the final play-off spot.

Better times were ahead, and a win at Barnsley in the first game of 2023 would kick-off an excellent run through January and February.

Kieran Sadlier warms up on a cold day against Derby County in December 2022 (Image: camerasport)

League position on Christmas Day: 5th in League One.

Transfer outlook: Wanderers added several players to bolster their play-off push but, in truth, few made an instant impact.

Victor Adeboyejo took a little time to settle after his arrival from Burton Albion, as did Randell Williams, who had been side-lined with injury at his former club, Hull City.

Veteran Cameron Jerome was given an 18-month deal from Luton Town and has helped some of the younger players along – but his game time has been severely limited.

Dan Nlundulu was loaned from Southampton, making enough of an impact to sign permanently the following summer, and other loanees like Manchester City’s Luke Mbete and Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire did not have the impact the club had hoped.

Wanderers fans gathered in the pouring ran at Accrington in December 2021 (Image: camerasport)

2021/22

A strange year, as more Covid cancellations ensured that Bolton hardly played a festive fixture.

The two games either side of Christmas Day all ended in defeat. A December 7 visit to a wet and windy Highbury ended in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Fleetwood and – with a nod to 2023 – a red card for Ricardo Santos.

Tommy Leigh scored the only goal of the game as a Bolton side ravaged by illness and injury lost 1-0 at Accrington on December 11, after which two more games were postponed.

Play resumed on New Year’s Day as Evatt pieced together a side to face Rotherham United – Eoin Doyle’s goal briefly restoring parity before Michael Smith scored his second of the game to secure a 2-1 win for the Millers.

And the second game after Christmas came in the Papa Johns Trophy. A freezing night in Hartlepool ended in misery as Joel Dixon’s late error gifted a goal to Matt Daly in a game where Marlon Fossey and Dion Charles made their Bolton debut.

Adam Senior celebrates with goalscorer Eoin Doyle at Rotherham United in January 2022 (Image: camerasport)

League position on Christmas Day: 15th in League One.

Transfer outlook: The squad looked painfully thin going into the winter and short on quality in some key areas, too. James Trafford, Dion Charles, Marlon Fossey, Aaron Morley, Kyle Dempsey, Kieran Sadlier and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson injected a completely new feel to the squad and provided the spine of the following season’s successes too.

Bolton Wanderers in the pandemic world - Ryan Delaney, George Thomason, Adam Senior and Matt Alexander arrive at the stadium in masks to face Tranmere (Image: camerasport)

2020/21

Wanderers claimed four points from four games at a time when they desperately needed an injection of quality in the transfer window.

The world was still coming to terms with a pandemic, stadia were largely empty, but football limped on with the Whites playing in the fourth tier for only the second time in their history.

Ryan Delaney’s late header secured a win at Cheltenham Town – one of the rare occasions that Bolton fans managed to watch their team in the flesh that season, and even then only those with connections in that part of Gloucestershire.

A heavy home defeat to Keith Hill’s Tranmere Rovers followed, and the Whites battled to a topsy-turvy draw at Carlisle United on Boxing Day, coming back from 3-0 down thanks to goals from George Thomason, Nathan Delfouneso and Peter Kioso.

The first game of the New Year was a 1-0 home defeat against Crawley, a miserable afternoon capped off with a red card for giant centre-half Reiss Greenidge.

Ryan Delaney scores a late winner for Wanderers at Cheltenham Town in December 2020 (Image: camerasport)

League position on Christmas Day: 15th in League Two.

Transfer outlook: With Tobias Phoenix leaving the building and Evatt given more of the recruitment reins, January 2021 was arguably Wanderers most important-ever transfer window. The additions of players like MJ Williams, Declan John, Dapo Afolayan and Kieran Lee proved integral to getting out of the division.