Bolton Wanderers "concern" raised amid new Steven Schumacher era | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Wanderers fan pundit has highlighted the key reasons why the club has struggled this term.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Bolton Wanderers are currently in contention to reach the League One play-offs this season, but they are in a far worse position than they were at this time last year.

The Trotters were just three points adrift of Derby County with two games in hand this time last year, but they were unable to overtake their automatic promotion rivals and were forced to settle for a top-six finish.

Bolton were beaten by Oxford United in the play-off final at Wembley at the end of the season, and things now look far worse than they did 12 months ago.

Steven Schumacher's side currently find themselves eighth in the League One table, three points behind Leyton Orient in sixth-place and with a testing run of fixtures ahead of them.

Bolton face Orient at home in a six-pointer this weekend, before travelling to Wrexham the following week, and then hosting Birmingham City in midweek a few days later.

The next three games could prove to be pivotal in Bolton's season, and if they are unable to close the gap to the top-six, people may look back and wonder where things have gone quite so wrong during the last year.

Fan pundit highlights key reasons for Bolton's regression

We asked our Bolton fan pundit, Liam O'Meara, why he thinks the club is now in a worse state than it was at this time last year.

"Bolton, to me, are in a much poorer state than they were in last year, and there are a couple of reasons for that," said Liam.

"This time last year we had Dion Charles, who was scoring goals, but obviously that curtailed, and then he left, so that is the first thing that I think we are missing.

"I think that Kyle Dempsey's injury has really hurt us. I think he is someone who can really dig us out of a hole, particularly when we are in those tight games. He is always capable of pulling something out, so he has been a big, big miss for us.

"I think George Thomason's form has been a concern, as he has not been that usual powerhouse in midfield, although Jay Matete has shown some bright sparks in the last few weeks, so having some competition could be good for both of them.

"The key thing is we do not have Paris Maghoma, and we have not been able to replace him. I think Arfield was a signing that was a bit of a punt because we didn't initially get Randall, as I think Joel Randall is the signing to replace Maghoma, but it is quite a big gap to fill.

"He was a really important player for us on loan from Brentford, so because we have no Maghoma, we are a much weaker team this season."

Maghoma is a big miss for Bolton

Brentford midfielder Paris Maghoma spent last season on loan at Bolton, and played a key role during their run to the League One play-off final.

The 23-year-old had to be substituted due to injury early in the second-half at Wembley, which reduced the chances of his side mounting a comeback against Oxford.

His creativity has been missing this season at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, and his absence is one of the key reasons why the club has been unable to replicate their performances from the 2023/24 campaign.