The eight worst transfer blunders for Bolton Wanderers that fans should try to forget about are examined here.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Bolton Wanderers have experienced a significant turnover of players in recent years as they try to make their way back up the Football League.
- The club’s new ownership under Sharon Brittain has led to increased activity in player transfers, prompting a reflection on the club’s biggest transfer flops.
- Some notable transfer flops for Bolton include Abdoulaye Meite, Marvin Sordell, and Johan Elmander, who failed to live up to expectations during their time at the club.
Bolton Wanderers have seen a high turnover of players in the squad in recent years as they look to climb back up the Football League.
For a considerable amount of time, the Trotters were a Premier League team. However, due to inadequate management, the team dropped to the Championship, then League Two, and finally the third division.
The Lancashire team was practically nonexistent not so long ago, but under new management, it appears like they are back on their feet and intend to make a run at the second division.
The club has been quite active with both inbound and outbound transfers since Sharon Brittain’s arrival, which prompted us to thinking about the biggest transfer flops at the team.
We’ve now examined Bolton’s eight worst transfer missteps, which the team’s supporters would want to forget.
Meite was brought to Bolton by former manager Sam Allardyce in 2006. The defender joined from French side Marseille.
The Ivory Coast defender spent just two seasons at the club, during which he played 70 games and scored two goals, but struggled in his time at the Community Sheet Stadium.
Gerald Cid
Bolton signed Cid in the summer of 2007 on a free transfer after leaving Bordeaux.
The defender spent less than a season at the club, as he left in January 2008 on a free transfer to join Nice.
Cid played 14 times for the Trotters in six months, with seven coming in the Premier League and five in the Europa League or UEFA Cup back then.
Jose Manuel Casado
Manuel Casado joined the Trotters in the summer of 2015 on a free transfer.
The winger had spent his entire football career in Spain before joining Bolton, and in fact, the Trotters were the only non-Spanish side he played for.
The Spaniard played just nine times for the club, failing to score a single goal, and with him clearly struggling at the club, it was mutually agreed that he would be released six months into his contract.
Mario Jardel
Jardel joined the Lancashire outfit on a free transfer in July 2003 after leaving Sporting Lisbon.
The Brazilian was a prolific striker in Turkey and Portugal, but he joined Bolton looking out of shape and leggy.
The forward made 12 appearances for the club, and he managed three goals, but they all came in the league cup. The Trotters decided to send the player on loan in 2004 before leaving the club in 2005.
Marvin Sordell
Bolton would have been fairly pleased when they won the race to sign Sordell from Watford in 2012.
He was wanted by several clubs, and Bolton thought they had secured a top signing; however, the forward struggled throughout his time at the club.
He played three times in the Premier League before the club was relegated, and in the following season, he featured 22 times in the Championship. During that time, he managed just four goals in total, so in 2013, Bolton decided to loan him out to Charlton Athletic.
It was then, in 2014 that Bolton decided to sell the forward on a permanent basis to rivals Burnley.
| Marvin Sordell’s stats per division (As it stands November 9th, per Transfermarkt) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Championship | 191 | 39 | 15 |
| League One | 61 | 11 | 4 |
| League Two | 8 | 0 | 2 |
Grzegorz Rasiak
Rasiak was brought to Bolton as a possible replacement for striker Nicolas Anelka.
However, the Poland international never lived up to those heights, as he played just seven times for the club and failed to score a single goal.
He joined on a six-month loan deal, but his performances didn’t do anything to make the Trotters consider signing him on a permanent basis.
Johan Elmander
The Trotters spent a rather large sum of money on Elmander in 2008, as he was purchased from French side Toulouse.
The forward featured heavily for the club in the three seasons he was there, playing 108 games for the club.
However, his record in front of goal wasn’t great, with his best season being the 10 he netted in the 2010/11 Premier League season.
The Swedish international netted just 22 goals in those appearances, and it was a move that just never seemed to work out, and that was shown as he was allowed to leave for free in 2011 to join Galatasaray.
David Ngog
Bolton spent a decent sum of money on signing Ngog from Liverpool in 2011.
The forward spent two-and-a-half years at the football club, during which time he played 33 games in the Premier League and 48 in the Championship.
In total, he scored 14 goals in those appearances, and with him struggling at the club, Bolton decided to cut their losses and sell him to Swansea City in January 2014.
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