Football Season Guide

Ian Evatt has faced the toughest summer of his managerial career so far and it’ll continue into the opening few weeks of the new season. Last season was supposed to have been the Trotters year. They had consolidated in League One, then missed out in the play-offs, so it should have been third time lucky. Unfortunately they were beaten in the League One play-off final at Wembley in May. Whilst any defeat would have stung, the matter of it really made things worse. They simply didn’t turn up, didn’t put up a fight and meekly surrendered. This of course provoked a reaction from supporters and there was some doubt whether Evatt would continue in the role. He does however have the full support of owner Sharon Brittan, and remains in charge heading into the new campaign. Fans however are restless and impatient and will be on his back at the first sign of trouble. There are already dark signs too, with several players already struggling with injuries during pre-season. Striker Dion Charles still hasn’t fully recovered from a knee injury whilst defender Gethin Jones and midfielders Carlos Mendes Gomes, Kyle Dempsey and Randell Williams will all miss the start of the season. Recruitment has also proven tricky and at the time of writing they have failed to bring in targets Joel Randall, John McAtee and Siriki Dembele. So far the signings of Luke Southwood, Chris Forino-Joseph and Scott Arfield have not been met with any great enthusiasm amongst supporters. The first two months of the new campaign are going to be pivotal if Evatt is to lead the Trotters to a successful season.