WANDERERS have battled up and down the land this season – but which opposition players have stood out against the rest?

We looked at the scores dished out by stats website Whoscored.com, to see who got the best marks in each position to create our own fun XI.

There are some notable absentees – and we’ll discuss them later – but here are the players who ranked highest in their games against Wanderers.

And we repeat... We did not give the scores! 

GK – DAVID STOCKDALE (Wycombe, 8.2) – A keeper who came close to signing for Bolton back in 2018 when he was playing for Birmingham City, Stockdale pulled off a couple of big saves in the game at Adams Park in January. Knows how to waste a second or too when his side is in the lead, too!

CB – JAMES WILSON (Plymouth, 7.7) – Got his highest mark in the 3-0 rain-soaked win at Home Park but the former Oldham and Ipswich defender also kept Bolton out at the UniBol in what has been an excellent season.

CB – JOHN BRAYFORD (Burton, 8.9) – Brayford is an experienced campaigner but he has surely never had a more profitable four minutes than against Wanderers in February. Cheered with every touch of the ball after his two first-half goals.

CB – BRENDON GALLOWAY (Plymouth, 8.4) – Another player who could have been a Wanderer loanee back in Neil Lennon’s day, only for the move to fall flat. Galloway had two clean sheets against Bolton and also opened the floodgates in their first game.

RWB - CARL WINCHESTER (Sunderland, 8.4) – The right-back had scored against the Whites in League Two for Forest Green and was once again the difference maker at the Stadium of Light in an impossibly tight encounter.

CM – LIAM BRIDCUTT (Lincoln, 7.7) – Never quite saw his full potential in a brief loan spell under Keith Hill but the deep-lying playmaker was Lincoln’s outstanding player in a hard-fought game at Sincil Bank way back in August.

CM – BEN WILES (Rotherham, 8.8) – The Millers had a few different candidates having impressed in both meetings with Bolton this season but Wiles stood out, scoring twice – including one thunderous effort into the top corner – in their 2-0 win at the UniBol in September.

LWB – DENNIS CIRKIN (Sunderland, 8.0) – Provided the assist for Winchester in the Black Cats’ slender home win to edge out Accrington Stanley’s Sean McConville in our final team. Hey, we didn’t make the rules!

RW – ADAM PHILLIPS (Morecambe, 8.1) – The Burnley loanee earned big marks by grabbing an assist in both games against Bolton. An ex-Liverpool youngster who has a bright future.

ST – MICHAEL SMITH (Rotherham, 9.1) – Always a handful but never more so than at the New York Stadium in January when Ian Evatt’s took a patched-up team to South Yorkshire. Not many better number nines at this level of football.

LW – JAMES MCCLEAN (Wigan, 9.9) – Yes, we can hear the boos from here. But there is little doubt that the Republic of Ireland international caused Wanderers major problems when Wigan romped to a 4-0 win back in August.

On the bench, we would have to include some of the players who were squeezed out including Stanley wing-back McConville, Cheltenham Town’s prolific goalscorer Alfie May and Wigan’s Will Keane.

MK Dons did not get a single player in the starting XI but both centre-half Harry Darling and right winger Scott Twine would warrant a shout.

Oxford’s Billy Bodin also shone at the Kassam as did Wycombe’s Sam Vokes and Jack Grimmer.

 

 

A list of the best performances against BWFC

 

JAMES MCCLEAN WIGAN LW 9.9.

MICHAEL SMITH ROTHERHAM ST 9.2.

JOHN BRAYFORD BURTON CB 8.9.

BILLY BODIN OXFORD AM 8.8.

BEN WILES ROTHERHAM AM 8.8.

SAM VOKES WYCOMBE ST 8.7.

HARRISON BIGGINS FLEETWOOD LW 8.7.

WILL KEANE WIGAN AM 8.5.

CARL WINCHESTER SUNDERLAND RB 8.4.

BRENDON GALLOWAY PLYMOUTH LCB 8.4.

JOHN AKINDE GILLINGHAM ST 8.3.

SCOTT TWINE MK DONS LW 8.3.

CONNOR SHAUGHNESSY BURTON LCB 8.2.

BEN GARRATT BURTON GK 8.2.

DAVID STOCKDALE WYCOMBE GK 8.2.

RONAN CURTIS POMPEY LW 8.1.

ALFIE MAY CHELTENHAM LW 8.1.

CHARLIE WYKE WIGAN ST 8.1.

CALLUM LANG WIGAN RW 8.1.

CONNOR GRANT PLYMOUTH LW 8.1.

ADAM PHILLIPS MORECAMBE RW 8.1.

MACAULAY GILLESPHEY PLYMOUTH LCB 8.1.

DENNIS CIRKIN SUNDERLAND LB 8.0.

LUKE LEAHY SHREWSBURY AM 8.0.

LEE GREGORY SHEFF WEDS ST 8.0.

TOMMY LEIGH ACCY AM 8.0.

JACK GRIMMER WYCOMBE RWB 8.0.

BARRY BAGGLEY FLEETWOOD RW 7.9.

MO EISA MK DONS ST 7.8.

MATTY TAYLOR OXFORD ST 7.8.

JORDAN THORNILEY OXFORD CB 7.8.

JOE JACOBSON WYCOMBE LCB 7.8.

ADAM PHILLIPS MORECAMBE LW 7.8.

DAVE RICHARDS CREWE GK 7.8.

SEAN MCCONVILLE ACCY LB 7.8.

LIAM BRIDCUTT LINCOLN DM 7.7.

RYAN BROOM PLYMOUTH AM 7.7.

JAMES WILSON PLYMOUTH RCB 7.7.

MICHAEL COOPER PLYMOUTH GK 7.7.

JORDAN STOREY SHEFF WEDS RCB 7.7.

HARRY DARLING MK DONS CB 7.6.

JONATHAN LEKO CHARLTON LW 7.6.

JACK HUNT SHEFF WEDS RB 7.5.

SHILOW TRACEY CAMBRIDGE RW 7.4.

JOE MATTOCK ROTHERHAM RCB 7.4.