Bolton Wanderers have not started the new League One campaign in the fashion that they perhaps might have expected to.
The Trotters finished third in the division last season, making their way to Wembley in the play-offs where they were well beaten by Oxford United in the final, losing 2-0.
Although it was a crushing defeat for the Greater Manchester club back in May, many would have thought that they were going to be a strong contender in the third tier in 2024/25, but they are yet to make an impact.
In fact, Bolton have regressed massively, and despite calls to sack manager Ian Evatt, the former Blackpool and Chesterfield defender has kept his job for now. But one of his coaches has been let go of.
Matt Craddock, a first-team coach at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, has reportedly been axed following a bitterly disappointing 4-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town. However, it has been a move that has not gone down well with supporters.
Craddock has been made a scapegoat despite Evatt’s failings
Following the loss to the Terriers, many would have expected Evatt to have been sacked, but the board have placed their trust in him to turn it around following a meeting after the weekend.
Nevertheless, it has meant that others have had to pay the price for the poor performances since the season began, and Craddock looks to be one of them.
He was promoted from the B Team manager to the senior squad just last November, but it has been a tricky time for the club since, failing to get promotion to the Championship in 2023/24, and now the lacklustre opening five matches has only added to the woes.
According to The Bolton News, both Craddock and another member of the coaching or analysis staff are expected to have either left or will leave Bolton this week, with the Trotters facing Reading over the weekend – a must-win.
If there is yet another failure to claim all three points, or to put in a performance that shows an improvement, then the board may live to regret their original decision.
Evatt sounds defeated after tough start to 2024/25
It has been a tough few months for the club following their play-off final defeat, and the poor start to the new season looks to be an after-effect from it.
Supporters started to grow unhappy with Evatt following defeat to Derby County in March, a game that proved to be an automatic promotion six-pointer.
Bolton struggled against the rest of the top six in League One last season, and the early warning signs are there that they will be beaten easily by those towards the upper end of the table once again this year.
| Bolton Wanderers Regular Season Results 2023/24 League One v Top Six (TransferMarkt) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | Home | Away |
| Portsmouth | 1-1 (D) | 2-0 (L) |
| Derby County | 2-1 (W) | 1-0 (L) |
| Peterborough United | 1-1 (D) | 3-3 (D) |
| Oxford United | 5-0 (W) | 0-0 (D) |
| Barnsley | 1-1 (D) | 2-2 (D) |
What is not helping matters is how Evatt has responded, particularly after the loss to Huddersfield. In his post-match interview, he dejectedly told the club’s media: “It was everything we’re not as a team.
“Everything was against what we’ve built, everything against what I stand for and what I am as a person, so it’s hard to take. I think it’s confidence. I think ever since we lost that final, there’s such negative energy around everything and everywhere.
“I’ve come a long way with this football club in over four years now. We’ve had a lot of good times, but this is the toughest. That was the toughest to view, even from the start of the League Two campaign. I’ve never stood here and felt like I do now.”
Evatt continued: “We’ve got to be a lot, lot better than that. That is very disappointing and not what we’ve created here. We’ll all take a long hard look at ourselves and see what happens next.
“I’m distraught, I’m devastated, I’m hurt. I’m always determined, always have been, always will be. I’ve had a tough journey in my life and been through some really difficult things and come through them.
“This is as tough as it gets but I’ve been prepared for it all my life, so we’ll go away think about what we do next.”
Fans want to see Evatt leave
Although the manager believes that he is the right man to take the club forward, the majority of Trotters supporters would like to see Evatt go.
In the past, he has been a fantastic asset to the team, but current results are not what they should be for a club the size of Bolton, and with each passing week the gap will grow to those at the top.
As part of FLW’s Terrace Talk series, Bolton Fan Pundit, Oliver Jacques, told Football League World what he thought of the situation: “I think he (Evatt) should go.
“It’s not a personal thing, I think most rational fans would be grateful for what he’s done for the club, and he has taken us forward, but I think it’s just got too toxic now, and he’s ran out of ideas, he’s refusing to change things.
“I’d definitely move on.”
There will be fears that if the 42-year-old continues in the next few weeks, and points are not put on the board, then they will have missed their opportunity to sack him at the optimum time.
Sharon Brittan and the rest of the board at the Toughsheet Community Stadium may live to regret the decisions that they have made over the course of the last few days, and it may feel, especially to Craddock, that the club have taken the wrong turn in not giving Evatt his marching orders.
