A look back at October as Neil Lennon made the move to Macron Stadium
SUMMARY
Starting the month of October with defeat at the hands of Fulham at Craven Cottage, Wanderers were soon under the stewardship of a new manager following the departure of Dougie Freedman on October 3.
With player-coach Andrew Hughes and goalkeeping coach Lee Turner taking the reins for the Whites’ league clash with AFC Bournemouth the following day, the imminent international break allowed the club to secure the services of former Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
Following the Northern Irishman’s arrival at the helm, Lennon was handed a baptism of fire as he led his Bolton side to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City, with Matt Mills’ first half header earning the manager a debut victory.
With the games coming thick and fast, the Trotters were on their travels once again just three days later, although their trip to the capital to take on Charlton Athletic would end in defeat despite Dean Moxey notching his first goal for the club since his summer move.
Back on home soil however the following weekend for the manager’s first game at Macron Stadium against Brentford, the Whites saw off the challenge of the Bees with Neil Danns, Mark Davies and Craig Davies’ strikes securing all three points for the hosts.
Despite the month ultimately ending on a somewhat sour note with a narrow defeat away at Norwich City on Halloween night however, Wanderers brought the curtain down on a hectic four weeks with their sights firmly set on climbing the Sky Bet Championship table.
RESULTS
L 4-0 v Fulham (A)
L 1-2 v AFC Bournemouth (H)
W 0-1 v Birmingham City (A)
L 2-1 v Charlton Athletic (A)
W 3-1 v Brentford (H)
L 2-1 v Norwich City (A)
THEY SAID
“I thought that in the second half we were absolutely fantastic. We should have been out of sight earlier, because I thought that some of our build-up play was very good. Did we deserve to win the game? Absolutely. Did we look an exciting team today? Absolutely.”
Neil Lennon following his side’s impressive victory over Brentford at Macron Stadium in his first home game since taking charge of the team.
SCORERS
Jay Spearing
Matt Mills
Dean Moxey
Neil Danns
Mark Davies
Craig Davies
Lee Chung-Yong
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Lee Chung-Yong’s efforts for the Whites saw him named as the club’s Player of the Month for October.
Having missed the first fixture of the month against Fulham, the Korean international bounced back in style as he figured in the Whites’ remaining five games in October, finding the back of the net once in a narrow defeat at the hands of Norwich City.
The South Korean international romped to the title with an impressive 65 percent of votes submitted, with Andrew Lonergan and Matt Mills finishing second and third respectively.
SEE ALSO…
Community review: October
Season in photos: October