The LFW tip for the title this season Bolton Wanderers arrive in W12 on Tuesday fresh from a 7-1 hammering at Reading, looking more like a future League One outfit than a potential Premier League team.

Overview

Tipping has never been a strong Whittingham family suit.

Sadly it seems all subsequent generations have inherited betting genes from my grandfather Tom whose exploits in the bookmakers were the stuff of legend around the old Goldhawk. There was the time he convinced the whole pub one matchday that he had a sure-fire tip on a greyhound from his Asian barber Hassan but then, having duly collected a fiver from everybody within earshot, inexplicably changed his mind on the way to the William Hills when the odds on his dog failed to drift as Hassan had predicted. Panicked, he lumped everybody’s money on another dog that cracked its head on the trap door as it bounded out and had some sort of epileptic fit at the first corner while the original tip raced home with half the track to spare.

On another occasion a seven horse accumulator was ruined early doors with a fourth placed finish but subsequently produced horses in fifth, sixth, seventh, last, pulled up and, finally, gloriously, fell over and had screens pulled around so it could be shot in the head.

And so the tradition has carried onto LoftforWords where, after many summer weeks spent jogging up and down the Barnet Green Space deep in thought, concluded in the 2012/13 season preview that Swansea City were most likely to finish bottom of the Premier League given the talent drain with Brendan Rodgers, Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson all heading out of the Liberty Stadium. QPR, meanwhile, were tipped for twelfth. Of course Mark Hughes’ disastrously assembled group of overpaid thundercunts finished dead last with only four wins to their name in the entire campaign while Swansea finished ninth and won the League Cup.

This season, after much deliberation once again, we plumped for Bolton and Nottingham Forest to lead the way in the Championship and while Forest are doing their bit, Bolton have fallen a thousand miles short. A run of ten wins, four draws and just three defeats in the final 17 games last season would have made the Trotters dangerous play-off opponents had the run started a fortnight sooner, or the season finished two weeks later, and with bright young manager Dougie Freedman at the helm, and parachute payments still arriving, they looked a reasonable bet.

But, sadly, that form seemed to be based on a combination of new manager bounce after the arrival of Dougie Freedman midway through the season and the performances of loan players, chief amongst them West Brom’s Craig Dawson. Shorn of both factors this season, Wanderers have been mostly awful and the nadir of a dire campaign so far came last week at Reading when they were beaten 7-1.

Bolton are now actually starting to look more like one of the basket cases we’ve seen drop through this league into the one below after coming out of the Premier League, rather than a likely candidate for an immediate return. A reported debt of £163.8m doesn’t quite tell the whole story, given that it’s mostly owed to Eddie Davies, a long-time benefactor for the club who has shown no inclination to call it in, it’s still not a healthy position to be in and will hamstring them further. Familiar tales at QPR, Forest, Leeds, Bradford, Southampton and elsewhere have gone to League One before they’ve improved.

Mind you, writing that here will probably inspire a remarkable turnaround in form, starting on Tuesday night, that propels Freedman’s side into the play offs on the crest of wave where they’ll no doubt sweep aside QPR in the semi-finals.

Stick with us kids.

Interview

For the second time this season we welcome Bolton fan Phil Walsh, who we found on The Twitter, back to LoftforWords for the inside line on the latest situation with the Trotters.

Bolton were LFW's tip for the title this season, given the strong way you finished 2012/13. Why hasn't it happened? Apart from the obvious answer that we cursed you…

PW: Well, where do we start? We ended the season well last season and the mainstay in that run of form was probably on loan West Brom centre back, Craig Dawson. Not getting him back in some capacity was more down to his preferences and our finances than a tactical decision. I remember referencing him in our last piece, and we’ve struggled without him. Another real issue is a thin squad, we’ve been playing four centre backs for the majority of the season for example. Our financial situation has made it difficult to build a deep squad, and we have been running thin on the ground. However, this squad should be performing much better than it is in my opinion.

A 7-1 defeat last time out, is Freedman under any pressure? What's the general consensus of the work he's doing? Is there another manager out there who you think would do a better job?

PW: There can’t be many managers losing so woefully yet remaining seemingly unpressured from the board. Personally I’m in two minds, I believe in Dougie and his ability to turn this club around and he is in a difficult spot financially. However, I do believe he should be getting better results with this squad. On the whole, they aren’t his players, but he does have a lot of quality at his disposal for Championship level. He’s recently come out and complained about the players publicly, especially that he can’t get rid of the high earners he doesn’t want. For me that’s unacceptable for a manager, and it’s the fast track to losing the dressing room. Freedman has also been very negative at home, often playing 4-5-1 and inviting pressure from away teams. This has ultimately cost us in a couple of home games. My call? He should stay, I think he’s building things the right way for the future by investing in youth.

I don’t really like picking replacements managers and assuming the grass is greener on the other side. However, you look at the candidates to replace Coyle, and one was Mick McCarthy. You see the work he’s done at Ipswich and it’s hard not to be envious on the that front purely looking at the league table. I feel football is moving to a more long term model for clubs now with FFP coming in, and Freedman is a long term appointment where a man like McCarthy might be a good short term solution. I say Freedman long term will come good for the club.

Lots of talk in the press recently about the size of the club's debt. With a return to the Premier League not looking like an imminent possibility, how much of a concern is this to supporters and is the problem likely to become more serious — i.e. with administration — any time soon?

PW: The vast majority of the debt is owed to long term financier Eddie Davies in the form of a loan. Apparently he has little interest in recalling this loan. Even if he did, we have ten years before we have to pay it back. So I’d say it’s not your typical debt. A debt, but a seemingly controlled debt. Obviously the big figures involved make for painful reading for fans, and I find them a bit shocking. Honestly, I think our only issue would be Eddie Davies recalling the loan, but it seems unlikely. I’m not too knowledgeable here, but I’m also not too worried for our future.

Who have been the stand out performers this season?

PW: The stand out performers? Difficult, very difficult. Previous weak link defender Tim Ream had a new lease of life in a holding midfield role although this form tailed off as he had to fill in at left back. He’s not been great since, understandably. Midfielder Neil Danns has probably been the most consistent and industrious performer this season after coming in on loan and renewing that in January. I’d pick him as our stand out player so far.

And, probably a longer answer, who are the weak links?

PW: The weak area that stands out is at full back on both sides. Marc Tierney was injured early in the season, and has left us without a recognised left back. On the right side we have central defender Alex Baptiste, filling in fairly well at right back but again we are struggling. Any width from the opposing team is a real issue for us. So Ream and Baptiste are by definition the weak links in the team at the back. Along with this, I’d have to go with last season’s midfield enforcer, Jay Spearing. He was inspirational last season, but having taken the captains armband this season he’s looked woeful at times. He’s not impacting the game as much as he was in terms of winning the ball, and once he has it his distribution has been awful. Whether it’s pressure or he needs a break, who knows.

Hopes and ambitions for the short, medium and long term?

Let’s close with short and sweet:

Short Term: A run of a couple of wins and some positive tactics at home

Medium Term: A top half finish to the season, maybe a flirt with the playoffs again

Long Term: Promotion next season one way or another.

Links >>> Official site >>> Voice of Bolton Blog >>> The Wanderer site and forum >>> Bolton banter forum >>> BWFC Forum >>> Bolton News site and forum

Tweet @loftforwords, @BWFCPhil1

Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

CiderwithRsie added 07:14 - Jan 28 Christ, does Barnet really have a patch of grass or whatever called "The Barnet Green Space"? About as imaginative as the St Helier Open Space in south London. Is the high street called "Barnet Tarmaccy Thing With Shops On It"?
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isawqpratwcity added 08:58 - Jan 28 Bet your Grandad thought bookies gave Champagne to everybody who walked in. That seven-horse accumulator story is a beaut! Bolton's reversal is an int6eresting situation. There, but for the Grace of God, etc...but damn, that loan situation is amazing benign. The bloke must such a true supporter to write it up with a ten-year call-in clause.
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CorbyQPR added 11:07 - Jan 28 Main weanesses at full back. Thats Harrys que to play a full team of central midfielders. Watch their full backs fly tonight!! ;-)
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Antti_Heinola added 14:36 - Jan 28 Hate playing teams after they've been thrashed. they'll have spent 10 days practising defending and will be desperate for a clean sheet. I remember after we lost 5-0 at Southend and we looked dead and buried, we got a battling 0-0 at... Leeds, was it? Eurgh. May be a long night.
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