Wycombe expert gives view on Bolton Wanderers' new signing

We spoke to James Richings, football writer for the Buckinghamshire Free Press, who watched his rise for the Chairboys from the press box.

Did you see something in Forino when he first broke into the team?

JR: “Everyone at Adams Park was saying: ‘Who is this kid?’ “He had come out of nowhere and looked like he had been playing for 10 years.

“The game that stands out in my mind was going up to Hartlepool in the FA Cup. He was 19/20 at the time but started the game and had knocked his head so was wearing a bandage. He scored with a header right in front of the Wycombe fans and you could see the passion – he was still putting himself in there for those chances. I think that’s when I knew we had a player on our hands.”

Forino’s journey to being a professional was unique, has it taken him long to look the part?

JR: “When he first joined his body was out of shape, in the sense of being a professional footballer but Gareth Ainsworth was desperate for him to get in the right condition. He’d played non-league, socially with friends, but it isn’t the standards of what is required to do this as a job, but he worked so hard. You look at him now and he’s well over six foot, an absolute unit of a man, and he’s very much someone who’s not afraid to get his knees dirty.”

Bolton play a particular style of football, which differs from the one traditionally used at Wycombe. Can he cope with it?

JR: “I am sure that he can. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and we have seen a bit more asked of him in possession since Matt Bloomfield took charge.

“He didn’t score last season but for the previous two he has chipped in and always looked a threat in the opposition box when we have had set pieces, which obviously have been a big thing.

“But he is definitely a modern defender and won’t mind being asked to knock the ball around as Bolton tend to do.”

Chris Forino wrestles with Charlton's Sean Clare at a corner (Image: PA)

What is his best position? If Bolton stay with a back three, in which slot would he be most comfortable?

JR: “He’s good, in my opinion, as a right-sided centre-half. Sometimes when Wycombe played a back five he would go dead centre but usually when they played a four, he would be the right side with Ryan Tafazoli on the left.

“He isn’t a right back or a left back, he’s very much a classic, no-nonsense centre-back because that was the type of player Gareth Ainsworth wanted. I think Bloomfield asked more of him technically but he is still one of those who you’ll struggle to get by.

“And when you put Ricardo Santos on top of that for Bolton, from a Wycombe perspective it looks like a title-winning defence. It’s imperious.”

There will be plenty of pressure on Wanderers to hit the ground running after last season. Can you see any hurdles he will have to negotiate?

JR: “Of course the aim for anyone in football is to progress and I think it would have been hard or him to leave Wycombe knowing they have just been taken over, there are plans to get them out of League One as well. But I think everyone at the club will wish him well because he was very respected, a bit of a cult hero.

“One thing I would say could be an issue is injury. He played 90 times for Wycombe, scored eight, but for the last couple of seasons there have been times where he would pick up little niggles and be out for a few weeks at a time.

“If there is one downside that Bolton fans should know, it is that he had a fairly patchy injury record.

“It was almost as if he couldn’t get a run of games, and I hope and pray that changes for him because when he is fit, he is an absolute beast of a centre-back.

“There is a series of photos from the Bristol Street Motors Trophy final of him making the perfect tackle, and I know we lost but he was absolutely terrific that day. If Bolton can keep him fit, they have a really good player on their hands.”