This Saturday there promises to be one of the more fascinating Championship encounters this season, as Dougie Freedman returns to Selhurst Park for the first time since he made the decision to leave Crystal Palace and take charge of Bolton Wanderers.
Something of a cult hero at Palace, it came as a great shock when the Scot opted to switch to the Reebok Stadium, evidently believing that the Trotters provided the better chance of a route to Premier League management. Freedman began life at the Wanderers’ helm by steadying what was a club in real strife, avoiding defeat in his first six matches. Since that bright opening however, Bolton have reverted back to the inconsistent form which so blighted the second half of Owen Coyle’s near three year spell as boss.
The recent dip has been characterised by home defeats against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday, and most disconcertingly a 5-4 loss at struggling Peterborough United. Of 14 league matches under Freedman, Bolton have won 4 and lost 4 so to date there have been no perceptible pointers to a unit ready to mount a late-term play-off push.
Nevertheless, a highly impressive 2-0 win at a close to full-strength Sunderland in Tuesday’s F.A. Cup replay could yet be looked back on as the night when this famous Lancashire footballing institution, founder members of the football league no less, started to rouse themselves from what has been an almost relentless decline since they suffered a humiliating 5-0 semi-final thumping in the same competition at the hands of Stoke City.
Hampered the following year by the absence, due to serious injury, of integral members of his team, Stuart Holden and Lee Chung-Yong, Coyle was surprisingly and alarmingly unable to arrest the slump. (Of course, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the effect on Coyle and the entire club of the harrowing ordeal they faced when Fabrice Muamba collapsed during March’s F.A. Cup quarter-final at White Hart Lane). It was the first time in what had been a hitherto upwardly mobile managerial career that the one-time Wanderers’ striking favourite had experienced adversity in the hot-seat, and by the time he left Bolton the side were struggling to adapt to life post-relegation, having won just 3 of 10 Championship matches.
Essentially, this week’s triumph at Sunderland exhibited a definite renewed mental toughness, the replay having been required after Wanderers squandered a two goal lead in the first fixture. On a freezing night, Freedman’s team set out with a clear plan to stifle their theoretically superior opponents, before utilising their own undoubted attacking zest to capitalise on frayed home nerves.
A team containing enterprising, direct individuals such as Chris Eagles, Arsenal loanee Benik Afobe, and the front-running pace of Marvin Sordell, should provide a goal threat against all but the very strongest adversary. The savvy of Darren Pratley adds class to the Trotters’ midfield, which has steel at its heart with the presence of Liverpool’s Jay Spearing – at Bolton for the season – while highly-skilled 19 year-old academy product Josh Vela was part of the victorious side in the North East.
With a strong defensive unit including Sam Ricketts, Tim Ream, and Marcos Alonso, in addition to Matthew Mills whose return from an enforced lay-off is imminent, more midfield energy and goals from Keith Andrews, the tireless industry and guile of Lee, and the priceless experience of Kevin Davies to turn to, Freedman has the tools to make a belated run at the top-six. Almost as welcome as the result at the Stadium of Light, was Holden’s late appearance as a substitute after 16 months out. The return of Mark Davies from a shoulder injury is also keenly anticipated.
In terms of the point differential, Wanderers sit closer to the relegation zone than they do the coveted 6th place. The Lancastrians have a 10-point gap to close on Watford, and are 14 adrift of their hosts on Saturday. Nonetheless, Bolton will travel to South-East London imbued with fresh confidence and belief.
After replacing Freedman at Palace, Ian Holloway had a similarly fast start to that which his predecessor enjoyed in the North, winning his first three matches before results became more erratic. Most concerning has been a recent tendency to drop points from winning positions. Blackpool, Birmingham City, Huddersfield, Cardiff City, and Nottingham Forest, have all benefited to varying degrees from Palace’s profligacy.