Season Preview: Bolton Wanderers

Overall Outlook - What a difference a new manager makes.  There was a time when we said "never bet on or against Bolton" because they tended to engage in meat-grinder-like matches that produced more yellow cards and fouls than fantasy points.  Players of much quality didn't want to play there.  Now, with the introduction of Owen Coyle midway through last season players with some skill are starting to flock to the Reebok.  The budget is such that they still can't buy from the top shelf but there are definitely upgrades.  I don't think Bolton are ready to compete with the likes of Villa and Everton let alone Spurs, Citeh and Liverpool but there is every reason to expect a finish in the 9th to 11th range.

Projected Starters - Jaaskelainen, MTaylor, Knight, Cahill, Steinsson, Muamba, Lee, Holden, MPet, Davies, Klasnic.

In the Rotation - Cohen, Gardner, Elmander, Davies, Ricketts, Alonso, Blake, Robinson

Kicks - The big question with MPet coming to town to man the left side of midfield is "what happens with Matty Taylor?" seems likely that between the two of them they'll take the majority of the kicks.  The downside for Taylor is that he had nearly all of the kicks last season and his price is too high for even that production.

Newcomers

• MPet, M - he was a favorite of the blog when he was starting regularly under Sven at Citeh and we fully expect that he'll regain his fantasy mojo starting regularly for Bolton - his price isn't as low as we'd like to see it but he's still strong value; 
• Marcos Alonso, D - he's young and unlikely to start from the get go but will probably back up both the left back and left midfield positions for Coyle's men.  The former Real Madrid trainee is reported to have skill going forward albeit as part of an unrefined overall package.  If it looks like he's going to get a run of games, he's probably worth giving a spot in your line-up;
• Blake, F - a classic squad forward who is probably a better fit in the Championship than the Premier League but Bolton need some depth and it isn't unreasonable to expect that he could have a decent run over a couple of games but he isn't likely to offer much week-to-week;

Rising Youth

• Holden, M - Capable of playing multiple spots across midfield but most likely to play centrally based on the current roster (assuming that neither Cleverly nor Wilshere comes to the Reebok on loan) he can be a solid fantasy producer assuming his price stays low;
• Mark Davies, M - A box-to-box midfielder whose limited fantasy production thus far makes him look more like a holding midfielder than an attacking one.  The best comparison I can make based on what I've seen is that he's a more physical version of Steve Sidwell.  Not exactly what you're looking for in a fantasy player as anything other than a temporary enabler who could have a couple games over 5 points;
• Alonso, D - See Newcomers above, he has loads of potential and Bolton is the type of place where he's likely to get a chance to refine his skills - more likely one to watch for next season but we'll definitely be watching to see what happens; 

Fantasy Breakdown

• Best - He's not very good value for the money as currently priced and his continued production is uncertain with MPet's arrival but Matty Taylor is Bolton's best fantasy player;
• Best Value (non-newcomer) - There is surprisingly little value on Bolton's roster based on season-opening prices but the far-and-away winner is Lee Chung-Yong running up and down the right side of midfield.  He isn't a premium midfielder but he's a decent mid-priced, mid-production player who could improve in his second season as a starter in the Premier League;
• Best Projected Value - MPet isn't as inexpensive as we were all hoping at 9.09 but he was still the first guy on my team sheet at that price;
• Worth Considering With Good Match-ups -  MPet, MTay, KDavies, Lee, Cahill, Steinsson
• Worth Knowing If He's Starting - Holden, Cleverly/Wilshere (if one/both comes via loan), Alonso