This evening sees Crewe Alexandra travel to Bolton Wanderers for the first Friday night fixture since our trip to Tranmere Rovers in the 18/19 season.
This Season:
They sit in 16th place in the league following wins against Lincoln City, Oxford United, Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic and Shrewsbury Town, they’ve drawn with MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon, Burton Albion and Gillingham whilst they have lost against Cambridge United, Rotherham United, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan Athletic, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth.
They were knocked out by Wigan on penalties in the Carabao Cup 2nd Round and play Stockport County in an FA Cup 1st Round replay on Tuesday night following a 2-2 draw last weekend. They have qualified from their EFL Trophy group, topping the group, after wins against Port Vale, Liverpool’s Under-21s and Rochdale.
Transfers:
Bolton have made 9 signings, 8 on permanent deals and 1 on a season-long loan. Goalkeeper Joel Dixon has been joined by defenders Declan John, Will Aimson and George Johnston. Midfielder Josh Sheehan also joined while forwards Oladapo Afolayan, Amadou Bakayago, Elias Kachunga and loanee Xavier Amaechi complete the signings.
They have allowed 13 to leave permanently, including former Alex players Shaun Miller and Antoni Sarcevic, while 9 players have left the club on loan.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 6
Bolton Wins: 12
Draws: 6
Biggest Alex Win: 3-1 at the University of Bolton Stadium in February 1999
Biggest Bolton Win: 4-1 at the University of Bolton Stadium in December 2000
Last Meeting:
Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Crewe Alexandra, 7th November 2020 (FA Cup)
Mika Mandron gave the Alex a 29th-minute lead before Nathan Delfouneso would level the score 8 minutes later. Oli Finney (70) and Charlie Kirk (75) saw the visitors into the 2nd Round despite Delfouneso’s second of the game with 12 minutes to play.
Alex: Jaaskelainen; Ng (Johnson 80), Offord, Beckles, Pickering; Finney (Ainley 70), Wintle, Lowery; Powell (Dale 70), Mandron, Kirk
Bolton: Crellin; Baptiste, Santos, Delaney; Kioso, Sarcevic, White (Tutte 76), Gordon; Darcy (Miller 61), Crawford (Isgrove 68), Delfouneso
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Adam Bogdan, David Felgate, Will Jaaskelainen, Paul Rachubka, Ben Williams
Defenders: Sagi Burton, Neil Cox, Mark Ellis, Nicky Hunt, Fred Halliday, Jon Otsemobor, Warwick Rimmer, Eric Snookes, Chris Stokes
Midfielders: William Galley, Geoff Gay, Frank Marsh, Danny Murphy, Luke Murphy, Antoni Sarcevic, Sammy Sharp
Forwards: Max Clayton, Wyn Davies, Clayton Donaldson, Wayne Entwistle, John Manning, Frank Roberts, Steve Saunders, Joe Smith, Jonathan Walters
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with James Bell the referee, Mark Cunliffe and David Avent are his assistants with Benjamin Speedie the fourth official. The following game has been refereed by Bell in the past 5 years:
- Charlton A Aug 21
Opposition View:
I asked Chris Mann from Bolton Wanderers fanzine The Burnden Aces (their twitter) for his thoughts going into the game and looking at the season so far.
What do you think of your season so far?
As a newly-promoted side, only losing one of your opening 10 games inside 90 minutes across all competitions is more than acceptable. It’s what’s happened since then – September onwards – that has set us back.
Injuries and suspensions have played their part but a horrible habit of conceding the opening goal – often early on – and a sudden realisation that opposition teams are starting to ‘find us out’ is hurting us.
What position do you feel you need to strengthen most during the forthcoming transfer window?
We often have 60-70% of the possession but finish a game with only one or two shots on target. We’ve watched some poor football over the past decade so what we see now is a welcome change, but there needs to be some urgency and substance to our passing game.
Questions have been asked of Eoin Doyle, who has struggled to make the step up to League One, while Dapo Afolayan’s role in the team needs adapting as defenders often double and sometimes triple up to nullify his threat.
Goalkeeper Joel Dixon has endured a real mixed bag of performances but he has no real competition, something we also lack in both full-back positions.
We’ve done well to tie a number of our key players to new contracts of late but the overall squad does need boosting, something we’re unlikely to manage in one solitary window.
Are there any players that are missing for the Trotters?
We’ve had our problems of late, especially in the attacking positions, but seem to be nearing full fitness at long last.
Xavier Amaechi could make his debut after missing the last three months with a broken foot, while Liam Edwards is back in contention after missing the better part of two years with a series of knee problems.
Gethin Jones (fractured leg) is out, as is back-up midfielder Andrew Tutte (torn hamstring). We’ve struggled to replace Jones, with Harry Brockbank’s struggles leaving the attacking Lloyd Isgrove to fill in at right-back.
What do you think the team will be?
We’re fairly easy to predict at the moment – playing a 4-3-3 formation that is more like a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders, two wingers and a lone forward.
GK – Joel Dixon
DF – Declan John, George Johnston, Ricardo Almeida Santos, Lloyd Isgrove
DM – MJ Williams, Kieran Lee
MF – Dapo Afolayan, Josh Sheehan, Elias Kachunga
FW – Eoin Doyle
Who are the Bolton danger men?
With nine goals to his name from wide positions, Afolayan is likely to be a January target for Championship clubs. He’s improved tenfold since joining us initially on loan from West Ham United last winter, although I do think we get the season out of him.
Eoin Doyle has had his struggles but can be the match-winner at any given moment, while Lloyd Isgrove will run until he can quite literally run no more – continuing to provide assists even though he currently plays in an unfamiliar full-back role.
What would be a successful season for Bolton this season?
When you first gain promotion, the first target is to avoid relegation. I honestly don’t see that being a problem for us this season.
I mentioned above how there will always be a portion of a fanbase who expect promotion but, again, I honestly don’t see that happening either.
The playoffs would be a fantastic achievement but I do feel we’ll have to accept a mid-table finish this season, which I think is more than adequate given the last few years.
