Debut Review: Lawrie Wilson

Our new mate Lawrie Wilson started his career at Charlton Athletic, but failed to make a first team appearance for the club and was subsequently released.

He then signed for Colchester United. His career though did not get going at the club and he was released at the end of a one year deal.

After that he signed for Stevenage which is where his career really got going. Wilson made 191 appearances in all competitions for the club as they won the FA trophy and gained back to back promotions first into the football league for the first time then up to League One.

His spell at Stevenage though was marred by the type of injury I thought was reserved for Bolton Wanderers players as he suffered a dislocated ankle and a broken leg in three places. But unlike Bolton players he managed to return to action earlier than expected after 8 months on the side-lines.

His spell at Stevenage pointed to a few abilities which I believe will be useful for Bolton Wanderers.

The most obvious of these is that he is clearly a player with experience of getting out of a division, even if they may have been lower leagues. Considering that in recent years Bolton have only really looked good for getting out of the Championship in a downwards direction this experience can only be seen as a good thing!

There is also the fact that he demonstrated great versatility being used as a right back (as he has been so far for Bolton), a right and left midfielder and a right winger. This is good as I am a fan of having players who a versatile around as it means we not only have extra cover for the seemingly inevitable wave of injuries but it also gives Lennon a greater range of tactical options. On top of this it should mean that Wilson is capable of playing in a wing back position.

While looking at Prince-Desir Gouano it was noted that he can play in systems with three at the back and that this is a system Lennon seem rather fond of. Add to this the fact that Dean Moxey (who has a similar back story to Wilson having gained promotion to the football league with Exeter City followed by promotion to League One) can also (I believe) be deployed in more of a wing back role it does seem to complete a defensive set up capable of playing both three and four at the back.

In addition to the above he also showed an eye for an assist creating a number of goals. Reports of his performances so far for Bolton indicate that this could be set to continue and I have no doubt that it will be a real asset for the club, and hopefully mean that Liam Feeney's somewhat erratic crossing ability becomes less important!

After his time at Stevenage he moved back to Charlton Athletic in one of these lovely romantic footballing stories. After having made a solid 32 appearances in his first season back at the club he was restricted to just one last term, which paved the way for him to join Bolton Wanderers.

I think the most exciting aspect of Wilson's move to Bolton (beyond the obvious actually having a right back which is cause for much celebration) is it allows Lennon to deploy Josh Vela in midfield. I remember watching the Liverpool FA cup tie last season where Vela was put in midfield and was exceptional and I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited by the prospect of him playing there week in week out.

Considering the strength of the midfield played against Derby County at the weekend without Vela or Mark Davies in it with Jay Spearing achieving a man of the match award (which many at Bolton would have seen as about as likely to happen as the club signing a donkey on acid as the new number 2 goalkeeper) it is exciting to see how good that area of the pitch can be for us this season.

If that is also backed up by a solid defence boosted by Wilson then we will always have a chance of taking something from any match!