Why have Bolton Wanderers been so awful this year?

There is no mistaking it, this has been a terrible season for Bolton Wanderers

Not even the most pessimistic of Trotters fans could have foreseen such a bad run of results which would leave them lying in the relegation zone on the final day of the season.

Of course looking back with hindsight, there had been signs, Bolton finished last season extremely poorly after a strong start, and were hammered 5-0 in the FA Cup semi final by Stoke.

In the first half of last season Coyle had led Bolton up to the top seven, earning himself many plaudits in the process, even being linked with some of the top jobs in the Premier League.

When this season there was an air of optimism for a fresh start despite a lack of big name signings, and when the club won 4-0 away to QPR on the opening day everything seemed rosy.

However the long running transfer saga surrounding defender Gary Cahill dragged on past deadline day without resolution, and the centre-back's form had clearly been affected.

Bolton also had a tough run of early fixtures, losing heavily to Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea which affected their confidence. When it came to facing Norwich at home, a game everybody expected them to win, they faltered- losing 2-1, and suddenly there was talk of a crisis.

Despite this early warning in September, Owen Coyle has not been able to lift his squad out of the relegation battle, or string together a run of wins.

One of the reasons there have been few calling for Coyle's head, is that there is seemingly very little money available in the club's coffers to improve the squad.

The gamble they did take in January, on highly rated Watford forward Marvin Sordell, hasn't paid off, and Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyaichi started brightly but has faded.

Main striker veteran Kevin Davies has also had his worst season for years, Ivan Klasnic has been unable to maintain his strong early form, and Tuncay has not shown what he can do.

The biggest blow for Bolton has been injuries. Star midfielders Stuart Holden and Lee Chung-Young have missed pretty much the whole season while right-back Tyrone Mears is another to suffer a broken leg.

In midfield this has left them with little invention from the central areas, and while Chris Eagles and Martin Petrov have stepped up from wide areas on occasions, their productivity has often not been enough to drag Wanderers through games.

As they head to Stoke on the final day, needing a win and a QPR loss to guarantee survival, it will not just be their attack which they need to be on their game, but their leaky defence.

Bolton's achilles heel this season has been their backline, goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has suffered with injury too and Adam Bogdan has stepped in, while having his moments, lacks the experience required.

The defence as a whole has not been up to scratch- conceding 75 league goals to date, even with Gary Cahill the defence was porous, and American defender Tim Ream signed in January has not been able to change that.

The Fabrice Muamba situation has seen a lot of goodwill for Bolton, the players, and the manager, for their excellent handling of such circumstances. Many fans subsequently have soft spot for them, but that alone will not be able to prevent them from going down.

If they are unsuccessful this weekend, it won't just be one bad result that does them in, but a whole season of them.

Why do you believe Bolton have been so awful?

image: © Matthew Wilkinson