Wanderers warrant Wilson appeal worthless

This afternoon Bolton Wanderers have ‘reluctantly’ decided against appealing Marc Wilson’s red card issued to him during Saturday’s clash with Tractor Boys Ipswich Town following a controversial decision midway through the first half.

The defender will now subsequently miss this weekend’s fixture against Derby County. As stated, the club officials deemed the dismissal to be ‘harsh’ but have not followed up the claims.

The game was Wilson’s first league start for the club which lasted all of 34 minutes having been selected by manager Phil Parkinson over regular centre halve pairing David Wheater and Mark Beevers along side fellow summer signing and LOV’s MOTM Jack Hobbs who was also making his first Bolton league appearance.

This may mean back to the drawing board for Phil Parkinson as he experimented with his team at the weekend with hope of fresh options to fill in for the old guard, particularly in the three game weeks. Now without one of his back up options, either or both of Wheavers will inevitably return to the side against Derby depending on his preference.

It’s a shame that Wilson and Hobbs’ partnership couldn't develop as planned and a potential run in the team for the pair has been stopped in its tracks far too early I’m sure for both the players and the managers liking.

With only an appeal to lose, it seems strange that further action hasn't been taken but given that we’re still early in the season with a long way to go and it most likely won’t be the last ridiculous decision we’ll see made by a match official this year.

Wanderers are therefore perhaps wise to factor this in and have presumably deemed Wilson’s suspension as less than a crucial loss.

On the other hand, this may open up other doors as far as team selection is concerned for Parky.

With three centre back’s now available, the option to revert to a 3-5-2 is perhaps in the back of Parkinson’s mind whilst a back four is most likely with one on the bench, freeing up a space on the bench for those currently missing out and even maybe for one of the academy graduates.

With options to play with and the squad depth not exactly thin on the ground therefore, you could argue either way whether a one match suspension is worth appealing as I’m sure has been debated over the last 48 hours from which the club have ultimately come to a conscious and logical conclusion that it wasn't.

I have faith that Parky’s team have made the right call on this one but you can see why its perhaps taken longer than a discussion over a brew on it.

Let us know what you think in the comments below and how you think we’ll line up on Saturday accordingly.