Economic Reality Hits Home for Bolton and Neil Lennon

Neil Lennon’s arrival at the Macron Stadium in October was meant to herald a new era for the beleaguered Lancashire club.

After years of gradual decline compounded by relegation in 2012, the hiring of the Northern Irishman represented for many fans the most promising managerial development since Sam Allardyce’s reign at the club.

However, despite moments of encouragement, the former Celtic boss’ time in charge has been a little anticlimactic—not that has had anything to do with his ability.

Lennon arrived with the club at the bottom of the table, and while he has been able to guide Bolton to the heights of 19th since, the club’s form has come in fits and starts rather than in a concerted period of improvement. Four defeats in the last five games has the Trotters once again looking worriedly over their shoulders at the chasing pack.

Lennon’s appointment came as a surprise to many. Given his achievements at Celtic, few would have reckoned he would end his self-imposed sabbatical from the game with a club languishing in the relegation zone of England’s second tier.

Once again, it appeared that the club’s facilities and general culture were, as they were with predecessor Dougie Freedman, one of the chief reasons for his decision to join.

Some fans even dared to speculate that Lennon’s arrival may had been predicated on the promise of loosening the purse strings at the club. Freedman had to deal with immense financial constraints, and the summer of 2013 was dominated by a protracted transfer saga for Jay Spearing as Wanderers desperately scrounged together his eventual £1 million fee.

The club has a debt to the tune of more than £160 million, and barring a takeover, it’s difficult to see any way of eroding the number without returning to the Premier League.

So it was an atmosphere of cautious optimism which greeted Lennon upon his arrival, and despite his combative reputation, he reciprocated. During various enthusiastic press conferences, he heaped praise on the club and the squad that he found under his charge.

One player he singled out was Lee Chung-Yong, saying “his heart skipped a beat” when he first saw him in training, per the club's official Twitter account. At that stage, he would have been hopeful that Lee would come to define his first months at the club. In a way, he has—although not in the way Lennon would have wanted.

Having set his manager’s heart aflutter just weeks before, Lee signed for Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £1 million, according to the Daily Mail’s Richard Arrowsmith. It was a sorry reminder of Bolton’s crippling financial state.

In turn, Lennon’s biggest signings were veterans Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen, who have been as effective as is fair to expect from a cumulatively 73-year-old strike partnership.

Saturday saw Lennon’s men subjected to a chastening 4-1 defeat at Freedman’s relatively monied Nottingham Forest team. For all the hope that he’s brought to the club, the sad truth is that it will only get you so far in the modern game.