Apathy Avenue - A look at the January transfer window

Two weeks ago today, Bolton Wanderers Chairman Ken Anderson stated in one of his many notes:

“By the time the transfer window closes, I’m confident that we’ll have a squad capable of staying in this division and as always we need your continued 100% support to get behind the players to help achieve this.”

The January transfer window ended on a sour note last night, as a deal to sign Sheffield United striker Ched Evans fell through at the eleventh hour. The club did however manage to bring in Callum Connolly on loan from Everton. The versatile player spent the first half of the season on loan at Wigan, but he didn’t have the best spell & only made nine appearances. Although, sometimes a certain player just doesn’t fit with another team, so hopefully Connolly can make a bigger impact here.

The club also managed to hold onto to promising youngster Luca Connell, amid heavy interest from Southampton & Brighton and Hove Albion. With his contract up at the end of the season, let’s hope the club can get him to sign a long term professional deal.

Otherwise, it’s another talented player who will walk away for free.

Whether you was for or against the club signing Evans, everyone can agree that Wanderers desperately needed a striker, having lost Christian Doidge at the start of the window.

Bolton are the second lowest scoring team in the entire Football League, with a measly nineteen goals in twenty-nine games.

Wanderers still only have two senior strikers in the side; Clayton Donaldson & Josh Magennis. The club also have U23 star Connor Hall, having returned from his loan with Accrington Stanley. Should he be given a chance in the side? Certainly can’t hurt to give him a go at this point.

Donaldson has scored once in his last 37 games in all competitions, whilst Magennis has scored in only one of his last 25 games. Both players’ last goals came in the same game; the 5-2 win against Walsall in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

The last time a Bolton striker scored in the league was way back in October.

What was & still is glaringly obviously to everyone involved at the club was the need for a striker. Due to the financial situation the club is in, it was left until the last minute to sign a forward.

Because of that, they’ve paid the price for leaving it until the eleventh hour again. Wanderers leave the transfer window in a worse position than they were in at the start of it.

There’s a real cloud of apathy that has surrounded the club for a long time now.

The off field issues, coupled with the lack of wins and the wretched, turigd football that fans have been subjected to, has led to a total disconnect between the fans & the club.

The reaction to Luca Connell’s being taken off against Reading on Tuesday was a prime example of this. It wasn’t just a reaction to the substitution of a player who was performing well, it was the culmination of months of frustration, anger & despondency coming to the surface.

It was the first time that fans have turned on Phil Parkinson in such a vocal way.

Whether Wanderers look into any free agents remains to be seen. Former Celtic & Hibs centre back Efe Ambrose has been heavily linked, but the most concerning area to improve remains up front.