Crawley Town v Bolton Wanderers – The big match preview

Ahead of last weekend’s thrilling home match against Reading, there was debate among Bolton supporters as to whether there had been another regular season match with more at stake for embattled manager Ian Evatt. The only possible exception is their promotion battle at Broadfield Stadium in May 2021.

Defeats to Charlton, Exeter City and Huddersfield Town may have been interspersed with cup successes, but the league table reflected the worrying direction of travel early in the season, and something had to change.

As has often been the case in Evatt’s four years in charge, he found an answer when he needed it most. A shift in formation, in captaincy and the reunion of Victor Adeboyejo and Dion Charles up front resulted in a much-needed win, taking the dial out of the red, at least for a short while.

Evatt’s job security had been extensively discussed following the play-off final defeat at Wembley, with the board quickly coming to the conclusion that he was still the man they wanted to manage in the quest for promotion success after two near misses in League One . And despite a shaky start, that picture had apparently not changed when serious discussions took place a fortnight ago.

But in reality, the pressure on the Bolton boss had never been greater than during that first tumultuous campaign, which culminated in an empty stadium in West Sussex – the same stadium they travel to on Saturday afternoon with high expectations once again.

“No one really knows what I went through,” Evatt said at the time, calling that stunning late strike to clinch third in League Two the best moment of his football career to date.

It had been a crazy campaign indeed, with Bolton one of the few clubs never to allow fans through their own turnstiles. And given the erratic form shown in the first half of the season, Evatt has since admitted the lack of supporters was likely a bonus.

After winning the power struggle with head of football operations Tobias Phoenix and bringing in ally Chris Markham for a truly transformative January, few teams can have turned their fortunes around in such a short space of time.

With Covid rules still in place, the only way fans could officially watch Bolton beat Crawley 4-1 was on TV or via their laptops. Some traveled anyway, against advice, and once promotion was secured, all precautions went out the window as the players and coaching staff rushed out to celebrate. More joyful scenes were to follow late in the evening once they reached Whites Hotel, with Eoin Doyle memorably jumping from the carriage and dancing in front of the gathered crowd, while his teammates waited at a nearby bus stop for a police escort.

Evatt and his players have had more celebrations – after the Papa Johns final and when they reached Wembley again with a play-off semi-final win against Barnsley. Unfortunately, in retrospect, the latter made for a decidedly ill-advised feeling, but everyone involved is desperate to recapture those good times.

However, it appears the Bolton boss’s fate is currently hovering on the brink of recovery and crisis. Until the Whites can put together some real form, the critics who have increased in volume – both in number and audibly – will continue to make themselves heard.

The win against a vulnerable Reading team at least restored confidence that there are goals in this team, and Dion Charles’ hat-trick also put him in fine form.

But if Wanderers If there’s anything else we need to prove to a fanbase still reserving judgment, it’s that the defensive fragility they’ve shown in recent weeks is only a temporary problem.

Crawley, without a manager following Scott Lindsey’s departure to MK Dons, would be keen to claim a scalp. In Ronan Darcy they also have a player who is keen to show his former club that they were wrong to release him a few years ago.

The Ormskirk-born midfielder was part of those celebrations in 2021 after making 11 appearances that season. Along with other departing players, Adam Senior and Harry Brockbank are part of the latest group of academy players to make a dent in the first team picture at Bolton.

Darcy has found a new life with Crawley. He helped them out of League Two through the play-offs last season and has played in all but one of their league and cup games this time around.

How the Reds will react to the loss of the influential Lindsey is unclear, but Bolton should certainly see it as a bonus as they look to return to play just 64 hours after kick-off at the Emirates.

If Wanderers emerge victorious in front of the TV cameras on Saturday, there won’t be the same scenes of joy after the final whistle, nor will all doubt be erased. Grounds have been allocated to the top two places, and until this is fixed it is unlikely that fans will fully buy in.

But if Evatt and his players can keep up the positive results over the international break, they will feel like another important test has been passed.