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Premier League Previews: Bolton Wanderers

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New boys must settle quickly to save Bolton from rocky road down.

Opening Fixtures

The fixtures list has smiled upon Gary Megson's men and it is not inconceivable that they could finish August with nine points. This makes them good value at [28.0] to be unlikely table toppers at the end of the first month with an away match at Newcastle (August 23) sandwiched between homes games against newly promoted Stoke (August 16) and West Brom. Such a start would be a valuable cushion in what will neverthless be a trying season at the Reebok.

Transfers

The departure of Nicolas Anelka in January left Bolton lacking pace and fire power up front but the way they managed to consolidate and avoid the drop bodes well. El-Hadji Diouf's exit was so protracted that management, players and fans will probably be left more relieved that it is over than grieving for the loss of a player who, while often dislikeable, was an occasionally inspired presence.

Cultured stalwarts Stelios Giannakopoulos and Ivan Campo may be missed more than Diouf.

Johan Elmander will have to hit the ground running in order to justify the club record £11 million Bolton paid Touloouse for the Swede and much will depend on how well he links up with fellow new boy Mustapha Riga. The winger, who arrived this summer from Levante, cost around 5 million and managed to score eight times last season in a very poor side. Fabrice Muamba should sit comfortably in front of an already solid defence.

Key Man

Two things apply to all of Bolton's summer acquisitions: they need to settle fast and they could go either way. Whether Elmander's return over his two seasons in Ligue 1 warranted his £11m price tag is debatable. He certainly wasn't signed on the strength of his Euro 2008 performances - he was shocking.

Elmander could be watching from the stands, complaining of homesickness and pleading to be loaned back to Toulouse by January. Alternatively, he could be roughing up big four defences and challenging at the peak of the Top Scorer market where he is currently a massive [370.0]. He is Bolton's key man, closely followed by Jussi Jaaskelainen. That tells you all you need to know about the various possibilities for Bolton's season.

Best Bets

Back: Unlike Derby last year, the three promoted teams have come up confidently. Tony Mowbray's West Brom are a decent footballing outfit and should be able to play themselves out of touble while Stoke and Hull were promoted with the momentum that Derby didn't have towards the end of their Championship campaign. All three sides unlikely to play the role of whipping boys which raises the possiblity of an established Premier League club going down. Megson may yet inspire the type of player mutiny he did at Nottingham Forest. The consequences there were dire and in the top flight they will be even worse. Back Bolton in the Rock Bottom market at [18.5].

Lay: Many people felt Bolton deserved to go down last season after Gary Megson fielded a weakened team against Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Cup. For a while it looked as though they might. Megson isn't everyone's cup of tea, he's somewhat reminiscent of Graham Souness in his capacity for falling out with personnel and managing to land jobs regardless of his poor record. But Megson's appeal to chairman is more inexplicable given that he lacks the gravitas Souness boasts with his achievements as a player.

Many fans remain unconvinced and it's hard to argue with the perception of the manager as stubborn, chippy and often misguided. But chairman Phil Gartside will be reulctant to make a mid-season appointment in consecutive seasons. Lay Gary Megson at [8.8] in the managerial change market.