Do Pre-Season Results Matter?

In the light of last night's defeat away at League One outfit Carlisle United, and digesting the outpouring of panic on forms, the Official BWFC Facebook page (a place that I would only recommend visiting if you are a patient person) and Twitter, I set to wonder whether you can really take any notice of pre-season results.

Of course it's always nice to go into the season full of confidence on the back of a solid pre-season winning streak, and in an ideal world this would happen every time.

So I decided to take a look back at previous pre-season games and results, to see if there is any sort of correlation between the form that Bolton Wanderers showed, and their final league position at the end of the season.

2008/09 season - Premier League (Gary Megson)

25 July 2008	Rochdale	0-0	Bolton Wanderers	Spotland Stadium

26 July 2008	Macclesfield Town	1-0	Bolton Wanderers	Moss Rose

29 July 2008	Tranmere Rovers	A - A	Bolton Wanderers	Prenton Park

1 August 2008	Doncaster Rovers	0-5	Bolton Wanderers	Keepmoat Stadium

2 August 2008	Chorley	0-2	Bolton Wanderers	Victory Park

4 August 2008	Aris F.C.	1-1	Bolton Wanderers	Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium
8 August 2008	AEK Athens	1-0	Bolton Wanderers	Olympic Stadium

As you can see, this pre-season brought two wins, two draws and two defeats from six games. Wanderers would struggle for the majority of the 2008/09 season and would ultimately finish 13th in the division following a late run of form which brought them another season in the top flight.

2009/10 season - Premier League (Gary Megson)

21 July 2009	Leigh Genesis	1 - 4	Bolton Wanderers	Leigh Sports Village

25 July 2009	Borussia Mönchengladbach	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Borussia-Park

25 July 2009	Altrincham	3 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Moss Lane

28 July 2009	Den Bosch	1 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	De Vliert

31 July 2009	FC Eindhoven	2 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Jan Louwers Stadion

3 August 2009	Fleetwood Town	2 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Highbury Stadium

4 August 2009	Hearts	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Tynecastle Stadium

8 August 2009	Bolton Wanderers	0 - 0	Hibs	Reebok Stadium
9 August 2009	Chorley	2 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Victory Park

Again, a mixed pre-season under Megson garnered three wins, five draws and a defeat, away at Fleetwood Town, then of the Conference. The season itself however started off on a much more troubled footing leading to the manager's sacking in December and his replacement Owen Coyle leading the club to safety in 14^th place.

2010/11 season - Premier League (Owen Coyle)

14 July 2010	Charlotte Eagles	0 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Transamerica Field

17 July 2010	Charleston Battery	0 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Blackbaud Stadium

21 July 2010	Toronto	1 - 1 (3 - 4 p)	Bolton Wanderers	BMO Field

24 July 2010	Rochdale	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Spotland

28 July 2010	Oldham Athletic	3 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Boundary Park

31 July 2010	Falkirk	0 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Falkirk Stadium

2 August 2010	St. Johnstone	0 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	McDiarmid Park

6 August 2010	Bolton Wanderers	2 - 0	Osasuna	Reebok Stadium

The 2010/11 pre-season saw Wanderers head across the pond to America and Canada, as well as a home game against La Liga outfit Osasuna at the Reebok Stadium. The early games brought in five wins, two draws and a defeat, but again a mixed season would see Wanderers finish in 14^th position which was a disappointment following a good start and middle of the season, but a heavy FA Cup Semi Final defeat to Stoke City pushed the side into a downward spiral of poor form which in hindsight was a sign of things to come.

2011/12 season - Premier League (Owen Coyle)

14 July 2011	FC Tampa Bay	1 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Al Lang Stadium

17 July 2011	Orlando City	1 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Citrus Bowl

20 July 2011	Houston Dynamo	0 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Robertson Stadium

24 July 2011	Bradford City	1 - 4	Bolton Wanderers	Valley Parade

27 July 2011	Bury	0 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Gigg Lane

30 July 2011	Newport County	1 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Newport Stadium

1 August 2011	Hereford United	0 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Edgar Street

5 August 2011	Bolton Wanderers	0 - 1	Levante	Reebok Stadium

Bolton Wanderers and manager Owen Coyle again headed to America for the club's pre-season tour, visiting Tampa, Orlando and Houston along the way. Results were again excellent, with six wins and two defeats from the eight game schedule. However this run would not continue into the regular season as Bolton Wanderers were relegated in 18^th position following a forgettable season.

2012/13 season - Premier League (Owen Coyle)

18 July 2012	Ayr United	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Somerset Park

21 July 2012	Hamilton Academical	2 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	New Douglas Park

25 July 2012	Falkirk	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Falkirk Stadium

28 July 2012	Crewe Alexandra	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	Alexandra Stadium

1 August 2012	Morecambe	0 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Globe Arena

4 August 2012	Portsmouth	3 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Fratton Park

7 August 2012	Tranmere Rovers	1 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Prenton Park

10 August 2012	Bolton Wanderers	2 - 2	FC Barcelona B	Reebok Stadium

With relegation from the Barclays Premier League (bingo) came about a tightening of the belt as a trimmed down Bolton Wanderers squad eschewed a costly but no doubt luxurious pre-season tour of North America instead heading to Coyle's native Scotland. Results however did not improve and the Whites won only two of their eight games. Most embarrassing of all was the heavy 0-3 reverse away to Portsmouth, who at the time only had a man and his dog playing for them, and the dog was injured. The club would terminate Coyle's contract in October, bringing in Crystal Palace's hot young buck Dougie Freedman who managed to work a miracle and brought the club to the cusp of promotion, ultimately finishing in 7^th position.

2013/14 season - Premier League (Dougie Freedman)

16 July 2013	Rotherham United	2 - 1	Bolton Wanderers	New York Stadium

20 July 2013	Shrewsbury Town	3 - 3	Bolton Wanderers	Greenhous Meadow

23 July 2013	Carlisle United	1 - 0	Bolton Wanderers	Brunton Park

26 July 2013	Bolton Wanderers	-	Real Betis	Reebok Stadium

So far, a truncated pre-season schedule sees Bolton Wanderers only playing four first team friendlies, as opposed to eight/nine that had become the norm. Defeats to Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town, mixed in with a high scoring draw away at Shrewsbury. Pre-season will finish with a home game against La Liga side Real Betis.

So what can we learn from these games? From a total of 42 matches in pre-season, Bolton Wanderers only won 18. My personal view is that the pre-season is a time for players to get a base fitness to last through the season, and this combined with the integration and cohesion of new players within a squad always means that it is possible for results to be erratic. Indeed as the Dougie Freedman said following the Rotherham game:

"These games are all about players getting minutes under their belts. It's a fitness exercise, one in which I'm able to assess where players are at"

Therefore whilst it is normal for the modern fan to treat every result as if it is the most important in the history of the club (e-cries of Freedman Out came last night from the usual suspects), the above hopefully shows that there is no real correlation between pre-season form and how the season will progress. We have seen fantastically successful pre-season campaigns end up with dire "proper" season form and results.

I think we, as a fan base, largely realise that pre-season is about fitness and about teammates learning how the manager wants them to shape up and to play.

That said, I'd love us to absolutely pump Real Betis five-nil.