Bolton's Christmas Story

The Christmas period is a time that should be spent with family, friends, and loved ones; however, that does not mean football stops. Over the years, Bolton have played on Boxing Day and Christmas Day, with the last game on this day coming in 1957 in a 1-1 draw away at Everton. 

In the post-war era, matches on Christmas Day were very common, and it was only since 1958 that more games were played on the 26th than the 25th. Pre-war England was similar to the current fixture schedule we are used to now. The 12 founding teams of the football league (including Bolton Wanderers) would commonly play on Boxing Day - a day named after the old tradition of rich families 'boxing' up presents for their servants. 

Boxing day highlights

An image taken from the first Derby vs Bolton match, when Bolton scored the first ever football league goal, in 1888.

From 1888-1897, Bolton and Derby clashed on Boxing Day all 9 years, with the Wanderers only coming out as winners in 1 game, the first game. In an exciting affair (I assume, believe it or not, I wasn't there), Bolton came out as 3-2 victors away from home, with Kenny Davenport registering a brace and James Brogan sealing the victory. In the following near decade, Bolton drew just 2 games and lost the other 6, most notably, a 6-1 defeat in 1893 - conceding two hat-tricks to John Goodall and John Stuart McMillan.

Not all highlights are positive, and this is definitely true with the upcoming 'lowlights' (another amazing pun, I'm aware). In 1902, Bolton lost 7-1 against Sheffield United, their heaviest Boxing Day defeat ever - it was a bleak Christmas for Bolton fans, who had to sit through a 5-1 defeat to Liverpool the day before! 

Unfortunately, the Christmas period hasn't traditionally been a time when Bolton fans can celebrate great performances or even wins. In the 1990s, Bolton enjoyed just 2 wins all decade: coming against Grimsby Town in a 2-1 win and against local rivals Wigan Athletic in a 2-0 win.

The Premier League years did bring some Christmas-time success for the Trotters. After losses against Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester United, Bolton went on to beat Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United. The 2002 Boxing Day was particularly exciting, Bolton faced Newcastle at the Reebok Stadium and came out as 4-3 winners. An early goal from Jay-Jay Okocha saw Bolton take a 1-0 lead, but they immediately conceded to Shola Ameobi, however, the tie didn't last long - Ricardo Gardner restored the Bolton lead. Michael Ricketts scored a brace to put Bolton into a 4-1 lead, but two late goals from Premier League legend Alan Shearer nearly lost the game for Bolton. 

For further results, every Bolton Wanderers Boxing Day result is provided here. 

Birthday Boy

Only 6 players born on Christmas Day have ever played in the Premier League, with a former Bolton player being one of them. Joining former players, such as Chris Kamara (legendary sky sports pundit) and Rob Edwards (manager of upcoming opponents Luton), and current players like Emi Buendia and Alexandre Jankewitz: Robbie Elliott is the only Bolton player, born on Christmas Day, to play in the Premier League.

Elliott is a Newcastle-born left-back, who started his home-town club in 1991 (making 79 appearances) before departing for Bolton in 1997. He signed for Bolton as the record signing, for a fee of £2.5 million, and the Trotters had just moved to the Reebok stadium. 

Against Everton, on his debut, just 30 minutes in Elliott 'landed awkwardly' after a duel with Tony Thomas and had to be stretchered off with a double fracture to his leg. Unfortunately, he didn't play again until October 1998 in a League Cup clash against Norwich City. As a midfielder, he scored and helped Bolton progress to the next round of the cup, away from home.

The rest of his time at Bolton was spent trying to return to the Premier League. They reached the playoffs twice in 2 seasons: the final in the first (losing 2-0 to Watford) and only getting to the semi-final the year after, losing to Ipswich and Elliott was sent off. 

In 2001, Bolton reached the playoff final yet again but this time they came out victors at the Millenium Stadium, in Cardiff against Preston North End. Despite the eventual playoff success, Elliott's contract wasn't renewed and he departed Bolton just 2 days after the final, returning to Newcastle United.

Bolton Christmas Eleven

As abysmal puns are clearly my specialty, here is a starting eleven of past and present Bolton players with Christmas-themed puns. If the puns are that bad then they will be explained, and yes before you ask this did take a while. 

Goalkeeper: Joel Coleman 

Right Back: Dec(lan) the halls Jon 

Centre Back: Chris Kringle Basham

Centre Back: Ricardo Santa-os 

Centre Back: Zat the Knight before Christmas 

Left Back: Jack Frost Iredale 

Centre Mid: Kevin McAllister Nolan 

Centre Mid: Santa Claus Jensen 

Forward: Christmas Eagles

Forward: Chrim-Bo Hansen

Forward: ST. Nicholas Anelka

 Jon Dadi Bodvarsson vs Victor Adeboyejo - The Deadly Duo Debate 

Since the signing of Victor Adeboyejo in January 2023, Bolton fans have debated who should partner Dion Charles in the front two. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson did have that place nailed down but several injuries have left him struggling for playing time. However, both are fully fit and it is an important part of the season, so who should be starting games?

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson

Bodvarsson joined the Wanderers in January 2022 from Millwall and has since become a fan favourite. Interestingly, he signed for Bolton just 19 days after Dion Charles but his struggle for fitness has really set him back. 

In total, Bodvarsson missed 27 games for Bolton last season with two separate injuries (hamstring and ankle). As he looked to mount his comeback to the first team in pre season, he was injured again against Salford City. 

Before his injury, he was a regular player in the side and scored 7 goals and 2 assists in the 21/22 in 10 starts (21 total appearances).

Victor Adeboyejo 

Adeboyejo is a rather different story, of course joining the club 1 year later, and not suffering the same injury frustrations. However, many have called for Adeboyejo to be dropped and Bodvarsson to be given a run of games, but why?

Last season Adeboyejo scored just 3 league goals for Bolton, despite being the favoured striking partner for Dion Charles. This left a lot of fans frustrated and is a key reason why social media has called for Bodvarsson to return. 

This season has been significantly more impressive though, Adeboyejo has scored 5 goals and registered 1 assist in the league this season, including a hat-rick against Fleetwood Town. Is this enough to be demanding a starting spot week in, week out?

Who is better for Dion Charles?

As the newly crowned stat man, I have conducted the research on who is the better partner statistically for Dion Charles, between Victor Adeboyejo and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. So, who should be starting?

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson has started 16 games with Dion Charles, and scored 6 goals while starting with him. However, Dion Charles has only scored 4 goals when starting with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, a combined 10 goals from 16 starts for a striker pairing is worryingly low. The stats show that they also do not combine well, Charles has registered just 1 assist for Bodvarsson but Jon Dadi hasn't registered an assist for Charles.

On the other hand, Adeboyejo has started 20 games alongside Dion Charles and has scored 7 goals in those games. Charles has also scored 7 goals when starting with Victor but hasn't registered an assist for him, Adeboyejo has assisted Charles once. 

As you can see, Adeboyejo probably edges this debate (bosting a 60% win rate with Charles, compared to 56% for Bodvarsson and Charles) however, these statistics should be better. Perhaps, with a striker like Dion Charles, Bolton would function better with 2 creators behind him or a more selfless strike partner. This could be the long term vision with Dan Nlundulu, who isn't the best ball striker but does have the ability to hold up the ball.  

Full Stat Breakdown

Bolton Wanderers vs Carlisle United - match preview

Bolton Wanderers vs Carlisle United 

 Bolton Wanderers will take on Carlisle United at the Toughsheet stadium on Saturday at 3:00pm in a game they need to win comfortably. So far this season, Carlisle have won just 1 game, drawn 5 and lost 5, giving them 8 points and sitting in 20th place.

Tactics

Carlisle are a very interesting team, on paper they aren't the best side and look like a team that belong at the bottom of the table. The statistics also show this, creating the 3rd least expected goals this season, with 5.74, and they have conceded 8.23 expected goals against (Bolton have conceded 6.89). Statistically, Carlisle average 44.1% possession per 90 - this shows that they are very counter attacking. Also, the graph below (taken from the Opta Stats hub here) shows just how counter attacking Carlisle are. In simple terms, Carlisle hold onto the ball for an average of 2.2 passes. 

Despite this, they have shown signs of being able to play nice football to break quickly, for example:

The ball starts in the corner and the Carlisle players are actually outnumbered currently, that is until the midfielder drops off of his man to create space for himself. As soon as the furthest left player passes the ball, he begins his run, which in-turn creates more space for the other players. 

As the midfielder receives the ball, another player drifts off of their man to get just enough space to pass the ball if they are passed to, which they are. The first man continues to make his run, so he can become an option for the next man.

The midfielder plays the pass backwards to the man who has made the yard. He has scanned and can play the ball first time to the man who started the move. This is simply beautiful football and helped start a counter attack for Carlisle. Almost every team in the league wouldn't be able to do anything about this, great play.

Carlisle have played both a back 5 and back 4 system this season and it isn't obvious which system they will play against Bolton but I would estimate it will be the back 5. This will make the defensive structure suit the Bolton attacking structure better so that gaps aren't left, however these gaps exist no matter their formation. 

As you can see here, Carlisle are disorganised at the back against Derby County - while playing their back 5 system. The gap in the right half space is huge and Derby make a run, that isn't spotted and the midfielder can make the pass easily. The Carlisle player has to press while shutting off the passing lane and the gap behind him can't be that big. 

Port Vale vs Bolton Wanderers - match preview

 Must Win Game?

In the return to League action, Bolton Wanderers take on Port Vale at Vale Park this Saturday at 3:00pm. Bolton have not loss to Port Vale, in any competition, since December 2020 in a 9 goal thriller at Bolton, however Port Vale have scored first in 5/6 of the last games between the two clubs. Port Vale currently sit fourth in League One with 17 points, however their results make for very interesting reading: they lost on the opening day 7-0 away at Barnsley and since then haven't won a game by more than one goal. 

On Tuesday night, Bolton played against Manchester United u21s in the EFL Trophy, playing a very strong team, and came home 8-1 winners (pain). Youth team players like Matheson, Khumbeni and Inwood all made appearances the first 2 scored, with Matheson also registering an assist. It was a great performance but the lack of rotation, ahead of a big game, is very interesting and possibly a mistake from Ian Evatt. Have the young players forced themselves back into the team? Is Dion Charles fit to start? Who will play in midfield?

Bolton Team News

Two players will miss this game through suspension, Gethin Jones and George Thomason, Jones was given straight red after a horrific tackle in the last league game against Peterborough United. George Thomason is also suspended because of this fixture but for picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, his physicality will definitely be missed in midfield. On the injury front, the situation with Ricardo Santos is unclear and his return date is unknown, the same is with Dion Charles, he did start against Peterborough but wasn't fully fit and wasn't involved in the cup fixture. Zachary Ashworth is also yet to return to the matchday squads, since his injury on international duty.

Nathan Baxter will likely line up in between the sticks with Coleman still out injured and no other real option, Baxter has also been impressive in recent weeks and there is no reason to drop him. With Santos unlikely to play, Eoin Toal will most likely return and play in the middle of the back 3 structure - this would allow Will Forrester to play on the right of the back 3 and give him more freedom to under/overlap. There is no other centre back option apart from Jack Iredale so he will almost definitely complete the back 3 on the left hand side. Randel Williams is also a certainty at left wing back, due to Ashworth's injury, but this could give an opportunity for Luke Matheson to make the bench and possibly feature. 

In midfield, I believe that Evatt will return to his midfield selection at the start of the season, meaning that Aaron Morley will return to the team and play alongside Josh Sheehan and Kyle Dempsey. If fully fit, Dion Charles will start and likely play for 60 minutes alongside his striking partner Victor Adeboyejo - both have been very prolific so far this season. However, Dan Nlundulu was very impressive in the fixture against Manchester United's under 21s, scoring 2 goals; Jon Dadi Bodvarsson also scored and has potentially showed that he is on his way back into starting selection if a striker gets injured or is in poor form. 

Opposition tactics

Port Vale line-up in a 3-4-2-1 system under the management of Andy Crosby. So far this season, Port Vale have scored an average of 1.7 goals per game: 3 from inside the box and 2 from outside the box. On average, they create 1 big chance per game, missing 0.7 of those chances per game from their 13 shots per game. Their possession this season has been, on average, 55% so it will be very interesting to see who dominates the ball on Saturday afternoon. However, they have only kept 1 clean sheet this season.

After watching the highlights of some of their games, they appear to struggle when it comes to defending crosses or from corners because of their weak central defenders. If they actually do win the first header (they don't) they struggle to get the ball clear - as was clear against Sutton United. Bolton can definitely capitalise on this as they have scored a lot of set piece goal this season and Adeboyejo should be able to get the better of their centre backs physically. 

However, they can be threatening on the counter with quick and composed forwards that can finish well. Depending on the personnel, they are also threatening from distance and can strike well from outside the box. Alfie Devine has been very impressive so far this season but hasn't started every game, as he is still young. 

My prediction is that Bolton will win this game 2-1, it should be a good game and fans should be excited. 

Bolton Wanderers vs Peterborough United - match review

Another Red Card!

 Bolton Wanderers took on Peterborough United, in what was sure to be a very interesting fixture, both sides finished in the playoffs last season and will be targeting the same, if not more, this season. The game can't be completely analysed because of the red card to Bolton player, Gethin Jones, it is safe to say that it was a red card and really quite a nasty incident - you can view the tackle here

Statistical review

Of course, the red card will have disrupted most of the statistics from the game and therefore I will take the majority of stats from the first half. The game was fairly even, with the possession stats completely even (50% each) and the total shots ranking in Peterborough's favour (6 for Bolton and 10 for Peterborough). Both teams only created 1 big chance, in the entire game, and they were both scored by Jonson Clarke-Harris and Victor Adeboyejo. 

Clarke-Harris was particularly impressive for Peterborough: playing the full game, scoring 1, playing 1 key pass (a pass resulting in a shot), winning 2/4 of his ground duels and 6/7 of his aerial duels. You can see why he attracted so much interest in the summer for Championship and League One clubs, including Bolton themselves. Another standout player for Peterborough was Harrison Burrows: playing the full game, registering an assist, making 1 tackle, playing 5 key passes (ridiculous), playing 7 accurate crosses, creating 1 big chance and winning 4/6 of his ground duels - a great performance from the young man.

For the Wanderers, Nathan Baxter was probably the best performer, registering an 8.0 rating on SofaScore, he made: 5 saves, 3 high claims, 23 passes and won his only aerial duel; obviously, stats are hard to track for a goalkeeper but those statistics are of a very high quality, really proving himself when he needed to. Randell Williams was also very impressive, despite having to play more defensive: 2 key passes, 1 cross, 1 long ball, 6/8 ground duels won, 2/3 aerial duels won and an interception - for a player who is more attacking than defensive, these are very good numbers.

Overall review 

Bolton Wanderers tried out a new set piece tactic from a free kick, that resulted in a shot from the edge of the box: Sheehan played it short to Williams, he drew in pressure then let the ball run to George Thomason who had a good shot from 20 yards. This effort was saved but it shows the continued progress that Bolton have made when it comes to set piece situations this season, and the creativity that they are willing to use.

The Bolton goal was a very poor one to concede (highlights) and showed the lack of leadership at the back without Ricardo Santos and George Johnston. The ball was crossed into the back post and Josh Sheehan, Will Forrester and Jack Iredale were picking up 2 men - this suits the basic defensive principle of +1 but it also created confusion. Clarke-Harris escaped Iredale and Forrester wasn't aware, he basically had a free header and Baxter couldn't really do anything, very poor. 

However, the reply was instant from Bolton Wanderers, scoring just 2 minutes later. A long ball was sent up to Adeboyejo, who controlled it well and laid it off to Josh Sheehan. Sheehan used his small frame and composure to dribble past the Peterborough player and then play a beautiful through ball to Josh Dacres Cogley. Cogley crossed the ball into the corridor of uncertainty but the goalkeeper came out and blocked the cross, because of the angle and power, he spilled it and Adeboyejo arrived in the position of maximum output to score. He seems to score this type of a goals a lot, a real box number 9, in my opinion.

I won't comment on the red card because it is a blatant red, but he should know better than that.

The second half resulted in a lot of defending for the Wanderers and a bit of luck may have helped them over the line. At the end of the day, it is a very good point to get with only 10 men, Peterborough are a good team and Bolton fans shouldn't be too disappointed. 

Reading 2-1 Bolton Wanderers - match review *New Section*

 Three points dropped

Reading, despite playing in the Championship last season, were a team that Bolton need to be beating if they want to win the league, or even get promoted. However, they came out of this game with no points and some key players missing for the upcoming games. It is not a good situation for the Wanderers. 

Statistical review

It was not the usual dominant performance from Bolton, possession-wise, and this is probably part of the reason why they lost the game; Bolton only had 51% possession at the end of the game, resulting in the ball stalling in the middle of the pitch for the majority of the game. For 44% of the match, the ball was in the middle third of the pitch and 28% in both of the other thirds - a very even game. Reading also had a lot more shots (18) than Bolton (10), having 7 on target (2 more than Bolton). The most interesting statistic for me is the total shots taken in an outside of the box for both teams: Bolton had 9 shots from inside the box and only 1 outside the box but Reading had 9 from inside and 9 from outside the box. This suggests that Bolton were too patient with their play and possibly tried to get it into the box when a shooting opportunity arises (have not watched the game at this point).

Individually, Josh Sheehan was very impressive yet again. The Welshman played 2 key passes and accurately played his only attempted long ball, also he won 2 fouls and won 100% of his duels (2/2). For Reading, their best player (statistically) Femi Azeez, the 22 year old registered 1 assist but the creativity didn't stop there: Azeez also played 1/1 accurate long balls and 3 key passes! He also won 2/3 of his ground duels and making 2 interceptions, important offensively and defensively. 

Fan Review

This is a new section for the match reviews (and maybe previews) where I ask a fan some questions and give them the opportunity to share their views. For this review it will be Alex (@Alexbwfc4 on twitter). If you want to be the next fan for this aspect of the review, like and retweet the tweet promoting this and I will pick one of you at random.

The first thing I wanted to know was his immediate thoughts on the game, he replied "Started the game too slow. Let them control early on. Charles goal was great. Moved it well until half time", the statistics agree with Alex with Bolton letting Reading have 8 shots and 47% of the ball. However, Charles' goal was very impressive (as he said): the ball fell to Kyle Dempsey and, off balance, he manged to clip the ball over the top to Dion Charles, he used his strength well and got to the ball first, then struck the ball well into the far corner. When asked for his man of the match, Alex went for "Charles, his press isn't matched by anyone else" and I have to say I agree, when Charles isn't on the pitch Bolton aren't the same team, they are far too reliant on him. However, it appears he is injured and could be out for several games, Evatt had this to say "It doesn't look great. Fortunately it's not dislocated. We don't know how bad it is but the pain is unbearable". With Adeboyejo and Nlundulu out of form, these are words that no Bolton fan wants to hear. 

Fans across social media have questioned the refereeing performance and Alex is no different, (when asked what went wrong) saying "Ref for starters, penalty denied but was pinpoint pen". I unfortunately have not seen the penalty claim but the discussion it has caused on social media means it must be at least controversial, the penalty could have completely changed the outcome of this game. Despite the poor performance, Alex would change "not much due to injuries" but he did explain that "Forrester is a great alternative to Jones" and that "Jon Dadi Bodvarsson" could have played instead of Adeboyejo. Bodvarsson may be given a staring opportunity next game, with the injury to Dion Charles, and Forrester will likely play with Santos and Jones, due to the Toal red card. 

In addition, I also asked what Alex thought of the season ahead after some poor performances, positively he replied "Still can't over react fully. But to win titles you can't lose games like that more than once or twice". I agree with this completely, of course the easy thing to do is get annoyed and not be rational about your expectations, with some of social media even calling for Evatt to leave. However, as he says, "to win titles you can't lose games like that" Reading are a team that Bolton expect to beat and need to beat if they want to be a Championship team and that performance wasn't good enough. 

Personally, I still believe that Bolton will get promotion this season but performances like that can't become a regular occurrence. Evatt is definitely the right man for the job but at times he does show his inexperience, the substitutions have to be better and he needs to make more in-game tactical adjustments. 

Reading FC vs Bolton Wanderers - match preview

 Football is back 

The international break is over and Bolton return to action against Reading, away from home at the Select Car Leasing stadium. The afternoon kick-off on Saturday will pose an interesting test for Bolton because they were a Championship side last season but they had big financial problems and the squad has had mass overturn, with 12 players leaving on a permanent transfer and 13 players in on a permanent transfer. It's unclear how they will perform but they haven't had the best form so far. 

Bolton team news

Bolton go into this game with only one of their players definitely ruled out of the game, George Johnston - unfortunately the centre back will miss most of the season with his current injury. Coleman (gk) may also miss this game with the injury he picked up in the cup but his current fitness is unknown, however he may not be named on the bench even if he is fit. This means that Nathan Baxter will keep his place as the first choice goalkeeper, his performances this season have been mostly good with some room from improvement.

The defensive situation is very interesting because of the performances of the central defenders, Ricardo Santos is a mainstay in the team as the captain and probably the best player. Eoin Toal has also been very impressive since he came back from his injury and should/ will start next to Santos at the back but the other centre back position is up for grabs. Gethin Jones is the vice captain but hasn't been at his best this season, with many calling for him to be dropped and the other option is Jack Iredale. Iredale was very good , apart from the Wigan game, and when Toal came back was dropped instantly - personally, I would start Toal, Santos and Iredale for this game. I think the wing backs are a very straight forward selection: Williams and Dacres Cogley have both been very good so far this season and will likely start, the only other option would be Ashworth for Williams. 

The last midfield 3 was made up of Josh Sheehan, George Thomason and Kyle Dempsey and it worked very well. However, for this game Evatt may rest Sheehan after international duty and not training with the team for a while. Personally, I would play Sheehan with Kyle Dempsey and Mendes Gomes; obviously, this is very attacking but Evatt will now know what Mendes Gomes is about and he should be given a chance in the first team. Currently, Dempsey is un-droppable and the Morley will probably partner Sheehan with Dempsey ahead.

For the strikers, Dion Charles has to play but his strike partner is a very interesting situation. Victor Adeboyejo has been his partner when both are available so far but, in recent weeks, has been off the pace, despite his good start. Dan Nlundulu is the next choice who offers something similar to Adeboeyjo, he was brought in on a permanent transfer this season and hasn't been given many opportunities so far, could this be his first? Jon Dadi Bodvarsson hasn't started since he has returned from injury but a lot of fans have called for him to be given an opportunity next to Charles, obviously Jerome is also an option. I believe that Bodvarsson should start this game but their is a case for all of the strikers.

Reading team news and tactics

So far this season, Reading have experimented with formations under their new manger Ruben Selles (former Southampton manager), including a 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and a back 3 system. Either way, their system appears fluid (based off the average positions) and could pose a challenge for Bolton. Interestingly, they have had an average of 57.3% possession so far this season and it could be an even game (possession-wise) on Saturday. On average, they have had 4 shots on target per game this season, for reference Bolton have had 5.5.

They key men to look out for in this game are Charlie Savage and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, the latter is currently the Reading top scorer in the league (2 goals) and Charlie Savage has played 2.5 key passes per game - meaning that he will need to have a good game if Reading want any chance in this fixture. Reading have only created 1.7 big chances per game this season and have missed 1.3 per game, their attack is clearly not the strongest part of their game but the international break will have given them time to work on this. 

After watching their games, their biggest weakness is their ability to defend crossing situations, some goals they have conceded this season have come from this. This is from crosses in the corridor of uncertainty, a cut back or when it's a floated ball into the box. They find it difficult to stay with their men and stop goal scoring situations, Charles and the other striker should both be able to pick up a goal from this game. 

I am going to predict a 2-0 win for Bolton away from home with goals coming from Dion Charles (Dacres Cogley assist) and Kyle Dempsey from outside the box. It should be a good game.