THIS week marked two years since Ian Evatt took charge of Wanderers for a competitive match for the first time.
Just two players from the 18 named on the team-sheet against Bradford City in the Carabao Cup remain – Ricardo Santos and Gethin Jones – and the club itself has undergone significant change since those lockdown days.
Evatt has just passed 200 games as a manager, 116 of which have been in the Bolton dugout. To date, he has managed 54 victories, which gives him an overall win percentage of 46.55 – a figure beaten only by Bruce Rioch (48.26 from 172 games) in the club’s modern history.
We look at 20 highs and lows from the two years of competitive fixtures under Evatt, not only results on the pitch but also events off it which have helped to shape his successful reign.
You can read part one of this article (from 20th to 11th) - HERE.
10. Morecambe moments.
Ben Jackson’s appearances at Bolton had been limited following his loan move from Huddersfield Town but the youngster would create a moment of magic on April 24, 2021, which proved pivotal to Wanderers’ promotion bid.
Declan John was not fit enough to feature, leaving Evatt to put the youngster in for only his fifth – and last – appearance for the Whites.
The game was tense and tight but won with a single moment of brilliance from Jackson, who scored the only goal of the game with a low drive from the edge of the box on the stroke of half time.
Evatt would go on to have another decisive moment at the Mazuma Stadium several months later, as he ordered his players off the pitch before the final whistle in response to alleged racist abuse from behind the dugout.
The investigation into the incident has not been formally completed but on the players’ return to the pitch, Amadou Bakayoko’s injury-time equaliser stands as one of the most thrilling goals to have been scored during Evatt’s reign.
9. Cup of no cheer.
There is no good way to exit the FA Cup but Wanderers really did go for broke in front of the TV cameras at Edgeley Park last November.
After leading 2-0 and 3-1 they were forced into extra time by the then-National League club, losing key midfielder Josh Sheehan to a season-ending knee injury in the process.
The Whites then capitulated in extra time to lose 5-3 and leave the happy Hatters – whose ranks included a certain Antoni Sarcevic, mentioned further down this list – dancing on the pitch at full time.
Wanderers were in a difficult place at that point in time and the Stockport result may well be the lowest moment Evatt has had in the dugout.
8. January gems part two.
November and December had been wretched for Bolton, whose squad had been decimated with injuries, illness and poor form. But if there has been one consistent statement in Evatt’s two years in charge, it is that he produces the goods in January.
Wanderers invested hard cash for the first time in 41 months to sign Dion Charles from Accrington Stanley, and also paid fees for Aaron Morley, from Rochdale, and Kyle Dempsey, from Gillingham.
James Trafford (loan), Marlon Fossey (loan), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Kieran Sadlier were also added to the squad in what proved an effective overhaul. From January 15 the team lost just three more games, dragging themselves to ninth in the table.
Wanderers were no longer being reactive in the transfer market, or hoping to pick up unexpected bargains, this was careful and considered recruitment – and it worked.
7. He’s a keeper.
Billy Crellin’s form at the start of 2020/21 was a huge concern, so much so that Evatt asked his semi-retired goalkeeper coach Matt Gilks to step up his training and take over as Wanderers’ number one.
It proved an inspired move. From his first game against Salford Gilks provided the consistency needed for the promotion push and also a much-needed stream of commentary for an inexperienced team ahead of him. Amplified by the empty stadia of lockdown, Gilks’ sergeant major-like instructions provided an entertaining soundtrack.
6. January Gems part one.
We mentioned January signings earlier – but it was Evatt’s first winter window which deserves a defining moment of its own.
Wanderers were languishing in 19th at the start of February with 21 games to go. But Evatt brought in a string of players who transformed the team.
Kieran Lee, Declan John, Dapo Afolayan and MJ Williams proved inspired purchases and continue to provide the backbone of today’s side in League One.
Without them, Wanderers almost certainly would not have shifted gear in the second half of the season to clinch an automatic promotion spot.
5. Captain kicked out.
Beaten 4-0 at home by Wigan, the mood on the team bus heading for Plymouth was already a sombre one. But when the Bolton team at Home Park did not include club captain – and ex-Pligrims midfielder – Antoni Sarcevic, it was clear a major call had been made.
Wanderers were heavily beaten again in farcical rainy conditions, and by the following morning news had leaked out that Evatt and Sarcevic had fallen out, putting it mildly.
Within hours, Bolton had accepted an offer from National League Stockport County for the skipper, and Sarcevic was on his way.
It was brutal stuff but hindsight showed it was a necessary move for the way Evatt wanted to reshape his team.
4. Six against Sunderland.
Brand Evatt has never looked as good as it did on a crisp January afternoon in front of more than 20,000 fans at the University of Bolton Stadium.
The Wearsiders were destined for promotion in the end, but poor Lee Johnson was sacked within days of his team being outclassed.
Dion Charles scored a couple, with Dapo Afolayan, Kieran Lee and Declan John also getting in on the act, and Danny Batth supplying a comedy own goal just for good measure.
3. Man Up gate.
Ian Evatt found out the hard way how quickly one comment can echo around social media after a post-match interview at Cambridge United.
Wanderers had earned a point but a mistake from young keeper Billy Crellin was the subject of the questioning after the final whistle.
Evatt was talking about the teenager needing to acclimatise better to senior football but then uttered the phrase “man up” – which after being quickly uploaded to the internet by the local radio stations, ended up the subject of national debate.
The Bolton boss apologised not once, but twice, for his choice of words.
2. There can be only one.
On his arrival at Bolton in the summer of 2020, the division of labour between Evatt and the head of football operations, Tobias Phoenix, was as clear as mud.
Who made the signings? Who did the negotiating? Who supplied the numbers in this data-driven recruitment plan?
It quickly became clear that the arrangement did not suit the Bolton boss – at that point referred to as a head coach – and by the end of the year, Phoenix had left the club.
Evatt called for Chris Markham, the former Huddersfield Town and Football Association analyst, to head up his new recruitment department. The partnership has proved wildly successful thus far.
1. Clinched it at Crawley.
Why, of course Bolton Wanderers would leave it until the last game of the season to snatch the final automatic promotion spot!
It typically dramatic fashion, Bolton had fluffed their lines at home to Exeter a weekend earlier and headed to Crawley knowing they had to win to finish third.
Thankfully, the game went like a dream. Sarcevic started the scoring nine minutes in and Bolton did not look back, Dapo Afolayan, Eoin Doyle and Lloyd Isgrove adding goals to leave the fans – most of which were watching on the TV – celebrating the success of a team they never actually got to see in person!
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