A season to remember

Although the job isn’t done just yet, it feels as though we have edged much closer to clinching promotion after securing the win vs Morecambe on the weekend.

At the start of the season, Bolton Wanderers were beginning to settle into a new life in League Two for only the second time in the club’s rich history. Following the appointment of a young and attacking-minded manager, Ian Evatt, there was a lot to look forward to as we entered the Fourth Division of English football. Evatt had one job after his appointment - immediate promotion out of this league.

However due to a lack of both depth and quality in the squad, life in League Two wasn’t as easy as first expected for Bolton. A winless start to the campaign throughout September and an inconsistent run of form saw muted calls for Evatt to be sacked by the club from a small section of fans. The pressure had started to mount on the Bolton boss and coming towards the end of December, Bolton stood above the relegation zone with just twenty-six points to their name.

At this point, something had to change before it all went horribly wrong.

The departure of Head of Football Operations Tobias Phoenix from the club allowed Evatt and his back-room staff to have some freedom in the recruitment of their own players. This proved to be an absolute godsend in terms of the January transfer window. The signings of Kieran Lee, Dapo Afolayan, MJ Williams and Declan John have proven to be pivotal for Bolton Wanderers’ season. The addition of class, flair and experience has boosted the quality in the squad.

What followed this poor and substandard start to the season, is nothing short of remarkable.

A miraculous run of form saw Evatt’s men go fourteen games unbeaten, from the end of January to the start of April. The Whites began to fly up the league table and before we even knew it, we had climbed our way up into the play-off places.

Facing a total of twenty games since the 30th of January, Bolton have managed to gain a total of 48 points out of a possible 60.

I don’t think that we will ever, as a club, witness such a tremendous turnaround like this again.

The images from last weekend at Morecambe will have made every single Bolton Wanderers fan proud and the connection that was shown between the players and the fans was admirable. Our club that has been dragged through the dirt this past decade, is finally back on the rise.

Let’s finish the job off on Saturday vs Exeter, and whatever happens – this has been a season to remember for the club in so many different ways.

One last push now, lads. Come on you Whites!