Rebuilding Bolton - The Long Haul

JANUARY UPDATE

Very up and down first half to the season with some very good runs followed by large blips of form that leaves us with a very tight league currently.

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As you can see a very tight league leaves the 2nd half of the season very much in our hands. With a game in hand we can really force our way into the automatic promotion picture.

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Very good runs in the cup, with defeats to Premier League teams leaving us licking our wounds. We have meet expectations which is a great thing for the club and the money coming with it.

We have had to let go in January of our only good right back due to him attempting to run out his contract which as a club we couldn't afford to let happen.

I have chanced my luck on some really young players on free transfers that will arrive in Summer for a full review

Good work, extremely solid placing in the table to push for the coveted automatic promotion

END OF SEASON UPDATE

WOW What a season of ups and downs. A season where our backs where against the wall, due to most of our starters enduring some very long injury absences.

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Well somehow with everything set up against us and a very good end to the league means we snuck into the Automatic promotion spot on the last day due to the former top 2 having to play eachother.

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A nice draw in the last game after leading 3-1 was all we needed to take our luck to the next level! The grind was hard and im sure this team are just not good enough to play in the Championship which is fantastic.

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Our awards are a clear indication of how important our loan signings became, sadly Ilic will not resign for next season but the best of the rest have resigned for the slog that will be ahead.

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So with the club being 3million in debt it was clear that we would be up against it with no funds being available. We were given 12k more wage budget which I put into good use on some free transfer that I hope will fill the current gaps in the squad.​

SUMMER UPDATE

A lot of work was needed on the squad to try get us to a level that will allow us to compete to stay in the league. Most of our loans from last season have stayed on board except for Ilic which was a huge loss for the squad.

INS

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Brought this right back into fill the void that Emmanuel left when leaving in January. Some great physicals that will hopefully allow him to be a good addition. We have some suitable back ups behind him incase needed.

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This player was very much required due to the loss of Ilic, he will be a great addition who should shore up the midfield for what will be a tough year ahead.

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A great free transfer pick up which will make sense when the Outs shows our best goalkeeper leaving the squad. Great addition who comes in better than our last goalkeeper. Sadly had to agree to a 3.3m min release clause for people in higher league.

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What was apparent last season was the need for a striker to put the ball in the back of the net. Which I think by picking up this loan we have just done that and also with paying no wage it is an amazing coup for the team.

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This was a free transfer that I couldnt pass up, a great player on a rather low wage and someone who could play a year or 2 and really make us a healthy profit. Signing him from Zebre was unexpected but hopefully he takes some of the quality with him.

I have spent a huge chunk of our wages on some really good young players who have been let go by Premier league teams, these players have quickly went out on loan to gain experience before potentially being sold on for a decent profit or making there way into the starting team.

22 players have came on board, with a mix of loan and free transfers while I am also looking to get some more loans in for some quality full backs as back up.

OUTS

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As you can see alot of money made over the summer to try balance the books a bit more due to the club losing money every week. Diallo and Ephestion where brough in for free during Summer and quickly let go when I got better players in giving us a quick profit which is great.

Smaller fees, were wanting some game time and werent up to the task so took the money while I can.

Hope you've remembered that your only allowed 5 loanes in your matchday squad while in the championship so hopefully not too reliant on too many of them

2020-04-22 17:13#268983 tedbro20 : Hope you've remembered that your only allowed 5 loanes in your matchday squad while in the championship so hopefully not too reliant on too many of them

Luckily it was the same for League 1, so I knew what was required.

A lot of them are up there with our best players but working a good rotation will be key due to the amount of games in the championship

Congratulations on promotion! It does appear that you are beginning to turn the tide on the financial situation. If you can survive in the Championship, I’d imagine you can begin to look over the horizon a bit more.

Surviving the championship will be a huge task. Hopefully these signings can hold you tight there!

2020-04-23 10:15#269002 Justice : Congratulations on promotion! It does appear that you are beginning to turn the tide on the financial situation. If you can survive in the Championship, I’d imagine you can begin to look over the horizon a bit more.

I am always sorting the financial problem but due to the club paying off a 40mil loan its never changing and constantly losing money.

My players have quickly shot up in price so will be a tough transfer window with some already getting interest.

We are tweaking with formations that keep us solid at the back but able to sustain good attacks

https://fmshots.com/images/2020/04/23/Reading-Offerba8849ecd2c6e2ef.png

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A wanted man now, bottom of the league Reading, think thats a swift no, from Outcast

MID-SEASON UPDATE

NEW FORMATION

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This formation has been our go to formation since the first few weeks of the season, it really suits our ability and allows us to be defensively solid as some of the attackers we come up against our just out of this world. It also allows us to do some good attacking work with the wing backs getting up to support the front players. Overall a very strong formation that leaves us mid-table in goals scored and goals conceded.

DEFENSE SOLIDITY
The real catalyst for this season has been the from of the back 6. Prior has turned into a great free signing in goal, saving us more times that I can remember. Managed to secure him on new deal and get rid of his release clause which was a great bonus to the squad. The 3 centre backs our my favorite part of the team, these have all came through our academy and developed into great young players. Brockbank is our captain and leader who has turned into a decent championship player worth 4m. Senior still has the potential to be a championship but is being utilitsed due to no better options being available, still on the improve which is great. Now comes the best one of the lot, Colvin is amazing, quickly looking like a future premier league defender. The wing-backs have been a great addition to the squad, Williams is really doing great work on the right popping up with plenty of assists and goals, work needs to be done on his fitness but the loan was a great deal for us.

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MIDFIELD DUO
This has really been a tough decision with me having some great loan players on board, some clearly better than the 2 I currently play there. However, I have decided to stick with my own players these being Selasi and Carbonell. They are doing a great job and it is just allowing me to improve them meaning once our loans begin to leave I have a solid midfield duo to take us forward in the Championship. Selasi has really stepped up to the plate since his free transfer which is great to see. With some of my own youngster sitting in behind as back-up we have the knowledge that this midfield duo can work together and our youngsters can do the job if needed while improving.

LACK OF STRIKERS
Over the last few seasons, I have relly focused on loan signings up front as they were the best we could get in those positions as our options werent up to the grade, because of this we have left ourselves in a dodgy position going forward with us not really having our own players to take over the mantle once these loan signings move on. A re-build of the strikeforce is needed.

HOT PROPERTY
Fielding Calls left right and centre. We are quickly having our youngster pop up on the wanted list by clubs all over. We have rejected some big transfer bids for our young up and coming goalkeepers and our your attacking midfield options. It is great to see but rather annoying because it is going to turn our players heads as some of the teams interested our streets above us including Everton looking at our younger centre midfielder.

I am also getting some interview offers for clubs looking to take me on board including Reading, Bristol City and Rangers.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

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The league is some great reading for fans of Bolton, we have quickly established ourselves in midpack and it is clear we have dodged a relegation battle which is great for the squad. Need to turn our draws into wins and we could really pull up some trees next season. It is all about finishing this season as high as possible for the extra cash as the board has slashed our wage bill again by 13k leaving us no room to add any decent free signings to the squad. So we hope for movement to allow us to improve the squad.

Trodding along nicely in the championship. Hope to see it continue

END OF SEASON UPDATE

What a fantastic season this has been for the club. We are improving as a side and I have lowered the need for loan signings to start games meaning our players have vastly improved throughout the season.

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A very nice league position from our first season in the Championship allowing us to fully build on this moving into our 4th season with the club.

END OF SEASON AWARDS

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Very nice to see our Bolton youngsters take 2 spots on the fans players of the season which is great to see and the other going to a nice free signing, showing the ability we have and the reduced need for loan signings.

From the team of the season, we have lost our left wing back who moved to another team on a free, as he was only on loan to us, he wanted too much in wages for my liking. Plus Rogers was having none of it, so he wont be returning on loan.

More big news coming with players leaving and some new signings, stay tuned!!!

TRANSFER SPECIAL

This was maybe the biggest season of transfers we have had. It was really important to try maintain our existing players and allow us to strengthen the squad in the places required.

OUTS

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So big movements out of the team, with really our best goalkeeper leaving the club for the Premier League. The money was decent even tho he was valued at 6m I took the money, which really helped to balance the books. Politic is really the big loss as this is a 21yo on the improve and our best CAM, this was done near the end of the January window so I began to play my younger player to allow him to improve.

Joe Allen was brought in on the free and immediately transfer listed as teams showed interest so it was a quick profit for the club.

This really set us up to greatly improve our squad due to changing on the transfer budget given into wages.

INS
Clearly we had the big task of replacing our loans lost of the Manchester City players and a new goalkeeper to acquire which on a free transfer is easier said than done.

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This is the best the club could do which considering is a fantastic signing who is a decent player in the championship, clearly not as great as our old keeper but he will be able to keep us strong for a season or 2 before we pick up a better keeper.

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A nice young Italian centre half who really adds and compliments our existing options in the heart of our defense. Very well rounded player who will add some great quality to our club for years to come.

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Plus we raid our usual Man City for a quality young centre half that will quickly become part of our back 3 and really shore up any lose ends that we had before. Im hoping this added quality allows us stop shipping so many sloppy goals.

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Now this is the best free signing we have ever picked up, a real strong addition that will make that wing back position his own going forward. Decent wage but in a few year will be worth a lot more due to his experience in the league. This was a position that was badly needed and this is maybe better than you could ever hope for.

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An extra addition in the middle of the park and CAM since our starting CAM left and our loans left us a little bare in the middle of the park. I am hoping to have him as an impact sub and allow my own players to play again, to keep them progressing the way we need to boost the overall ability of our squad.

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As we said our squad was very bare in the striking department and it was very important we added some good firepower which I think with this addition we have just done that, certainly no world beater but a great addition to the squad nonetheless.

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Now this is really the better striker of the 2 just due to his off the ball work and heading attributes, will be able to finish off most chances he gets and really adds to the squad.

Overall we have massively improved the squad due to some great free transfers coming on board. A lot of work to be done to make the team work but rather pleased of how the window went and we are certainly hopeful of a big season.

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The prize money from last season along with our transfer fees has really put the club on a great footing going forward, we still have 25m to pay off from our loan which will eat into our bank. Our wage budget is over due to the board not letting me move this transfer budget over to wage budget.