WanderingRed7

 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 t

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 exam

  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 ba

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, p

  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 onl

  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 performa