Bolton Wanderers Football News & Views on Downsizing at Bolton

Bolton Wanderers are in the news, big time. First there was the highly creditable battling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against Premiership Champions Chelsea. Then came the revelation that Big Sam Allardyce had resigned with immediate effect and soon after that, the announcement that he would be succeeded as manager by Sammy Lee.

So Bolton are downsizing. Big Sam has been replaced by Little Sam and in the light of that, what can we expect of the new regime? Lee certainly has an enviable foundation to build on, because his predecessor, working within the obvious constraints of a very limited budget, made Bolton Wanderers an established Premiership side and a notoriously difficult one to beat. At the very least, Chairman Phil Gartside will expect that standard to be maintained, but it remains to be seen whether Sammy, in his first top managerial job, is capable of elevating unfashionable Bolton to the dizzy heights of the top four and a regular spot in European competition. And if he wants to aim really high, he might even consider developing a more attractive brand of football.