View From The Town End: Bolton Wanderers

Thanks to Eddie Skelly from our friends at Lion Of Vienna Suite for taking the time to answer our questions about Bolton ahead of Tuesday night’s match.

You can find him on Twitter @EddieSkelly, and follow our Bolton cousins at @LionOfViennaSte

Bolton had a bad start to the season but are now unbeaten in six - do you think you can stay up? Is this form a sign of better things to come?

The recent form has been pretty spectacular considering how poor we were for the first month of the season. I think most Bolton fans were realistic with their expectations at the start of the season - if we somehow manage to finish 21st, it would be a great achievement.

It’s only possible if key players like Sammy Ameobi stay injury free.

There's a healthy ex-Reading contingent at Bolton that includes Phil Parkinson, Adam Le Fondre, Jem Karacan and Andrew Taylor - how important have they been to the club?

It has to be said that Phil Parkinson performed a minor miracle in getting the club promoted last season. With the hindrance that was the transfer embargo in place, Parkinson somehow managed to drag a side full of freebies back to The Championship. He’s certainly proved a few doubters wrong this season after a rocky start (myself included).

When it comes to the former Royals still playing, Andrew Taylor has probably had the biggest impact over the past season. Despite what Wigan fans stated, Taylor was one of the best players in the promotion side last season.

ALF is a fan favourite and we were delighted when he came back home in January. He scored some important goals, but hasn’t featured much this season due to a change in formation. Many fans are still screaming from the rooftops for him to start a game.

Jem came in towards the end of last season and played well, but since Karl Henry was signed in September, he’s lost his place in the side.

What's going right for Bolton right now?

We’re getting points in games that would have been guaranteed losses earlier in the season. It’s mainly down to the form of players like Sammy Ameobi, Josh Vela and Karl Henry. Ameobi and Vela offer the attacking element needed to win games, whilst Karl Henry adds the bite our midfield was seriously lacking in August.

And what could be going better?

We’re not finishing off teams that we should have. Draws against QPR, Fulham and Sunderland aren’t disastrous results by any means, but to lose what looked like a comfortable lead in those three games could come back to bite us later in the season. We could do with a new striker in January to help grind out more wins.

What do you make of Reading at the moment? Is there anyone in our team you're worried about facing?

Going off where you are in the table, it looks like you’ve struggled for consistency this season. That being said, you’ve picked up some really impressive wins recently against Leeds United and Derby County.

Dave Edwards is an experienced player in this division, whilst Sone Aluko should cause a few problems. I’m also keeping an eye out for one time Wanderers trialist Modou Barrow.

How do you see the match going? And what will the score be?

It’ll be a scrappy game. I’ll go with a 2-1 Wanderers win. We’ve been playing very good football at home recently.