What can we take from pre-season?
By Liam Hatton
What are the true takeaways from preseason? You can make whatever snap judgments or opinions you want, but does it signify anything other than improving fitness, match sharpness, and bringing new recruits up to speed?
Probably not, in my opinion, but Bolton has won both games against Orlando Pirates and Barrow, giving them a perfect record. Now, this is still very early in the process, and this team is far from finalized, not just in terms of acquisitions, but also in terms of how they will appear in October, December, and March.
So, what can we glean from these games based on two YouTube streams? Well, we know that during Bolton’s time in Marbella, Steven Schumacher has focused mostly on shape, structure, and defensive solidity, because the terms ‘Bolton’ and’resolute at the back’ were rarely mentioned together last season.
Wanderers have used four defenders in both games. Richard Taylor has played left back when we expected him to play largely in the middle of defense. There is a chance he will play both positions, but it raises major questions about whether the Wanderers will even sign another left back, with Max Conway also an option.
Speaking of Conway, he scored a nice little goal to win the game against Barrow and looks like a real threat going forward. I’m trying not to get carried away, but the early signals look encouraging.
Of course, he needs to work on his defensive game, as Schumacher has conceded, but if he can improve while being in the first team setup, it’s a win-win situation.
Speaking of promising futures, Sam Inwood appears to be the real deal. Picking up where he left off last season, he appears confident and comfortable. With rumours of interest in Will Forrester from Stockport, Inwood is poised to take on a more significant role.
Xavier Simons is a developing midfielder with a wide range of passing abilities. For his height, I see that he is still swift with the ball, similar to Josh Sheehan. I expect him to be a regular starter, and then it’s a matter of determining who will play with him.
In terms of new wingers, Thierry Gale is clearly a guy who has to improve his match fitness, as evidenced by his performances thus far. Amario Cozier-Duberry seems like a player, and I believe he will break many hearts by the conclusion of the season. He is definitely swift, as we previously knew, but he can also absorb a challenge and hold a player back. What is clear is that if Bolton wants to achieve anything significant this season, the wingers must be at their best and regularly represent a threat.
So, as I previously stated, it is early days, but these are my extremely premature impressions after two games. I believe the goal should be to bring in a striker or two now, but we have complete faith in Schumacher and Fergal Harkin.
Early friendlies show promising development
By Lee Sidebotham
Of course, it’s far too early to draw conclusions from our first two pre-season games, but we wouldn’t be Wanderers fans unless we did!
Both games pitted us against two very different opponents, and I believe they were successful tests.
The Orlando Pirates were a fast team, and I believe we countered their gameplan effectively. Normally, teams like them run wild against us.
Charlie Warren has certainly put everyone on notice. Jumping from non-league to playing for Bolton Wanderers is a daunting task, but he showed no fear. I’m wondering if he could be this season’s surprise package.
Barrow, on the other hand, presented quite the opposite challenge. They were quite physical, which I suppose is good practice for some of the teams in our league this year.
Richard Taylor astonished me when he got on. He got stuck in with some of their big boys and sprinted with the ball from defense to attack with great efficiency. He missed just four games in the Scottish Premiership last season, and I’m starting to understand why. I believe he’ll be one to watch this year.
Teddy Sharman-Lowe also made a couple of excellent stops to retain a clean sheet. He is quite dominating for a keeper his age, and I hope to see more of him in the future. The trialist didn’t have much to do, so I’d like to see him play another 45 minutes versus Hibernian on Saturday.
Thierry Gale and Amario Cozier-Duberry were both quite active on the wings in both games. I’d like to see them receive more playing time throughout the preseason to see what they’re capable of.
I’d also like to see a midfield mix-up versus Hibernian. Josh Sheehan and Aaron Morley are just too similar for me, as evidenced by our lack of creativity in the first half against Barrow. I’d like to see each of them team up with Xavier Simons, who made several passes during his 30-minute outing on Tuesday.
Playing as a back four has also been refreshing, and it has worked well thus far. However, I believe we are still allowing too many easy chances. This was especially true throughout the first half against Barrow. Any other team would’ve punished us. Our team appears to be still adjusting to a completely new system, so this isn’t a major problem for the time being.
I simply hope we can accomplish something we haven’t been able to do in the last four years: learn from our mistakes.
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