Welcome back,
In this post I will conclude the second season and update you on our summer dealings ahead of season 3.

February

A poor month with only 4 points from 15 not the best start to this post!

March

We bounced bacl with 7 points from a possible 12. firmly in the run for a playoff spot now if we can end the season well.

April

An unbeaten month 11 points from 15 and we are in the playoffs with a game to spare!

May

Promotion! 2 years ahead of plan a 93rd minute penalty. Part of me wished I had streamed it as it was an amazing match as you’ll see from below

Playoff Final

5 goals 2 red cards and a last minute winner! what more can the fans want!

Final table

What a season! We built on the foundations we laid last season and we have managed to progress through the playoffs to get into the Championship.

Crawford continued from last year as a star player but Politic came of age and Samuel was on fire upfront.

Politic deserved his award. Aged 20 he was different class and RM is his for the forseeable future. Championship might be a step up but I’m confident he can do

Last season Murphy and Brown managed 10 goals between them all season. Samuel smashed that in 10 games and fired in 24 goals in the end. Averaging just over 1 every 2 games. Another who we will need to keep this up in the next level.

Crawford is brilliant but age is not on his side at 30 he might struggle to improve for the next level.

No gifts this year saw us make a £6.6m loss leaving the overall balance -£3.2m.
We have still cut back and we still made a massive loss. We will increase our income at the next level and the other debt stands at £29m still.

The board are as confident as me. Fight bravely against relegation is perfect as they aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves, I think its highly likely we get relegated with no money to really improve the side.

Transfers 

We have made 4 signings for a grand total of £12,000!

Galloway Joins as the replacement for an ageing Jack Hobbs. The Former Everton and Luton Player has the ability to play Left Back too to help cover any Boon injuries.

Shaughnessy joins from Leeds as our replacement for Luke Murphy (who Bolton also signed from Leeds)

Ronan is Crawford’s replacement long term (he’s in the last year of his deal)

Conn was brought to me by one of my scouts as being available for £12k, I asked the board to agree to the deal as he has the potential to sell for a massive profit. They agreed and he joins us aged 16 hes already 2nd best choice keeper. A long term replacement for Matthews.

We raised £1.5m through sales. Dodoo and Hall had been taken over in the pecking order by younger players so I moved them on for a fee and freed up their wages. Dan Peacock is a Right Midfielder who has high potential but £1.3m with a 25% of next transfer fee was impossible for us to turn down in our current situation

Starting XI

This will be my starting XI this season going forward. Obviously there’s chances for other players to come in.

Conclusion


A great season, So far we have overachieved in both of our first two seasons, can we make it 3 out of 3 by surviving in the championship?
The 3 first team signings make us abit stronger but will Samuel score enough goals? Will Politic continue to develop?
We will most likely revert to our season 1 tactic where we were abit more defensive in order to make us harder to beat.
I’ll be back with a midseason update and thanks again for reading

Author

  • Daniel Gear

    Dan Gear is a vibrant member of the Football Manager (FM) community, renowned for his engaging content and insightful tutorials. He illuminates complex FM concepts on "View From The Touchline" and shares engaging narratives through his unique European Journeyman save reveals. Dan's collaborative spirit shines in partnerships with fellow creators like FM Stag, unraveling new FM features. He's a co-host of the engaging "Grass N Gear" podcast, making the FM experience more enjoyable for many. With a blend of humor, expertise, and a knack for community engagement, Dan Gear's contributions significantly enrich the Football Manager community, making him a cherished figure among enthusiasts.

0 thoughts on “Bolton Wanderers 2020: Part Two – The Next Level

  1. Top work, Dan..!! I’ll be waiting with anticipation to see if these players can make the step up in quality.

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