VOTE: Player of the Month: Burke, Derik or Pratley?

August was a turbulent time for Bolton as the Whites failed to win a game in the league, found themselves in court again and navigated a record breaking transfer window with a tight embargo. However, there were some individual performances to celebrate and in this monthly feature, we’re going to do just that.

We tallied up the player ratings from each game and the Lion of Vienna Suite’s inaugural Player of the Month award is going to go to Reece Burke, the West Ham loanee who has become a regular face in our back three since David Wheater’s injury. He received a 9 on his debut against Crewe Alexandria in the EFL cup and continued to impress in the league, scoring two 8s against Birmingham and Millwall.

Phil Parkinson’s 3-5-2 formation has come under fire recently and so, if the Whites have to revert to four at the back, his place in the team may be threatened once Wheater returns. Burke is clearly doing all he can to ensure he becomes undroppable, despite failing to impress in disappointing team performances against Hull and Derby. His fellow West Ham man, Josh Cullen, averaged 6.3.

Did we get it right, was he your player of the month too? Vote below:

An honourable mention must go to Derik Osede, the former Real Madrid man who has only appeared in the EFL cup. He scored two 8s against Crewe and Sheffield Wednesday, leading to many calling for him to get a chance in the Championship. These calls were amplified when the lowest scorer this month, club captain Darren Pratley, continued to keep his place in the team until Hull. Pratley averaged 4.5 across all competitions. His poor form has been criticised and even booed by fans, which prompted Eddie to write about what is acceptable and what isn’t.

Other low scorers are in the defence, with Andrew Taylor and Dorian Dervite averaging 5.5 and 5.75 respectively. Our strike force performed marginally better, with Madine averaging 7.5 and Adam Le Fondre 6.25. New additions Aaron Wilbraham (5.3) and Stephen Darby (5) have both failed to impress.

What do you think? Have we been too harsh or too forgiving? Does this change your mind as to who should be starting against Middlesborough next week?